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Recruitment and Retention for 2027

SwoopAE said:
He had better not

No dickheads policy

He also isn't good enough to be anything other than a backup and there are plenty of backups out there who aren't dickheads
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No dickheads ✅
But a depth 5/8 is needed. If Donoghue isn't considered for it. He's a much better lock but could fill the role as a depth 5/8.
 
Red said:
I guess it's good but probably means Herbie to the Roosters is a done deal.

I know they are losing a few and letting go of Leniu (because they had 3 of the best 10 props in the comp. How it is possible to do that within the cap I have no idea) but still, the premiers signing the most in demand player on the market is a new one. Penrith did nothing but lose, lose, lose players and rely on fringe first graders or lower graders to fill the void.
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Roosters are losing a fair few.

They'll have plenty of space.

I do think its a massive risk signing Herbie to play fullback though. If thats the plan.

They other thing im hearing is the Chiefs are after a 7. Its either Cleary or Walker. If the Roosters dont resign Walker, how attractive is their proposition.
 
If they on same page as woolf I don't care who we get don't see Nathan's boy staying at dolphins now hes part of dragons set up n can see fien targeting other phins juniors end the day woolf got best outta lot of cast offs if other clubs so look forward to seeing what next season has in store


also with the fact mark n has told the club hes back with 2 years i reckon , there goes any chance of chocks getting herbie as well as mark as well as walker up grading there forwards ( i dont see toia been told leave either )

i think media just pissing in the wind especailly when they say all the agents say it a done deal lol jusr gullible if you belive that one minute its tom d one minutes its herbie next minute marks back in 2 years


lol
 
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Great news with Bostock if we get that done soon

Then on to Herbie and Hammer, one of Pouniu or Lemuelu (presumably Pouniu) and then we're fine to let everyone else take a smallish offer or leave until next season when we have to get Katoa, Plath and Donoghoe done

Hopefully Su'a is ready to step up next season in the forwards as presumably he'll be taking Stone's place then by the time Flegler/Knowles leave if they do we should have the talent to promote from within

Our 2027 squad is fantastic regardless but it's such a key year for securing the medium term future of this current contending window from 2028 on
 
Red said:
No dickheads ✅
But a depth 5/8 is needed. If Donoghue isn't considered for it. He's a much better lock but could fill the role as a depth 5/8.
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It can be argued who's the better lock out of Plath or Dongohoe and both are lengths ahead of Knowles who as a lock I would have below Fineanganofo by the time 2027 comes along.

But with Nikorima and Averillo both gone it's without doubt Donoghoe is the best 5/8 in the club and a much better player than Williams and Schneider.

It also solves having Plath and Donoghoe on the field together as both need to be playing 80.

Touch wood Donga comes through the World Cup unscathed as it'll be him, Api and JSaf carrying Fiji.
 
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257Matt said:
It can be argued who's the better lock out of Plath or Dongohoe and both are lengths ahead of Knowles who as a lock I would have below Fineanganofo by the time 2027 comes along.

But with Nikorima and Averillo both gone it's without doubt Donoghoe is the best 5/8 in the club and a much better player than Williams and Schneider.

It also solves having Plath and Donoghoe on the field together as both need to be playing 80.

Touch wood Donga comes through the World Cup unscathed as it'll be him, Api and JSaf carrying Fiji.
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lol why start with could be argued , when your baised as hell to those two lol, as your never going say anything bad about those two but will throw all rest under bus
 
George Williams obviously has first crack at the 6 Jersey and Donoghoe plays his 60 mins at lock is common sense with Plath playing the first 20 at lock and his other 40 minutes or so in the middle
 
Saw an article today that Jacob Safiti is potentially going to open market, could be exactly the type of forward we need replacing his brother (or at this point effectively replacing Flegler)

At 30 he only has one deal left in him in his prime as he'll be 31 at the end of next season but a two year deal maybe replacing Flegler or Kaufusi wouldn't be the worst thing if it doesn't break the bank (he's on 700k atm). Ageing forwards are a risk, but he hasn't shown signs of slowing down yet and i'd be fine with it if it was for a max two season deal.

