Gus has come out and said that we only have a few players contracted in 2024. Now, I'm a big fan of Gus and have absolute faith that he will steer our club back on track. But I've got some issues with that comment.
1. It's essentially a subtle message to those whose contracts expire at the end of next season that the club is counting down the days until they can be sent packing;
2. It could possibly state to the market that our club will have another 'war-chest' of cash and that we are more than likely going to be able to afford paying overs for recruits;
3. It suggests that 2024 is potentially also a write off as there will be a whole swathe of new players who will need 1-2 seasons to form combinations and gel as a team.
******For those TL;DR - I'm worried about the message our club has basically put out in the last few days that we will essentially be buying a brand new team and hoping to be competitive in 2024/2025******
The following players are contracted for 2024:
* Addo Carr (wing/fullback)
* Burton (if he takes his player's option and remains) (5/8 or centre)
* Kikau (2RF)
* Max King (2RF)
* Kiraz (centre)
* Mahoney (hooker)
* TPJ (2RF)
* Schoupp (centre)
Of the current squad, unless there is a massive improvement, I'd personally only want to offer a contract extension to the following:
* Topine (2RF)
* Patolo (FRF)
* Hetherington (FRF)
* Biondi Odo (halfback/hooker)
* Casey (wing/fullback)
The 2024 team currently looks like this (unless I've missed something obvious)
1. Declan Casey + 0
2. Josh Addo Carr + 0
3. Aaron Schoupp + 0
4. Jacob Kiraz + 0
5. vacant
6. Matt Burton + 0
7. Bailey Biondi Odo + 0
8. Jack Hetherington + 0
9. Reed Mahoney + 0
10. Chris Patolo + 0
11. Tevita Pangai Junior + 0
12. Viliame Kikau + Jackson Topine
13. Max King + 0
__________
14. vacant
15. vacant
16. vacant
17. vacant
To summarise:
- According to Gus, we will have around $6.5m - $7m to spend on another 17-22 players
- We will need a top-tier halfback ($1.2m max)... Halves off contract end of 2023 that I would shortlist are: Munster, Drinkwater, Dylan Brown, Ben Hunt, Sam Walker, Hastings
- We will need a top-tier fullback ($1.1m max)... Fullbacks off contract end of 2023 that I would shortlist are: Niu, Cobbo, Nikoll-Klokstad, Savage, Will Kennedy, Drinkwater, Tabuai-Fidow, Latrell Mitchell, Daine Laurie
- We will need wing and coverage x2 ($900K max)... Wingers off contract end of 2023 that I would shortlist are: Tupou, Staines, Penisini, Sean Russell, Maika Sivo, Murray Taulagi, Tuala, Dom Young, Garrick, Marzhew, Katoa, Mulitalo, Savage
We will need FRF/2RF coverage x5 ($2m max)... FRF/2RF off contract end of 2023 that I would shortlist are: Flegler, Tapine, Talakai, McIntyre, Josh King, Bunty Afoa, Brodie Jones, Leo Thompson, Condon, Nanai, Liam Martin, Sorensen, Tago, Blore
That leaves around $700K - $1.3m - $1.8m to spend on a further 8-13 players, provided the above can stay on budget.
Which players would you be targeting and what would you suggest the Bulldogs pay per year?
Do you think we should be looking more closely at those in our lower grades for development across the next 18 months?
Given our development programs won't start generating quality NRL players for at least another 3-5 years, do you think it's worthwhile announcing to the world that we will be buying two-thirds of a team for 2024 and expecting to play finals footy in 2024/2025?
