Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Le Tiger]

Who do we think will be our players in the upcoming internationals?

Richo mentioned 7 likely & I think it will be these with Samuela possibly a smokey.

AUSTRALIA: 0
NEW ZEALAND: 0
ENGLAND: 1 Kai Pearce-Paul
SAMOA: 3 Jarome Luai, Terrell May, Taylan May
TONGA: 0 (Latu Fainu injured, Fonua Pole too many props ahead of him, Samuela maybe has too many ahead of him)
PNG: 0
Cook Islands: 0 (I doubt Reuben Porter stays on our list)
Fiji: 3 Api Koroisau, Tino Turuva, Jahream Bula

I think Pole has desires to represent NZ, won't be picked tho.

Toa played for Tonga when they toured England. Doubt he will be picked but if a few fall over he could be.

Skelton toured with Samoa last year, Hunt has played for Samoa too.

And don't forget Seyfarth for Australia 🤣🤣

Richo mentioned if any players have any niggling injuries or off season surgeries they won't be allowed to play internationals, which could rule a few players out.

 

[Tom Shines]

Papili’i is a bench player now … thats a handy if expensive guy to be bringing on in that position .., compare him with our bench

 

[Tigerwould]

Papili’i is a bench player now … thats a handy if expensive guy to be bringing on in that position .., compare him with our bench

Yes. Papali’i on the bench shows much Penrith saw lack of forwards as a problem for 2025 that needed fixing. We he comes on they dont miss a beat. They needed some like Papali’i to cover loosing players like James Fisher-Harris

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

Oddly I think Stefano & Papali'i this year prove that the Tigers are getting something right.

And it's because both players had good seasons away from the club.

Let's start with both the players. No way Cleary & Bellamy taught them anything 'new'. "Be more involved & committed" isn't something you teach. It's something you buy into. It's, dare I say it, a club culture. What, if anything, it shows me is that Stefano & Papali'i are not 'leaders' as they were expected to be at the Tigers. They don't drive the standards. They follow the standards set by others. They are good players, playing in good teams, and doing well.

So why does this show me that the Tigers are doing the right thing?

Because the whole drive from Richardson & Marshall is about bringing in leadership, setting standards & having players that want to be here. How many times have we heard about Luai & building a club culture? How many times do we hear how Benji is building a culture of 'family first values' etc?

There was definitely some improvement in 2025. I would say that with Api, Luai & a few others that we are building a club culture. Now it's about having the right players, with the right attitudes, in the club.

Stefano & Papali'i have shown that talented players who need to be driven & caught up in a team culture can actually thrive. Not every player succeeds because you count on them being 'leaders'. I think the Tigers figured it out & actually invested in culture defining players. Now it's getting the rest of the squad mix right.

I'll sit down now.

That's why Galvin & TDS were shown the exit stage right, they didn't want to be here, so I agree with the philosophy if you're not committed bugger off so you don't stink up the place.

A few on here were upset at them leaving but there's no point persisting if they think they're better off somewhere else, cut the cord quickly is the best thing all round.

 

[The Chad]

As for recruitment- I'd be keeping Naden if we can. Given the lack of high quality options, I think having a 80-100 game NRL player in the KOE to call on is a good thing. The caveat is that Naden isn't considered a top option. But if he is in the mix of Luke Lualili'i, Makasini, Tu'itupou, Mapapalangi, Saukuru & himself to fill in when we have injuries- he provides some quality depth. You can get 3-5 decent games a year from him. It means our KOE offers 2-3 players with actual NRL experience to cover.

A low end Top 30 or better, T&T contract would provide good value.

I'd almost put Jack Bird in that category too. He's going to be more expensive, sure, but if Jack Bird is in the KOE & available for call up to the NRL in case of injury & suspension- that is quality depth. He has the ability to push for the Top 17 each week- which just makes sure guys in front are keeping their performance up to standard. He also provides so much utlility depth. I'd like Bird playing KOE #13 next season. We are not strapped for money. We don't NEED to move Bird on in order to sign another superstar player.

There aren't any available anyway. 😀

 

[Tigerwould]

That's why Galvin & TDS were shown the exit stage right, they didn't want to be here, so I agree with the philosophy if you're not committed bugger off so you don't stink up the place.

A few on here were upset at them leaving but there's no point persisting if they think they're better off somewhere else, cut the cord quickly is the best thing all round.

Couldn’t agree more. Don’t stand in the way of someone who isn’t 100% buying in. It’s very important to get the next couple of signings right.

 

[Tiger Stripes]

Oddly I think Stefano & Papali'i this year prove that the Tigers are getting something right.

And it's because both players had good seasons away from the club.

Let's start with both the players. No way Cleary & Bellamy taught them anything 'new'. "Be more involved & committed" isn't something you teach. It's something you buy into. It's, dare I say it, a club culture. What, if anything, it shows me is that Stefano & Papali'i are not 'leaders' as they were expected to be at the Tigers. They don't drive the standards. They follow the standards set by others. They are good players, playing in good teams, and doing well.

