Watchful Tigers keen to snare Blair

[hybrid_tiger]

Why are you so concerned with his form this year, when he is in the middle of contract negotiations sorting out his future?

Blair is better than any of our forwards bar Ellis - FACT. And even then he would probably be on par with Gareth. He is a quality, quality player.

are you serious?
a contract year should be your best,especially at his age.
considering we are willing to pay the big bucks i would like something more potent than what he has dished up.
not once every 6 weeks either.
for the big bucks you have to play a huge part every week.
he is not playing anywhere near what we are willing to pay.
and no other team thinks he is worth it either.FACT
rhino has out performed him this year.

on par with ellis?pffft

now if gallen was coming here for 500k,yes i would be excited,because his style is what we need more of.

The fact that people actually believe Heighington is as good as Blair is a joke. Once again, some of our players are so overrated its not funny. Chris is an honest toiler who has been very good this year, but his overall level of performance since he debuted have been very hit and miss. There is a reason he has not played rep football. He is also 28 years old, and turns 29 next January. You do realise he is at the back end of his career, right? I don't think it is criminal that he would be considered a bench player next season. I have never believed he is an 80 minute player and as others have stated he is very one dimensional and has little variery in his game.

I have seen what Blair is capable of. No other team thinks he is worth it? Four other NRL clubs were rumoured to be after him. He is also 25 years old and has his best years ahead of him. He is the best forward off contract by a country mile and there is a good reason we are chasing him. People have whinged for years that we don't sign quality players now we do and there is an uproar because some average players might be leaving. The same average players who have helped us to one semi-final appearance in six seasons since we won the comp.

 

[Spartan117]

Hybrid, you have nailed it mate

I would like to have Heigno see out his contract though

Wasnt there supposed to be an announcement this week

 

[smoking_gun]

lawrence woukd be a walk up start in any team he is well above average, If he was in a dragons manly brisbane or storm jersey he would be a regular in the australia and nsw teams

 

[hybrid_tiger]

I would like to have Heigno see out his contract though

As would I mate. I don't want him gone, but I can't see how it is a crime if he was told he would be a bench player next season, that is perfectly acceptable.

I actually think he would be the perfect bench player. I don't think he ever was an 80 minute player even when he was playing 80 minutes, and I don't think he has enough impact to start in the backrow with the game the way it is at the moment.

 

[Chris]

lawrence woukd be a walk up start in any team he is well above average, If he was in a dragons manly brisbane or storm jersey he would be a regular in the australia and nsw teams

He was a walk up start this year but obviously injury robbed him of that. He was very much in Stuart's plans for Origin and would have been one of the first to be picked.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

I would like to have Heigno see out his contract though

As would I mate. I don't want him gone, but I can't see how it is a crime if he was told he would be a bench player next season, that is perfectly acceptable.

I actually think he would be the perfect bench player. I don't think he ever was an 80 minute player even when he was playing 80 minutes, and I don't think he has enough impact to start in the backrow with the game the way it is at the moment.

I'd be happy with this set up, it would probably get the best out of each player:

8\. Woods
9\. Farah
10\. Galloway
11\. Blair
12\. Ellis
13\. Fulton

14\. Heighington
15\. Dwyer
16./17\. Murdoch Masila/Groat/Begovich

Rhino would offer so much more impact off the bench, Blair & BMM could shift between the prop and second row rotation. Fulton as cover for the backs & could his ball playing skills could be utilised from lock.

 

[smoking_gun]

yeah fulton wont be playing FG at the tigers next year

 

[Tigersmurf]

Do you think Woods is ready to be starting prop? I think it is a little too early. He has done nothing wrong this year, but he had a full season out and is still raw and young. I'd prefer to see him as impact off the bench.

 

[Yossarian]

yeah fulton wont be playing FG at the tigers next year

He will unless there is a massive improvement in our injury run…

 

[bonstonker]

Why are you so concerned with his form this year, when he is in the middle of contract negotiations sorting out his future?

