Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[JB9918]

For me I'd be looking at moving those on who are contracted past 2025 as a priority if Benji feels their future is limited with us. That would be Bud Sullivan, John Bateman & Starford To'a.

Those who are contracted for one more season can be told they are free to look elsewhere but are welcome to stay and fight for their future at the WT. Those are Doueihi, Tumeth, Matamua, Feledy, Naden, Staines & Klemmer.

If anything it makes them hungry to either land an extension or put themselves in the shop window for another club.

Pole & Seyfarth are the two contracted for one more season I would try to extend asap. Whilst Faagutu & Sukkar also contracted for one more season are told they will have an extension tabled if their form warrants by mid-season.

So unless Benji has a man crush on him, I reckon To'a could be one that is easily moved on (i.e. attractive to another club at his full salary with us).

I totally agree. To'a would be attractive to some. Had a fair to good year in 23 at full fitness. I don't mind if we hold him but would be the easiest to offload.

Bud & Bateman provide 2 issues. 1. As you say top 30 spot for multiple years & 2. $$$ they are on.

Considering we have $$$ in the bank. Shifting them would be greater priority. What would be ideal for both is a trade for 2025.

Bud as a back half & we gain a middle is not impossible.

Bateman doubt he is on anyone's radar unless we identify a ESL player.

As for others. I believe Tumeth is gone regardless. Only 2 I see possibly getting a gig elsewhere would be Douiehi & Staines. The young ones we are stuck with & I think we need Klemmer where we currently stand.

Pole & Seyfarth definitely priorities. Pole may be an issue. Storm are probably calling. Very attractive for him. I think we can keep big red.

 

[Lestronge]

if we can get this team as fit and as strong as they should be and have a solid run with injuries, we'll run top 10.

our biggest issue this year was the lack of depth and our conditioning, which the Football Department has been on record saying affected our discipline. it's clear that they're planning on fixing it.

an elite spine, plus a strong core that includes Turuva, Olam, Twal, Pole, Samuela, Da Silva, Sione, Bird, Seyfarth and Hunt should see us move up the ladder. the key is whether Richardson and Marshall can add to that core and build depth underneath in the coming months.

I agree mate ! It’s just frustrating to read the last few pages , because if there is any acknowledgement of the fact the team has identified what many people in the nrl community can see, then it’s glossed over by others on here with an Axe Benji agenda, and some weird revisionist history around Madge . As if we didn’t get a Birds Eye view to that train wreck with the stupid documentary .
But like a lot of things in this world if you say Madge lost the dressing room , and say Benji needs more time , than somehow one plus one equals 5 and you’re now a Benji Stan , and love mediocrity etc . It’s the definition of straw man and it’s annoying .
Both things are true . Benji shouldn’t have been given the role soo soon . And Madge definitely should have been sacked !
But because we given Benji the role , we can’t cry over spilt milk so now we need to role with this plan , at the very least because he was set up to fail in the first place . And whilst I’m not confident at all , not even a little bit , I still haven’t seen enough evidence to 💯 say that yep he is going to fail . Because the players and coach , and body language , and simply the media’s desire to constantly death ride ie. search for anything remotely derogatory about the club , paints a completely different picture .
Despite all the losses over the last 3 seasons , somehow most people see genuine light at the end of this tunnel . And that wasn’t the message from the wider nrl community ie. the people who know as recently as 12 months ago .

 

[boonboon]

Other then injury which can't be helped I don't understand the To'a hate on this forum. Had a really good season in 23 and everytime he came back he obviously was still injured which speaks to the club not managing it well more then him. Will be starting centre in 25 if he avoids injury in the off-season.

 

[guywolf]

Other then injury which can't be helped I don't understand the To'a hate on this forum. Had a really good season in 23 and everytime he came back he obviously was still injured which speaks to the club not managing it well more then him. Will be starting centre in 25 if he avoids injury in the off-season.

I would argue 2022 was the year he had a decent season, otherwise he has been pretty mediocre. He had a couple of good games last year, but was largely ineffective.

 

[jirskyr]

Like the idea of suggestion #1

Top FIVE landing spots for Kai Pearce-Paul in 2026

The Knights star is set to test the market.

www.zerotackle.com

Except the author says "then Sam Fainu can shift to the middle". I wouldn't be in a hurry to move Slammin Sam Fainu from the edges.

 

[user118245]

It’s a yes from me

Only thing is, he’s on 600k and it’s his first years in NRL (after stint in super league as that’s where he’s from). He’s 23 and looks to be a great option tho, should have a crack, will be attractive for him to either play outside of Galvin or luai

 

[user118245]

Except the author says "then Sam Fainu can shift to the middle". I wouldn't be in a hurry to move Slammin Sam Fainu from the edges.

