Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[balmain boy]

[
Doubt Preston will. He was cut from their reserve grade side before finding a home at Dogs.

He wasn't cut, he was poached by Gus

 

[gregjm87]

He wasn't cut, he was poached by Gus

It was reported that they didn't offer him a contract

 

[balmain boy]

I've only seen a few of his game but No. Not a runner and not strong enough defensively to have him and Api on the field together.

I'm Flegg he played a fair bit of lock last year. He was a running forward and think he was our leading try scorer for a while. He's definitely a hooker/lock but is he ready to play that role in first grade? Not yet, but with a full offseason who knows.

 

[clontarfkid]

I hope we don't stitch ourselves up with this guy.

I’ve read media estimates the cap will be $15-16m come 2028 …the broadcast money will increase per year over the seven years of the deal

Cap estimated to be $16 mill in 28...which is 33% more than current cap..and $20 mill in 2030..which is 66% more than current cap
His value today..as a non representative player and arguable whether he ever becomes one ...cld be as much as $800k,particularly to us
Ratcheted up as a percentage of the cap..that makes $800k into $1.040mill in 2028..and $1.280mill in 2030
So his ask is not too far from the mark,and cld be managable with negotiation
..providing of course he excludes ratchet clauses on these $$ for the term of the contract

 

[wstigers11]

Cap estimated to be $16 mill in 28...which is 33% more than current cap..and $20 mill in 2030..which is 66% more than current cap
His value today..as a non representative player and arguable whether he ever becomes one ...cld be as much as $800k,particularly to us
Ratcheted up asa percentage of the cap..that makes $800k into $1.040mill in 2028..and $1.280mill in 2030
So his ask is not too far from the mark,and cld be managable with negotiation
..providing of course he excludes ratchet clauses on these $$ for the term of the contract

Yeah it’s honestly a matter of how the contract will be structured

 

[balmain boy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2087830310738403697

He'd be more useful than having Charlie Murray in our roster

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

But there on a island , no locals other than works , but u will soon get bored if that’s all u got , wife’s and kids will not get to travel with the team , so that means players will be away for lots of time

I agree mate, the lifestyle will not suit everybody apart from the me first brigade only worried about coin.

They have attracted some good players so far but how's their forward pack going.

 

[Tom Shines]

They have attracted some good players so far but how's their forward pack going.

Steve …they can’t even talk to anyone yet mate unless they have a contract clause or permission …I got a feeling come Nov 2 we might see a number of signings

 

[LukeyTuiaki]

This is where Benji is proving he’s not a head coach.

There’s no forward planning, no recognition of what his squad is actually capable of, and no contingent strategy for recruitment. He seems unwilling to learn from the failures of previous campaigns, and repeatedly fails to identify weaknesses until they become impossible to ignore.

A head coach should be anticipating these problems, not reacting to them once it’s already too late.

Could also just be feeding the media the most obvious answer to give them some sort of response. I doubt he is just sharing this now as a revelation he has just happened upon.

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

perhaps latu goes with sam to png
we have signed averillo
make a play for Best for 2028
Averillo can play on wing or 6 if we had too

 

[Vicious]

He wasn't cut, he was poached by Gus

Regularly being dominant on NSW Cup for a couple of years before anyone took any notice of him being a potential NRL player.
This is the same story for many players, yet some bozos still seem to believe NSW Cup or Qld Cup form counts for nothing.

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

Steve …they can’t even talk to anyone yet mate unless they have a contract clause or permission …I got a feeling come Nov 2 we might see a number of signings

Good point mate but haven't some of the riff forwards been given the green light to look around, you would think they are going to suffer some losses considering some of their teammates are already signed.

 

[weststigerman]

A 19 year old referred to as “damaged goods”

Didn’t have that one on my bingo card

 

[Tom Shines]

A 19 year old referred to as “damaged goods”

Didn’t have that one on my bingo card

How would you describe his efforts this year bro ?

He was a pre season “superstar” that opposition teams decided to make an example of early in the season and unfortunately smashed him into oblivion … physically and confidence wise …he hasn’t recovered so far this season and is in NSW Cup this week I believe

 

[boonboon]

How would you describe his efforts this year bro ?

He was a pre season superstar that opposition teams decided to make an example of early in the season and unfortunately smashed him into oblivion … physically and confidence wise …he hasn’t recovered so far this season and is in NSW Cup this week I believe

Id say he is a kid in year one of first grade. Learned a lot and set for a big future

 

[Tom Shines]

Id say he is a kid in year one of first grade. Learned a lot and set for a big future

He has had a baptism of fire ,.that’s for sure ..,hope he can recover because we are paying him first grade money the next couple of years…

He won’t be getting any quicker I don’t think unfortunately ,,.couldn’t run out of sight on a dark night

 

[Vicious]

I'm Flegg he played a fair bit of lock last year. He was a running forward and think he was our leading try scorer for a while. He's definitely a hooker/lock but is he ready to play that role in first grade? Not yet, but with a full offseason who knows.

