Opinion Update on Signings

[wendog33]

Simple plan for middles - straight hard running, get to where you need to be in defense and make your tackles shoulder first.

That's too simple they need to get the whips out lol

 

[D- voice]

2024 season the frontrowers all need psych sessions on agressive running and steamrolling the opposition. That should be a very important part of their training sessions this season. Get them all together daily and replay JFH and Tapine in that last Pacific game and Leota's performance in the GF. They need sharpening up

Absolutely...
I've always believed a prop's position in no place for the fainthearted.
You either are or you are not !!!

 

[wendog33]

Absolutely...
I've always believed a prop's position in no place for the fainthearted.
You either are or you are not !!!

Our props will need to bring it in 2024 or forget any significant improvement.

 

[DogsOfWar1704]

View attachment 91962

Always a Bulldog

Thanks turbo

 

[capt obvious]

Shame our player confirmations are from a cafe owner otherwise we would still be in the dark on him.

 

[diddly]

That's too simple they need to get the whips out lol

Whatever it takes, just be competitive in the middle beyond the first five minutes.

 

[Hound Dog]

It doesn't work like that, if you make a wild suggestion then you have to explain how it would work. Not in the minutest detail but at least the big picture, starting with money.

That's not only how it works, I can if needed provide a thesis or formal proposal but I was of the mindset of providing the idea and someone or people capable can write the fine script, chat with the necessary people and they run through the conditions to implement the idea. I've expressed plenty of idea and thought, I know it's a challenge and has it's doubts, it can easily be waved off but there's a reason this discussion keeps popping up, Australia's population will keep growing, same as the NRL and rugby league, we have to plain ahead before it gets too hard and messy with new franchises, Dolphins is ok to stay as an "Established NRL team" because of the 15 years etc you mentioned while the current Cup teams are promoted relegated. This has been brewing for many years and what I've mentioned has been thought out, surely you can see that conditions can be made to make it work and stuck with.

Regarding money, the NRL survived covid, post covid and has been profiting year on year. Profit 2022 $63m compared to 2021 $43m and will increase 2023 even with investments in assets and competitions ie wnrl. NRL is the largest revenue Rugby form of competition, a modest overall 27th largest league in the world (far from AFL though) but has potential to grow and considerably punches above weight, this is it's potential, the safest way to grow, safest, efficient , and quickest way to introduce teams if need be.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Faamausili. Good signing?

Thoughts?

Spoiler

hahahahahahahahahaha

 

[bradyk]

Faamausili. Good signing?

Thoughts?

I saw someone compare him to Ogden and I think Faamausili's around the same level. He most likely won't do much for us.

 

[Roger the alien]

Faamausili. Good signing?

Thoughts?

NSW cup signing/ squad filler

 

[albatross]

Simple plan for middles - straight hard running, get to where you need to be in defense and make your tackles shoulder first.

Would be a start and probably as good as it gets from our batch of middles. Problem would still be a lack of size, speed and ability. Fonua-Blake's glowing like the Holy Grail right now.

 

[Hound Dog]

Comparisons with Soccer are meaningless. For a starter there are 750 million people in Europe, that's a huge amount of revenue compared to ANZ RL with maybe 15 million people to support it. In comparison Barcelona revenue last season was 1.2 billion Euros, that's 100 times the entire NRL Salary Cap.

I'm not comparing but while data and history is available, we can use case examples to learn and improve on. Barcelona B was started in 1970, Spain population 33.8m. Australia and the NRL have and are in a better situation to that era, logistics and media are more economical now Spain couldn't import many players back then and it helped an era becoming professional.

Think about the timing, the NSW/Qld Cup comp finishes in October and the top 2 Cup Teams would have to be ready to start pre season training in November. Sign 36 players, coaches, high performance staff, admin, etc etc. Impossible.

So be it, give the 2 Cups time to become possibly NRL ready, similar to the franchise idea. Just like other obstacles the NRL deals with, world cups and Olympics, they'll work around it.
NRL will set targets, give rules to transfers and loans, even if it means a team has 6 loanees in their team, so be it, only the die hards will take note, the general fanbase just wants a team to follow or see their team have a chance. Like I said, the quality will trickle to reserve grade, a downside is that players instead of playing in England will have larger contracts in NSW and QLD cups, a positive is that players might have longer careers, higher paid juniors.

I don't know many NSW Cup players that aren't 100% professional, some have Tertiary Study of course, but they mostly train and play 6 days a week.

