2020 recruitment

Tassie Devil

Kennel Immortal
Joined
Oct 29, 2018
Messages
17,045
Reaction score
14,790
If we had say 500K or whatever to spend we would have been better off to secure a young long term hooker first as first priority. Now we've spent that 500K or whatever on 2 average backrowers and probably a slightly below average hooker. Now we're going to have to spend another 400-500K to get a decent hooker in near future. Seems that initial 500K was wasted really. Britt is okay but the money could have been better spent on strengthening our spine (our attack).
AGain though we don't know who was available and at what price.

There's no doubt we need to strengthen and I really do think that we will. Hope that people calm down after that's been done thouhg.
 

DinkumDog

Kennel Immortal
2 x Gilded
Joined
May 15, 2017
Messages
22,701
Reaction score
41,519
Facts are Robson, Brailey, Api, Turpin, Grant and even Wayde Egan (and Billy Brittain) were available and recently McCullough. At the Panthers Egan was rated above Katoa from memory and Egan signed with the Warriors after we signed Katoa. Kotoa publicly stated that he called our club seeking a start - not the other way around so if he hadn't called us we obviously wouldn't have him as a back up to JMK. So our recruitment team felt he was good enough to sign yet they failed to proactively reach out to him first ? Do you honestly think they reached out to Egan ? We were so desperate for a hooker you would think we would have given Billy Brittain a shot after he won Canterbury Cup player of the year didn't he ?

A hooker was what we desperately needed - much more than backrowers. If we had the money for Stimson, Britt and Katoa plus we managed to extend Lewis etc we definitely had the coin to sign any of the above players. With CHN and Oka sacked + the 350K for Foran's injury we definitely had more funds than the Knights to get McCullough for 1 or 2 years.

I just have concerns that maybe we play hardball a little too much and for an extra 50K we could have signed 1 or 2 of the hookers above. I'd really like to know also if our recruitment team even knew McCullough was available ? Were they proactively in contact with all the player managers actively chasing an upgrade for our number 9 ? I have my doubts sorry.
Good post Brad. When you take the emotion away it's much better.
I wouldn't put so much stock into what you read. Just because Katoa may have said 'I gave Deano a call' doesn't mean the club had no idea otherwise.
Same as when Pay said that players such as Ramien or Api would be good - just because they don't end up at the club doesn't mean it's a 'failure' by the club or they're asleep at the wheel.
The fact is there are so many things none of us see, lots of different factors as to why any club and player might/might not end up working together.
We've had very little appeal in the last couple of years - widely known and accepted. It's been repeated so many times I won't got into it again - but that pain is almost over.

Now, hooker.
Again - you don't know what you don't know. JMK was clearly seen as a reasonable interim solution whilst the cap mess was sorted out. Many disagree with that, but that was the club's decision.
Without getting into all those guys, with Hill publicly saying McCullough has never been discussed does not mean they didn't know he was available, or they missed out - they obviously have another plan. Judging by the meltdown on here earlier this week - most fans think that's a good thing he wasn't signed too.
I'll repeat again - there is NO $350k for Foran - he's missed 2 (and shortly 3) games. Assuming he's back in Round 4 or 5, there is NO compensation because he didn't miss the required number of games - so you can forget that from the equation.

Hardball maybe. That can go both ways too. We lost some players (eg: Cook over $50k) but we went hard after Foran and look at the value that's provided.
It has probably been a worthwhile exercise in revising the governance around recruitment given previous mistakes.
That and there's a deliberate effort to bring young guys through - it takes time, but there's a few coming through.
We have 18 of 30 for 2021. Some of the off contract guys end of 2020 will be retained, some will not - the same thing happens every year. That means apart from Thompson there's probably 4 other recruits to make.
Many keep saying that time is running out as a bunch of other talent is locked up - yes - if you've done nothing about it. I don't believe that's the case and that's why I keep saying - wait for the transfer window to close and wait for the developments to be announced.
If by the end of the season there are not some quality names announced to be coming in 2021 - then yes, I too will be scratching my head and wondering what the hell has been going on. Until then, benefit of the doubt.
 

bradtalo

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Messages
3,796
Reaction score
5,769
Good post Brad. When you take the emotion away it's much better.
I wouldn't put so much stock into what you read. Just because Katoa may have said 'I gave Deano a call' doesn't mean the club had no idea otherwise.
Same as when Pay said that players such as Ramien or Api would be good - just because they don't end up at the club doesn't mean it's a 'failure' by the club or they're asleep at the wheel.
The fact is there are so many things none of us see, lots of different factors as to why any club and player might/might not end up working together.
We've had very little appeal in the last couple of years - widely known and accepted. It's been repeated so many times I won't got into it again - but that pain is almost over.