Blair is better than any of our forwards bar Ellis - FACT. And even then he would probably be on par with Gareth. He is a quality, quality player.

are you serious?
a contract year should be your best,especially at his age.
considering we are willing to pay the big bucks i would like something more potent than what he has dished up.
not once every 6 weeks either.
for the big bucks you have to play a huge part every week.
he is not playing anywhere near what we are willing to pay.
and no other team thinks he is worth it either.FACT
rhino has out performed him this year.

on par with ellis?pffft

now if gallen was coming here for 500k,yes i would be excited,because his style is what we need more of.

The fact that people actually believe Heighington is as good as Blair is a joke. Once again, some of our players are so overrated its not funny. Chris is an honest toiler who has been very good this year, but his overall level of performance since he debuted have been very hit and miss. There is a reason he has not played rep football. He is also 28 years old, and turns 29 next January. You do realise he is at the back end of his career, right? I don't think it is criminal that he would be considered a bench player next season. I have never believed he is an 80 minute player and as others have stated he is very one dimensional and has little variery in his game.

I have seen what Blair is capable of. No other team thinks he is worth it? Four other NRL clubs were rumoured to be after him. He is also 25 years old and has his best years ahead of him. He is the best forward off contract by a country mile and there is a good reason we are chasing him. People have whinged for years that we don't sign quality players now we do and there is an uproar because some average players might be leaving. The same average players who have helped us to one semi-final appearance in six seasons since we won the comp.

as i said rhino has played better than him this year.
you say blair is a gun but where is the proof.
if he has the impact as you say,where are the line breaks.where are the large chunks of yardage.
1 line break all year.
regularly makes less than 80 yards a game.
and i'm the one who over rates players. :crazy
oohh that's right stats mean nothing,so we will just say how great he is instead.
you either make line breaks or you don't.when you do,they are recorded.
i see rhinos recorded,where are the ones from blair.
when you compare the salary rhino and blair would get next year,rhino comes out even further in front.
it's plain as day.
\
\
all i care about is recent form.
you think it is fine to tell rhino he could be benched,but it is ok to replace him with someone who performed worse than him .
yep,blair will fit right in at the tigers.

so what if 4 teams were after him.doesn't mean they were willing to pay overs like us.and seeing how quickly they opted out,it is obvious we have paid premium bucks that no one else was willing to.

i don't see how we would ever get our return on investment with blair.
on current form it just can't be justified.

 

[bonstonker]

Do you think Woods is ready to be starting prop? I think it is a little too early. He has done nothing wrong this year, but he had a full season out and is still raw and young. I'd prefer to see him as impact off the bench.

.
even if he was a starter,we have no experience for the bench.
is blair going to go to prop.

surely there has to be a signing for prop.
who is there?
can't expect to go far with kids at prop.
what about when galloway gets injured.

:wtf

 

[tigerbenji]

If we are paying $500,000 its to much, for Blair & all the players we are letting go & no other signings i cant work this out as its dragging on to long. goodbye to Payten, Mckinnon, Fifita, Gibbs, Flannagan, & maybe Daniella & Lui, who replaces these blokes?.

 

[2041]

yep,blair will fit right in at the tigers.

so what if 4 teams were after him.doesn't mean they were willing to pay overs like us.and seeing how quickly they opted out,it is obvious we have paid premium bucks that no one else was willing to.

Don't be ridiculous. 99% of players take the best contract offered - does that mean every single one is being paid overs because no other club offered as much? Do you think Ellis, say, signed for the Tigers because of his lifelong love of the club and despite being offered more money elsewhere in the NRL? Like hell he did.

Try to be rational about it. If you take out the clubs who don't need a player in Blair's position or who have more pressing needs elsewhere in their squads you've already knocked out over half the comp. Then you can remove the ones who couldn't afford to make a competitive bid. That would presumably only leave a handful. Yes, fair enough, it looks like the Tigers were the one who put the highest rating on him given their needs and the state of their cap for next year. But if that wasn't the case we would literally never sign anyone.

