Wests Tigers exciting player news this afternoon

[Guest]

Great news! Win-win situation with Simona staying put as expected and McDonnell heading back to the UK. At least now Kurtis Rowe can move back to fullback in State Cup.

 

[Tigermama]

Our recruitment is one of the worst in the comp by a country mile.

Besides finding a diamond in Taupau, and throw in Austin (who left anyway) and Kev, who else are we hanging our hat on?

We signed some Sharks reserve grade half back who plays for Samoa or PNG. Who else? John Sila, that Lolo guy? How many other chestnuts have we nutted out in the last 5 yrs?

Never being linked to marquee players, after a while you become fed up with it. We're in the same stage as Penrith and Parra in our development, yet instead of following their lead and signing a couple marquee players to round out the roster, we as usual, sit on our hands. As romantic as the idea is, the juniors won't do it all by themselves.

And yes, i'm aware we might have cap issues, but that only shows how inept we are even more. We don't have a star studded roster, yet would be the only club in the comp with a roster like ours who are struggling to fit players in. Especially after the amount cash that was freed at the end of last yr. Someone has screwed up monumentally if even after that we still can't fit players in.

So, laugh at Many all you like. but they're still doing a better job at recruiting than us.

Sorry for venting, didn't mean to hijack things. I like Tim and am very happy he's here for 2 more yrs. Just wish we could complement his signing with a couple of outside signings that could really round out our roster.

Hopefully in a few years time our youngsters will be "Marquee" players, and other clubs would wish they could sign them up. 😛ray:

 

[Tigermama]

Our recruitment is one of the worst in the comp by a country mile.

Besides finding a diamond in Taupau, and throw in Austin (who left anyway) and Kev, who else are we hanging our hat on?

We signed some Sharks reserve grade half back who plays for Samoa or PNG. Who else? John Sila, that Lolo guy? How many other chestnuts have we nutted out in the last 5 yrs?

Never being linked to marquee players, after a while you become fed up with it. We're in the same stage as Penrith and Parra in our development, yet instead of following their lead and signing a couple marquee players to round out the roster, we as usual, sit on our hands. As romantic as the idea is, the juniors won't do it all by themselves.

And yes, i'm aware we might have cap issues, but that only shows how inept we are even more. We don't have a star studded roster, yet would be the only club in the comp with a roster like ours who are struggling to fit players in. Especially after the amount cash that was freed at the end of last yr. Someone has screwed up monumentally if even after that we still can't fit players in.

So, laugh at Many all you like. but they're still doing a better job at recruiting than us.

Sorry for venting, didn't mean to hijack things. I like Tim and am very happy he's here for 2 more yrs. Just wish we could complement his signing with a couple of outside signings that could really round out our roster.

I missed something, what exactly do Penrith and Parra have to show for these "marquee" signings? Why should we be following their lead exactly?

Penny Panthers went alright last year, not doing much this year, I am much more impressed by their juniors like Moylan, Waqa Blake, G Jennings, DWZ than… who, Idris? Wallace and Soward? Who are their marquees exactly? Segeyaro is probably their best recent signing and he was second-choice at Cowboys when they picked him up. I think Whare is one of their best talents and he was picked up early from Manly.

And Parra - hasn't Sandow proven his value over the last 3 years, totally reliable. Who else, Watmough? Corey Norman? Sure they've got Foran for next year, but let's judge that decision at the end of 2016\. Probably Will Hopoate is the most solid pickup and I don't rate him above Tedesco particularly. Parra's best performers this year are the astute buys or juniors - Radradra, Nathan Peats, Moeroa, Joseph Paulo, Mannah.

And Manly are doing a good job at recruiting hey? Do you mean Feletio Meteo? Or Willie Mason? Tom Symonds perhaps, or Justin Horo? Surely it's Luke Burgess and Cheyse Blair. No I got it all wrong, it's Dunamis Lui their best signing, 100%. The club that lost Watmough, Glenn Stewart, Foran and DCE in the space of 12 months? C'mon wake up call, Manly are reinvesting in their juniors (Hiku, Gutherson, Trbojevics) same as us.

