Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Canadian Club]

Jeez he's 20 years old and had 14 games. He's looked ok actually.

I feel people here interpret being a 'development club' as us almost fully loaded with gun local kids that get off to perfect starts that we then keep every single one for their whole careers. Like we were supposed to just plonk all those SG ball Magpies in our starting side and off we go. Anything less and the idea is debunked.

We should be getting good value and depth from our juniors, not just instant match winning talent. You need to be getting your Beau Ryans and Dean Collises as much as your Chris Lawrences. Tim Moltzen wasn't a sure thing the minute he came on the scene. It was a good few seasons before he eventually got the starting fullback spot. (from Wade Mckinnon - jeez). Maybe Heath is more the in the Shannon Gallant isle but even that quality of player can play its role, and in any case it's way to early to tell.

But you need to invest those 30-40 games over a few seasons.

Yep, its crazy the expectations our fans have and the unrealistic expectations they have on young players, especially guys 21 and under.

95% of NRL players don't hit the ground running and most of the ones that do are older or the exception to the rule.

Most of our fans would say our best player is Terrell May and he wasn't playing regular first grade until he was 24-25 years old. He was in our reserve grade team at 21 and wasn't even close to looking like a first grade player and even quit the game.

Our best junior in the last 15 years and best example of hitting the ground running was Tedesco. But even Tedesco didn't start playing first grade until he was 20 (played 1 game when he was 19 and got injured) and even then, he came through on the wing and didn't look anything like what he did from 2014 onwards.

 

[Tiger_Yoshi]

Bula news this week.....??????

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

Bula news this week.....??????

another 48 hours lol

 

[Tiger_Yoshi]

another 48 hours lol

This one may go to 72hrs.....

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

This one may go to 72hrs.....

Unfortunately guys this could go to mid-May when the option expires, get your fingers to work on your calculator, sorry if I popped the balloon.

 

[Go_You_Good_Things]

let's be realistic, he's not going to move to St George. they're in the exact same spot as us realistically, arguably even behind. some elite forward prospects + Keaon going there makes them intriguing, but I don't think their premiership window opens for another 3-4 years. Canterbury is the worry. always has been.

this won't be resolved for a few months yet. Isaac will be sitting back waiting to see how HBG-gate affects the playing group. if it results in poor performances then he's as good as gone.

Genuine question . . . How would you know what affect "HBG-gate" has on any group of poor performances ? Especially considering we have had decades of such " poor performances ".
How do you tell that this year's poor performances are caused by this or that in particular ?

 

[batboy]

Are you Shaw I think he was named in a game straight after he came back from his chest injury

I’m not Shaw, but I am Sure.

As sure as a quick internet check will let me be…

 

[jrtiger]

Genuine question . . . How would you know what affect "HBG-gate" has on any group of poor performances ? Especially considering we have had decades of such " poor performances ".
How do you tell that this year's poor performances are caused by this or that in particular ?

it's a good question.

I think that while progress isn't always linear, under Richardson the entire club was on the up. onfield we went from 17th to 13th and were in touching distance of the playoffs up until a couple of weeks of the regular season.

looking to 2026 from an objective and rational point of view, we should improve again. there is genuine depth built into the roster, everyone (including Bula) wants to be here, and with the exception of KPP, the starting 13 won't change, meaning that the combos should already be built.

with all of that in mind, from my perspective if progress stagnates, then you can be sure as shit that HBG-gate affected the Football Department.

 

[Odessa]

its a public forum, open to all , Nothing wrong with shooting the breeze .
Right thread wrong thread.We are all just specks of dust in the grand scheme of things

We are dust and s

I’m not Shaw, but I am Sure.

As sure as a quick internet check will let me be…

As long as you're Shaw and sure and Shaw

Ha ha ha 🤣 hilarious

 

[clontarfkid]

He's definitely had his moments. He looks best when he just puts his head down and runs. As many on here have already said, would love to see him get some training and reps in as a backup 9. He'd make an ideal 14 if his defence can be brought up to scratch.

Cant catch a high ball,so fullback out of the question.
Poor defender,so 9 wont work
Hes either a half or five eight,but the inn is very full
Hes best to move on and restart elsewhere

 

[Vicious]

Cant catch a high ball,so fullback out of the question.
Poor defender,so 9 wont work
Hes either a half or five eight,but the inn is very full
Hes best to move on and restart elsewhere

Tell us what you really think ?
Not too many 19 year olds play NRL, I wouldn’t be writing him off just yet.

 

[clontarfkid]

Luke for sure.

Fans are way too critical of Luke. He’s still only 19 years old, most players don’t even debut by 19.

Even though he wasn’t a standout he did manage 5 tries in 9 games.

He has been moved between centre and wing even though he came through the grades as a fullback.

He’s one that just needs time to develop. He was exceptional in Cup last year when playing fullback and looked above and beyond NRL and fringe NrL players.

While Kit may still become a solid NRL player, his body type and motor limit his ceiling. The best he will be is a high impact bench forward for 30mins a game, like Royce at the Sharks. He also went between Cup, Massey and Flegg last year whereas Luke was consistently in cup and FG

Didnt see any of his games at FB,but if he was that impressive we wld have kept him as we may likely need a fb next year

 

[gregjm87]

so he can't play any nrl ?

