Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

mtd#2 said:
If he isn't appointed the full time CEO, then everything that has been said about the HBG group will be warranted and not even @Vicious could defend his mates and disgruntled insider.
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If Shaun Miekenkamp is not appointed as our permanent CEO it will be much worse than our previous CEO walking out and I will be very unhappy about it.
We still need a Football Manager don’t we ?
Tim Grant would be very good in that role.
It appears Shannon Gallant has stepped up as our recruitment manager and I think he deserves that opportunity.
As for player signings , let’s hope we hear something soon.
In regards to Jahream it actually benefits us to wait until we have played 5-10 games in the 2026 season as we will then have a better idea on his true value.
 
Vicious said:
If Shaun Miekenkamp is not appointed as our permanent CEO it will be much worse than our previous CEO walking out and I will be very unhappy about it.
We still need a Football Manager don’t we ?
Tim Grant would be very good in that role.
It appears Shannon Gallant has stepped up as our recruitment manager and I think he deserves that opportunity.
As for player signings , let’s hope we hear something soon.
In regards to Jahream it actually benefits us to wait until we have played 5-10 games in the 2026 season as we will then have a better idea on his true value.
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It doesn’t work in our favour to wait because every other club will also see his value when we do and will have even less time to find a replacement if we need too. Not to mention the constant “will he, won’t he” all season distracting our players and Bula constantly being asked. Galvin drama all over again. Good clubs get this stuff organised in the off season. Eels re-signed Iongi in the off season with zero fuss or media speculation for example.
 
mtd#2 said:
We could have easily held onto all 3 if we wanted to.

Is this a bad thing? I couldn't care what the make up of our team is from a cultural perspective. There's no DEI quotas in the NRL, so who cares what the split of anglos, lebbos, Kiwis, Samoans is?

If the tigers just so happen to lean in on the Samoan players and their top players see us as a destination club, that's a good thing isn't it?
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No. A team full of those guys doesn’t win.
You do need diversity.
 
mtd#2 said:
Yet it was topped by Ciraldo who derailed the doggies season by replacing a combination that was working (based on overall results, not nit picking stats to suit their narrative)
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I don’t care. He and his decisions mean fist all to me and especially the point I am making.
I remember you were all in on that decision by the way so your reply here has more than a tinge of bias to it.
 
Rock Hopper Steve said:
Barring a horror injury toll If Benji doesn't keep the improvement going this season I'll have to reluctantly agree with you Tuck, I keep saying it, this season is very important for him to show us he's made of the right stuff.
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Already making excuses for him?
This year means nothing. His chance to prove himself has passed.
Now we just have to learn to live with it.
 
mtd#2 said:
We were on track for a top 8 finish until the Galvin drama. It took us a good 8 weeks to recover.

Compare it to what happened with the warriors when Metcalf got injured.

Don't let context get in the way of your narrative though
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I agree to a point although we played some very ordinary football in many games
Tiger-ferret said:
Exactly. If things drag on it’s pretty obvious what Bula’s intentions are
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I couldnt agree more. Yes i understand after the debacle it would of held things up a bit, but if he wanted to stay considering he has the same coach and fellow players around him he would of signed by now. I think we are forgetting the Moses / Benji factor, personally i think hes already got a deal done with Gus , hes just waiting on Bulas final call, all while telling him he needs to leave like hes mate to develop. I hope im wrong, we need Bula but i thinks hes gone.
 
orange&black said:
I can only go on what i have seen and that is that Benji is an extremely capable guy. He has all the attributes to make a great coach - so far the current players seem to back him and respect him (those that don’t have moved on one way or another- which is fine). He has a genuine love for the club and a desire to make it succeed coupled with his own passion and ambition to win. He has more than enough experience and knowledge in the game. There is really no reason that given the right environment in which to operate that he won’t continue to develop as an NRL head coach.
His downfall could be that he is let down by a lack of quality support from his assistant coaching team or from the club’s management and board, especially without someone like Richo there to shield, provide and deflect.
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I agree with most of your points and agree Benji has passion for the club and i would love nothing more than to see Benj get this club finally playing finals football, im just concerned if he cuts it as a 1st grade coach at this time..... What would you do as owners of a club thats collected 3 spoons that then improves one year then goes back to fighting to not get another spoon which is a possibility if a few things dont go our way espicially after handing him a ridiculous extension.
 
Tucker said:
No. A team full of those guys doesn’t win.
You do need diversity.
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The broncos were pretty successful in the 90s when they had a lions share of players in the kangaroos
Tucker said:
I don’t care. He and his decisions mean fist all to me and especially the point I am making.
I remember you were all in on that decision by the way so your reply here has more than a tinge of bias to it.
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The context to this is important. We had 3 consecutive spoons at the time. There was a belief Galvin was going to be the club's long term 6. I was ok with some pain whilst he learnt the ropes and developed in the NRL because I thought it was going to benefit us come 2027 onward. When the little brat bit the hand that fed him, my attitude changed and I was happy to jump on the bandwagon and nit pick his flaws - there was no point backing him if he was gonna leave.
 
Tucker said:
Have you been asleep the past few years?
Papali’i, Galvin, Tallyn all walked away from contracts. The club moves players on under contract as well.
In the NRL, contracts don’t mean a thing.
There’s some movement on at the moment that Polynesians have this incredible culture. All this talk of the rise of Samoa and Tonga and their future successes. I’ve seen two highly regarded players this off season suggest one of them will be in next years World Cup final.
It has been widely suggested that our club will embrace this rise and it will shape our identity moving forward. Benji is onboard. That’s the boys club I’m theorising about.
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In the NRL contracts dont mean much although we have seen the odd standoff, at the WT i dont even know why we bother , we should just stick to a handshake saves the club from total embarrassment in the media . End of 2026 will be very interesting as we cant just excuse another year of finishing towards the bottom despite all the dram weve had to overcome.
 
Tucker said:
Already making excuses for him?
This year means nothing. His chance to prove himself has passed.
Now we just have to learn to live with it.
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What do you mean this year means nothing? And that he can't prove himself?

The guy has had 2 full seasons as an NRL coach with 1 season prior working with Sheens as an attacking coach. How long did it take Ivan to taste success?
 
GNR4LIFE said:
Tucker advocating DEI. Never thought I’d see the day.
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He’s not . He’s advocating more white people . It’s basically the opposite .its the same logic as black men can’t be QBs.
Theres zero evidence that a team full of islanders can’t win the nrl . It’s simply a case of the reason it hasn’t happened before is because this is literally the first generation of islander players developed in key positions . Usually these kids have been moved years prior . Like many want to move Latu right now …Anyone who thinks a spine of luai , Ponga , Katoa and Api couldn’t win a premiership because they’re islanders needs to have a long look in the mirror . Because I’m sure swapping out Ponga for Meaney or Katoa for Sexton would be the missing ingredient …. Stupid .
 
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