Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[weststigersfinals2025]

With two years to run at it, Wayne Bennett and a completely empty salary cap. Also: I would have loved to have seen what the moaners on here would have made of the signings the Dolphins made before the 2023 season. They'd have been falling over themselves to congratulate the club on landing such high-calibre stars as (checks list) Edrick Lee, Anthony Milford, Sean O'Sullivan, Ray Stone and Mason Teague, no doubt.

Exactly. Moaners on this forum are never satisfied with who we sign just constant criticism and pessimistic comments.

 

[Tiger_Yoshi]

It would be tragic if Friday night they announce Sione Fainu as departing

 

[batboy]

Exactly. Moaners on this forum are never satisfied with who we sign just constant criticism and pessimistic comments.

Developed that opinion with the data you've collated in the 2 weeks you've been here?

 

[coivtny]

I suspect a team overhall will happen when Luai demands a new coach.

Happy to recruit Barrett and we should be doing this now instead of Hodgson.

(not a Trent Barrett fan at all. I never thought I would say the above).

Mate, Barrett is a dud. Everywhere he goes they move him on.

 

[crazycat]

Your opinion friend

This is re RCG> Man I hate the new forum.. clicking back through links...

There are two thoughts with RCG. I agree he is past his best form.

That said, would he be an upgrade on:
Klemmer,
Bateman.

YES.

I could see RCG combining well with Klemmer. I could also see a lot more work and output from him. Ofcourse he is an upgrade on most in our pack and arguably a replacement for some of the workload Paps/Stefano did.

Which brings me to the other point:
Luai needs a pack that's first grade. This year and 2023 arguably we had that first grade pack. Several ratings sites put our forward pack as competitive among the top 8 teams, although Lock is a weakness. I won't argue, we came last and clearly they could have performed better. ...

It's just now our pack is missing Stef + Paps. Stefano was one of our best and taking a massive effort let down by poor defense of our backline.

Bring a strategy, but RCG would have been very useful for us. I hope seriously we are planning to bring younger forwards to our game or peg ourselves on Hunt's or Pole's generation.

As it stands our current pack is probably 17th in the league. Far weaker then 2023 or 2024. RCG would have been useful.

 

[Hbom]

Exactly. Moaners on this forum are never satisfied with who we sign just constant criticism and pessimistic comments.

It is a sickness.

Mute them.

 

[GCfan]

I think you will be sadly disappointed as i am sure he will be coming back to collect the pension that Sheens kindly gave him

Australian Retirement Trust

 

[Tiger Morgs]

Wasn't Doorey rumoured a while back?

Or Wiriemu Greig also I think

 

[diedpretty]

Warrington were on a real roll and Burgess had them playing like it'd be them and Wigan in the Grand Final.
Then our Johnny joined and it started to turn to shit.

That's not true. In fact they were very unlucky not to be in the grand final. Hull had a few decisions go there way that could have quite as easily gone to Warrington and changed the result.

 

[Vicious]

For those who are wanting John Bateman to remain as a Wests Tigers player in 2025, what do you think is a fair & reasonable value for his current playing ability ?
We are supposedly paying him 700k per season ?
I value him at 350k at best and that is being generous.
The people such as myself who want him gone, cannot see what value he is providing us.
When you consider the amount of money we are overpaying Bateman, Klemmer, Olam, Sullivan, if we were only paying them their true value we would have enough money to spend on another million dollar per season player.

 

[king_sirro]

For those who are wanting John Bateman to remain as a Wests Tigers player in 2025, what do you think is a fair & reasonable value for his current playing ability ?
We are supposedly paying him 700k per season ?
I value him at 350k at best and that is being generous.
The people such as myself who want him gone, cannot see what value he is providing us.
When you consider the amount of money we are overpaying Bateman, Klemmer, Olam, Sullivan, if we were only paying them their true value we would have enough money to spend on another million dollar per season player.

His value? My guess for him to be in our 17 he pays us somewhere between 500 and 700k a week.

 

[Don Kershane]

Was he really that bad? I didn’t watch any games

A summary of Batemans game for Warrington might be familiar

It's just a run to the left
Then a run to the right
Puts his hand on his hips
Gives the ref a few tips

 

[Vicious]

A summary of Batemans game for Warrington might be familiar

It's just a run to the left
Then a run to the right
Puts his hand on his hips
Gives the ref a few tips

I’ve seen mannequins make more impact.

 

[weststigers]

Was he really that bad? I didn’t watch any games

Yeah...pretty bad. Just doesn't seem to have the size to have impact. As a result, he crabs across field a lot.

