Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[happy_tiger]

McCullough to the Dogs for 4 years from 2021.

Didn't he just sign with Newcastle? Or is that just for the remainder of the year?

Dude will be 35 when he finishes at the Dogs. Terrible acquisition IMO.

Newcastle for 2020 ......that was a smart signing ...Dogs for 4 years ....wow dumb move ...his goose looked almost cooked

 

[Tcat]

McCullough to the Dogs for 4 years from 2021.

Didn't he just sign with Newcastle? Or is that just for the remainder of the year?

Dude will be 35 when he finishes at the Dogs. Terrible acquisition IMO.

Newcastle for 2020 ......that was a smart signing ...Dogs for 4 years ....wow dumb move ...his goose looked almost cooked

The dogs are desperate for a specialist hooker tho and I'm not sure if there's much around to choose from either. McCullough definitely won't loose you a game, he has heaps of experience to give to a potential junior and is as tough as nails. I don't think it's that bad signing tbh apart from the 4 years (3 years max).

 

[JD Tiger]

McCullough to the Dogs for 4 years from 2021.

Didn't he just sign with Newcastle? Or is that just for the remainder of the year?

Dude will be 35 when he finishes at the Dogs. Terrible acquisition IMO.

Newcastle for 2020 ......that was a smart signing ...Dogs for 4 years ....wow dumb move ...his goose looked almost cooked

The dogs are desperate for a specialist hooker tho and I'm not sure if there's much around to choose from either. McCullough definitely won't loose you a game, he has heaps of experience to give to a potential junior and is as tough as nails. I don't think it's that bad signing tbh apart from the 4 years (3 years max).

Yes, signing him for 4 years isn't good progression planning. 2 years would have been better. Now if they find a good young upcoming hooker in the next 2 years, that player will leave because McCullough will be blocking them.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

McCullough to the Dogs for 4 years from 2021.

Didn't he just sign with Newcastle? Or is that just for the remainder of the year?

Dude will be 35 when he finishes at the Dogs. Terrible acquisition IMO.

Signed for just this year as cover for Brailey. Signing any player whose 30 or over for 4 years is reckless

 

[Cairnstigers]

Jordan Rankin has returned to Australia after leaving Castleford.... let’s bring the king back home to the mighty tigers. We can drop Nofa and put him on the right wing 😉

Can he tackle

 

[JC99]

How many players do we have signed for 2021?

From the 2020 contracts thread:

Signed Beyond 2020:

Adam Doueihi (2023)
Alex Twal (2022)
Billy Walters (2021)
BJ Leilua (2022)
Corey Thompson (2021)
David Nofoaluma (2021)
Jacob Liddle (2021)
Josh Aloiai (2021)
Josh Reynolds (2021)
Kane Bradley (2021)
Luciano Leilua (2022)
Luke Brooks (2023)
Luke Garner (2022)
Michael Chee-Kam (2021)
Moses Mbye (2022)
Russell Packer (2021)
Shawn Blore (2021)
Thomas Mikaele (2021)
Tommy Talau (2022)
Zane Musgrove (2021)

There will also be some development players coming into the first grade squad as well - Jake Simpkin and Jock Madden for example will be top 30 next season

 

[earl]

i may be in the minority but i am very concerned about Benjis defense, it was poor in the first game and horrific in the second, if he and the Leilua boys are in defence god help us

Hopefully Madge is working on a way to fix that. Too often Benji got isolated in defence and he’s just not got it in him anymore to tackles those big mobile second rowers anymore.

It’s definitely an issue, they need to make sure either one of the Leilua bro’s is always next to him so Benji isn’t making one on one tackles too often, that’s how both dragons and knights got through him.

Easy switch Brooks to the right hand side in defence as in the past 3 seasons has become one of best defensive halves in the comp ask Sam Burghi so he can do the Leilua's tackling..and Mbye and Garner can look after Benji..

Yeah but you can't have a Leilua defending with Benji they are all too slow laterally and get eaten alive by an half decent attacking side ...even the Dragons were killing us for the last 20 ...Canberra made mince meat of us

Sorry ...but if we see the same thing Rd 3 , Madge needs to be asked a lot of questions

Umm my solution has Benji on other side of the field from BJ... Luke will do BJ’s tackling.. Mbye will do Benji’s

Where in my post do I have the Leilua’s and Benji together

So you can't have the Leilua defending together either

Maybe you should paint the picture ...not type it in Braille

That’s not what you said...you can if you have a half that can defend one on one...

I don't think you can have Leiliua's defending with themselves or Benji or Garner , unfortunately when Garner misses tackles they quite often are clean misses

Brooks and Mbye will definitely help , no question , but their is not a way you can separate all 3

We have defensive issues all over the edges.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

McCullough to the Dogs for 4 years from 2021.

Didn't he just sign with Newcastle? Or is that just for the remainder of the year?

Dude will be 35 when he finishes at the Dogs. Terrible acquisition IMO.

