Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

426Tlgerland said:
Gags , is older but maybe 1 year with 1 x Club option ,
retain Staines and Toa.
Ollam , I’m not sure as Bellamy having him in reserves talks volumes as when he is playing good he is very good something is a miss and we don’t want to find it later and be stuck with crap deals , we got one crap deal to go in Nofa , and that’s not slagging Noffa it’s the deal he is on , Nofa at $ 350/400 more liike it and Gags is aggressive so put him next to Noffa , would get Noffa defending better , Noffa still does do dirty first ups soem side ways but he has a go just needs to fire up defence
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Unless the knights want gagai gone I couldn’t see him leaving for one year
 
Magpies1969 said:
We really need to sign a quality and experienced Centre/s

Gagai and Olam to me fit this narrative and a great chance of WT securing their services.
Both have played in top teams and represented their Country and Gagai QLD with pride.

My backline in 2024

Bula
Staines
Gagai
Olam
Tupou

Sullivan
Sezer

Just need Sullivan and Sezer to feed early and quality ball to our backline.

I still believe in the right environment Toa' is a quality Centre in the making and having role models like Olam and Gagai would unlock his potential.

There is always going to be injuries and form lapses so Toa', Feledy, etc will get their chance. Competition for spots is a good thing and something WT lack compared to teams like Penrith who seem to find quality when their top players are not available.
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M, can see your vision/ideas and looks real good on paper, it’s just that there is a lot of Dads army in there. Gagai, Olam, Sezer are not getting any younger, so maybe one year with a one year option would be the best we should think about with any of those guys.
Or do we just bite the bullet and go youth/existing. Naden, Reilly, Toa and Feledy as centre options, as the halves are already in place.
I’m not sure what is the right answer ?
 
Halbrowne61 said:
M, can see your vision/ideas and looks real good on paper, it’s just that there is a lot of Dads army in there. Gagai, Olam, Sezer are not getting any younger, so maybe one year with a one year option would be the best we should think about with any of those guys.
Or do we just bite the bullet and go youth/existing. Naden, Reilly, Toa and Feledy as centre options, as the halves are already in place.
I’m not sure what is the right answer ?
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I think youth is the way to go but having said that I'd balance that with one experienced old head. I'd be looking at between Olam, Gagai and Momorovski.
 
Qwertyrick said:
And his defence was rubbish lol, now chucked straight into NRL.
I hope he goes good on his debut, I just don’t understand the hype around him.
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Interesting take. I was really worried based of your commentary, so I watched the highlights video and I didn't think a single try was his fault. Maybe the first scrum play when there was clearly a miscommunication between winger/centre about jamming in or playing soft. Aside from that the highlights video didn't indicate any major issues for me.

Quite a few comments about Bula not being ready prior to his debut and he found the level pretty quickly. Don't see the harm in giving a young kid an opportunity to grow into a first-grade quality player. Can't be worse than the performances we have dished out from left centre this year.
 
Qwertyrick said:
And his defence was rubbish lol, now chucked straight into NRL.
I hope he goes good on his debut, I just don’t understand the hype around him.
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Played for NSW u19s
Was probably the worst in the backline as the backline was very impressive.

I've said it before but kid has a bit of Matt Cooper to him.

Lots to work on though but happy to see him debut & hopefully he impresses just like your boy Tristan did.

Onward and upward.
 
king_sirro said:
I'm sorry, but Toa is one of the faster outside backs in the comp
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Agree, there are some harsh critics on here. The guy was everyone's favorite when he slaughtered Valentine Holmes, now he is terrible. Newsflash he is young and inexperienced in terms of NRL experience, he is a dangerous attacker and his defence is not that bad. Give him another year and then see where he is at.
 
I know this is slightly off topic - but I am frothing at what I am reading about the bulldogs and their trash culture.

All of the drama after they money they have spent, Phil Gould basically doing what ever he wants, and the ball cupping the papers have done of Ciraldo and the turn around that was about to happen - it's all fallen flat on it's face.

I don't care what anyone says, we are further ahead in our rebuild than they are, just on culture alone.

In the last 24 hours multiple Tigers players have confirmed how good the culture is and how everyone is on the same page, and then there's the dogs.....

Did Cameron Ciraldo save us from ourselves?
 
In a world where the bounce of the ball favours us, we end up with around 8 or 9 wins this year. Even when we were 0-6 or 0-7 to start the year, we probably should've won 3 or 4 of those matches.

Yes we had a slump in the middle of the year and some awful results, but for the most part we were competitive against some good teams. We might be coming last but aren't as far off as it seems either. In fact, a good halves pairing could probably have had us competing for a spot in the 8, if not even in it.

I'd definitely much rather be where we are than where the Dogs or Dragons are. Our pack is good. We've got some talented young backs. Star fullback in the making, elite number 9. Couple of highly rated prospects in the halves in Fainu and Sullivan. In Sezer we'll have our first out and out halfback in ages.

