Russel Packer. Did we dodge a bullet?

[Pro Dragons]

The Wests Tigers dropped Russell Packer because of his poor form. I thought he was going to be a long term Dragon and was disappointed he left the Dragons after the club supported him during and after his prison sentence. It seems Millward was correct in letting him go. This opened the door to Jimmy Graham who has been fantastic for the club on and off the field.

 

[Brutalitops]

Packer was good for us but Graham changed the team. He is also extremely valuable off the field.

It appears Packer has fallen off hard over the last year, with a few exceptions here and there. Letting Packer and Dugan go was a great move

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

The Wests Tigers dropped Russell Packer because of his poor form. I thought he was going to be a long term Dragon and was disappointed he left the Dragons after the club supported him during and after his prison sentence. It seems Millward was correct in letting him go. This opened the door to Jimmy Graham who has been fantastic for the club on and off the field.

True that.
I was extremely peeved he dropped us like dog do-do.
I still remember how his form dropped from the moment he signed with the Tigers.
From a professional point of view, l thought it was really p!ss poor.

As the old saying goes ................. "What goes round, comes round."

 

[LINESPEED]

True that.
I was extremely peeved he dropped us like dog do-do.
I still remember how his form dropped from the moment he signed with the Tigers.
From a professional point of view, l thought it was really p!ss poor.

As the old saying goes ................. "What goes round, comes round."

Only a few who leave us thrive long term elsewhere

I can think of Tallis, Bird, Cook & Ennis just off my head

 

[Wizardman]

You guys certainly made the right decision. Packer was poor last year too but the media and fans overrated him. He had two great games last year....that was about it. I hope to see the back of him at the end of the year.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

Questions are being asked whether Graham is running on old legs, and whether he can still compete at NRL level.

This doesn’t impugn his undoubted mentoring skills, but it’s still fair to ask if this year should be his swan song. Reportedly, he has told the club that he’s ready to go on in 2020, but should this be at the expense of younger men such as Kerr and Timm?

It’s not easy to answer.

As previously stated, I was in favour of retaining Packer because (obviously) he will still be young enough to play first grade well after Graham has retired. Now that his form has dimmed, people will automatically assume that Millward has made the correct call here.

Again, I don’t believe the answer is either black or white but resultant to an unexpected changeover of the Tigers’ head coaching role. Cleary definitely wanted him, what about McGuire? I’m not too sure about that.

 

[Life's Good]

I was initially disappointed we lost Packer considering we invested a lot of time with him. I look at it now & see how Vaughan is a forward leader, Graham delivering despite an obviously busted body, Lawrie coming on & we haven’t missed a beat.
Now I see Packer as a lower level version of Adam Blair(less the cheap shots).

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

We didnt want to lose Packer, he just got an offer that was too good to refuse, and we couldnt match it nor wanted to match it, he received the big spill from Cleary about getting on the bus with the Tigpies and was pretty pissed off that Cleary got off the bus at caugth the train to penriff... Since he spent time in Prison he needs all the cash he can get to set up he's family,he will be limited with what he can do after footy, he won't be appearing on NRL360 etc , he has a criminal record will make it hard to get a "normal" job in alot of places, he has turned he's life around,he came to us as a criminal, he left as a Saint, wish him the best..

 

[possm]

We wanted to keep Packer, it was Packer who left for a better deal.

 

[Glenn012]

Packer was good for us but Graham changed the team. He is also extremely valuable off the field.

It appears Packer has fallen off hard over the last year, with a few exceptions here and there. Letting Packer and Dugan go was a great move

I'm a fan of Graham. IMO he should be (C) but last year he didn't "change the team" a great deal. Sneaked into the finals in 8th place and won one game. Just slightly better than when Benji Marshall carried us into the finals a few years ago.

 

[muzby]

Geez we’re keen to stick a boot in around here..

 

[avocado]

I got it

 

[avocado]

Packer was great for us but tbh he never showed the psycho aggression he played with at the Warriors.

Maybe for him giving up the drink and drugs was like Sampson getting a crewcut.

 

[Brutalitops]

We wanted to keep Packer, it was Packer who left for a better deal.

Yes but we rightfully didn't offer him more than he was worth

 

[This Year?]

The second he signed for the Tigers he showed what a flog he was. He's done pretty much f**k all at the Tigers. Definitely dodged a bullet.

 

[Crush]

We wanted to keep Packer, it was Packer who left for a better deal.

When Tigers offered him more Packer's manager asked Dragons to match the offer, Millward said no thanks.
Geez we are lucky to have Millward, shame about Mary.

 

[Brutalitops]

The second he signed for the Tigers he showed what a flog he was.

Players are well within their rights to get as much money as they can during their limited careers without being flogs.

 

[This Year?]

Players are well within their rights to get as much money as they can during their limited careers without being flogs.

They are. It was so unprofessional how his form dropped immediately after signing for them and you could see in his play how he didn't give a shit, so yeah he is a flog.

We gave him a lifeline and he gave us about half a season of rubbish.

 

[possm]

Yes but we rightfully didn't offer him more than he was worth

We might have offered him more than he is worth but not as much as the Tigers. So Packer said thank you very much for the ride, see you later.

 

[j0nesy]

Packer was good for us but Graham changed the team. He is also extremely valuable off the field.

It appears Packer has fallen off hard over the last year, with a few exceptions here and there. Letting Packer and Dugan go was a great move

Agreed, I remember a couple in here slitting their wrists and calling for the head of Millward. I’d say they should be thanking Millward now.