One of many options to move Fainu back, not a good one but an option

 

[boonboon]

I would argue 2022 was the year he had a decent season, otherwise he has been pretty mediocre. He had a couple of good games last year, but was largely ineffective.

In 2023
19 games - but as one was a short stint as 18th man in Round 2 I will exclude that so 18 games
118m per game - Of the 17 games in outside backs 12 he made over 100m including his last 5
10 Linebreaks
63 tacklebreaks -3.5 per game
14 offloads
7 tries
12 tackles ave at 84% tackle efficiency - which is 10% better then any of our centers in 2024 and would be top 6 for centers with over 10 games across the comp in 2024.

Noting these figures include a fairly average game where he was forced to fill in at 5/8

 

[Tigerstigerstigers]

Except the author says "then Sam Fainu can shift to the middle". I wouldn't be in a hurry to move Slammin Sam Fainu from the edges.

Can we play one on each side?

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

I totally agree. To'a would be attractive to some. Had a fair to good year in 23 at full fitness. I don't mind if we hold him but would be the easiest to offload.

Bud & Bateman provide 2 issues. 1. As you say top 30 spot for multiple years & 2. $$$ they are on.

Considering we have $$$ in the bank. Shifting them would be greater priority. What would be ideal for both is a trade for 2025.

Bud as a back half & we gain a middle is not impossible.

Bateman doubt he is on anyone's radar unless we identify a ESL player.

As for others. I believe Tumeth is gone regardless. Only 2 I see possibly getting a gig elsewhere would be Douiehi & Staines. The young ones we are stuck with & I think we need Klemmer where we currently stand.

Pole & Seyfarth definitely priorities. Pole may be an issue. Storm are probably calling. Very attractive for him. I think we can keep big red.

Yep at the moment we have 31 players in the top 30 for next season if Tumeth exercises his option.

So we have to move on 1 regardless with Tumeth probably on the lowest salary to pay out.

Then we still need a roster spot for Sione Fainu assuming he is in our plans and of course to create space for Brian To'o and NAS lol

So I think we will see 4 players at the very least moved on (hopefully 2 are Bud & Bateman given the $$$ they take up).

 

[crazycat]

I think we had enough significant player personnel changes over the past two years to warrant a better performance than the last two wooden spoons. Not sure about Ciraldo, but I’d wager a lot money that those other three coaches you’ve named would’ve had our team much higher on the ladder than bloody last again.

re:
"If any of you experts begging for Benji to be sacked had any thoughts on how you think Ciraldo Bennett Bellamy Cleary would have faired with the same team Benji has coached these last 2 seasons,"

I agree Flippedy

Ciraldo - would have trained the team hard. The games we did not turn up too we would have done better. Ciraldo understands defensive structures. Maybe first year he flops a little, second year were doing a stack better + Paps stays.

Bennett & Bellamy are clearly class. At minimum we knock on the top 8's door and come 9th. Cleary we don't need to speculate, he would have come 9th like he did when he coached here.

Benji I reckon could actually take a good team forward. Say he got appointed as the Panthers coach or Easts, he could keep them in the 8. He isn't a very good basics coach and that's where we are.

 

[Tucker]

Yep at the moment we have 31 players in the top 30 for next season if Tumeth exercises his option.

So we have to move on 1 regardless with Tumeth probably on the lowest salary to pay out.

Then we still need a roster spot for Sione Fainu assuming he is in our plans and of course to create space for Brian To'o and NAS lol

So I think we will see 4 players at the very least moved on (hopefully 2 are Bud & Bateman given the $$$ they take up).

Thats a lot of players to find new homes for when none are currently willing to walk.
We may have to wait until next year when heaps of them come off contract.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

Thats a lot of players to find new homes for when none are currently willing to walk.
We may have to wait until next year when heaps of them come off contract.

It is, but let's say Tumeth is a payout we'd be happy to accommodate.

I reckon To'a would be snapped up by someone (plus is managed by the same crew as Stef, iPap & Kepaoa so they may be keen to shift him on anyway) then it's 2 that Richo is probably working his magic to move on.

Personally I think some other clubs would take Staines & Matamua if we needed to open spots but Richo will be deemed a genius if he can move Bud & Bateman.

 

[Needaname]

the Dogs are going to be a very interesting watch next season.

the Cowboys had a down year in 2023 after their incredible 2022. Newcastle were all the rage in 2023 and while they made the 8 this year, they had nowhere near the season they did the year previous. teams are typically able to plan for you a bit better the year after.

