News How the Bulldogs signed Super League star Luke Thompson

bradyk

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3-4 marquees? Great sounds incredible Ray Hasler
Are you being silly? I don't think Thompson is a marquee. I see him being an above average Prop in the NRL but not in the elite category. He'll have to prove himself to be anymore than that.
 

Natboy

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So because it's been reported twice that makes it a fact? Come on mate. Got a lot of time for you but sometimes you've gotta move on from it.
Thanks mate and ditto but these peanuts can’t pick and choose when they use a direct quote from our CEO. Some of them still use quotes from Dean Pay from 3 years ago as though it’s been tattooed on everyone from the club
 

Natboy

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Are you being silly? I don't think Thompson is a marquee. I see him being an above average Prop in the NRL but not in the elite category. He'll have to prove himself to be anymore than that.
Again, your opinion. You can think anything you want and no one really cares
 

bradyk

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Again, your opinion. You can think anything you want and no one really cares
So assuming you think he's a marquee. Yes we're going to need another three to four marquee signings...
 

Natboy

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So assuming you think he's a marquee. Yes we're going to need another three to four marquee signings...
You said 3-4 a minute ago. How many marquee signings would you like? You know we have a salary cap don’t you?
 

bradyk

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You said 3-4 a minute ago. How many marquee signings would you like? You know we have a salary cap don’t you?
Going into 2021 we're going to have 2-3m to spend. Yes that isn't a fact. I've done the Maths using my own numbers and who I thought at the time we'd retain (not saying they're 100% accurate, they're not, but it's good for an estimate). Now we've already spent a rumoured amount of 700k for Thompson. So we have roughly 1.3-2.3m to spend. That fits almost perfectly for another three to four signings which I've been saying for months (if it's towards the lower amount then I'm worrying).
 

Natboy

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Going into 2021 we're going to have 2-3m to spend. Yes that isn't a fact. I've done the Maths using my own numbers and who I thought at the time we'd retain (not saying they're 100% accurate, they're not, but it's good for an estimate). Now we've already spent a rumoured amount of 700k for Thompson. So we have roughly 1.3-2.3m to spend. That fits almost perfectly for another three to four signings which I've been saying for months (if it's towards the lower amount then I'm worrying).
Thanks so much for your guesses. I’ll write them down and let the board know tomorrow
 

Tassie Devil

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Going into 2021 we're going to have 2-3m to spend. Yes that isn't a fact. I've done the Maths using my own numbers and who I thought at the time we'd retain (not saying they're 100% accurate, they're not, but it's good for an estimate). Now we've already spent a rumoured amount of 700k for Thompson. So we have roughly 1.3-2.3m to spend. That fits almost perfectly for another three to four signings which I've been saying for months (if it's towards the lower amount then I'm worrying).
Putting the silly arguments to the side that seems to be going on atm ...

If you're classing Thompson as a 'marquee signing' then I would imagine we'd have space in our cap in 2021 for 3-4 signings at a similar price as him. If you class him as a 'marquee signing'.

I personally don't. This isn't talking down his talent, nor his potential. I honestly think it's a brilliant brilliant piece of business by the club (though I don't know how much we signed him for). But a marquee signing for me would be someone who's already at the top of his game, or is a rising talent with exceptional rare ability that's not often seen on the paddock.

Personally I don't want us to sign marquee players but would much prefer 3-4 more Thompson type signings. Bought into our culture. Fits our values. WANTS to be with us.
 

Chris Harding

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Lynne has taken a leaf from her father's book - something she would have seen when she was growing up. Bullfrog always spoke to the parents, because he knew the impact moving far from home can have on the kids and their parents - particularly the mums.

Win the parents, and you win the contract. They made the newcomers feel part of the family; often putting them up in the Anderson home until they were settled somewhere Bullfrog was satisfied they'd be OK. He'd make sure that their families were kept informed of how their son was training, and how he was being looked after. That was where the legacy of the "family club" originated. Hope we can revive the successes of the 1980s.

On a side note - there's nothing like a quaint old English pub for atmosphere and food. When I lived in Sevenoaks, there were so many great little pubs in the district. Even in the capital, too. The Skinners Arms, near London's St.Pancras, has the best chips, and steak and ale pie, I've had anywhere.
 

flamebouyant

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Was pretty confident that Thompson will go well in NRL, now am even more confident. This lad has the right stuff. Some blokes are gifted with incredible physical ability, but don't quite have the mentality (Idris), drive (Inu), values (too many deadbeats to name), or maturity (Haas, D. Fifita). Thompson has all of that in spades. Nothing in life is certain, but Thompson is low risk as a whole package. I'm tipping this guy is going to go better than Jammer, and one step further too.

The people on here who have been talking up the need for smart recruiting that focuses on potential signings who are quality people, not just quality players, are on the money. Other people who keep insisting on signing players purely based on a few games they've played and how they imagine they'd look in a dogs jersey need to shut up and let the club do its thing. The Thompson signing is open and shut proof that the people in charge have a bit of a clue about what they are doing.
Well said. He will be a good fit for our club and its values. You always hear coaches bang on about players buying in to the culture etc, well this is what it's about, finding not only quality players, but quality players that fit into a culture that you are creating. And the culture that we are trying to build at our club seems to be one with good values, hard work, leadership and togetherness. A player like L.M probably wouldn't have fit into the togetherness aspect. I don't think he is in the dickhead class lime say Curtis Scott, but I think he comes across as a little selfish as both a player and person.