Regardless of whether Blair turns out to be a worthwhile signing there is simply no evidence that the Tigers are valuing him much more highly than any other club: we don't know what his deal is, to start with, and we don't know what anyone else was offering him, how long other bidders were involved for or how many other clubs would have liked to have bid but were never in the running.

 

[tigerbenji]

I agree with with bonstoker our young props are just that young, give them another year & bring them through, Blair is a 2nd rower not a prop. We let Gibbs go but are there any other props around to take his place? I dont think so. So are we any better off?.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

as i said rhino has played better than him this year.

Probably based on this year but form I maintain that form temporary, class is permanent.

you say blair is a gun but where is the proof.
if he has the impact as you say,where are the line breaks.where are the large chunks of yardage.
1 line break all year.
regularly makes less than 80 yards a game.
and i'm the one who over rates players. :crazy

Have you only watched him this season? Be honest?

There is a reason he is rated as one of the best forwards in the game.

oohh that's right stats mean nothing,so we will just say how great he is instead.
you either make line breaks or you don't.when you do,they are recorded.
i see rhinos recorded,where are the ones from blair.
when you compare the salary rhino and blair would get next year,rhino comes out even further in front.
it's plain as day.

a) You don't know how much money Blair will be on with us
b) You don't know how much money Heighington is on with us

Am I correct? If not, and you do know for a fact what both of them are getting paid, then feel free to share. Otherwise, all speculation. It would not surprise me in the slightest if Heighington was overpaid, but again, I don't claim to know facts and figures.

all i care about is recent form.
you think it is fine to tell rhino he could be benched,but it is ok to replace him with someone who performed worse than him .
yep,blair will fit right in at the tigers.

Yes I do think its fine, because Blair is a vastly superior player than Heighington in all aspects, and a player with far more strings to his bow. He is bigger, faster, stronger and has a great offload. He is the best forward off contract. He is currently coached by one of the best in the game. He particularly excels at a part of the game we are simply weak at. So yes, I do think it is fine.

And again, the official word so far r.e Heighington is that he has been told he will be a bench player next season, not that he will not be part of the squad.

so what if 4 teams were after him.doesn't mean they were willing to pay overs like us.and seeing how quickly they opted out,it is obvious we have paid premium bucks that no one else was willing to.

i don't see how we would ever get our return on investment with blair.
on current form it just can't be justified.

Again, if you know the facts in regards to who was interested, why/if they pulled out etc. then feel free to share, otherwise its all speculation.

I have an idea: instead of cutting your wrists about any potential losses at this stage, can you at least wait until our 2012 roster is finalised? Who knows who else we may or may not sign.

I think Blair will be a great signing, just as Ellis and Tuqiri were. All quality quality players with proven reputations. I still remember the uproar when we signed Ellis and Tuqiri. People saying that Ellis was unproven in the NRL and that he was not worth the money we gave him. People saying that Tuqiri was not worth the dollars and that he was old and washed up and just coming for the money. And now Blair who is apparently not a better player than Chris Heighington, the same Heighington who is not even a rep player.

 

[2041]

If we are paying $500,000 its to much, for Blair & all the players we are letting go & no other signings i cant work this out as its dragging on to long. goodbye to Payten, Mckinnon, Fifita, Gibbs, Flannagan, & maybe Daniella & Lui, who replaces these blokes?.

Do you really think that the combined contracts of Payten, McKinnon, Fifita, Gibbs, Flanagan, Daniella and Lui for 2012 add up to less than $500,000? If so, and if $500,000 is really what we're paying Blair, then yes, I agree that the club is making a terrible decision. But it's just not true, is it? If all seven of those are leaving then it's really, really obvious that not all their money is going to Blair: some must be for upgraded contracts for retained players or other signings yet to come.

 

[magpiecol]

Why are you so concerned with his form this year, when he is in the middle of contract negotiations sorting out his future?