Newcastle for 2020 ......that was a smart signing ...Dogs for 4 years ....wow dumb move ...his goose looked almost cooked

The dogs are desperate for a specialist hooker tho and I'm not sure if there's much around to choose from either. McCullough definitely won't loose you a game, he has heaps of experience to give to a potential junior and is as tough as nails. I don't think it's that bad signing tbh apart from the 4 years (3 years max).

Yes, signing him for 4 years isn't good progression planning. 2 years would have been better. Now if they find a good young upcoming hooker in the next 2 years, that player will leave because McCullough will be blocking them.

They must be desperate and have no real options coming through. They'd have been better off biding their time with JMK, would have been a heaps cheaper option until a junior made themselves known or to have a tilt at an established quality hooker elsewhere. Now they've spent what I imagine would be a reasonable amount of coin to attract an average first grader in his twilight for a long contract so they'll lose their talented junior if one comes along, or have to push McCullough out and probably carry freight in the process.

 

[hammertime]

Always depends on how much they paid. If it's minimal, then no problem playing NSW cup in his twilight years... Or just pull a south Sydney and retire him

 

[JC99]

i may be in the minority but i am very concerned about Benjis defense, it was poor in the first game and horrific in the second, if he and the Leilua boys are in defence god help us

Hopefully Madge is working on a way to fix that. Too often Benji got isolated in defence and he’s just not got it in him anymore to tackles those big mobile second rowers anymore.

It’s definitely an issue, they need to make sure either one of the Leilua bro’s is always next to him so Benji isn’t making one on one tackles too often, that’s how both dragons and knights got through him.

Easy switch Brooks to the right hand side in defence as in the past 3 seasons has become one of best defensive halves in the comp ask Sam Burghi so he can do the Leilua's tackling..and Mbye and Garner can look after Benji..

Yeah but you can't have a Leilua defending with Benji they are all too slow laterally and get eaten alive by an half decent attacking side ...even the Dragons were killing us for the last 20 ...Canberra made mince meat of us

Sorry ...but if we see the same thing Rd 3 , Madge needs to be asked a lot of questions

Umm my solution has Benji on other side of the field from BJ... Luke will do BJ’s tackling.. Mbye will do Benji’s

Where in my post do I have the Leilua’s and Benji together

So you can't have the Leilua defending together either

Maybe you should paint the picture ...not type it in Braille

That’s not what you said...you can if you have a half that can defend one on one...

I don't think you can have Leiliua's defending with themselves or Benji or Garner , unfortunately when Garner misses tackles they quite often are clean misses

Brooks and Mbye will definitely help , no question , but their is not a way you can separate all 3

We have defensive issues all over the edges.

Our left side is a lot safer than our right side though

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

Thought dogs may have had another go at Liddle

 

[Newtown]

i may be in the minority but i am very concerned about Benjis defense, it was poor in the first game and horrific in the second, if he and the Leilua boys are in defence god help us

Hopefully Madge is working on a way to fix that. Too often Benji got isolated in defence and he’s just not got it in him anymore to tackles those big mobile second rowers anymore.

It’s definitely an issue, they need to make sure either one of the Leilua bro’s is always next to him so Benji isn’t making one on one tackles too often, that’s how both dragons and knights got through him.

Easy switch Brooks to the right hand side in defence as in the past 3 seasons has become one of best defensive halves in the comp ask Sam Burghi so he can do the Leilua's tackling..and Mbye and Garner can look after Benji..

Yeah but you can't have a Leilua defending with Benji they are all too slow laterally and get eaten alive by an half decent attacking side ...even the Dragons were killing us for the last 20 ...Canberra made mince meat of us

Sorry ...but if we see the same thing Rd 3 , Madge needs to be asked a lot of questions

Umm my solution has Benji on other side of the field from BJ... Luke will do BJ’s tackling.. Mbye will do Benji’s

Where in my post do I have the Leilua’s and Benji together

So you can't have the Leilua defending together either

Maybe you should paint the picture ...not type it in Braille

That’s not what you said...you can if you have a half that can defend one on one...

I don't think you can have Leiliua's defending with themselves or Benji or Garner , unfortunately when Garner misses tackles they quite often are clean misses

Brooks and Mbye will definitely help , no question , but their is not a way you can separate all 3

We have defensive issues all over the edges.

Too bad Momorovski isn't playing with us for 2020.

 

[supercoach]

McCullough to the Dogs for 4 years from 2021.

Didn't he just sign with Newcastle? Or is that just for the remainder of the year?

Dude will be 35 when he finishes at the Dogs. Terrible acquisition IMO.

Newcastle for 2020 ......that was a smart signing ...Dogs for 4 years ....wow dumb move ...his goose looked almost cooked

Ivan Cleary must be advising the Dogs on recruitment

 

[851]

The League Express report stated Marshall "may be forced out of the Tigers due to salary cap issues’’.

Salary cap should have nothing to do with it, he is 35 and should be finishing up at seasons end regardless, how long do we hold on to our old boys, geez, lets move on please

 

[supercoach]

The League Express report stated Marshall "may be forced out of the Tigers due to salary cap issues’’.

Salary cap should have nothing to do with it, he is 35 and should be finishing up at seasons end regardless, how long do we hold on to our old boys, geez, lets move on please

Nothing worse than a player who plays a season or TWO to long

 

[gallagher]

The League Express report stated Marshall "may be forced out of the Tigers due to salary cap issues’’.