I see that too, but it's still not comparable to NRL, after a few years of this introduction, teams and contracts will be way more competitive, NRL teams won't find it as hard to identify players while also developing juniors. More competition and tv with the pinnacle being reaching NRL, hence more money.

The NRL giving a promoted Cup Team the usual NRL Grant of ~$1.5m won't help if they don't get it until November. Dolphins took the full 2 years to be ready and they were the most successful Qld Cup Team for over a decade, they had a lot of the personnel and infrastructure already in place. Then they signed players from 1st November 2021 to be ready to start November 2023. You can't start signing NRL players in November to start pre season in the same November.

How many NRL level players going to sign for a Cup Team this year in the HOPE that they finish Top 2 next year and get promoted? My guess would be none, zilch, SFA.

You're using today's or old figures, let me guess, you're content on the NRL minor premiership prize of $100k or whatever it is still. We're already seeing improvements in contracts, buy-outs, loans. The NRL can afford this investment that'll help itself grow internally and externally.

If it's PNG that is on the back of $10m a year for 6 years from us the tax payers.

The 2nd division comp will alone make way more money than 10m a year plus all the improvements that will come to both grades.

 

[billy beane]

2024 season the frontrowers all need psych sessions on agressive running and steamrolling the opposition. That should be a very important part of their training sessions this season. Get them all together daily and replay JFH and Tapine in that last Pacific game and Leota's performance in the GF. They need sharpening up

If we go into next season with our current prop rotation, we will struggle massively no matter what we do in training. In fact, i would back us to finish last ... It's akin to building a house without foundations.

King and Knight will have NO opposition pack remotely worried and provide little impact ... Patolo and Hughes have come nowhere close to proving they are of consistent NRL quality. Also both struggle to play three games in a row before succumbing to injury. Patolo has had numerous HIA problems.

Faamausili (if true) is a signing which worries me as i have been expecting at least two new prop signings of WAY higher standard.

Four days from the resumption of training and our prop stocks are SHOCKING .... I am usually optimistic but WTF is going on?

 

[D- voice]

If we go into next season with our current prop rotation, we will struggle massively no matter what we do in training. In fact, i would back us to finish last ... It's akin to building a house without foundations.

King and Knight will have NO opposition pack remotely worried and provide little impact ... Patolo and Hughes have come nowhere close to proving they are of consistent NRL quality. Also both struggle to play three games in a row before succumbing to injury. Patolo has had numerous HIA problems.

Faamausili (if true) is a signing which worries me as i have been expecting at least two new prop signings of WAY higher standard.

Four days from the resumption of training and our prop stocks are SHOCKING .... I am usually optimistic but WTF is going on?

I believe in miracles

 

[GoTheDoggies]

I saw someone compare him to Ogden and I think Faamausili's around the same level. He most likely won't do much for us.

Ogden and Atoni still shat all over our big money dud props in Crapa & Thompson. If he brings value for money that is all we need.

 

[billy beane]

Ogden and Atoni still shat all over our big money dud props in Crapa & Thompson. If he brings value for money that is all we need.

WE must have some big prop signings lined up for 2025 cause what we currently have are not close to being good enough in my opinion.

 

[Bulldogs09]

Ogden and Atoni still shat all over our big money dud props in Crapa & Thompson. If he brings value for money that is all we need.

You had my agreement until I saw that’s all we need… we need a fuckload more in props. Afb is it

 

[bradyk]

Ogden and Atoni still shat all over our big money dud props in Crapa & Thompson. If he brings value for money that is all we need.

Thompson's 1st proper year here when Atoni and Ogden were here I couldn't really complain about his performances, his last 2 years were atrocious tho. I didn't mind Atoni while he was here, I thought he was one of our best middles (whatever that means considering what we had) before the coach started F'ing with him for whatever reason. We need at least 1 marquee middle and probably another quality forward at least if we want to have a chance of doing anything.

 

[bradyk]

WE must have some big prop signings lined up for 2025 cause what we currently have are not close to being good enough in my opinion.

From the off contract list I'm pretty sure outside of Terrell May it's really grim for 2025. If AFB is available which is likely he's pretty much a must for us.

 

[Bulldogs09]

From the off contract list I'm pretty sure outside of Terrell May it's really grim for 2025. If AFB is available which is likely he's pretty much a must for us.

I agree. Afb is our must for 25.

May is also a must for me.

That’s our future leaders of the pack.