Well said Jirskyr. :slight_smile:

 

[Tigermama]

Our recruitment is one of the worst in the comp by a country mile.

Besides finding a diamond in Taupau, and throw in Austin (who left anyway) and Kev, who else are we hanging our hat on?

We signed some Sharks reserve grade half back who plays for Samoa or PNG. Who else? John Sila, that Lolo guy? How many other chestnuts have we nutted out in the last 5 yrs?

Never being linked to marquee players, after a while you become fed up with it. We're in the same stage as Penrith and Parra in our development, yet instead of following their lead and signing a couple marquee players to round out the roster, we as usual, sit on our hands. As romantic as the idea is, the juniors won't do it all by themselves.

And yes, i'm aware we might have cap issues, but that only shows how inept we are even more. We don't have a star studded roster, yet would be the only club in the comp with a roster like ours who are struggling to fit players in. Especially after the amount cash that was freed at the end of last yr. Someone has screwed up monumentally if even after that we still can't fit players in.

So, laugh at Many all you like. but they're still doing a better job at recruiting than us.

Sorry for venting, didn't mean to hijack things. I like Tim and am very happy he's here for 2 more yrs. Just wish we could complement his signing with a couple of outside signings that could really round out our roster.

I missed something, what exactly do Penrith and Parra have to show for these "marquee" signings? Why should we be following their lead exactly?

Penny Panthers went alright last year, not doing much this year, I am much more impressed by their juniors like Moylan, Waqa Blake, G Jennings, DWZ than… who, Idris? Wallace and Soward? Who are their marquees exactly? Segeyaro is probably their best recent signing and he was second-choice at Cowboys when they picked him up. I think Whare is one of their best talents and he was picked up early from Manly.

And Parra - hasn't Sandow proven his value over the last 3 years, totally reliable. Who else, Watmough? Corey Norman? Sure they've got Foran for next year, but let's judge that decision at the end of 2016\. Probably Will Hopoate is the most solid pickup and I don't rate him above Tedesco particularly. Parra's best performers this year are the astute buys or juniors - Radradra, Nathan Peats, Moeroa, Joseph Paulo, Mannah.

And Manly are doing a good job at recruiting hey? Do you mean Feletio Meteo? Or Willie Mason? Tom Symonds perhaps, or Justin Horo? Surely it's Luke Burgess and Cheyse Blair. No I got it all wrong, it's Dunamis Lui their best signing, 100%. The club that lost Watmough, Glenn Stewart, Foran and DCE in the space of 12 months? C'mon wake up call, Manly are reinvesting in their juniors (Hiku, Gutherson, Trbojevics) same as us.

Penrith have been on the improve every yr since Cleary took over. Last yr they they made it all the way to the pre-lim final with about 12 first graders sidelined. That's some achievement that deserves a bit more praise than just saying ''they were alright last yr''. They've come out on in leaps and bounds the last 3 or 4 yrs and are a model for any club looking to build from a position like we're in.

As far as Parra go, the results will come.

Manly, well they're the most successful team in the modern game, their results speak for themselves.

We're putting everything we own into our juniors which is very risky. No team has ever won a comp with 17 juniors in the side.

As far as Parra go, i hope the results never come. :angry:

 

[Telltails]

Our recruitment is one of the worst in the comp by a country mile.

Besides finding a diamond in Taupau, and throw in Austin (who left anyway) and Kev, who else are we hanging our hat on?

We signed some Sharks reserve grade half back who plays for Samoa or PNG. Who else? John Sila, that Lolo guy? How many other chestnuts have we nutted out in the last 5 yrs?

Never being linked to marquee players, after a while you become fed up with it. We're in the same stage as Penrith and Parra in our development, yet instead of following their lead and signing a couple marquee players to round out the roster, we as usual, sit on our hands. As romantic as the idea is, the juniors won't do it all by themselves.

And yes, i'm aware we might have cap issues, but that only shows how inept we are even more. We don't have a star studded roster, yet would be the only club in the comp with a roster like ours who are struggling to fit players in. Especially after the amount cash that was freed at the end of last yr. Someone has screwed up monumentally if even after that we still can't fit players in.