Blair is better than any of our forwards bar Ellis - FACT. And even then he would probably be on par with Gareth. He is a quality, quality player.

are you serious?
a contract year should be your best,especially at his age.
considering we are willing to pay the big bucks i would like something more potent than what he has dished up.
not once every 6 weeks either.
for the big bucks you have to play a huge part every week.
he is not playing anywhere near what we are willing to pay.
and no other team thinks he is worth it either.FACT
rhino has out performed him this year.

on par with ellis?pffft

now if gallen was coming here for 500k,yes i would be excited,because his style is what we need more of.

The fact that people actually believe Heighington is as good as Blair is a joke. Once again, some of our players are so overrated its not funny. Chris is an honest toiler who has been very good this year, but his overall level of performance since he debuted have been very hit and miss. There is a reason he has not played rep football. He is also 28 years old, and turns 29 next January. You do realise he is at the back end of his career, right? I don't think it is criminal that he would be considered a bench player next season. I have never believed he is an 80 minute player and as others have stated he is very one dimensional and has little variery in his game.

I have seen what Blair is capable of. No other team thinks he is worth it? Four other NRL clubs were rumoured to be after him. He is also 25 years old and has his best years ahead of him. He is the best forward off contract by a country mile and there is a good reason we are chasing him. People have whinged for years that we don't sign quality players now we do and there is an uproar because some average players might be leaving. The same average players who have helped us to one semi-final appearance in six seasons since we won the comp.

as i said rhino has played better than him this year.
you say blair is a gun but where is the proof.
if he has the impact as you say,where are the line breaks.where are the large chunks of yardage.
1 line break all year.
regularly makes less than 80 yards a game.
and i'm the one who over rates players. :crazy
oohh that's right stats mean nothing,so we will just say how great he is instead.
you either make line breaks or you don't.when you do,they are recorded.
i see rhinos recorded,where are the ones from blair.
when you compare the salary rhino and blair would get next year,rhino comes out even further in front.
it's plain as day.
\
\
all i care about is recent form.
you think it is fine to tell rhino he could be benched,but it is ok to replace him with someone who performed worse than him .
yep,blair will fit right in at the tigers.

so what if 4 teams were after him.doesn't mean they were willing to pay overs like us.and seeing how quickly they opted out,it is obvious we have paid premium bucks that no one else was willing to.

i don't see how we would ever get our return on investment with blair.
on current form it just can't be justified.

What a load of crap!!!!

Have you watched the man play? He never misses a tackle (or very rarely), he wraps up the ball so it cannot be offloaded (and he can offload very well). He plays 80 mins. He can play second row, front row or lock. He is an International of standing, (the current Kiwi vice captain) and he is only 25 years old and his penalty count is low. As far as I know he has never missed a game through injury.

So Heino. He is a good club man. Never gives up. Has represented for a couple of City/Country matches. Can play lock or second row. He is worth keeping and would be great off the bench or even starting. But to say that he is a better player than Blair is idiotic.

If the Kiwi's were available for selection in SOO, who do you think the selectors would pick first? Heino or Blair. Even taking into account your dodgy stats, I have a good idea who it would be.

If we get him he will be a great addition to our club.

I can remember when it was known that Ellis was joining us, the hue and cry that went up about an overrated pommy forward coming out here and stopping our juniors from getting a go. How did that work out?

Let's just wait and see. I believe that there will be more than Blair joining us next year.

 

[Chris]

Hard to disagree with you magpiecol. If you put Ellis aside, Heighington has probably been our best and most consistant forward and rightly so. When you line Heighington up with someone like Blair, there really isn't any comparison between the two because Heighington is an above average first grade player but Blair is world class. It really goes to show how far behind we are in class when it comes to our forwards. There have been hundreds of threads in the past where fans have been calling for a world class front rower. Well, he's all but officially ours and people are still screaming the joint down that he's coming here. Some people just enjoy putting this place down. Like I've said before, we could win 10 straight comps and some people would still find something to whinge about.

 

[bonstonker]

as i said rhino has played better than him this year.

Probably based on this year but form I maintain that form temporary, class is permanent.

you say blair is a gun but where is the proof.
if he has the impact as you say,where are the line breaks.where are the large chunks of yardage.
1 line break all year.
regularly makes less than 80 yards a game.
and i'm the one who over rates players. :crazy

Have you only watched him this season? Be honest?