I assume we are talking about Josese Lanyon?
His ball running is his strength and by far the best part of his game.
He also has good deception when taking the ball to the line as a running 13.
His dummy half service is shaky at best and although he can pull off the occasionally solid hit, he is not known for workrate or making plenty of tackles which is his weakness and area he needs to improve if he is to become a genuine NRL contender.

 

[Tom Shines]

Regularly being dominant on NSW Cup for a couple of years before anyone took any notice of him being a potential NRL player.
This is the same story for many players,

Tristan Hope ?

 

[gregjm87]

No one . They simply underperformed . What do you do ? Evaluate , re-assess and figure out what you did wrong , what metrics you were using that failed you , and move forward .
I don’t understand weeks of bitching and moaning about this . I got it when we lost to the knights and even warriors , the eels was heartbreaking .
You guys need to touch grass , have some time away from the forum . Rejuvenate external of this FML a loop you’re all in .
They trusted guys , the guys didn’t live up to expectations . And it’s Monday morning quarterbacking to say things like “our depth is shit”. No one thought it was shit in march . Not external of the club nor internal , and especially not the forum .
Which leads to one conclusion - the depth all shat the bed. The club leaned on them , and they weren’t up to it . So if everyone said the talent was there . Which we all did . Then why did they shit the bed , was it the depth didn’t suit the systems in place , was it shit coaching , I genuinely don’t believe that has anything to do with lack of effort , pride in your performance etc. it’s not nfl , it’s not that complicated .
The Starford contract was given prior to his injury , so that’s just picking facts to suit your agenda . Apparently he’s alright ?! Medically he’s good to go …. Which means what .. he has the yips ? He’s pushing through and lying about the pain , he’s checked out ….. I dunno but he’s a shell of himself and getting outplayed by 20 year olds in cup so… who knows .
But how do you plan for a guy who in 2025 showed signs of becoming one of the elite right centres , who gets a run of the mill shoulder injury , to then fall off such a cliff , some guys on here who watch cup religiously want him dropped to Massey . There’s something going on there .
I remember clear conversations around him coming good this year and having real potency on both sides of the ruck … and then we didn’t . And it’s been stop gap after stop gap. The salary cap doesn’t allow you to have 3 elite centres . He was on 500-600k . Thats getting up there . Apparently we have one of the better strength and conditioning teams in the comp with Peter Moussa and his team , so , yeah , unless there’s been gross negligence , which I highly doubt it considering Peter Moussa having a rep for being overly cautious… it’s a bit rich to “he’s injured” . He just passed a medical to move to manly . That wouldn’t have happened if what you’re saying is true .
My guess is … he had the yips , and he’s terrified of hurting it again . I know exactly that feeling . It’s hard to overcome. I don’t think personally I ever did if I’m honest . But I’m not an nrl player . And 99% of those players bounce back straight away .

Half the forum thought the depth was shit in March. Just about every issue with the performances of individuals/the team was predicted by many (not all, but many).
Concerns around individuals Bula not finding another level, Toa not being dedicated to rehab, Makasini progression being poorly handled, no experience in backline depth, May being overplayed and losing interest/impact, no edges behind our top 2 choices, Pole not improving defensive issues, Hunt not offering more than 10 quality minutes a game, Bunty being the reserve grader we signed rather than returning to the player he was, limited middle depth outside the best 17 all were voiced preseason and all came to fruition.
Yes the otherside was voiced as well, this is the strongest roster we've had in a decade and people thought that would catapult us into the 8. But all the weaknesses of that roster were identified.
Additionally, Marshall and his assistants were questioned about whether they had the experience to overcome these concerns, whilst others backed him as he appeared to have the support of the players.

 

[Vicious]

Tristan Hope ?

To be honest Tristan Hope was never a big standout during many years playing Qld Cup prior to joining us.
He was always solid, never known standout.
Once joining us I thought he was very good in our badly underperforming NSW Cup team in 2024, thoroughly deserved his NRL debut and o think he was unfairly criticised by our fans for his couple of games for our NRL team earlier this season. He played in teams badly depleted by injuries and everyone was trying tj name out Api would have made a difference. Api is now showing he cannot make a difference when the team around him is being outplayed either.
This being said I think he is roughly 28 years old and I do think it’s time tj move on from him. Although not perfect I think Jayden Brailey is a solid signing as he has very slick service from dummy half, defends quite well with a very good work ethic, has reasonable creativity and a reasonable running game when opportunity present themself. Jared Haywood is ready for NRL from an attacking point of view, but he needs a bit more time to stiffen up his defence, particularly when his team is under the pump.