Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[crazycat]

But Douehi clearly is,

We do not have a good NR7 answer at the moment.
It is "look at other options", not AD, not Madden.

That said, it's not Luai.
AD/Luai have more command then Madden. However neither is able to steer and both have a weak kicking game.
Madden can kick and direct the team. But he has defensive issues and I think may be getting out of breath.

What we have seen from Madden is a player who's best position is NR7 and we see what we have been missing there! With Luai going we can

Another odd thought:
Brooks was a passive personality. I have no idea why he was put at halfback, but he isn't the guy to guide your team around the field.
Luai too isn't a dominant voice on the field. He can push people harder, he can be halfback sometimes... But hasn't been that consistently.
AD to me seems more involved. If there is an absence of direction, he will take the lead.

Maybe the reason why Brooks/AD never worked is the personality mismatch.

So if were looking for a halfback:
Probably NOT a Junior. Get an experienced player.
A player who would be able to tell AD, Taylan May and others where to go and stand.
..
Then comes the rest of good kicker + organiser + ball skills + defense.

TLDR: were going to either have to be really lucky OR spend up BIG on whomever we sign.

 

[crazycat]

Hope it's Benji

And To'o to PNG 2028

Man I knew a relative of Martin. Seemed like a good family, down to earth types.

I.. I don't know if I would want Martin to come here. Honestly Martin has trained under Ciraldo and it wouldn't surprise me if the Dogs made an offer. Let the two reunite please.

Ofcourse a workaholic would be good, But I think Martin doens't have much left in the tank. Let him go to WA, Dogs or PNG where the big money is. Here is not the place for him.

 

[Johnnycash]

Some say we are still waiting for latus breakout game ..
Maybe not today maybe not tomorrow but one day

 

[Johnnycash]

Just hope it’s not another 10 years like Luke brooks did to tigers

 

[Droppy05]

We do not have a good NR7 answer at the moment.
It is "look at other options", not AD, not Madden.

That said, it's not Luai.
AD/Luai have more command then Madden. However neither is able to steer and both have a weak kicking game.
Madden can kick and direct the team. But he has defensive issues and I think may be getting out of breath.

What we have seen from Madden is a player who's best position is NR7 and we see what we have been missing there! With Luai going we can

Another odd thought:
Brooks was a passive personality. I have no idea why he was put at halfback, but he isn't the guy to guide your team around the field.
Luai too isn't a dominant voice on the field. He can push people harder, he can be halfback sometimes... But hasn't been that consistently.
AD to me seems more involved. If there is an absence of direction, he will take the lead.

Maybe the reason why Brooks/AD never worked is the personality mismatch.

So if were looking for a halfback:
Probably NOT a Junior. Get an experienced player.
A player who would be able to tell AD, Taylan May and others where to go and stand.
..
Then comes the rest of good kicker + organiser + ball skills + defense.

TLDR: were going to either have to be really lucky OR spend up BIG on whomever we sign.

Benji was a great half, why can't he teach these skills to his halves? It can't be that difficult for 1st grade players.

 

[stevied]

Benji was a great half, why can't he teach these skills to his halves? It can't be that difficult for 1st grade players.

Benji was a great player more than he was a great half. A lot of the time his teammates didn't know what he was doing. Often, I'm not sure if he did either.

 

[king_sirro]

I think we should target Katoa as our half. Western Sydney boy coming home. Currently available for 2028, can discuss Nov 1 this year. And then let Latu, Javon and Douhie fight it out for 5/8. Maybe we need to let Latu go to secure Katoa I.e. put Latu’s $500k towards Katoa. I would be happy to do this even though I am one of Latu’s biggest fans. We need a real first grade half back and Katoa would solve our problem.

I think the question may be, do you let Latu go knowing there are clubs that would jump at having all 3 brothers? IMO Latu is an out and out first grader and is capable of playing regular 6, 7 or 13. And capable of being a genuine star. I absolutely dont want to let him go and risk losing all 3. Gee I'd love Katoa though. Imagine Katoa and Latu in the same team? IMO they are the 2 best players in the game at playing deep and straight into the line. Guys like Doueihi, Sam and Bula would have so much space to run through teams. Not to mention Katoa's kicking game.

 

[crazycat]

Sounds like he's sees himself down the pecking order now but he is a western Sydney boy so maybe has an offer from somewhere else.

Personally I'd love him or the other Knights NSW Cup centre Kyle McCarthy to add depth & competition to the right centre & wing position.

Here's an excerpt from Barry Toohey's column yesterday (Newcastle journo) ...

Another obvious contender is 22-year-old NSW Cup centre Kyle McCarthy, who played six NRL games for the Knights in 2024 but hasn't been used since.

The uncertainty surrounding McCarthy is that his future is also clouded.

He has an option in his favour in his contract for next season to remain at the Knights. But he was told last year he is free to leave if he can find a better opportunity at a rival club and that situation has apparently not changed.

That suggests there is little chance of him being offered an extension beyond 2027 if he does opt to stay in Newcastle for a further 12 months.

Do we need a junior center to train up or a First grader?

One of the better ideas we have seen, is targetting experienced NRL center cheapies like Herbert (and forgetable dude from souths).
Herbert is a "depth" signing and he has proven better then Toa. We are ofcourse missing 2x NRL first grade centers.

We have Makasini who people have said is a better Center then wing.

I would actually suggest bypassing some junior centers in order to land a NRL experienced center who is a certain starter. Center is not the spot we want to save cap space on.

 

[Tito Santana]

Man I knew a relative of Martin. Seemed like a good family, down to earth types.

I.. I don't know if I would want Martin to come here. Honestly Martin has trained under Ciraldo and it wouldn't surprise me if the Dogs made an offer. Let the two reunite please.

Ofcourse a workaholic would be good, But I think Martin doens't have much left in the tank. Let him go to WA, Dogs or PNG where the big money is. Here is not the place for him.

I can see him being a Finucan like buy at Cronulla. A great, full hearted awesome player. But yes, the way he plays, I don’t know how long it will last.

I use to love Matt Ballin. The guy was unbreakable. Gets to the Tigers. Played 2 games or something.

 

[jadtiger]

I can see him being a Finucan like buy at Cronulla. A great, full hearted awesome player. But yes, the way he plays, I don’t know how long it will last.

I use to love Matt Ballin. The guy was unbreakable. Gets to the Tigers. Played 2 games or something.

He was lucky to play the few games he did with us,he was broken at the end when he played for Manly and everyone knew it but Taylor was determined to shaft Robbie Farah no matter the cost to our club.If a snake bit Jason Taylor i would be concerned for the health of the snake.