Which 4 -5 players would make us a serious contender ?

B-Train

Kennel Immortal
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Messages
32,591
Reaction score
48,171
01. Stephen Crighton
02. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
03. Will Hopoate
04. Kotoni Staggs
05. Josh Addo-Carr
06. Jake Avarillo
07. Brandon Wakeham
08. Dylan Napa
09. Joe Lovodua
10. Luke Thompson
11. Sitili Tupouniua
12. Corey Harawira-Neara
13. Josh Jackson

14. Connor Watson
15. Renouf To'omaga
16. Thomas Flegler
17. Liam Martin
We have similar thinking in regards to potential targets. Watson is another one to consider for sure. I thought Staggs had already re-signed though?

What makes you think that CHN will be back at the club though? I'd love if that were true as we don't deserve for him to sign with someone else but I'm not getting my hopes up.
 

bradyk

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
2 x NF H2H Champ
NF Top Scorer
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Messages
15,740
Reaction score
18,930
Thompson

Nick Cotric/JAC (both if can afford it)
Friend (Mahoney long shot, Harry Grant would of been sweet)
Milford/Fifita (Milford = keep RFM, or possibly sign Jamil Hopoate, Fifita = keep Foran)

1. DWZ
2. Meaney (JAC)
3. +Cotric
4. W. Hopoate
5. Reimis
6. +Milford (Foran)
7. Wakeham
8. +Thompson
9. +Friend
10. Napa
11. +J. Hopoate (Fifita, RFM)
12. Jackson
13. Elliott

14. JMK
15. To'omaga
16. Britt
17. Smith

Something like that. That's the best I think we can do with players that are off contract or have stated they're going to break contract.

I personally favour the Fifita route but I think he's going to be too expensive (upwards of 1.3m). As long as it's a combination of these players I'm not too fussed.
 
Last edited:

CrittaMagic69

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
Gilded
SC H2H Champion
2 x SC Draft Champ
Joined
Nov 15, 2013
Messages
72,470
Reaction score
77,716
Yeh I agree with you. I never saw DWZ as a fullback. Like I said several times in the Past. There was a reason he never cemented a spot in the 1 at Penrith. Lacks the fines and game understanding. Great ball runner. But I’ll have him on the wing.

And my thoughts on Lewis aren’t hidden. Kid has no ball playing ability at all. Silly he was the Consensus pick by the club to start in the 7. Will give Frawley a run as the worst 7 we have had in recent time.
I honestly don't know wtf is going on with our recruitment, it's like we're just going down the safe route to avoid a wooden spoon while trying to luck out with a few signings.

DWZ is the perfect example, like you, I and others have mentioned, he clearly struggles with a lot of aspects of fullback play yet we've offered him overs without going crazy and are just being hopeful of him suddenly developing aspects of his game that were just never there, same goes for Lewis.

The potential JAC signing is also concerning for me, we've moved Smith to centre who is clearly not a centre to try an accomadate the potential signing of JAC. Yes JAC is a great winger, but for us I just don't see how this move offers all that much more to us.

Thompson is another I'm going cold over...haven't seen enough of him to go all in on an opinion either way but from what I can tell so far he doesn't look to be the dominant prop forward that we need...yes he is a great athlete with massive wraps but I can't help but be concerned that we've bought another player that isn't suited to the role we need them to execute.

Anyway that's my main point here, we look to struggle to identify what roles are lacking in the squad and going out and actively recruiting players that can fill that role. Is that the fault of recruitment or tactical nous of the coach and his staff? Or are we flat out going to blame the cap...I personally won't cop the cap excuse as there's been times where we could've made do with what we had on minimum wage yet went out and recruited someone else on more money that could've been better invested into a key recruit rather than a bit part player with minimal growth in them.
 

GA45

Kennel Addict
Joined
Apr 28, 2017
Messages
6,372
Reaction score
7,504
Anyway that's my main point here, we look to struggle to identify what roles are lacking in the squad and going out and actively recruiting players that can fill that role. Is that the fault of recruitment or tactical nous of the coach and his staff? Or are we flat out going to blame the cap...I personally won't cop the cap excuse as there's been times where we could've made do with what we had on minimum wage yet went out and recruited someone else on more money that could've been better invested into a key recruit rather than a bit part player with minimal growth in them.
How do you know these players are on more money ? Is that your opinion or have you seen the books?
 

