Squad succession

[Poupou Escobar]

Forgot Hopgood's still reasonably young... he's been playing like an old man.

Do you think we can change Williams to primarily a middle now?

No but I’ve removed the word forward from Edge forward. Hopefully no merkin thinks it refers to that bloke from U2.

 

[Gary Gutful]

Edge:

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Mel Gibson! What a legend.

 

[Gronk]

View attachment 104075

Lines etched deep by feedback’s howl,
His face, a fossil of the fallout crowd.
Wrinkled rage in spotlight’s glare,
He sings like sirens splitting air.

Guitar slung low like a rebel’s cross,
He warns of silence as the greater loss.
Leathered skin, testimony of sound,
A prophet screaming over battleground.

Woahoooooo. Yeaohooooo.


^^^ I asked chatGPT to write U2 lyrics about his face.

 

[Twizzle]

Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I could take it
because it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again


they just don't write them like they used to

 

[Poupou Escobar]

^^^ I asked chatGPT to write U2 lyrics about his face.

Bullshit. Those are lyrics from your old Bono tribute band Angel of Dublin.

 

[Chipmunk]

C'mon Pou Bear, get onto it...you're in Canberra now with plenty of time on your hands...You can look out the window in the afternoon instead.

Parramatta Eels sign Jack de Belin for 2026 NRL Season

The Parramatta Eels are pleased to announce the signing of experienced forward Jack de Belin for the 2026 NRL season.

www.parraeels.com.au

 

[the phantom menace]

So we've announced De Belin just for one year (2026) with a club option for 2027?

At his age it's probably wise... the contract seems a bit JAC-like.

 

[Gronk]

So we've announced De Belin just for one year (2026) with a club option for 2027?

At his age it's probably wise... the contract seems a bit JAC-like.

BTW I heard one journo say that JR and Nathan Brown had never crossed paths with De Belin. Neither have a history at the Dragons together.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Papalii re-signs and still no JDB announcement:

f**ken bullshit there isn't!

* = player option
¢ = club option
" = mutual option
^ = development contract

2025
Utility: Brown, Hands, Papalii, Samrani, Walker
Fullback: Iongi, Miller-Stephen (22)^
W/C: Addo-Carr, Dunster (26), Lomax, Renisini, Wenisini, Russell, Simonsson, Tago (26)^
Half: Hawkins, Moses
Hooker: Da Silva, Lussick (30), Smith^
Edge: Doorey, Guymer, Kautoga, Keir (27)^, Lane, Matterson, Tuilagi, Williams
Middle: Greig (26), Hopgood, Mataele, Moretti, Paulo, Pryke^, Tuivaiti

2026
Utility: Hands (27), Papalii, Samrani, Walker (32)
Fullback: Iongi
W/C: Addo-Carr (31), Lomax, Renisini (21), Wenisini (24), Russell (24), Simonsson
Half: Hawkins (27), Moses, Volkman (24)
Hooker: Da Silva, Smith
Edge: Doorey (26), Funa-Iuta^, Guymer (22), Kautoga, Lane (32)", Latu^, Matterson (32)*, Tuilagi (27), Williams
Middle: de Belin, Hopgood, Mataele (24), Moretti, Paulo (33), Pryke (22)^, Tuivaiti

2027
Utility: Papalii (23), Samrani (25)
Fullback: Iongi (24)
W/C: Lomax, Simonsson (29)
Half: Moses
Hooker: Da Silva, Smith (24)
Edge: Funa-Iuta (21), Kautoga (25), Latu (24), Williams (31)
Middle: de Belin¢ (36), Hopgood (28), Moretti (27), Tuivaiti (22)

2028
Utility: -
Fullback: -
W/C: Lomax (29)
Half: Moses
Hooker: Da Silva
Edge: -
Middle: -

2029
Utility: -
Fullback: -
W/C: -
Half: Moses (35)
Hooker: Da Silva (24)
Edge: -
Middle: -

So we (somewhat officially) have 30 merkins in this year's top 30, and 29 in the 2026 squad.

 

[the phantom menace]

Good to see club options as the only options on the books, once Lane and Matto gtfo

So we (somewhat officially) have 30 merkins in this year's top 30, and 29 in the 2026 squad.

So we should for 2025, since the deadline for having a top 30 has passed.

One left for 2026 - plus some potential spaces if Lane and/or Matterson call it a day before then.

 

[King-Gutho94]

One left for 2026 - plus some potential spaces if Lane and/or Matterson call it a day before then

There will be more excitement when its announced those 2 are gone then any re-signing or signing we have made in the last 12 months