Gagai would turn 34 in the year he comes across. Little older than I'd like. He may be going good now but a lot can change in two years.

Olam age wise is a better option but he's a flawed player too. How often have we seen players flaws magnify the minute they leave Melbourne. Very realistic chance there's some injury issues too which we don't have visibility of.

Best would be the best signing of those we're linked to as far as centres go, but I don't think we should be breaking the bank either. Someone who can defend well and not mess up an overlap is what we need, anything else is a bonus.
 
king_sirro said:
I'm sorry, but Toa is one of the faster outside backs in the comp
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Then why does he always get run down when he makes a break or half break. He has acceleration over 10-15m, but then he has no top speed. This is the same way that Nof has been talked about as 'one of the fastest players in the comp - statistically'. Nof has never been fast, he just had decent acceleration over a short distance.
Fast players make breaks and finish them. Lawrence was fast once upon a time, JAC, Saab, Walsh etc. These players are fast. Toa wouldn't be in the top 50 players in the comp for pace. Nof would be in the bottom 5 out of all NRL backs.
Perhaps Toa can develop some speed with more training, but the fact is his body has matured, he's 23 now and has been playing NRL for 5 years. Chances of him developing a new skillset is slim, he is what he is, and that's a capable backup at present. We need two starting quality centres, Naden is a winger too.
 
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Qwertyrick said:
And his defence was rubbish lol, now chucked straight into NRL.
I hope he goes good on his debut, I just don’t understand the hype around him.
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He's scored at almost a try a match at all levels he's played at throughout his career to date. That's what he's got.
Our current NRL centres are atrocious defensively, and offer nothing in attack. If he brings strike power in attack and average defence we're still miles ahead of what we've been doing this year.
 
Fingers83 said:
I know this is slightly off topic - but I am frothing at what I am reading about the bulldogs and their trash culture.

All of the drama after they money they have spent, Phil Gould basically doing what ever he wants, and the ball cupping the papers have done of Ciraldo and the turn around that was about to happen - it's all fallen flat on it's face.

I don't care what anyone says, we are further ahead in our rebuild than they are, just on culture alone.

In the last 24 hours multiple Tigers players have confirmed how good the culture is and how everyone is on the same page, and then there's the dogs.....

Did Cameron Ciraldo save us from ourselves?
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Meh, I see little to celebrate in the Dogs drama.

This forum constantly talks about "all the money they've spent" as you have or "they're recruiting anyone and everyone". For me it's a false criticism. They have spent anymore than anyone else and their recruitment hasn't been anymore than ours.

I think you are right in that we probably are slightly ahead in our rebuild. So what? Are we judging ourselves compared to just the Dogs or all the NRL clubs? The Dogs problems does nothing to alleviate our own.

As for Ciraldo I think he is probably a fine coach in a difficult position. I dont think his coaching credentials should be determined by his first year at a club that has so many issues both on and off field. Much like many of our past coaches have failed here despite success elsewhere.

Maybe if you have some sort of unaccountable personal dislike for them I get it. Like I'm pleased Eels haven't made the 8 because I personally dislike the Eels. The Dogs though?, Couldn't care one way or the other.
 
Best way for Feledy to adapt to FG is to play FG..... give the kid a crack in a nothing game to end the year and allow him to have that hunger following his debut with a desire for more heading into pre season - it'll allow us to watch his defence in FG and to do some video or additional training to pin point how we can help him get to the level we want him to throughout the off-season. Better than playing Naden, Talau or Asu instead and it'll help with his development/confidence.

Attacking wise he's an exceptional prospect and if I was to compare him he reminds me a little of Bradman Best in terms of his build and style - just needs to work on his defence. Instead of paying 800k for Best let's develop this kid and see what he can do. I have high hopes for Feledy I think he'll come good.
 
balmain boy said:
Then why does he always get run down when he makes a break or half break. He has acceleration over 10-15m, but then he has no top speed. This is the same way that Nof has been talked about as 'one of the fastest players in the comp - statistically'. Nof has never been fast, he just had decent acceleration over a short distance.
Fast players make breaks and finish them. Lawrence was fast once upon a time, JAC, Saab, Walsh etc. These players are fast. Toa wouldn't be in the top 50 players in the comp for pace. Nof would be in the bottom 5 out of all NRL backs.
Perhaps Toa can develop some speed with more training, but the fact is his body has matured, he's 23 now and has been playing NRL for 5 years. Chances of him developing a new skillset is slim, he is what he is, and that's a capable backup at present. We need two starting quality centres, Naden is a winger too.
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He doesn't get run down. Seen cover come across as he is trying to beat the fullback with footwork that isn't run down as you lose a good 10 metres when trying to beat the fullback. He hasn't been run down in a straight out sprint with no one in front of him
 
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