SPEARTAKVIDREFS

Kennel Addict
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
6,802
Reaction score
8,406
Some great observations from the OP and some not so popular hard truths in regards to player performances and others playing out of position.
2 things -
No way Fifita is leaving Brisbane, zero chance. Dont know why people keep bringing it up.
If Roosters didnt want LM and Bennett cant get him firing, cant see Pay instilling an egoless work ethic for whats best for our team.
His physique round 1 is all you need to look at to see how dedicated he is to his profession.
 

piggy

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 30, 2005
Messages
3,200
Reaction score
2,366
Our recruitment has got to be one of the worst of all teams...i cannot fukin believe that some people want Foran re signed.....is that how desperate we have become....I couldnt care if he was prepared to sign for 500k....he is as fragile as glass....he has offered us no value for money....we need to target Fifita....who cares if he says he wants to stay in Brisbane...offer him 1.2m a year for 5 years....he will be worth every cent...he is someone we could build a team around....but the truth is we have lost our ability to attract marquee players....we have all this money to spend but what are we going to do with it.....
 

bradyk

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
2 x NF H2H Champ
NF Top Scorer
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Messages
15,740
Reaction score
18,930
Our recruitment has got to be one of the worst of all teams...i cannot fukin believe that some people want Foran re signed.....is that how desperate we have become....I couldnt care if he was prepared to sign for 500k....he is as fragile as glass....he has offered us no value for money....we need to target Fifita....who cares if he says he wants to stay in Brisbane...offer him 1.2m a year for 5 years....he will be worth every cent...he is someone we could build a team around....but the truth is we have lost our ability to attract marquee players....we have all this money to spend but what are we going to do with it.....
Foran for 400k for one to two years (mainly because there is nothing on the market bar Milford) or Fifita for 1.3m for three years. It's a little more complicated then just the player.

We really don't want to offer players over three years. That means we can't re-negotiate his contract for five years when he's on heavy overs. That hinders the rest of our squad and means we can't strengthen other positions for five years. If we want to ultimately win a premiership in the next five years I don't think we can afford to do that.
 

Turvey Chip and Chase

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
1,492
Reaction score
2,809
I don’t know who plays where or who switches positions... There is variation and flexibility there with Meaney Hoppa Smith and DWZ, but the guys I would target are:

Brandon Smith
Staggs
Cotric
JAC
Fifita
Fledger

I’d try to get a Foran for cheap. Reason being we do NOT have a halves leader. I’m as pissed as anyone over his injuries, but you can’t deny when he is on the field we ARE a better team. If he still demands big money then he is not worth the risk. Both Wakeham and Averillo are good future prospects, they both need to have a leader next to them to flourish in these early years.

Thompson coming will be good.

I’d also try to get James Graham back to the club and into a coaching / leadership role. He’d be great for up and coming talent. Let me make this clear though, NOT as a player. His playing days are over.

whilst I don’t like Flanagan generally as a bloke, I reckon he’d shape us up AND attract a player who was shy of committing to us without a top coach.

I think there is room for Lewis on the bench. Teach him a bit of hooker. He’s played centre and half. He certainly can tackle. I reckon he could play spells in the back row if needed.

Napa, To’Omoga, Ogden, RFM are ample for front row rotation with Thompson.

we NEED a Fifita for back row now. Jackson is still quality. CHN is a clear strike power loss. Stimpson needs to show improvement but I think he has it in him. Elliot decent club man. Same with Britt. Decent, not a gun.

This season is a wipe anyway. Short comp, will be a * year. Time to experiment with what we have. Throw Harper in the centres for a dozen games see if he’s up to it. Could be a cheap solution right under our noses too.

my 2 cents worth anyway....
 
Last edited:

CrittaMagic69

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
Gilded
SC H2H Champion
2 x SC Draft Champ
Joined
Nov 15, 2013
Messages
72,470
Reaction score
77,716
How do you know these players are on more money ? Is that your opinion or have you seen the books?
I don't know, but I fully believe they're on more based on numerous bits of information that are available to us.
 

bradyk

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
2 x NF H2H Champ
NF Top Scorer
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Messages
15,740
Reaction score
18,930
I don’t know who plays where or who switches positions... There is variation and flexibility there with Meaney Hoppa Smith and DWZ, but the guys I would target are:

Brandon Smith
Staggs
Cotric
JAC
Fifita
Fledger

I’d try to get a Foran for cheap. Reason being we do NOT have a halves leader. I’m as pissed as anyone over his injuries, but you can’t deny when he is on the field we ARE a better team. If he still demands big money then he is not worth the risk. Both Wakeham and Averillo are good future prospects, they both need to have a leader next to them to flourish in these early years.

Thompson coming will be good.

I’d also try to get James Graham back to the club and into a coaching / leadership role. He’d be great for up and coming talent. Let me make this clear though, NOT as a player. His playing days are over.

whilst I don’t like Flanagan generally as a bloke, I reckon he’d shape us up AND attract a player who was shy of committing to us without a top coach.

I think there is room for Lewis on the bench. Teach him a bit of hooker. He’s played centre and half. He certainly can tackle. I reckon he could play spells in the back row if needed.

Napa, To’Omoga, Ogden, RFM are ample for front row rotation with Thompson.

we NEED a Fifita for back row now. Jackson is still quality. CHN is a clear strike power loss. Stimpson needs to show improvement but I think he has it in him. Elliot decent club man. Same with Britt. Decent, not a gun.

This season is a wipe anyway. Short comp, will be a * year. Time to experiment with what we have. Throw Harper in the centres for a dozen games see if he’s up to it. Could be a cheap solution right under our noses too.

my 2 cents worth anyway....
I like it.