Canterbury's defensive system is built off effort and attitude, but teams will be able to find better ways to counteract their linespeed next year. they also fell off a lot of tackles because of having smaller men. that said, they've got some brilliant footballers and a strong football department which might mean they improve again in 2025.

agree on St George not pushing for top four anytime soon, especially if they replace Hunt with Schneider, which I think is the rumour. I think they'll be around 7-10 again, with a few of the youngsters beginning to show their worth.

as for where we can chat about it, it might be worth doing a crossover in the offseason... we'll discuss at a later time!

Dragons are heading a bit more towards the direction of the Knights. Trying to balance out the squad with experience in key positions. I actually expect Hunt to sign on with another club for the 26 season but at the same time expect Flanagan to keep him to his contract so that he has all that experience at his disposal.
I’d personally like to see the Hunt to Bulldogs trade happen. Bit like Cooper Cronk to Roosters a bit like Jamie Soward to Penrith. If they sign him for a couple of years they’ll be able to blood Woods in.
maybe a chance of a Sexton / Hunt swap occuring?

 

[Camel2281]

The Broncos are the model for how the 'old boys club" influence/have power over a club. It would be fair to argue that the major part of their success has been largely on the back of a wealth of football talent - rather than effective leadership off the field.
The appointment of Maguire signals an attempt to take a different direction, but his window will be very small given the pushback from those not happy about the appt and the media that will be sweating on it.

He'll also have that playing group offside pretty quickly. It was widely reported that Reynolds was off him by the end of Madges tenure at Souths, meant we were no chance of getting him when Adam was off contract.

Can't see the likes of Walsh, Mam etc taking to an old school headmaster type screaming at them

 

[JB9918]

It is, but let's say Tumeth is a payout we'd be happy to accommodate.

I reckon To'a would be snapped up by someone (plus is managed by the same crew as Stef, iPap & Kepaoa so they may be keen to shift him on anyway) then it's 2 that Richo is probably working his magic to move on.

Personally I think some other clubs would take Staines & Matamua if we needed to open spots but Richo will be deemed a genius if he can move Bud & Bateman.

Would be an absolute Genius!

Again Bud @ $500K is someone can take $300K I'd be happy.

Bateman @ $600K you'd think $400K would be achievable.

We pay $200K for each seems reasonable.

 

[Telltails]

He'll also have that playing group offside pretty quickly. It was widely reported that Reynolds was off him by the end of Madges tenure at Souths, meant we were no chance of getting him when Adam was off contract.

Can't see the likes of Walsh, Mam etc taking to an old school headmaster type screaming at them

IMO Adam Reynolds and Mam were poor this season and both contributed little to back Walters through their performance, so you reap what you sow.

 

[Modman]

The "FOX" is being shopped around .. St George, Parramatta and Souths are the most likely destination of the FOX World Tour. Apparently the Dragons offered a straight swap for the FOX with Mikaeke Ravalawa .. but the Bulldogs said hell no .. !! With the FOX being close friends with Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker .. the Burrow looks the most likely destination. Not sure if the FOX is type of player new Parra coach Jason Ryles is looking for.

Dragons are also looking at throwing Clint "King Gutho" Gutherson a life line.

i wish we threw Gutho a lifeline. he is exactly the player this club needs both on and off the field. Never give up attitude as hes in every play even as a one legged old man, 2 yrs with us Parra pick up half the freight. Flanno going to put together one very experienced hard football team.

 

[jadtiger]

i wish we threw Gutho a lifeline. he is exactly the player this club needs both on and off the field. Never give up attitude as hes in every play even as a one legged old man, 2 yrs with us Parra pick up half the freight. Flanno going to put together one very experienced hard football team.

3 years ago i would have been delighted to get Gutho even though he is a first class flog,these days i wouldn't want him even at a discount

 

[balmain boy]

Other then injury which can't be helped I don't understand the To'a hate on this forum. Had a really good season in 23 and everytime he came back he obviously was still injured which speaks to the club not managing it well more then him. Will be starting centre in 25 if he avoids injury in the off-season.

One good game doesn't make him a great player. He's routinely bog average, therefore he's a bog average player.

Often injured, poor in defence, doesn't make the hard yards, not overly fast. He's better than NSW Cup but a fringe NRL players.

What many on here seem to forget is that it's clubs like the Roosters and Storm that could have a crack at Naden, Toa, Sullivan. They max out their cap on stars and then leave half a dozen low salary players to be backups and fill out the squad. We'd just have to chip in to get rid of these guys, no doubt about it. The Roosters have made Pauga look semi-decent. If they could get Toa for an extra 75k a year i think they do it. They would take him for 200k, but not 350k. etc etc