Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

teddy23 said:
Given this is a signings thread… I thought I would give massive wraps on what the signing of Sunia Turuva has done for us as a club both on-field and off-field.

A lot of people give the credit to Luai for helping build the culture (deservingly so), however it seems like Tito has such a strong presence in the squad and is a real leader with his energy and talk. It’s quite obvious he’s like the glue of the team.

Anyone around the club who I speak to always harp on about Turuva and how he brings such an energy around the joint, to where players enjoy coming to training and want to play alongside him. He’s also massive on building a team first mindset etc. People talk about the co-captains in Api and Jarome but please don’t let the impact of Turuva’s leadership go over our heads.

That’s all just off field stuff - on the field he has been exceptional. Defends well, safe under the high ball, takes tough carries and finishes well. When we need him to cover for fullback he does a job too. He’s been exceptional value wise.

I hope we keep him until he retires and then offer him a position to keep him around the club post retirement. He seems a winner.
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Love Tito and you are 100% spot on @teddy23 ..thanks for sharing this insight..I'm sure Richo and Benji have noticed this too
 
Tom Shines said:
Yes …but a new 13 would move Twal to starting prop or bench, so I have 13 as more of a need…

Also Sione back in the prop rotation when KPP arrives
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think you could run with May or Doueihi at 13 and it would be fine, the issue is we need a pig that can scatter defenders on play one. we don't have that currently.

not totally against us finding a 13 but I think we might have a suitable one in-house. prop is the issue.
 
Tom Shines said:
Yes …but a new 13 would move Twal to starting prop or bench, so I have 13 as more of a need…

Also Sione back in the prop rotation when KPP arrives
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Thoughts on Terrell May as a 13 TS? He gets through a lot of work and can ball play a little bit but what the team is lacking is a real physical presence in the middle. Give me an aggressive 50-60 minute pack leader at prop and I think we can cover lock.
 
jrtiger said:
think you could run with May or Doueihi at 13 and it would be fine, the issue is we need a pig that can scatter defenders on play one. we don't have that currently.

not totally against us finding a 13 but I think we might have a suitable one in-house. prop is the issue.
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100% that is where the deficiency lies. I outlined in the deep dive how I see the May/AD thing working. May could well play 13 as he has all of the skill but looking at the way our "style" is coming along I see AD as a link to get both JL and Latu wider as required and May as the cue for ad lib second phase play with Api up his bum and Luia trailing.

To me Royce has clearly been struggling with and injury and that is a problem for us - we need at least one more to gut us the momentum to really make this work. Get them on the back foot, May with a late offload agaisnt a retreating defence - cue Api to JL in broken field with Bula and the other May pushing up in support and Sam F running na inside shoulder line just waiting to be hit.
 
jrtiger said:
think you could run with May or Doueihi at 13 and it would be fine, the issue is we need a pig that can scatter defenders on play one. we don't have that currently.

not totally against us finding a 13 but I think we might have a suitable one in-house. prop is the issue.
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Beat me to it. Not many fitting the profile coming off contract for 26 though. Pick of the bunch who are gettable are probably:

Lindsay Smith
Koloamatangi
Hamlin Uele

(I excluded Hass for obvious reasons)

Thoughts on Sam Hughes? I think he is going to fit the "plodder" category of Prop but I haven't watched him that much. Probably a squeeze with Leo Thompson on his way.
 
Jolls said:
100% that is where the deficiency lies. I outlined in the deep dive how I see the May/AD thing working. May could well play 13 as he has all of the skill but looking at the way our "style" is coming along I see AD as a link to get both JL and Latu wider as required and May as the cue for ad lib second phase play with Api up his bum and Luia trailing.

To me Royce has clearly been struggling with and injury and that is a problem for us - we need at least one more to gut us the momentum to really make this work. Get them on the back foot, May with a late offload agaisnt a retreating defence - cue Api to JL in broken field with Bula and the other May pushing up in support and Sam F running na inside shoulder line just waiting to be hit.
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genuinely incredible analysis mate and really breaks it down beautifully. the key is ensuring AD is big enough and ugly enough to make 50 tackles at 95% efficiency in the middle. we get that sorted and he will revolutionise our attack in the way you describe.

on Royce, I tend to agree, and for that reason I wouldn't be super hasty to shop him. that said, we need a starter that can get our midfield and good ball sets rolling. half the issue last week when we had multiple sets on Manly's line and came up with nothing was because we don't have a middle that can generate momentum out of nothing. we find that and we'll be cooking.
 