So, laugh at Many all you like. but they're still doing a better job at recruiting than us.

Sorry for venting, didn't mean to hijack things. I like Tim and am very happy he's here for 2 more yrs. Just wish we could complement his signing with a couple of outside signings that could really round out our roster.

I missed something, what exactly do Penrith and Parra have to show for these "marquee" signings? Why should we be following their lead exactly?

Penny Panthers went alright last year, not doing much this year, I am much more impressed by their juniors like Moylan, Waqa Blake, G Jennings, DWZ than… who, Idris? Wallace and Soward? Who are their marquees exactly? Segeyaro is probably their best recent signing and he was second-choice at Cowboys when they picked him up. I think Whare is one of their best talents and he was picked up early from Manly.

And Parra - hasn't Sandow proven his value over the last 3 years, totally reliable. Who else, Watmough? Corey Norman? Sure they've got Foran for next year, but let's judge that decision at the end of 2016\. Probably Will Hopoate is the most solid pickup and I don't rate him above Tedesco particularly. Parra's best performers this year are the astute buys or juniors - Radradra, Nathan Peats, Moeroa, Joseph Paulo, Mannah.

And Manly are doing a good job at recruiting hey? Do you mean Feletio Meteo? Or Willie Mason? Tom Symonds perhaps, or Justin Horo? Surely it's Luke Burgess and Cheyse Blair. No I got it all wrong, it's Dunamis Lui their best signing, 100%. The club that lost Watmough, Glenn Stewart, Foran and DCE in the space of 12 months? C'mon wake up call, Manly are reinvesting in their juniors (Hiku, Gutherson, Trbojevics) same as us.

Penrith have been on the improve every yr since Cleary took over. Last yr they they made it all the way to the pre-lim final with about 12 first graders sidelined. That's some achievement that deserves a bit more praise than just saying ''they were alright last yr''. They've come out on in leaps and bounds the last 3 or 4 yrs and are a model for any club looking to build from a position like we're in.

As far as Parra go, the results will come.

Manly, well they're the most successful team in the modern game, their results speak for themselves.

We're putting everything we own into our juniors which is very risky. No team has ever won a comp with 17 juniors in the side.

Shouldnt really matter where your players come from if they are good enough - and if you have a wealth of juniors to choose from ie more than most clubs - even better. Rather than being risky having seventeen juniors in your side - I view it as a club that has a future in the game. Whether that can win them a competition remains to be seen.

 

[newtiger]

Re-signings are better for our club because majority of our talent haven't even hit their prime yet. I hope we also re-sign Ava, Lodge, Lovett, Martin and Santi soon. A contract extension for Tupau would also be epic.

If Richards is fit enough then possibly an extra year for him would be awesome.

With the NRL going to reduce the number of interchange players, the like of Ava, Gallaway, Buchanan, will be gone.
The club will be looking for guys like Lawrence, Lovette, Liolevave in the second row.
Guys that will be able to go for 80mins per game.
I don't think Santi is anywhere near Lovette.
Lodge should be a long term target.

 

[hammertime]

I have plenty of mates who are jealous of how much talent we have coming through. Great to see another resigning. hopefully it keeps happening!

 

[VanillaThunder]

Hopefully we can win a premiership in the next two or three years otherwise I see a Manly-style fiasco happening.
At the moment they're just kids playing footy with their mates, but when they start getting bumped up salaries and push comes to shove, they'll realise it's a business and we might lose some just to keep others, which could ruffle feathers.

_Posted using RoarFEED 4.2.0_

 

[innsaneink]

As far as recruiting goes…we are never in the race when the top shelfers are on the market

Great news for Simona

 

[Tigerdon]

Here's a bit of a list Recruits Vs WTs juniors , over the last five years or so. There's plenty of others, these are the ones that came to minds.