The body can't keep up with the mind. Happens to all of us.

 

[mtd#2]

Cant speak for Vicious but The last 3 years is why I'm pessimistic. It wasn't so long ago that we made the "really good signings" of Api and Papali'i and we were told things were on the up.
I also think that outside of Luai we haven't made any really good signings. I think the rest are certainly an upgrade on what we've got in their respective positions but none are better than average at their position when compared to the rest of the competition. Additionally we still haven't replaced what we've lost.
I'd like to be positive and want to believe good times are ahead. If we can retain a lot of the quality youngsters long term I even believe that in time they will come good. I just can't see that being any time soon.

That's fair enough, and to be fair, I need to check my rose-colored glasses sometimes.

But if we are being rational about it, the majority of the Wests Tigers issues stemmed from the way the club was run by the board, with all the leaks, the agenda's etc.

It hasn't even been a year since the clean-out, and the signs are more positive now than ever before - because there's no BS derailing the plans behind the scenes.

I just don't think we can compare the last 10+ years to the year that has passed and what's to come in 2025...

We've always said we are rebuilding, but we never actually were. We signed donkeys on big dollars. There was no thought behind the development pathways, we didn't blood youngsters...

2024 will be the roughest of our next 10 years, I am positive of that.


Re signings:
- I'd argue that Turuva is a great signing - his kick returns in the GF were amazing, he's reliable under the high ball and he can finish.

- Skelton is at a make or break stage of his career as a winger. We got him pretty cheap. So if he lifts his game by 30% on what he did last year, its a very good signing and great return on investment.

- Bird, whilst at the latter end of his career, has been a great player in the past. He has taken less money to come to the Tigers, which is unheard of these days - meaning he has something to prove.... He could have easily stayed at the Dragons and earnt double the money. This in my opinion is a smart signing for the $$ and experience he can bring (in the past we would have paid 800k a year for him)....

- If we get Hetherington, that's a solid signing - we've been lacking a workhorse for years...

- I'm concerned about Hunt, as it stand's he's a liability.. Whether the coaches can change that in the pre-season I guess we'll have to wait and see.

There's been talk we still have a signing or two to come. I am not going to write that off just yet, even given the squad numbers, because we've operated a lot better this year with a lot less leaks...

I have to be hopeful, I can't bare another season like the last 3 LOL

 

[versa]

I would to like see Bateman return with the heart we know he has. Maybe bring Sammy B with him to be an assistant for our forwards.

 

[mtd#2]

Why is it so late for?

They planned it thinking we'd be in the GF 🙂 haha

 

[mtd#2]

Bateman just said his thanks and farewells to Warrington fans on Instagram.
Said he back In Australia end of the week to see wife and kid.
No mention of Tigers.
But does say thanks to those in Warrington who ‘helped him find the love back In the game and enjoying what I do again’

My guess he not coming back to play for Tigers.

There's 3 options for Bateman.
1. He digs in
2. He has a sook and plays out his remaining 2 years in NSW Cup
3. He leaves, in a situation where the Tigers do not pay out his contract - they wont be held to ransom on this one. The way this happens is by him playing NSW Cup and hating it so much that he want's out, no matter what.... Honestly it wont bother Richo, having depth in NSW Cup wont hurt

 

[crazycat]

Mate, Barrett is a dud. Everywhere he goes they move him on.

I get it, and this is true (Bar Penrith where he took up the Bulldogs job).

We just need someone in line to replace Benji. We so SO should have hired Flanagan to do the rebuild before Dragqueens signed him.

It's slim pickings. But we need to up our training game and get away from "the good old boys of 2005"

 

[crazycat]

With two years to run at it, Wayne Bennett and a completely empty salary cap. Also: I would have loved to have seen what the moaners on here would have made of the signings the Dolphins made before the 2023 season. They'd have been falling over themselves to congratulate the club on landing such high-calibre stars as (checks list) Edrick Lee, Anthony Milford, Sean O'Sullivan, Ray Stone and Mason Teague, no doubt.

Yea, as a moaner who can be optimistic...

It was really good recruitment of the fins. O'Sullivan and Stone were the stars of the future. Likewise our signings were really good on paper. Bateman, Klemmer, Paps.

Seriously our recruitment has been great. Yes we overpaid, but we signed people when I thought we would sign no one.

Paper teams don't always translate to good on field performances. That's why I think we need to think TEAM more then PLAYER and expecially TRAINING.