There is a reason he is rated as one of the best forwards in the game.

oohh that's right stats mean nothing,so we will just say how great he is instead.
you either make line breaks or you don't.when you do,they are recorded.
i see rhinos recorded,where are the ones from blair.
when you compare the salary rhino and blair would get next year,rhino comes out even further in front.
it's plain as day.

a) You don't know how much money Blair will be on with us
b) You don't know how much money Heighington is on with us

Am I correct? If not, and you do know for a fact what both of them are getting paid, then feel free to share. Otherwise, all speculation. It would not surprise me in the slightest if Heighington was overpaid, but again, I don't claim to know facts and figures.

all i care about is recent form.
you think it is fine to tell rhino he could be benched,but it is ok to replace him with someone who performed worse than him .
yep,blair will fit right in at the tigers.

Yes I do think its fine, because Blair is a vastly superior player than Heighington in all aspects, and a player with far more strings to his bow. He is bigger, faster, stronger and has a great offload. He is the best forward off contract. He is currently coached by one of the best in the game. He particularly excels at a part of the game we are simply weak at. So yes, I do think it is fine.

And again, the official word so far r.e Heighington is that he has been told he will be a bench player next season, not that he will not be part of the squad.

so what if 4 teams were after him.doesn't mean they were willing to pay overs like us.and seeing how quickly they opted out,it is obvious we have paid premium bucks that no one else was willing to.

i don't see how we would ever get our return on investment with blair.
on current form it just can't be justified.

Again, if you know the facts in regards to who was interested, why/if they pulled out etc. then feel free to share, otherwise its all speculation.

I have an idea: instead of cutting your wrists about any potential losses at this stage, can you at least wait until our 2012 roster is finalised? Who knows who else we may or may not sign.

I think Blair will be a great signing, just as Ellis and Tuqiri were. All quality quality players with proven reputations. I still remember the uproar when we signed Ellis and Tuqiri. People saying that Ellis was unproven in the NRL and that he was not worth the money we gave him. People saying that Tuqiri was not worth the dollars and that he was old and washed up and just coming for the money. And now Blair who is apparently not a better player than Chris Heighington, the same Heighington who is not even a rep player.

come on people i'm going through our history and putting 2 and 2 together.
we are over the cap every year.
we paid big bucks to get galloway here as a kid.
paid big for ohara to come here and then nobody wanted to take on his contract when we wanted to ditch him
paid big for lote to play wing.
had to ship fulton overseas for a year,resign him and try to ship him off again and no takers.

blair came onto the market and the first report was his management wanted 500k a year.
every club has said they can't match our dollars.
going on our history i come to the conclusion we are paying at least 450k.
you really believe it isn't in this vicinity with our track record?

that kind of money requires game changer status.
blair isn't showing that.
i want to know why.
now i did just read an article on blair that probably shows why.
bellamy said since his injury during the anzac week has seen his ankle blow up after every game.

alot earlier in this thread i said i haven't watched alot of blair and i have never seen him play where i have gone wow we need him.
after reading alot here say he is a gun,i thought what is he showing in the games i don't see him.
went to check his stats for this year,and they are disappointing.
the reason why bellamy mentioned his ankle was because his form is down.

nothing added up,but now being reminded of his injury it helps explain the drop off.
one that i do believe is valid

but the way the signing period has gone this year it just screams of a tunnel vision signing.

hope i'm wrong and more signings start to flow and rhino stays of course.

 

[Balmain_Bug]

Info From a Player agent known to me …..

He has been told Apparently Blair has not signed yet.

He is told Wests Tigers are his No.1 choice and that is where he wants to play.

He definately wants $500k. Negotiations with WT have not reached that price.

It is rumoured that that Roosters are keen on him as well and are believed to have said they will beat any WT offer and are releasing forwards for this.

UK offers are similar to NRL offers.

So it looks like it might be a little bit away from a done deal.