Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Le Tiger]

Reading between the lines of a few Bula rumours doing the rounds:

- Bula manager using Bulldogs to push up Bula's price and a long term deal.

- Whether or not Dogs actually interested, who knows. But Bula would be a big upgrade on Tracey.

- I.Moses doesn't want us to activate Bula's 1 year extension.

- Talk Bula wants a long term deal to stay at the Tigers.

My prediction: Bula resigns before Nov 1st until 2030 or 2031 on a deal that averages out to $900k a year plus TPAs netting him over 1 mill a season.

 

[Vicious]

This is week 1 of the offseason and some of you blokes are in peak form already with some of these takes ….

Gunna be a long one this offseason I think .,,


Why include Turuva as one of your three players ? $450k is chump change for an NRL player….what is Toa on ? Think Turuva gives better value…

Another one of your “opinion as facts “ commentary …Bula hasn’t signed an extension yet that I’m aware of

Out of respect I didn’t even mention To’a, no other club would put him in their NRL team, not sure why we do ?
Turuva tries his guts out so can’t be criticised, but he is a smaller sized winger with very little x-factor and is not a real contender to play any other position, so his 450k contract is pushing the limits.
You are living in fairy land if you honestly believe Bula via Isaac will not be asking us for an upgrade as part of a proposed contract extension, Bula is a good solid player who will continue to improve, but if you are being serious he does not have the explosive speed or quality to be a million dollar per season player.
Do we just overlook that and pay him the money anyway because he’s a nice guy, has been loyal to the club and we don’t have anyone better internally ?
Or do we be more ruthless like the more successful clubs and be active in the player market come Novemberb1 to try any recruit the best quality value for money players that are available ?
The key word here is AVAILABLE as many of our supporters seem to believe an influx of quality middles have been hiding behind a rock somewhere and will magically become available.

 

[Tom Shines]

Out of respect I didn’t even mention To’a, no other club would put him in their NRL team, not sure why we do ?

Turuva $450k is fine though …. geez they were paying Nofo $500k for years weren’t they..

 

[weststigerman]

Fantasy Football you reckon ?
What’s even more crazy is paying players well above the value they are capable of providing , continuing to have a slow, boring and predictable team that is zero chance of challenging for a premiership when there are top quality players available from 2027 that could replace them to provide the quality and x-factor required to become genuine premiership contenders.
When there are no middles available that are any better than what we already have, but there are high quality backs available, do you just sit on your hands and be content to be a team that might scrape into the top 8 if we are lucky, or do you make the hard recruitment and retention decisions to build a team that is capable of blowing any opposition team away ?
If we wanted to we could offer elite outside outside backs such as Farnworth, Nawaqanitawase and Purdue all 1 million dollars each per season and fit them all in our salary cap.

Ask yourself the question are we more chance of winning an NRL Premiership in 2027 or 2028 with our current t backline, or with a backline like this;

1. Jaxon Purdue
2 Mark Nawaqanitwase
3. Herbie Farnworth
4. Taylan May
5. Heanasi Makasini
6. Latu Fainu
7. Adam Doueihi

Replace Doueihi with Cleary and let’s add Payne Haas and Yeo. Maybe get Kikau in the back row and get Reece Walsh for depth.

 

[tigahhh]

Replace Doueihi with Cleary and let’s add Payne Haas and Yeo. Maybe get Kikau in the back row and get Reece Walsh for depth.

🤣🤣🤣

 

[Vicious]

Replace Doueihi with Cleary and let’s add Payne Haas and Yeo. Maybe get Kikau in the back row and get Reece Walsh for depth.

If an NRL club way outside the top 8 does not look at ways to dramatically improve their playing roster, they continue tn finish well outside the top 8.
Is that a better solution ?

 

[Tom Shines]

If an NRL club way outside the top 8 does not look at ways to dramatically improve their playing roster, they continue tn finish well outside the top 8.
Is that a better solution ?

They got three spots left for 2026 …so I don’t see dramatic change happening in respect to the playing roster …so if any improvement is happening it needs to be from the coaches and players already there ..

