Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

Tiger_claws said:
I don’t see Woods making it in the Nrl. I think he is massively overrated.
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Did you see the highlights of his one and only NSW Cup appearance this season?
He looked a class above.
He has explosive speed off the mark, does everything at full throttle and plays tough and physical for a smaller man.
IF he can overcome his constant injuries, he will be a high quality NRL player no ifs and buts about it.
 
Tucker said:
I agree.
If Latu cannot get his body right, he has to go. Same goes for Taylan May. We can’t keep carrying these injury prone players.
If Bula has another year like he did this season, he has got to go.
Terrell May - stand up and own the forward leader role. Run straight and hard…offloads are optional.
Doueihi must be a ball player at 6 and use his outside men. Anything else and he can go.
I can’t see Api making it past 2027. Brailey and the kid need to be prepared properly.
Makasini had an absolute shitshow of a year. His stupid salary means he is also in the firing line.
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Well said Tucker!
Also bring in better assistant coaches to get our skill level up to speed, defence structures need to be sorted and players made accountable for their performances.
Let’s not get carried away with ageism!!
Cody Walker has been brilliant recently and turns 37 in January. Sign players that can do the job and want to play for us, it’s not rocket science.
 
Demps said:
Seb Kris knocked us back before when Madge was coach.

Hes a handy player, imo

I think our squad is building but also agree with Tucker, we need some more genuine heat.
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@Demps did you see a player you have been suggesting for quite some time, Wilson De Courcey just signed with the Broncos which I assume would be a top 30 deal.
Being only 20 years old, big and fast, he will likely be high up on the Broncos depth chart and play plenty of NRL over the next few years.

We need to make getting Sebastian Kris a priority in my opinion and I think we will land him if we do.
 
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BirchgroveTiger said:
Well said Tucker!
Also bring in better assistant coaches to get our skill level up to speed, defence structures need to be sorted and players made accountable for their performances.
Let’s not get carried away with ageism!!
Cody Walker has been brilliant recently and turns 37 in January. Sign players that can do the job and want to play for us, it’s not rocket science.
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Yes, I think we still need to make some hard assessment of signed players- whether to keep or move on.
 
One of the hard truths we may need to accept….a truth that doesn’t sit well with most and is counter to what the club has tried to build…Is that certain cultured players on the average, are not self motivating enough to work for a club that doesn’t drive standards nor punish non compliance to those standards.
Guys who dominate lower grades due to their genetic gifts rather than their hard work and talent are not who you can trust to get us out of the basement of this competition.
 
Vicious said:
Did you see the highlights of his one and only NSW Cup appearance this season?
He looked a class above.
He has explosive speed off the mark, does everything at full throttle and plays tough and physical for a smaller man.
IF he can overcome his constant injuries, he will be a high quality NRL player no ifs and buts about it.
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No he won’t. Watched him plenty of times. Against any decent teams he goes to water
 
GNR4LIFE said:
I know people hate him, and they are totally justified. But we are screwed if AD leaves. I know that’s not a popular opinion, and I’d get it if we had a replacement, but we don’t. And if we do, it’s going to be a fringe first grader like O’Sullivan. Andrews/Latu pairing isn’t the answer. Andrews has played one game and Latu, don’t even get me started. AD is a necessity at this stage.
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Use Doueihi as a running 5/8 but he has to learn when it's on to pass early when the opportunity presents itself, not keep holding onto the ball into a hog dead end.

Use anyone else in the organising 7 role he hasn't got the brain for it, hell, the Easter bunny could organise the team better.
 
Vicious said:
Did you see the highlights of his one and only NSW Cup appearance this season?
He looked a class above.
He has explosive speed off the mark, does everything at full throttle and plays tough and physical for a smaller man.
IF he can overcome his constant injuries, he will be a high quality NRL player no ifs and buts about it.
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With young halves generally, we expect too much too soon. He needs time to mature and get used to the demands of the NRL.
 
BirchgroveTiger said:
Well said Tucker!
Also bring in better assistant coaches to get our skill level up to speed, defence structures need to be sorted and players made accountable for their performances.
Let’s not get carried away with ageism!!
Cody Walker has been brilliant recently and turns 37 in January. Sign players that can do the job and want to play for us, it’s not rocket science.
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If only it was that easy. Who exactly aspires to play for West's Tigers atm and what have we achieved as a club to deserve quality players to want to come? We still play a home game at the oppositions home ground by choice.
I hear names thrown around on here all the time about who we need and can guarantee that 99% of them would have us in the bottom of their club most desired list unless we pay ridiculous money.
 
Rock Hopper Steve said:
Use Doueihi as a running 5/8 but he has to learn when it's on to pass early when the opportunity presents itself, not keep holding onto the ball into a hog dead end.

Use anyone else in the organising 7 role he hasn't got the brain for it, hell, the Easter bunny could organise the team better.
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Doueihi can score a try, especially when running in the opponents 20 metre area he is especially difficult to contain. He also can score a length of the field try which most of our team cannot except for Bula. He has a place in our backline, the coaching team just need to determine in which position. I believe in the centres.
 