Luke Thompson has been raved about by all and sundry in the super league, and he seems to have all the qualities you want in a forward, and he seems dedicated to doing everything he can to be the best that he can be.
 

flamebouyant

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Yeah I’d love to know if we ever had legitimate interest in him and if they did why they dropped out.
My guess is that genuinely did, but they realized pretty quickly that he wasn't what we needed as far as being the right fit for our culture. And the minute you sell out those core values to buy a certain player, then you undermine all of the good work already done.
As it turned out, the whole LM fiasco was just that. Bullet dodged imo.
Sure enough, LM is an incredible player, but I'd much rather a guy like Ponga for similar money. He would be a better fit in our culture too.
And as far as our outside backs are concerned, I actually think we are doing ok. We have Meaney as a backup fb, and if him and Okunbour can really come along this year then we will have a pretty damn good back 5 imo. We then have Harper, Averilo, Montoya, Crichton and Holland as back up. All of which, bar one, have fg experience. So I'm not too concerned we didnt sign LM.
 

DinkumDog

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Putting the silly arguments to the side that seems to be going on atm ...

If you're classing Thompson as a 'marquee signing' then I would imagine we'd have space in our cap in 2021 for 3-4 signings at a similar price as him. If you class him as a 'marquee signing'.

I personally don't. This isn't talking down his talent, nor his potential. I honestly think it's a brilliant brilliant piece of business by the club (though I don't know how much we signed him for). But a marquee signing for me would be someone who's already at the top of his game, or is a rising talent with exceptional rare ability that's not often seen on the paddock.

Personally I don't want us to sign marquee players but would much prefer 3-4 more Thompson type signings. Bought into our culture. Fits our values. WANTS to be with us.
I don't think that's really the beef though mate. The beef is Brady's insistence that he 'knows' how much Thompson was signed for (he doesn't).

You'll notice how despite his stubbornness that it slowly erodes from 'know' to 'rumoured' to 'none of us know unless we see the contract' to 'I'll have to break into the club to find out'.

So his ongoing nonsense with the numbers he throws out then translates into what is or isn't 'marquee' (a word I personally don’t like in a team sport).

He's already shredded his credibility on here for all to see and I need to take no further part in the debate.
 
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flamebouyant

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Couldn’t agree more mate! I love the way our negotiations are kept low key until the signature is on the dotted line, I know blowing your own trumpet before actually signing a player keeps whinging pessimistic fickle fans happy but can also destabillise the process of negotiations also, so I’m glad Lynne, Andrew and Pay have stuck to their word, stayed professional and kept negotiations secret much to the grumblings of some fans here.
Wasn't there a line in that article saying that Hill gave him a polo shirt, but also said we wouldn't see him in a Bulldogs jersey until the season was over, out of respect for St. Helen's?
 

flamebouyant

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Please, for the love of good, can you just get over yourself @bradyk and let this shit go!!! This is a fucking fantastic signing for our club, and it proves that our recruitment process is alive and kicking. Just be happy for fucks sake, and stop trying to impress your "genius" upon everyone!!!
 

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Jesus 11 pages? I love how Bradyk is waging a one man war against the Kennel Chuck Norris style. But unlike Walker Texas Ranger, he's getting his ass kicked badly..

Some people will never be happy and can't see reason or logic. Don't waste your time on Bradyk Salary Cap Ranger anymore fellas.
 

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Wow! Talk about making an article like a big hit movie.
I love how they embellish the whole Thompson signing. Sure we had to do a bit of convincing but please, Thompson agreed to join us a couple of months ago, we just needed to sort out some finer details until he actually put pen to paper and became official.

I’ve just cut all the bullshit out of that article into a few easy lines to read LOL
 

B-Train

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Wow! Talk about making an article like a big hit movie.
I love how they embellish the whole Thompson signing. Sure we had to do a bit of convincing but please, Thompson agreed to join us a couple of months ago, we just needed to sort out some finer details until he actually put pen to paper and became official.

I’ve just cut all the bullshit out of that article into a few easy lines to read LOL
It was definitely a fluff piece and most clubs would be doing something similar when making most key signings so our club has hardly revolutionised recruitment..

Still, it's nice to see some positivity around the club and us being talked about as an attractive option by the media who usually love to stick the knife in to us..

So I agree this article is over the top but I also think that the club must be doing something right to have repaired our image for such an article to be published in the first place when we're usually the last club such things would be written about...
 

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Making guesses about player salaries is about as useful as guessing what a random strangers favourite food is. If they're eating a pie at the time you may be able to get a semi educated guess. But it's still just guesswork. Not so long ago I'd thought that Brady had matured a bit with his ability to put forward his opinion and move on if others disagreed with it. Fark me was I wrong. For those who are getting frustrated with the same opinion being regurgitated over 11 pages, please just tell him you see his point, disagree with it, but that neither of you are going to change your point of view.

As far as this article goes, it actually reminds me of the fact that Bullfrog used to add some personal touches to the recruitment process. It's good that our club seems willing to do that in a time when Skype and other easily accessible methods exist to carry out discussion from afar. You can't always judge how much it might mean to someone that a little extra effort has been spent to impress them.

I've seen little more than the highlights reels. But the talking heads in super league make a fuss about LT, Bennett and most of his coaches seem to really rate him and he's been consistently in rep teams for long enough to indicate that he's not a flash in the pan.

All facts tell me he'll at least be competitive in the NRL. But it remains to be seen what his ability will cap at. His age range is where forwards usually start getting noticed, so the fact that he was a hotly contested signing makes me a happy fan to have landed his signature.
 
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