Official Dogs sign Leo Thompson (2026)

TwinTurbo said:
My short response, the 2004 team was not supposed to make the GF let alone win the premiership, the Chooks on paper had a far superior team. We had a number of young players that are not yet recognised for their ability to function at higher level as a team. This is in my view the strongest similarity, we are not supposed to win the 2025 premiership, on paper.


Team First
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Chooks didnt have a superior team. Our 2004 team fucking rocked. Hard nosed forwards who made other team their bitches. A bench that had SBW & thurston. A killer spine. Fuck me...we won that game before kick off. Only thing I will agree with is NRL tried their level best from the salary cap issue in 2003 to make us redundant but we stuck it up them too.
 
TwinTurbo said:
My short response, the 2004 team was not supposed to make the GF let alone win the premiership, the Chooks on paper had a far superior team. We had a number of young players that are not yet recognised for their ability to function at higher level as a team. This is in my view the strongest similarity, we are not supposed to win the 2025 premiership, on paper.


Team First
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We started the 2004 season at $8.50 odds to win the NRL Title after finishing 3rd in 2003. The Roosters were not massive favourites to win the comp that season. There were 6 teams under $10 to win the comp. Our 2004 forward pack was better than the Roosters.
 
BlackDawg said:
Chooks didnt have a superior team. Our 2004 team fucking rocked. Hard nosed forwards who made other team their bitches. A bench that had SBW & thurston. A killer spine. Fuck me...we won that game before kick off. Only thing I will agree with is NRL tried their level best from the salary cap issue in 2003 to make us redundant but we stuck it up them too.
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It is too easy to think of the players as they were in later years and ignore where they actually were in their careers in 2004. Reni Maitua, Johnathan Thurston & Sonny Bill Williams played the year before (2003) in Jersey Flegg and won the Premiership. Thurston was a promising 20 year old, who many considered was too small for NRL. SBW was 19, just another prodigy. Maitua played his first ever NRL game in 2004. Steve Price, Captain, SOO player, Kangaroo and our best forward was injured and couldn't play. Roy Asotasi had only played 9 NRL games before 2004. etc etc

It is hard to go back to 2004 and remember the players as they were then, not what they developed into later in their careers.


Team First
 
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CBDog said:
Lets not forget Harry Hayes in this equation.
This season has done him a world of good and expect him to show the same improvement
we are looking for in others
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He will get his chances .... hopefully he can gain a little size /bulk

Love the effort and work rate.

We are starting to development some quality depth ..... Plenty of competition for those bench spots.
 
BlackDawg said:
Chooks didnt have a superior team. Our 2004 team fucking rocked. Hard nosed forwards who made other team their bitches. A bench that had SBW & thurston. A killer spine. Fuck me...we won that game before kick off. Only thing I will agree with is NRL tried their level best from the salary cap issue in 2003 to make us redundant but we stuck it up them too.
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Thurston only played a handful of first grade games and was mainly in reserve grade in 2004. He only played in the GF off the bench because Price was injured. He was nowhere near the player he was the next year at the Cowboys where coach Murray gave him a free reign and built the side around him. Had he stayed at the Dogs coach Folkes would not have let him have that freedom given the star studded side we had.
 
bulldogsmyte said:
Thurston only played a handful of first grade games and was mainly in reserve grade in 2004. He only played in the GF off the bench because Price was injured. He was nowhere near the player he was the next year at the Cowboys where coach Murray gave him a free reign and built the side around him. Had he stayed at the Dogs coach Folkes would not have let him have that freedom given the star studded side we had.
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JT was the absolute standout in Reggie’s. It was clear to anyone who watched him that he would go onto greatness. If it wasn’t for Anasta he would have been signed and become our greatest ever player.

I would make a conscious effort to get to games early in those days to watch him run around in Reggie’s. Both JT & SBW were two of the most sure fire superstars in the making the game has seen.
 
CMP said:
I actually think the main reason we have missed out on these middles might actually come down to the fact we don’t have any alphas in the club. These guys all want the big payday. Yet they want the easy way.

If they sign with us they are on their own if they sign where there are already quality middles they share the workload and still look good.
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Without going individually into details you can be assured there was many who approached us to sign with our club and that the lack of alpha in the team wasn't and isn't the reason,
Plain and simple we will not go into a bidding war over no one importantly we will not sign anyone that doesn't fit into the club's culture...
I'm sure we all agree on these principals !!!
 
being injured.
CMP said:
JT was the absolute standout in Reggie’s. It was clear to anyone who watched him that he would go onto greatness. If it wasn’t for Anasta he would have been signed and become our greatest ever player.

I would make a conscious effort to get to games early in those days to watch him run around in Reggie’s. Both JT & SBW were two of the most sure fire superstars in the making the game has seen.
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Ditto, we always used to get to the ground to see as many grades as were playing on that day. And yes, Thurston was an attraction in attack, unpredictable, nippy, always searching, playing a lot on instinct alone. But he used to get absolutely smashed in defence.

It is easy to forget that he separated his tibia from his fibula while making a tackle in the Manly game Round 5, that he only played 7 NRL games in 2004 and wouldn't have played in the GF if not for Steve Price being injured.


Team First
 
I didn't see the reggies games but could tell that JT was something special. $BW is probably one of the greatest debut's I've seen.
 
Gus can take control… with the contract being signed now
 
bradyk said:
May went for 650k at Tiger and he's a better player. Anything more than 600k (maybe even that is generous) for Thompson would be a bad deal considering. I also rate King higher but he'd be a decent 2nd prop, I'd like better myself tho.
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Thanks Joel


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