Telltails said:
If only it was that easy. Who exactly aspires to play for West's Tigers atm and what have we achieved as a club to deserve quality players to want to come? We still play a home game at the oppositions home ground by choice.
I hear names thrown around on here all the time about who we need and can guarantee that 99% of them would have us in the bottom of their club most desired list unless we pay ridiculous money.
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Yea it’s not like players are lining up to come here lol
 
Vicious said:
Part 1
Our likely starting 17 for 2027 at full strength;

1. Bula
2. Turuva
3. Averillo
4. Taylan May
5. Makasini
6. Doueihi
7. Latu Fainu
8. Terrell May
9. Korisau
10. Pole
11. Pearce-Paul
12. Samuela Fainu
13. Twal

14. Brailey
15. Sione Fainu
16. Seyfarth
17. Hunt

** Is that strong enough to be a top 8 team and beat the best teams in the NRL?
** I would say there is a chance that is a top 8 team at full strength, but there is still a big question mark surrounding some of these players being at or near their best for anywhere close to a full season and that is if they stay mainly injury free.
** So realistically our only hope is building strong enough depth so barely any of the above listed players are irreplaceable if not playing up to standard or injured.
** Being this close to the 2027 season there is obviously not much available in way of potential signings and doing basic guesstimates of each players salary factoring in likely upgrades to some players we re-signed this season and others such as Samuela Fainu who we are hoping to re-sign, there is no way possible we have enough space in our 2027 Salary Cap to sign anyone on big money (Above 500k) even if someone of interest suddenly becomes available.
** So our only chance is looking to make a few shrewd signings out of who is still available including some players supposedly being allowed to leave despite being contracted by their current clubs.
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Strong enough to be a top 8? Maybe, just. Beat the best teams in the NRL? No, not if they are on their game at least.

There is enough talent there at their current ability to be competitive more often than not. I would like one more better than average middle forward.

Despite how this season went, I'm fine with edge depth. Sukkar and Roberts can do a job and Seyfarth not the worst option either. It's not real common to lose both edges at once, particularly for long stints. I think you could count on one hand the teams who would remain competitive if it were to happen to them. If we truly need someone get a bloke capable of shifting between edge and middle. I question if Knights would consider releasing Thomas Can't. He did resign long term with them but if they truly want to keep Friz it opens a spot and he has fallen down their depth charts.

We need a couple more middles. One of them to be genuine first grade quality as well. Not just for depth but that is one obvious weakness of the best 17. Our middles at best might hold their own, but I can't ever see them winning a contest.

Centre depth the other area of concern. Sukuru he has a long way to go to not be a spot defender. Makasini not yet knows defensive reads. Both need a lot of improvement to be relied upon. Herbert has made big improvements but I don't fully trust him as next up yet. Shifting Turuva in wouldn't be the worst if the next wingers up were more reliable physically. He is a weak defender himself and I wouldn't trust him alongside the young wingers taking his place.

Haven't been following ressies or contract situations to really throw names out but my priority order would be:
Starting Middle forward.
Fringe first grade capable centre.
Fringe first grade utility forward.
Up and coming middle with high end potential.

I still don't trust Averillo has fixed his defence or that Bula will become the fullback we need (and he often showed promise to be) but we're locked into them and won't be finding better.

Reality one more middle, natural progression from some younger players or a diamond in the rough like Schuster explodes and a little luck I don't think we're without hope of the 8.
 
pawsandclaws1 said:
Doueihi can score a try, especially when running in the opponents 20 metre area he is especially difficult to contain. He also can score a length of the field try which most of our team cannot except for Bula. He has a place in our backline, the coaching team just need to determine in which position. I believe in the centres.
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No opposition here paws I have seen him play decent games at centre, if he was to work on his defence there it could work but it would take some convincing, remember he sees himself as a half and nowhere else.

We found that out with his petulant recent behaviour, maybe it's time he's given the ultimatum and told to play where it suits the team or his position will be left right out.
 
Rock Hopper Steve said:
No opposition here paws I have seen him play decent games at centre, if he was to work on his defence there it could work but it would take some convincing, remember he sees himself as a half and nowhere else.

We found that out with his petulant recent behaviour, maybe it's time he's given the ultimatum and told to play where it suits the team or his position will be left right out.
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Good post. With Averillo, May, Doueihi and Makasini (a year more experienced) we have decent centre depth noting Doueihi and Averillo can also play other positions. Doueihi wears his heart on his sleeve which I am sure Marshall knows.
 
Rock Hopper Steve said:
No opposition here paws I have seen him play decent games at centre, if he was to work on his defence there it could work but it would take some convincing, remember he sees himself as a half and nowhere else.

We found that out with his petulant recent behaviour, maybe it's time he's given the ultimatum and told to play where it suits the team or his position will be left right out.
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Shouldn't have been a surprise. We found it out in 2022
 
Rock Hopper Steve said:
Use Doueihi as a running 5/8 but he has to learn when it's on to pass early when the opportunity presents itself, not keep holding onto the ball into a hog dead end.

Use anyone else in the organising 7 role he hasn't got the brain for it, hell, the Easter bunny could organise the team better.
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I am hoping we won't have to worry about that RHS. Putting the hog a little wider won't stop the starving of our outside backs. Look how much better they went when he was gone.
 
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