Daniel retired as a Dolphin and I know his dad personally and he lives on the Gold Coast so not that far away from Brisbane

With the contract extensions we have to do next year i'm not sure we'll have the cap space to sign a prop with origin experience, but assuming we don't re sign Flegler and Knowles and with Kaufusi retiring we will definitely need to add some middles, presumably Su'a is one of them but not sure who else will be ready by 2028

Out of the other middles available on the open market i'm not sure any would want to relocate to SE QLD and the ones that would we don't want (Fotuaika is washed) and Flegler obviously solves the problem if he can get back to his pre injury form next season but we can't offer him a new deal unless he does really on the sort of money he would accept. Willison would be the other likely candidate that makes sense but I assume the Broncos prioritise keeping him or if not he may want too much money but he'd be a good addition too if we could get him

If we do lose one of the players we want to keep, we could do worse than signing Safiti or Willison though imo or if we can make the cap space through offloading Flegler/Knowles/Kaufusi and replacing them with Su'a and one of Safiti or Willison that would be solid

For the time being we need to focus on retaining the back line but as soon as that situation is resolved in the next few months we'll know how much cap space we have to work with and what our roster needs are.
 
SwoopAE said:
Saw an article today that Jacob Safiti is potentially going to open market, could be exactly the type of forward we need replacing his brother (or at this point effectively replacing Flegler)

At 30 he only has one deal left in him in his prime as he'll be 31 at the end of next season but a two year deal maybe replacing Flegler or Kaufusi wouldn't be the worst thing if it doesn't break the bank (he's on 700k atm). Ageing forwards are a risk, but he hasn't shown signs of slowing down yet and i'd be fine with it if it was for a max two season deal.

Daniel retired as a Dolphin and I know his dad personally and he lives on the Gold Coast so not that far away from Brisbane

With the contract extensions we have to do next year i'm not sure we'll have the cap space to sign a prop with origin experience, but assuming we don't re sign Flegler and Knowles and with Kaufusi retiring we will definitely need to add some middles, presumably Su'a is one of them but not sure who else will be ready by 2028

Out of the other middles available on the open market i'm not sure any would want to relocate to SE QLD and the ones that would we don't want (Fotuaika is washed) and Flegler obviously solves the problem if he can get back to his pre injury form next season but we can't offer him a new deal unless he does really on the sort of money he would accept. Willison would be the other likely candidate that makes sense but I assume the Broncos prioritise keeping him or if not he may want too much money but he'd be a good addition too if we could get him

If we do lose one of the players we want to keep, we could do worse than signing Safiti or Willison though imo or if we can make the cap space through offloading Flegler/Knowles/Kaufusi and replacing them with Su'a and one of Safiti or Willison that would be solid

For the time being we need to focus on retaining the back line but as soon as that situation is resolved in the next few months we'll know how much cap space we have to work with and what our roster needs are.
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Out of Knowles, Flegler and Kaufusi, I'd kept the last of the 3. Offload the other 2 if possible.
 
Red said:
Out of Knowles, Flegler and Kaufusi, I'd kept the last of the 3. Offload the other 2 if possible.
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we should be looking at tom ale ex warrior in panthers system hes handy mobile and great player just needs time
 
The fact that we struggle to namd one we want. Shows how hard it is to come by a good one.

Good props are harder to come by then outside backs.

And maybe im old school. But big games are won up front. Its like the golf saying. Drive for show putt for dough. Front rowers being the putters.
 
Whyte was the main man for Roosters this year, Haas best year was 2025 and Penrith haven't won since Fisher-Harris left, peak Bromwich was when Storm were always top 2-3, JWH was the alpha of the Roosters pack their win percentage was higher, Fifita dominated 2016 and Taumaualo was very dominant in the 2015-17 years.
 
Well at this point we pretty much all knew that was happening given Kodi has moved on and we didn't sign anyone else to replace him plus Averillo had been moved on and Donoghoe is needed at lock.