Only problem is Smith (2023), Staggs (2022) and Flegler (2022) aren't off contract and there is nothing out there suggesting they will want to move early (two of them recently re-signed).

Flegler would be a good pick up for 2022 but he's already on a big contract at the Broncos (rumoured 600k) which suggests he's going to be given a bigger role shortly and he's apart of their future moving forward.

I agree Flanagan is the coach we should be going after just looking at coaching ability. Unless we could get Bellamy, Flanagan is the best option.
 

Turvey Chip and Chase

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
1,492
Reaction score
2,809
I like it. Only problem is Smith (2023), Staggs (2022) and Flegler (2022) aren't off contract and there is nothing out there suggesting they will want to move early (two of them recently re-signed). Flegler would be a good pick up for 2022 but he's already on a big contract at the Broncos (rumoured 600k) which suggests he's going to be given a bigger role shortly and he's apart of their future moving forward.
And that’s the problem.... there is slim pickings out there. I’d throw enough at Smith to get him thinking especially if the Storm see Grant as their future hooker. If they see Smith as the future, then throw cash at Grant.
 

SPEARTAKVIDREFS

Kennel Addict
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
6,802
Reaction score
8,406
Our recruitment has got to be one of the worst of all teams...i cannot fukin believe that some people want Foran re signed.....is that how desperate we have become....I couldnt care if he was prepared to sign for 500k....he is as fragile as glass....he has offered us no value for money....we need to target Fifita....who cares if he says he wants to stay in Brisbane...offer him 1.2m a year for 5 years....he will be worth every cent...he is someone we could build a team around....but the truth is we have lost our ability to attract marquee players....we have all this money to spend but what are we going to do with it.....
Think the thing with Fifita is his young and the Broncos are treated like rock stars in Brisbane. Publicly and media wise. Not just Brisbane but the state. For these reasons I just cant believe that Broncos players dont receive other benefits or under the table incentives aswell. Than you have his mum/family etc on top of that.
 

CrittaMagic69

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
Gilded
SC H2H Champion
2 x SC Draft Champ
Joined
Nov 15, 2013
Messages
72,470
Reaction score
77,716
Think the thing with Fifita is his young and the Broncos are treated like rock stars in Brisbane. Publicly and media wise. Not just Brisbane but the state. For these reasons I just cant believe that Broncos players dont receive other benefits or under the table incentives aswell. Than you have his mum/family etc on top of that.
Under the table incentives? :|:|:|
 

Turvey Chip and Chase

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
1,492
Reaction score
2,809
Think the thing with Fifita is his young and the Broncos are treated like rock stars in Brisbane. Publicly and media wise. Not just Brisbane but the state. For these reasons I just cant believe that Broncos players dont receive other benefits or under the table incentives aswell. Than you have his mum/family etc on top of that.
I know. I don’t see him coming to us. We’d need at least 1.2 a season to even turn his head. Looking at Taomololo though could be a good risk....
 

bradyk

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
2 x NF H2H Champ
NF Top Scorer
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Messages
15,740
Reaction score
18,930
I know. I don’t see him coming to us. We’d need at least 1.2 a season to even turn his head. Looking at Taomololo though could be a good risk....
Taumalolo is worth a lot more because he's in the middle of the field. Has those X Factor moments but also gets through a mountain of work as well. If Fifita could play in the middle he could be worth Taumalolo type money. From what I've seen so far Fifita is the second row version of Latrell. Not sure if you'd want him anywhere except the edge, where he's the best strike second rower in the competition.
 

Turvey Chip and Chase

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
1,492
Reaction score
2,809
Taumalolo is worth a lot more because he's in the middle of the field. Has those X Factor moments but also gets through a mountain of work as well. If Fifita could play in the middle he could be worth Taumalolo type money.
True
 

SPEARTAKVIDREFS

Kennel Addict
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
6,802
Reaction score
8,406
I know. I don’t see him coming to us. We’d need at least 1.2 a season to even turn his head. Looking at Taomololo though could be a good risk....
Taomololo is a machine. Didnt realise he signed a 10 year deal, can see why Cowboys wanted to lock him in.
 

Shire Dog

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Messages
3,066
Reaction score
4,303
Think the thing with Fifita is his young and the Broncos are treated like rock stars in Brisbane. Publicly and media wise. Not just Brisbane but the state. For these reasons I just cant believe that Broncos players dont receive other benefits or under the table incentives aswell. Than you have his mum/family etc on top of that.
Of course they get over the table incentives don’t you worry about that
It’s been happening since day dot
I can imagine all those gold passes into the Gold Coast water parks not to mention the bird sanctuary at Currumbin
In all seriousness everyone has their price no matter what
We just don’t have any idea as supporters as to what players are being targeted or have been approached behind the scenes
Management has made it quite clear that these discussions are being kept very private.
 

Scoooby

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
Gilded
Joined
Mar 6, 2018
Messages
16,322
Reaction score
15,442
A Total reshuffle/clean out is needed, it’s that simple. Finding the key to success seems to be the hard part, but I’m sure the club will figure it out (fingers crossed)
 
Top