Salary cap should have nothing to do with it, he is 35 and should be finishing up at seasons end regardless, how long do we hold on to our old boys, geez, lets move on please

Nothing worse than a player who plays a season or TWO to long

I really hope he hasnt done that. I'd hate to see him bow out like Thurston.

 

[851]

The League Express report stated Marshall "may be forced out of the Tigers due to salary cap issues’’.

Salary cap should have nothing to do with it, he is 35 and should be finishing up at seasons end regardless, how long do we hold on to our old boys, geez, lets move on please

Nothing worse than a player who plays a season or TWO to long

100% mate, seen it done too many times, he has squeezed 3 years out of a 1 year back up contract, that orange is squeezed dry now.

 

[earl]

i may be in the minority but i am very concerned about Benjis defense, it was poor in the first game and horrific in the second, if he and the Leilua boys are in defence god help us

Hopefully Madge is working on a way to fix that. Too often Benji got isolated in defence and he’s just not got it in him anymore to tackles those big mobile second rowers anymore.

It’s definitely an issue, they need to make sure either one of the Leilua bro’s is always next to him so Benji isn’t making one on one tackles too often, that’s how both dragons and knights got through him.

Easy switch Brooks to the right hand side in defence as in the past 3 seasons has become one of best defensive halves in the comp ask Sam Burghi so he can do the Leilua's tackling..and Mbye and Garner can look after Benji..

Yeah but you can't have a Leilua defending with Benji they are all too slow laterally and get eaten alive by an half decent attacking side ...even the Dragons were killing us for the last 20 ...Canberra made mince meat of us

Sorry ...but if we see the same thing Rd 3 , Madge needs to be asked a lot of questions

Umm my solution has Benji on other side of the field from BJ... Luke will do BJ’s tackling.. Mbye will do Benji’s

Where in my post do I have the Leilua’s and Benji together

So you can't have the Leilua defending together either

Maybe you should paint the picture ...not type it in Braille

That’s not what you said...you can if you have a half that can defend one on one...

I don't think you can have Leiliua's defending with themselves or Benji or Garner , unfortunately when Garner misses tackles they quite often are clean misses

Brooks and Mbye will definitely help , no question , but their is not a way you can separate all 3

We have defensive issues all over the edges.

Our left side is a lot safer than our right side though

I agree but Garners defence can be terrible.

 

[earl]

The League Express report stated Marshall "may be forced out of the Tigers due to salary cap issues’’.

Salary cap should have nothing to do with it, he is 35 and should be finishing up at seasons end regardless, how long do we hold on to our old boys, geez, lets move on please

Nothing worse than a player who plays a season or TWO to long

100% mate, seen it done too many times, he has squeezed 3 years out of a 1 year back up contract, that orange is squeezed dry now.

I agree with you if he is done or we can't afford him in the cap. The problem is you've been stating this for a couple of seasons while he has been playing on the whole awesome footy for us.

If he keeps killing it and is prepared to stay on for a reasonable amount we should try and retain him. If he isn't performing or wants too much hopefully they give him a tap on the shoulder. I feel pretty confident that Madge will make the right decision here though.

 

[earl]

i may be in the minority but i am very concerned about Benjis defense, it was poor in the first game and horrific in the second, if he and the Leilua boys are in defence god help us

Hopefully Madge is working on a way to fix that. Too often Benji got isolated in defence and he’s just not got it in him anymore to tackles those big mobile second rowers anymore.

It’s definitely an issue, they need to make sure either one of the Leilua bro’s is always next to him so Benji isn’t making one on one tackles too often, that’s how both dragons and knights got through him.

Easy switch Brooks to the right hand side in defence as in the past 3 seasons has become one of best defensive halves in the comp ask Sam Burghi so he can do the Leilua's tackling..and Mbye and Garner can look after Benji..

Yeah but you can't have a Leilua defending with Benji they are all too slow laterally and get eaten alive by an half decent attacking side ...even the Dragons were killing us for the last 20 ...Canberra made mince meat of us

Sorry ...but if we see the same thing Rd 3 , Madge needs to be asked a lot of questions

Umm my solution has Benji on other side of the field from BJ... Luke will do BJ’s tackling.. Mbye will do Benji’s

Where in my post do I have the Leilua’s and Benji together

So you can't have the Leilua defending together either

Maybe you should paint the picture ...not type it in Braille

That’s not what you said...you can if you have a half that can defend one on one...

I don't think you can have Leiliua's defending with themselves or Benji or Garner , unfortunately when Garner misses tackles they quite often are clean misses

Brooks and Mbye will definitely help , no question , but their is not a way you can separate all 3

We have defensive issues all over the edges.

Too bad Momorovski isn't playing with us for 2020.

I don't think he makes our top team so I don't see it as an issue. I think Momo under the salary cap is a great option but that assumes we don't have a couple of highly paid centres which we do at the moment.

Put it this way - we need Grant a lot more than we need Momo and we have no idea if Grant is going to perform.