Hope he goes well and can silence anyone doubting him

Re props we want, Safiti and Willison are obvious upgrades who will be on the market Nov 1 unless they sign before hand and both have QLD links, obviously we intend to make Su'a part of our forwards rotation too but we need to know if we've kept Herbie and Hammer and Bostock first so we know exactly how much money we have to spend on middles. If we retain everyone we can probably still buy one middle if we move on Knowles and Flegler and Kaufusi retires at the end of next year

If we keep Herbie and Hammer and Bostock we don't need to recruit anyone 1-7 at this point, I assume we extend Su'a and we have lock sorted between Plath and Donoghoe so we just need a middle if we can add one on non marquee money.

Leota will be too expensive in that i'd expect he commands 200-300k a season more than Safiti and Willison, Taumalolo is obviously too old, Fotuaika is washed, i'm not sure we want Butcher, we definitely don't want Hess, Hopgood might be okay but i'd imagine he both stays put and would want more than he's worth, Te Kura is an interesting one but I assume he goes back to the Broncos if NFL doesn't work out and I haven't seen how he'd go at first grade really yet anyway skillset wise and the game is moving away from huge middles.

I haven't seen enough of Rasmussen to know if he's going to be the guy, does anyone think he'll be in the first grade rotation by late next season?

Definitely don't wan Hetherington, I notice Croker a lot less than I should but assume the Knights keep him with Frizell presumably retiring by then

Feels like we probably have to stand pat or maybe buy a bench level forward if we keep all our backs, or if we lose Herbie or Hammer we have money for a marquee middle if we want one, but i'm not sure we do with who is available. If we could get a Haas level guy he's worth the marquee money but it feels like keeping all our young talent and adding journeymen around them to keep cap flexibility and only pay for Plath and Donoghoe up front is probably the play for the time being

Are Garton and Symonds going to be middles or second rowers at NRL level? That matters a lot too I only watched a handful of QCup games this season so i've seen less of them than I should. If we can transition one of them and Su'a into our rotation over the next year that should solve our middles issues if they deliver.
 
Another thing to consider with buying a prop is if the game gets faster again next year and our smaller boys shine through yet again, and a big prop becomes even less relevant. Obviously a big boy who is fit will demand whatever money they want because they are so damn rare, but time has shown they are worth it.

Someone who I would have loved to have landed who I think ticks all boxes as far as culture and work rate and skill goes is Keaon Koloamatagi. But of course the chased up once more dragons sniped him where he will be wasted.
 
Rival club ready to move for Bostock

Great article highlighting what i'm talking about in relation to Agents using the media.

So, less then a few days ago, Bostock was quoted in the media saying i'm a Dolphin, should be signed before nov 1.

Then Agent gets on the phone to him and tells him to stop cock blocking the negotiation. Because saying you're going to stay does nothing for the Agent maximizing Bostock's value, more importantly maximizing the Agents Commission (signing bonus etc). Agents get paid on signing, and regular percentage based on salary.

Agent then talks to the media saying the Dragons are in play, an indirect way of saying, no its not done I want to squeeze blood out of a stone.

Its a grubby game, however the NRL are 100% to blame, because their transfer/recruiting window rules are joke/clown like in relation to professional sport. Free transferring of player talent that a club spend money developing is a complete and utter joke in the sporting landscape. And having a player play for one team, while contracted to play for another team less then 12 months later, is even worse. The other thing that is a joke is a salary cap, which is used to spread talent to the have nots, without a draft like system, doesn't spread talent to the have nots, the salary cap is akin to tits on a bull. Challenged by Terry Hill in the dark ages based on restraint of trade, has keep our game/league and system in the times of making fire with sticks and stones, while other codes use a lighter.
 
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yonathonjoung said:
Another thing to consider with buying a prop is if the game gets faster again next year and our smaller boys shine through yet again, and a big prop becomes even less relevant. Obviously a big boy who is fit will demand whatever money they want because they are so damn rare, but time has shown they are worth it.

Someone who I would have loved to have landed who I think ticks all boxes as far as culture and work rate and skill goes is Keaon Koloamatagi. But of course the chased up once more dragons sniped him where he will be wasted.
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The Roosters games in the finals shows they will be winding back on the 6 agains and it'll suit clubs like Roosters, Broncos, Storm and Bulldogs to have less 6 agains and more dominance in the defensive ruck and those 4 clubs are the power block of the NRL.
 
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