WTs juniors
James Tedesco, Sauaso Sue, Tim Simona, Chris Lawrence, Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks, Aaron Woods, Robbie Farah, Ava, Curtis Sironen, Kyle Lovett,
Bryce Gibbs, John Skandalis, Benji Marshall,

Recruited
Martin Taupau, Matthew Lodge, Jack Buchanan, Kevin Naiqama, Pat Richards,
Adam Blair, Gavet, Blake Austin, Thomson, Gareth Ellis, John Morris, Todd Payton, Keith Galloway, Lote Tuqiri,

_Posted using RoarFEED 4.1.4_

 

[Eye_Of_Da_Tiger]

Congrats Simona that's a reward for good effort and consistency

 

[Moh]

Yup, glad this is sorted :slight_smile:

But ummm… was he named at halfback for Samoa or was that a typo I read?

 

[stevetiger]

Here's a bit of a list Recruits Vs WTs juniors , over the last five years or so. There's plenty of others, these are the ones that came to minds.

WTs juniors
James Tedesco, Sauaso Sue, Tim Simona, Chris Lawrence, Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks, Aaron Woods, Robbie Farah, Ava, Curtis Sironen, Kyle Lovett,
Bryce Gibbs, John Skandalis, Benji Marshall,

Recruited
Martin Taupau, Matthew Lodge, Jack Buchanan, Kevin Naiqama, Pat Richards,
Adam Blair, Gavet, Blake Austin, Thomson, Gareth Ellis, John Morris, Todd Payton, Keith Galloway, Lote Tuqiri,

We seem to okay on both fronts although our juniors look a little better.

I think our recruitment and retention has actually been pretty good overall. Losing Koro was a poor decision. Fifita was in the same boat however for some reason I'm less concerned about him. Blair was a poor buy overall but he did play well for a certain period with us.

 

[jirskyr]

Penrith have been on the improve every yr since Cleary took over. Last yr they they made it all the way to the pre-lim final with about 12 first graders sidelined. That's some achievement that deserves a bit more praise than just saying ''they were alright last yr''. They've come out on in leaps and bounds the last 3 or 4 yrs and are a model for any club looking to build from a position like we're in.

As far as Parra go, the results will come.

Manly, well they're the most successful team in the modern game, their results speak for themselves.

We're putting everything we own into our juniors which is very risky. No team has ever won a comp with 17 juniors in the side.

OK fair enough about Penrith, they are doing well enough, but I put it to you that they are certainly investing heavily in juniors with a few select purchases, same as we have done / are doing.

Parra - well that's a prediction, not a statement of proven performance.

And Manly - certainly they are a very successful side. Not based on marquee signings though! They had a core of high-performing players - Stewarts, Foran, DCE, Ballin, Matai, Watmough - that kept their form for several seasons and stayed mostly on the field. Jamie Lyon is the only top-flight pickup they had.

That is Melbourne's secret to success as well, have a core of elite local talent and supplement with honest purchases. We have 5 or 6 of these astute pickups ourselves - e.g. Richards, Taupau, Lodge, Ava.

I would argue we already have the potential core for a great side, they just need to play to their potential. Maybe they won't reach those hights, or maybe you will find yourself remarking about the Woods / Brooks / Moses / Tedesco / Sironen core group in years to come.

And of teams winning comps with juniors / debutants, well:

Rabbits 2014, non-juniors were Inglis, Tuqiri, Te'o, S Burgess. The Burgess twins are obviously from UK but did not play first-grade for another club. 76% juniors.

Roosters 2013, non-juniors were Jennings, Maloney, JWH, Moa, SBW, Mortimer, LOD. 59% juniors.

Storm 2012, non-juniors were Norrie, Lowrie, Hinchcliffe, Lowe, Fa'aoso. 71% juniors.

Manly 2011, non-juniors were Lyon, Galuvao, Kite, Rodney, T-Rex, Rose. 65% juniors.

Saints 2010, non-juniors were Boyd, Soward, Costigan, Weyman, Scott, Smith, Fien, Saffy. 53% juniors, the lowest so far.

All teams in last 5 years have more than half as juniors, and most are closer to 2/3\. Then you look at the names of the non-juniors… there are only a couple of really marquee buys in there: Inglis certainly, SBW and Jennings, Jamie Lyon, Darius Boyd. I argue S Burgess was an emerging though unproven talent, more an astute buy than a superstar signing.