Now, hooker.
Again - you don't know what you don't know. JMK was clearly seen as a reasonable interim solution whilst the cap mess was sorted out. Many disagree with that, but that was the club's decision.
Without getting into all those guys, with Hill publicly saying McCullough has never been discussed does not mean they didn't know he was available, or they missed out - they obviously have another plan. Judging by the meltdown on here earlier this week - most fans think that's a good thing he wasn't signed too.
I'll repeat again - there is NO $350k for Foran - he's missed 2 (and shortly 3) games. Assuming he's back in Round 4 or 5, there is NO compensation because he didn't miss the required number of games - so you can forget that from the equation.

Hardball maybe. That can go both ways too. We lost some players (eg: Cook over $50k) but we went hard after Foran and look at the value that's provided.
It has probably been a worthwhile exercise in revising the governance around recruitment given previous mistakes.
That and there's a deliberate effort to bring young guys through - it takes time, but there's a few coming through.
We have 18 of 30 for 2021. Some of the off contract guys end of 2020 will be retained, some will not - the same thing happens every year. That means apart from Thompson there's probably 4 other recruits to make.
Many keep saying that time is running out as a bunch of other talent is locked up - yes - if you've done nothing about it. I don't believe that's the case and that's why I keep saying - wait for the transfer window to close and wait for the developments to be announced.
If by the end of the season there are not some quality names announced to be coming in 2021 - then yes, I too will be scratching my head and wondering what the hell has been going on. Until then, benefit of the doubt.
I read recently that we already received the 350K for Foran (prior to Covid-19) and if true they couldn't take it back but yes it was only a report so may or may not be true. I'll admit JMK did seem a more decent prospect after late last year so maybe the club didn't see replacing him as a real priority. Unfortunately the first 2 games this year saw a lot of fans loose confidence in JMK when he hardly ran the ball and those games also showed up DWZ under the high ball (as fullback). Regarding McCullough I think most were complaining because it was reported he had signed a 4 year deal starting from next year (when he would be 31). If it were for 1 or 2 years starting from this year there would have been much greater support. I hope you're right that we sign a few good new players for 2021 but if we don't I hope you do join the critics. We need at least a couple of established star players. If we sign 4 average first graders the criticism will definitely continue.
 
Last edited:

bradyk

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
2 x NF H2H Champ
NF Top Scorer
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Messages
15,741
Reaction score
18,932
I read recently that we already received the 350K for Foran (prior to Covid-19) and if true they couldn't take it back but yes it was only a report so may or may not be true. I'll admit JMK did seem a more decent prospect after late last year so maybe the club didn't see replacing him as a real priority. Unfortunately the first 2 games this year saw a lot of fans loose confidence in JMK when he hardly ran the ball and those games also showed up DWZ under the high ball (as fullback). Regarding McCullough I think most were complaining because it was reported he had signed a 4 year deal starting from next year (when he would be 31). If it were for 1 or 2 years starting from this year there would have been much greater support. I hope you're right that we sign a few good new players for 2021 but if we don't I hope you do join the critics.
McCullough is better than what we have but I think everyone is expecting better. Also with McCullough signing with the Knights for the remainder of 2020 it was really bizarre and hard to believe we signed him for 2021 onwards.
 

2ndphase

Kennel Addict
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
5,049
Reaction score
12,803
McCullough is old and shit!! He's a defensive hooker..
We need an attacking hooker we need points because our halves dont provide enough.
Especially with this new 6 again rule a fast dummy half running hooker will tire the opposition resulting in points.
 