So why does this show me that the Tigers are doing the right thing?

Because the whole drive from Richardson & Marshall is about bringing in leadership, setting standards & having players that want to be here. How many times have we heard about Luai & building a club culture? How many times do we hear how Benji is building a culture of 'family first values' etc?

There was definitely some improvement in 2025. I would say that with Api, Luai & a few others that we are building a club culture. Now it's about having the right players, with the right attitudes, in the club.

Stefano & Papali'i have shown that talented players who need to be driven & caught up in a team culture can actually thrive. Not every player succeeds because you count on them being 'leaders'. I think the Tigers figured it out & actually invested in culture defining players. Now it's getting the rest of the squad mix right.

I'll sit down now.

You made a lot of good points.
Stef and Papali'i just went stale trying to follow a leader that didn't exist.
It became a mental issue. And though hard to see, it affects their on field performances.
How Api has handled all this over the same period is remarkable.
Must have such a strong character. I can understand why Benji has stuck by him in helping build the culture.
Terrel, Api, Turuva, luai, Douihi, and all the brothers makes for a strong bond.

 

[mtd#2]

only taken him 6 months to finally show something. rather may over him every day of the week.

May + Stefano wouldn't be a bad combination...
We needed a May type of player this year.. now we are screaming for an in-form stefano... hopefully thats where Pole/Sione step up... or someone falls out of a tree

 

[The Chad]

You made a lot of good points.
Stef and Papali'i just went stale trying to follow a leader that didn't exist.
It became a mental issue. And though hard to see, it affects their on field performances.
How Api has handled all this over the same period it is remarkable.
Must have such a strong character. I can understand why Benji has stuck by him in helping build the culture.
Terrel, Api, Turuva, luai, Douihi, and all the brothers makes for a strong bond.

The difference between Api & Stefano/Papali'i is I actually think Api IS a leader.

Stefano & Papali'i were manufactured into a leadership group to keep them invested. They are followers.

Luai, Turuva, Doueihi & Terrell May look to really have rounded out the leadership aspect. I suspect Twal might be a quiet achiever there.

I read that Naden has a really positive influence on some of the younger players too.

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

As for recruitment- I'd be keeping Naden if we can. Given the lack of high quality options, I think having a 80-100 game NRL player in the KOE to call on is a good thing. The caveat is that Naden isn't considered a top option. But if he is in the mix of Luke Lualili'i, Makasini, Tu'itupou, Mapapalangi, Saukuru & himself to fill in when we have injuries- he provides some quality depth. You can get 3-5 decent games a year from him. It means our KOE offers 2-3 players with actual NRL experience to cover.

A low end Top 30 or better, T&T contract would provide good value.

I'd almost put Jack Bird in that category too. He's going to be more expensive, sure, but if Jack Bird is in the KOE & available for call up to the NRL in case of injury & suspension- that is quality depth. He has the ability to push for the Top 17 each week- which just makes sure guys in front are keeping their performance up to standard. He also provides so much utlility depth. I'd like Bird playing KOE #13 next season. We are not strapped for money. We don't NEED to move Bird on in order to sign another superstar player.

There aren't any available anyway. 😀

Sorry mate, hoping the club can move on Bird, the last time I saw vision of him he looked sickly thin, I think he's done.

Like a cat that's eaten too many lizards, give one of the young blokes his spot.

 

[The Chad]

May + Stefano wouldn't be a bad combination...
We needed a May type of player this year.. now we are screaming for an in-form stefano... hopefully thats where Pole/Sione step up... or someone falls out of a tree

Sione is the guy.

 

[The Chad]

Sorry mate, hoping the club can move on Bird, the last time I saw vision of him he looked sickly thin, I think he's done.

Like a cat that's eaten too many lizards, give one of the young blokes his spot.

But have the young players outplayed him?

 

[Tigerwould]

May + Stefano wouldn't be a bad combination...
We needed a May type of player this year.. now we are screaming for an in-form stefano... hopefully thats where Pole/Sione step up... or someone falls out of a tree

We need two middles falling out of a trees. Plus Pole and Sione performing in the rotation

 

[The Chad]

We need two middles falling out of a trees. Plus Pole and Sione performing in the rotation

That would be nice, but I think maybe 1 will do it. As it stands, I expect that Seyfarth, Sukkar, Mav Geyer & Roberts are most likely in KOE with one on the bench in NRL. With Kit in KOE as well. If you add another middle, you are either pushing Sione or Pole into the KOE discussion, or the new addition starts in KOE (is of that level).

This is why I quite like the Jack Hetherington idea. He adds depth & a different style, but won't set the development of Pole & Sione back if they perform.

Forwards look ok at the top:

13 Twal
12 KPP
11 Sam Fainu
10. Sione Fainu
9. Api
8 May

14 Pole
15 Hunt
16 Seyfarth
17 Hooker type (Latu?)

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

But have the young players outplayed him?

Another off season always produces a smokey, plus his form just fell off a cliff longer the season went on until Benji dropped him and then he disappeared, not listed as injured and not selected again.

