pawsandclaws1
Well-known member
Sky reporting Arthur Laundy and his family have purchased 9 radio for $56m.
Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion
- Thread starter MacDougall
- Start date
To be honest, at this point in time, would rather have Cooper Bai.
The kid is special and only going to get better.
weststigers
Well-known member
He wasn't fantastic for Fiji. Seemed timid against average opposition.
Hopefully he was just cruising in the off season trying to avoid injury.
I’ve been saying for over 12 months that Bula via his management will be expecting to be paid a lot more than what we would expect to pay for him.
A million dollars per season is a big investment and you need to be certain that player has superstar qualities.
As I’ve also said previously the recent HBG shannanigans has now backed the club into a corner as if we lose Bula on top of that, the uproar from a large portion of our fans would cause big damage to the Wests Tigers brand, therefore we are virtually forced to pay him what he is asking for.
I acknowledge that even if we re-sign him at approximately 1 million per season before the 2026 season starts it’s an each way bet as he could hopefully commence the 2026 in scintillating career best form and the 1 million per season then starts to look like money well spent. But if he shows no improvement on previous seasons the 1 million per season then becomes around 300k per season too much.
My opinion has always been he is a talented player, but nowhere near a 1 million dollar per season player.
But geez I hope I’m wrong and the upcoming 2026 season will reveal the answer.
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weststigers
Well-known member
Say for a moment the damage HBG had already done is 50% to the brand.
Another 50% due to Bula would technically only be 25% damage from the starting point. The damage is done if you can do basic maths.
We are but a share that has lost it's value from $100 in the first market panic. It's a softer landing from here, but still headed to zero.
If we make the top 8 and have a successful season in 2026, most of the damage done will be forgotten.
Success in 2026 is crucial.
Rock Hopper Steve
Well-known member
There won't be anyone to blame if the purps that caused all the trouble get turfed out by W.A. members, we're all praying that happens and soon.
weststigers
Well-known member
You could almost copy and paste this to start every season couldn't you?
balmain boy
Well-known member
1. He's not a proven half
2. He's incredibly injury prone. One injury away from possible retirement.
balmain boy
Well-known member
Sione was man of the match when he played.
Sam for suspended for intimidating an opponent at the hotel after the match.
balmain boy
Well-known member
But how much are we overpaying Bula, is the question...
Surely not more than 900k
balmain boy
Well-known member
What is 9 radio?? Never heard of it
Sunnycoast_tiger
Well-known member
part of Nine Entertainment
The sale, which includes 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278 and 4BH,
GNR4LIFE
Well-known member
The damage will be forgotten when we become a consistent top 8 team.
HUNT 101
Well-known member
If Bulla is killing it and we are winning games and scoring points ,defending the line etc, it isn't paying overs it's setting up a successful team.
When you reach certain maturity you prefer to listen to AM radio even just the ads than all the " cool " music you use to listen when you were younger.
That or smooth FM.
How's the club doing post richardson general consensus???
Jolls
Well-known member
I personally don't believe anything that is said in the media as it is all about inflaming a situation so we click on the headlines. Shaun seems to be playing cards from the Richo deck - no discussions and any leaks the deal is off the table.
We all enter into and walk away from contracts every day. It is not that difficult - if something is priced higher than we are willing to pay we walk away. Pepsi Max at a servo is a classic example - at $5.70 a bottle I walk away every time, but at $4 in the local shop I will buy it. Contracting for anything is not much different just on a bigger scale.
The smarts of contracting is in incentivising the contract to the benefit of both parties. For example in the Constuction game I would do a profit split with trades on bigger jobs if the job came in early. If the job came in early I had already allowed a % for wages etc. So now I am not paying that so a win for me. It is a win for the trade as he isn't paying wages for the job as it has finished early and he can get paid. But the bigger bonus for me is the bonus applied to the contract if I bring it in early - so bonus on bonus - and a happy client because they move in on time.
Now we simply need to shift the incentivised contracting to the NRL. If we link ratchet clauses to peformance metrics and/or results the players are incentivised to perform to receive the bonus. Them wanting the bonus also affects their team mates as they are pushing them too. It can't be overdone or it becomes detrimental.
What we don't hear in any of the scuttlbut and BS put out by the media is how the contracts are structured until they start to fall apart. Stefano for example; however, in our case I think we got the better end of the stick letting him walk that has allowed us to recruit to what we have at present (not a proven success but heading in the right direction).
Our CEO and recruitment team have been around the buoy a few times. I'm sure they know a thing or two about contracting to the benefit of all parties. They know exactly what tactics Moses and the like use and will have a game plan for it.
Personally I view the Bula situation as a good thing. We are clearly negotiating and if expereinced heads are in the room all parties will walk away with something of benefit. If there are get out clauses negotiated in for Bula what have we negotiated into the contract to our benefit - we surely aren't going to simply give up and handover the keys to the Salary Cap - SM is too smart and experienced for that!
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Probably read Kade7 post