Last edited:

dogsballs

Kennel Established
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
650
Reaction score
696
Has anyone considered that we held off signing players because we were waiting to see what the cap was going to look like next year? I actually think we were smart to hold off especially now with the 6 again rule change, it’s going to change things a little. If they also drop the interchange down retention and recruitment will change strategies as well. Some players values may change a lot based on what’s working with the new rules. Teams could get caught out paying overs for the wrong players that may have seemed a good idea with the old system.
 

DinkumDog

Kennel Immortal
2 x Gilded
Joined
May 15, 2017
Messages
22,701
Reaction score
41,519
I read recently that we already received the 350K for Foran (prior to Covid-19) and if true they couldn't take it back but yes it was only a report so may or may not be true. I'll admit JMK did seem a more decent prospect after late last year so maybe the club didn't see replacing him as a real priority. Unfortunately the first 2 games this year saw a lot of fans loose confidence in JMK when he hardly ran the ball and those games also showed up DWZ under the high ball (as fullback). Regarding McCullough I think most were complaining because it was reported he had signed a 4 year deal starting from next year (when he would be 31). If it were for 1 or 2 years starting from this year there would have been much greater support. I hope you're right that we sign a few good new players for 2021 but if we don't I hope you do join the critics. We need at least a couple of established star players. If we sign 4 average first graders the criticism will definitely continue.
Under the rules as they stand Foran needed to miss 12 games to qualify for the compensation. I'm not aware of any change - but to be clear - the club doesn't 'receive' anything - no money changes hands - what they get is an extension of the cap, so an additional $350k to spend on top of the cap for all other clubs.
Therefore, that report you read sounds inaccurate to me (club had been 'given' and 'can't take it back') - I'd double check the source.
Yes, our first two games this year were unfortunate to lose. The Eels game I thought we were in it up until an unlucky bounce lost that game in the last 10min - coming on the back of a tumultuous week for the club (breaking of the Port Macquarie incident) - so that one could've gone either way - we weren't awful.
The Cowboys game was very disappointing - 17 errors is far too many. It was pretty much over at half time and when we found some momentum in the second half (some say down to Wakeham and Averillo) - it was too late. We simply can't make that many mistakes.
The Manly game will be interesting to see how they've come through the season suspension mentally and physically. It's a funny old game so you never know what might happen.
To address your last point - I've said on here many times: I thought this administration needed two terms/4 years to mop up and set the course for the future. They are three months into their second term. The target was always 2021 (so let's see what happens there).
Yes, if they fail to hit the target they committed to - good chance they'll be challenged in early 2022. So it's up to them (board/execs) - so let's see how it plays out - but hopefully doesn't come to that because the members have no choice - ie: we bounce back sooner.
 

bradyk

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
2 x NF H2H Champ
NF Top Scorer
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Messages
15,741
Reaction score
18,932
Under the rules as they stand Foran needed to miss 12 games to qualify for the compensation. I'm not aware of any change - but to be clear - the club doesn't 'receive' anything - no money changes hands - what they get is an extension of the cap, so an additional $350k to spend on top of the cap for all other clubs.
Therefore, that report you read sounds inaccurate to me (club had been 'given' and 'can't take it back') - I'd double check the source.
Yes, our first two games this year were unfortunate to lose. The Eels game I thought we were in it up until an unlucky bounce lost that game in the last 10min - coming on the back of a tumultuous week for the club (breaking of the Port Macquarie incident) - so that one could've gone either way - we weren't awful.
The Cowboys game was very disappointing - 17 errors is far too many. It was pretty much over at half time and when we found some momentum in the second half (some say down to Wakeham and Averillo) - it was too late. We simply can't make that many mistakes.
The Manly game will be interesting to see how they've come through the season suspension mentally and physically. It's a funny old game so you never know what might happen.
To address your last point - I've said on here many times: I thought this administration needed two terms/4 years to mop up and set the course for the future. They are three months into their second term. The target was always 2021 (so let's see what happens there).
Yes, if they fail to hit the target they committed to - good chance they'll be challenged in early 2022. So it's up to them (board/execs) - so let's see how it plays out - but hopefully doesn't come to that because the members have no choice - ie: we bounce back sooner.
The Eels game just shows us if we had those three to four top players added to our side (almost regardless of position) we would of most likely came out on top. Just need a bit more creativity and points in us, we have the defence when we're not turning the ball over for silly reasons (Cowboys game) or giving away uncalculated penalties. Our target year has always been 2021 so we just need to build the best we can towards that with what we have (which automatically lowers our expectations). With the roster/recruitment we just have to give benefit of the doubt until we know what our 2021 roster is.
 