Gut is telling me he's headed for the door.

 

[liltiger]

believe tyran smith was at concord yesterday , looks after a few players

Was one of my fav players before he
Joined Canberra. Was an all heart player. Wish we could have him back at lock.

 

[The Chad]

Another off season always produces a smokey, plus his form just fell off a cliff longer the season went on until Benji dropped him and then he disappeared, not listed as injured and not selected again.

Gut is telling me he's headed for the door.

I think he was playing injured (no surprise) as the year went on. Someone mentioned seeing him wearing a sternum padding/brace at some point?

I'm not disagreeing necessarily, but maybe that is what Bird is- he offers some quality when fresh (beginning of the season) that we know he cannot sustain as his body gets beat up. But if you can wrench 5-10 quality games out of him, is he not a decent KOE option? (if too expensive, granted- but money isn't really an issue).

I would like our KOE to have a smattering of NRL experience (more than 2-5 games under their belt). If Bird can not pull a Russell Packer & instead compete while in KOE (the way Royce did), I think it helps the development of younger guys & adds depth.

 

[liltiger]

The thing is, if we've got the reported $700-800k in cap room we're not getting Fonua-Blake. Partly because neither he nor anyone remotely comparable to him is available, and second because that's not going to be enough money to sign said player if they were. Fonua-Blake is reported to be on $1m at Cronulla.

Davvy Moale was reported to be on $500k at Souths and presumably he's got a bit more than that out of Manly. Is he enough of a "game changer"? I doubt it.

Meanwhile, a year ago Xavier Willison ($250k) and Corey Jensen ($300k) were on the fringes at Brisbane. TBF I believe we had a crack at Willison and it may just have been Maguire being a vindictive prick that stopped us signing him. After the season he's had he's not going to be leaving any time soon and if he does it'll be for more than $600k. Yet a year ago I'm sure people would have moaned about picking up someone else's rejects or yet another "depth" signing.

Personally I'd rather we made three astute signings like that than blow the budget on someone average like Moale or hold out for a miracle whereby someone like Fonua-Blake becomes available and somehow willing to take unders to come to the Tigers.

More to the point, the reality is that in the roster building cycle we have gone through the phase where we've stripped out everything and have massive flexibility to sign more or less whoever we want. Luai, Koroisau, Bula, May x2, KPP and at least two Fainus are all getting paid decent wedge. If that's not good enough to build a winning side around, I'm afraid we're going to have to wait for some of those contracts to roll off naturally or be prepared to release players we want to keep. From here it's all about value - bringing our own players through and identifying diamonds in the rough. Most clubs, and especially most good clubs, don't make marquee free agent signings every year: I can't think of the last time Penrith or Melbourne did, for instance.

Technically we could sign anyone though. We give them our cap money and any other money they want that we don't have in the cap we can use a 3rd party agreement to top it up, as long as we can find a sponsor willing to pay. Isn't that how the 3rd party system works in theory or have I misunderstood something ?

 

[Vicious]

You made a lot of good points.
Stef and Papali'i just went stale trying to follow a leader that didn't exist.
It became a mental issue. And though hard to see, it affects their on field performances.
How Api has handled all this over the same period it is remarkable.
Must have such a strong character. I can understand why Benji has stuck by him in helping build the culture.
Terrel, Api, Turuva, luai, Douihi, and all the brothers makes for a strong bond.

I don’t think Stef and Papali’i were as bad for us as some think, both walk into our top 13 if we still had them.
However we have a Salary Cap to balance and the figures I have seen mentioned are Stef was being offered 800k per season by us, signed with Storm for 750k.
Papali’i was being paid 650k by us for 2026 and his full contract was bought out by the Panthers.
Not much we could do about retaining Stef as he accepted a lower offer to leave us, however it’s a bit frustrating as he’s exactly the sizeable impact prop that we are looking for to complement the high work rate from Terrell.
Papali’i played a couple of very good games at 13 for us at around the same time it was announced we were releasing him to the Panthers for 2026.
It’s debatable whether Papali’i is value at 650k or not, but again he provides the strong carries and impact that we are currently seeking to make our forward pack more complete and o think it was a mistake to release him while contracted to us for 2026.
Moving forward we absolutely need at least one good quality middle, preferably someone with strong ball carries.
As myself and quite a few others have regularly mentioned, if we could sign Talakai at the right price, I really think he could fill that void for a couple of seasons.
In my opinion that along with the expected improvement of our own young and emerging forwards would make our forward pack highly competitive, but also adding an experienced player who can play tough defensively, but also has ball playing in his repertoire such as Adam Elliott would give us added variety and depth.
That’s for our forwards but the lack of genuine X-Factor and genuine match winning ability in our back 7 is another concern.
Sure we have players who show signs of being this player, but we need to see it on a much more regular basis.

 

[tigertragic]

Melb have a fair amount tied up in their spine + Steph + NAS say $5-$6 mill or half the cap for 6 players and yet have quality depth. Something we are yet to achieve.