Not on his current contract

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

Didnt see any of his games at FB,but if he was that impressive we wld have kept him as we may likely need a fb next year

Would not surprise if Tino Tavana becomes the NSW Cup fullback this season. He's more advanced in experience & development than Attard and the closest thing as a like-for-like to Bula the club has. I maintain high hopes for this kid!

 

[gregjm87]

it's a good question.

I think that while progress isn't always linear, under Richardson the entire club was on the up. onfield we went from 17th to 13th and were in touching distance of the playoffs up until a couple of weeks of the regular season.

looking to 2026 from an objective and rational point of view, we should improve again. there is genuine depth built into the roster, everyone (including Bula) wants to be here, and with the exception of KPP, the starting 13 won't change, meaning that the combos should already be built.

with all of that in mind, from my perspective if progress stagnates, then you can be sure as shit that HBG-gate affected the Football Department.

I don't think you are wrong but I do think this is an optimistic view. Yes, we improved but from such a low base and with an influx of talent improvement was a given.
We finished 13th but given the injuries at Souths and Dragons it's hard for me to say we were better than them.
We were in touching distance of the 8 but we were equally in touching distance of the spoon late in the season.
Yes, everyone could improve due to established combinations and natural progression of young players. It could stagnate as well particularly as we have seen many young players struggle to kick on here. Meaning;
We could continue up the ladder or we could get over taken by those below having better injury runs or new coaches seeing improvments in Titans and Knights.
I really am unsure where to place expectations this year. And if we are/were truly on the rise. I won't believe it until I see it this year and if it doesn't happen I can't put it all on the board, even if I think they have undoubtedly played a role.

 

[king_sirro]

I don't think you are wrong but I do think this is an optimistic view. Yes, we improved but from such a low base and with an influx of talent improvement was a given.
We finished 13th but given the injuries at Souths and Dragons it's hard for me to say we were better than them.
We were in touching distance of the 8 but we were equally in touching distance of the spoon late in the season.
Yes, everyone could improve due to established combinations and natural progression of young players. It could stagnate as well particularly as we have seen many young players struggle to kick on here. Meaning;
We could continue up the ladder or we could get over taken by those below having better injury runs or new coaches seeing improvments in Titans and Knights.
I really am unsure where to place expectations this year. And if we are/were truly on the rise. I won't believe it until I see it this year and if it doesn't happen I can't put it all on the board, even if I think they have undoubtedly played a role.

I agree with all of this.

 

[gregjm87]

I agree with all of this.

Thanks. I don't mean it to be negative and as I concluded I'm not saying we won't improve. Just not yet convinced.

 

[jrtiger]

I don't think you are wrong but I do think this is an optimistic view. Yes, we improved but from such a low base and with an influx of talent improvement was a given.
We finished 13th but given the injuries at Souths and Dragons it's hard for me to say we were better than them.
We were in touching distance of the 8 but we were equally in touching distance of the spoon late in the season.
Yes, everyone could improve due to established combinations and natural progression of young players. It could stagnate as well particularly as we have seen many young players struggle to kick on here. Meaning;
We could continue up the ladder or we could get over taken by those below having better injury runs or new coaches seeing improvments in Titans and Knights.
I really am unsure where to place expectations this year. And if we are/were truly on the rise. I won't believe it until I see it this year and if it doesn't happen I can't put it all on the board, even if I think they have undoubtedly played a role.

I don't think it's necessarily optimistic. beyond the issues at board level, I don't think we should be going backwards. there's quality and cohesion in the 17 and depth underneath. the coaching staff haven't changed – meaning structures will remain – and Galvin is gone, which Marshall even admitted was a distraction.

there'll always be injuries and downturns in form for different sides, but again, looking at it objectively, we should improve regardless of what's happening around us. if we don't I think a lot of that is to do with Richardson's absence and the instability at board level.

even looking at those sides you mention you can look at it in one way (injuries, new coaches), but there is another way to dissect it. Newcastle and the Gold Coast will take ages to come good with new philosophies. Bennett looks to be running out of magic dust and they've taken a punt on a lot of polarising players. St George's spine is by far the worst in the comp.

for mine (and it's simply my opinion), we should be much better than those four sides.

 

[gregjm87]

I don't think it's necessarily optimistic. beyond the issues at board level, I don't think we should be going backwards. there's quality and cohesion in the 17 and depth underneath. the coaching staff haven't changed – meaning structures will remain – and Galvin is gone, which Marshall even admitted was a distraction.

there'll always be injuries and downturns in form for different sides, but again, looking at it objectively, we should improve regardless of what's happening around us. if we don't I think a lot of that is to do with Richardson's absence and the instability at board level.

even looking at those sides you mention you can look at it in one way (injuries, new coaches), but there is another way to dissect it. Newcastle and the Gold Coast will take ages to come good with new philosophies. Bennett looks to be running out of magic dust and they've taken a punt on a lot of polarising players. St George's spine is by far the worst in the comp.

for mine (and it's simply my opinion), we should be much better than those four sides.

I think we're very likely to improve our footy for the reasons you mentioned. But I'm not convinced that improves results as I see potentially bigger improvements in those around us.
I'd say there is genuine reasons for all the lower ranked teams to improve. Some will improve a little, some will improve a lot (we could be either). That difference will be reflected on the ladder.

 

[Wezt]

Soni Luke was available this whole time and he just signed with the Cowboys

I guess they’re okay with Hope off the bench