 

[InBenjiWeTrust]

Penrith have been on the improve every yr since Cleary took over. Last yr they they made it all the way to the pre-lim final with about 12 first graders sidelined. That's some achievement that deserves a bit more praise than just saying ''they were alright last yr''. They've come out on in leaps and bounds the last 3 or 4 yrs and are a model for any club looking to build from a position like we're in.

As far as Parra go, the results will come.

Manly, well they're the most successful team in the modern game, their results speak for themselves.

We're putting everything we own into our juniors which is very risky. No team has ever won a comp with 17 juniors in the side.

OK fair enough about Penrith, they are doing well enough, but I put it to you that they are certainly investing heavily in juniors with a few select purchases, same as we have done / are doing.

Parra - well that's a prediction, not a statement of proven performance.

And Manly - certainly they are a very successful side. Not based on marquee signings though! They had a core of high-performing players - Stewarts, Foran, DCE, Ballin, Matai, Watmough - that kept their form for several seasons and stayed mostly on the field. Jamie Lyon is the only top-flight pickup they had.

That is Melbourne's secret to success as well, have a core of elite local talent and supplement with honest purchases. We have 5 or 6 of these astute pickups ourselves - e.g. Richards, Taupau, Lodge, Ava.

I would argue we already have the potential core for a great side, they just need to play to their potential. Maybe they won't reach those hights, or maybe you will find yourself remarking about the Woods / Brooks / Moses / Tedesco / Sironen core group in years to come.

And of teams winning comps with juniors / debutants, well:

Rabbits 2014, non-juniors were Inglis, Tuqiri, Te'o, S Burgess. The Burgess twins are obviously from UK but did not play first-grade for another club. 76% juniors.

Roosters 2013, non-juniors were Jennings, Maloney, JWH, Moa, SBW, Mortimer, LOD. 59% juniors.

Storm 2012, non-juniors were Norrie, Lowrie, Hinchcliffe, Lowe, Fa'aoso. 71% juniors.

Manly 2011, non-juniors were Lyon, Galuvao, Kite, Rodney, T-Rex, Rose. 65% juniors.

Saints 2010, non-juniors were Boyd, Soward, Costigan, Weyman, Scott, Smith, Fien, Saffy. 53% juniors, the lowest so far.

All teams in last 5 years have more than half as juniors, and most are closer to 2/3\. Then you look at the names of the non-juniors… there are only a couple of really marquee buys in there: Inglis certainly, SBW and Jennings, Jamie Lyon, Darius Boyd. I argue S Burgess was an emerging though unproven talent, more an astute buy than a superstar signing.

Hear, hear

Excellent overview

Go Tigers :sign:

 

[Yossarian]

Yup, glad this is sorted :slight_smile:

But ummm… was he named at halfback for Samoa or was that a typo I read?

Not a typo. He's been named in the halves. Whether he actually plays halfback is debatable.

 

[bonstonker]

would have felt like a step back if he didn't stay with another hole to fill in the roster.
good to see the younger backs are signed for next year and just the veteran left to be signed at the right price.

 

[barra]

Really happy that Tim is staying! He is just starting to come into his own and I also believe the club deserves to reap the benefit of that.

He possesses the footwork required to be a high quality centre. His quickstep-fend is an extremely classy move and I love watching that, it will become his signature.

 

[magpiecol]

Well obviously I am alone here .. I have certainly my own views of what a gun player is . I have no doubt in my mind that this will be a bad signing in the long term.. but we all have our own opinions .

Who then, in your view, would be a "gun" player?

Simona is an International player, he has a very exciting highlight reel, he is very fast, has a great offload to his wingers and is a great defender.

I really do not know what would make some of you people happy.

 

[NT_Tiger]

Quote Magpiecol: "I really do not know what would make some of you people happy."
There seems to be a strong 'grass is greener' element amongst WT fans, always shopping for a 'marquee' player.
I reckon we've got 3 big marquee names on our books; Woods, Farah and 'the liability' Richards. They don't come much better than those three. Following on we have highlights reel favourites, Tedesco, Tapau, Nofoaluma, Naiqama and Simona, any of whom could be considered 'marquee' players of the very near future, so much so we worry about other teams picking them up.
The grass is always greener, moo.