Shire Dog

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Messages
3,066
Reaction score
4,303
Under the rules as they stand Foran needed to miss 12 games to qualify for the compensation. I'm not aware of any change - but to be clear - the club doesn't 'receive' anything - no money changes hands - what they get is an extension of the cap, so an additional $350k to spend on top of the cap for all other clubs.
Therefore, that report you read sounds inaccurate to me (club had been 'given' and 'can't take it back') - I'd double check the source.
Yes, our first two games this year were unfortunate to lose. The Eels game I thought we were in it up until an unlucky bounce lost that game in the last 10min - coming on the back of a tumultuous week for the club (breaking of the Port Macquarie incident) - so that one could've gone either way - we weren't awful.
The Cowboys game was very disappointing - 17 errors is far too many. It was pretty much over at half time and when we found some momentum in the second half (some say down to Wakeham and Averillo) - it was too late. We simply can't make that many mistakes.
The Manly game will be interesting to see how they've come through the season suspension mentally and physically. It's a funny old game so you never know what might happen.
To address your last point - I've said on here many times: I thought this administration needed two terms/4 years to mop up and set the course for the future. They are three months into their second term. The target was always 2021 (so let's see what happens there).
Yes, if they fail to hit the target they committed to - good chance they'll be challenged in early 2022. So it's up to them (board/execs) - so let's see how it plays out - but hopefully doesn't come to that because the members have no choice - ie: we bounce back sooner.
I was at the Parra game and felt that we definitely had their measure.
Our defence was really good,Moses was shut down big time.
Agree that voting members like myself and many more will be casting an eye over proceedings for the next 18 months.
I actually think the next 6 months are pivotal because everybody is waiting to see which additional players are recruited and what players are either terminated or upgraded.
I’m quietly optimistic of better days ahead,they have dragged us out of the cap saga in a relatively good time frame.
 

doggieaaron

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
15,617
Reaction score
11,274
Would love us to go for rts surely hes sick of it there
 

Bulldogs09

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
SC Draft Champion
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
15,187
Reaction score
13,157
LOLLLL nothing can ever be worse than when we had Heka Nanai and Tim Winitana playing on the wings. NOTHING!
To be fair that was one garbage year with a squad full of trash.

Mason, sbw etc nightmares. We then recruited Hannant Ennis stagg morris kimmorley off the top of my head. We have had years of garbage and not recruited anything remotely worthy of mentioning to that list (YET. Geez I hope we do) it’s way overdue
 

doggieaaron

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
15,617
Reaction score
11,274
Lol
Bro he grew up in NZ.. but he deserves to be playing finals every year he’s a freak of a fullback..
Hes a kiwi Clearly he grew up there but alot of kiwis like living in syd he only went back cause they threw a heap of $$
 

Teddybear

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 22, 2018
Messages
2,899
Reaction score
1,970
Throw the bank at them


1. Stephen crighton
7. Sam walker .
9. Reece Robson.

Get them to break their contracts offer them double..
Guarantee them first grade.
There's your spine right there.
So who is ringing Isaac moses?? He should be licking his lips..he's the master of first getting player to sack their managers, and then breaking their contracts.
 

NPC83

Kennel Addict
Gilded
Joined
Jul 9, 2019
Messages
6,564
Reaction score
10,086
Hes a kiwi Clearly he grew up there but alot of kiwis like living in syd he only went back cause they threw a heap of $$
And his family is there. Missus family is there as well.
 

Kempsey Dog

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
SC Top Scorer
Tipping Champion
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
23,488
Reaction score
24,816
Throw the bank at them


1. Stephen crighton
7. Sam walker .
9. Reece Robson.

Get them to break their contracts offer them double..
Guarantee them first grade.
There's your spine right there.
So who is ringing Isaac moses?? He should be licking his lips..he's the master of first getting player to sack their managers, and then breaking their contracts.
We should have Robson but we didn't offer enough... We offered Walker more money but as always roosters get what they want.
 
Top