 

[Vicious]

They got three spots left for 2026 …so I don’t see dramatic change happening in respect to the playing roster …so if any improvement is happening it needs to be from the coaches and players already there ..

Correct that we don’t have the capacity to change much for 2026.
2027 is a different story and recruitment for 2027 starts on November 1 which is not far away.
Would you prefer that Wests Tigers as a club sits on its hands and waits until all the top quality players have been snapped up by other clubs, or would you prefer we throw our hat in the ring to try and be proactive ?

 

[tigahhh]

realistically we just need middles

 

[weststigerman]

If an NRL club way outside the top 8 does not look at ways to dramatically improve their playing roster, they continue tn finish well outside the top 8.
Is that a better solution ?

The club is gradually improving its roster which is working much better than the panic buys of previous years. Back row depth has been sorted and I’m sure Richo will find us a middle in the off season.

Fantasy signings are exactly that.

 

[Vicious]

N

realistically we just need middles

News flash, there are next to no middles available and unless we are offering Payne Haas 1.6 million per season, the vast majority of middles becoming available are not going to dramatically improve us.
With Terrell May, Sione Fainu, Fonua Pole and Alex Twal, we have 4 solid NRL middles. I’d guess we are looking tn recruit one more solid NRL middles for 2026 if possible and that will no doubt help, but it will not be a player who is going to play a huge role in us jumping 10 spots on the NRL ladder.

 

[Vicious]

The club is gradually improving its roster which is working much better than the panic buys of previous years. Back row depth has been sorted and I’m sure Richo will find us a middle in the off season.

Fantasy signings are exactly that.

The bacs are not even close to being good enough to win us a premiership.
If you are happy with the club you support continually being happy with mediocrity then I wish you well, but doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, you know what they say about that.

 

[weststigerman]

The bacs are not even close to being good enough to win us a premiership.
If you are happy with the club you support continually being happy with mediocrity then I wish you well, but doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, you know what they say about that.

I think you need to watch more footy. Most of the games we lost had little to do with the outside backs.

Go have a look what Canberra did to go from 9th to 1st. Spoiler: they didn’t go out an sign any $1M outside backs.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

if Bula does ask for 1 million, the club should say No

Fullback is the easiest position to replace

I'm sure a deal will be done but money aside, we look pedestrian in the backs without Bula. Not only is it his pace but also his ball playing as a second 5/8 that makes him such a fine player.

 

[ShanghaiCharlie]

At the

The bacs are not even close to being good enough to win us a premiership.
If you are happy with the club you support continually being happy with mediocrity then I wish you well, but doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, you know what they say about that.

At the start of the season in 2005 the backline wasn’t good enough to win a premiership either. We are a dominant middle and a quality lock, as well as a couple of juniors jumping out of the woodwork like a Makasini and a boom second rower like Ethan Roberts, from competing for a title. Richo knows how to build a premiership squad. Good things are coming.

 

[tigahhh]

The bacs are not even close to being good enough to win us a premiership.
If you are happy with the club you support continually being happy with mediocrity then I wish you well, but doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, you know what they say about that.

some of our backs have won a premiership 🤣

 

[Vicious]

some of our backs have won a premiership 🤣

In a team containing star players where they could simply fill a role.
We don’t have that same luxury.

 

[tigahhh]

In a team containing star players where they could simply fill a role.
We don’t have that same luxury.

bit harsh.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

Turuva $450k is fine though …. geez they were paying Nofo $500k for years weren’t they..

He is also 23 and a consistent first grader already.
For his price he is more than fine.
We probably have at least 20 other players in our squad who offer less and probably 10 others that earn more.

Why his name came up in a salary cap convo beats me.

 

[Ermo]

What tells you he would not be an elite fullback or centre ?
He is a supreme athlete with the size, explosive speed, athleticism and skill to trouble any opposition, I’m sorry to say but Bula can only dream of being in that class of player.
We have certainly become accustomed to being satisfied with mediocrity as Wests Tigers fans.

Seriously mate, go and have a lie down