Betterdays22 said:
Beat me to it. Not many fitting the profile coming off contract for 26 though. Pick of the bunch who are gettable are probably:

Lindsay Smith
Koloamatangi
Hamlin Uele

(I excluded Hass for obvious reasons)

Thoughts on Sam Hughes? I think he is going to fit the "plodder" category of Prop but I haven't watched him that much. Probably a squeeze with Leo Thompson on his way.
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I like Hughes but I worry about his motor, although Ciraldo tends to use a big forward as a human shield in the first 15 before making way for the smaller forwards when the sting's been taken out of the game. he is 24 and has the physical tools to make good. I'd certainly be having a chat.

Liam Henry as I mentioned earlier in the week and Tuku Hau Taphua are another two I'd look into as well.
 
Jolls said:
100% that is where the deficiency lies. I outlined in the deep dive how I see the May/AD thing working. May could well play 13 as he has all of the skill but looking at the way our "style" is coming along I see AD as a link to get both JL and Latu wider as required and May as the cue for ad lib second phase play with Api up his bum and Luia trailing.

To me Royce has clearly been struggling with and injury and that is a problem for us - we need at least one more to gut us the momentum to really make this work. Get them on the back foot, May with a late offload agaisnt a retreating defence - cue Api to JL in broken field with Bula and the other May pushing up in support and Sam F running na inside shoulder line just waiting to be hit.
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Whilst Doueihi was good again, with Latu also playing well despite being shuffled a bit because of the To'a injury. I saw Fainu as somewhat limited/wasted when playing as the 13 in attack and particularly when we were in their 20 for so long.

He is a tough (not so) little hombre that can handle the middle, though for mine needs to be played a little wider to better take advantage of defensive lines, particularly those that are compressed or not retreating.
 
Jolls said:
While I agree with you I think the 13 decision has been made. AD is most likely to transition to 13 with Latu into half. Have a look at the Deep Dive (here) for the reasoning.
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For me it’s one more NRL run on prop. We have one in our squad, we need at least one more so all the other bench props we have can fulfill their roles as bench props.
I’m going back to check ya dive again I been speed reading them, I’m trying to finish a build before I start another diploma. But I reckon a high quality no.10 to complete the book end will free up Benji and the pack and allow everyone to play the role they are good at. And I have to say again Sione Fainu just keeps impressing me. He really changed last year when his Bros arrived, and has improved again this year. He’s turning into a good reliable member of the pack who is adaptable and can play any position in it to an acceptable NRL level. I’m not sure where his best spot is long term, but he is my second forward picked every week and then I’d find a spot for him that suits team. He looks like he’s loving life and footy right now, that’s gotta be a lot to do with Benji too.
 
jirskyr said:
Also, crucially and perhaps somewhat overlooked, Turuva and also Skelton are pretty good at icing their chances. Turuva last weekend had no right to score on the left against Manly, and it was the game breaker, stepping back inside 3 defenders.
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What about Skelton's try? He had 3 opposition players scrambling to push him out and he still planted the ball inside the corner post!

And yes, winning teams generally have their outside men icing their opportunities. They don't get many. They're like strikers in soccer. The good ones have a high strike rate with scoring/shots.
 
tigahhh said:
sorry for the stupid question guys but does anyone know who this is ? he’s in Terrell’s vlog I don’t recognise him

View attachment 26838
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Elie El-Zakhem. T&T. Has played reserves as an edge forward all season.
www.weststigers.com.au

Elie El-Zakhem

The NRL profile of Elie El-Zakhem including career statistics, season stats, games, tries, goals, tackles and fantasy scores.
www.weststigers.com.au www.weststigers.com.au

www.weststigers.com.au

Elie El-Zakhem

The The Knock On Effect NSW Cup profile of Elie El-Zakhem including career statistics, season stats, games, tries, goals, tackles and fantasy scores.
www.weststigers.com.au www.weststigers.com.au
Has played quite a lot of reserve grade.
 
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