The Rumours Thread

[saintmar]

A coach of school boys' rugby league to do a better job than our head coach and two assistants.

The two tries scored by Sloan should have been a signal of what to do with the ball. No intellect on the field, probably none at training either.

But aren’t you a flano fan?

 

[JubileeJeffro]

Each week we see Dean young’s defence coach skills. No line speed, no aggression, no confidence in the man inside or outside you. The blueprint was qld in soo 3, structured line speed can nullify the best of attacks. Dean has no idea and the players follow that plan.

 

[Trifili13]

You are spot on, a simple but effective approach to recruitment. The dragons way is:
1: a journeyman
2: past their best
3: has played for the west tigers
4: slow
5: a good bloke

Based on that criteria I expect a call from the Dragon's recruitment office shortly as I meet 4 (80%) of them.

 

[Mickov]

For the past 7 years we have been rebuilding and it appears we have made little or no progress. Look at our spine - Our 1 is a good player but is at the tail end of his career. Our 6 & 7 are nowhere near where they need to be. We have two hookers when most teams have one and arguably the better one is taking up the back's bench spot so when we get an injury in the backline we struggle to cover it with a back.
Contrast this with Parra who one year ago were a complete basket case. Papali is a gun fullback. Whilst their 5/8 is a WIP their half Moses is pure class. They now have a good young hooker in De Silva. Added to this they have 2 class wingers and some real solid forwards. They definitely look as though they will be much much stronger in 2026.
How have they turned it around in 1 year and we can't in 7 years? The mind boggles!

I agree with some of your points but maybe Parra is not the best example, they were in a GF in 2022 so not far removed from being at the top, we haven't had that baseline for a long time.

 

[twinkletoes]

Eels look like a happy side playing for each other…. we don’t!!

if we had a Moses I’m convinced we’d be knocking on the door of top 4

 

[Mickov]

Eels look like a happy side playing for each other…. we don’t!!

if we had a Moses I’m convinced we’d be knocking on the door of top 4

Agree !

 

[JubileeJeffro]

Eels look like a happy side playing for each other…. we don’t!!

if we had a Moses I’m convinced we’d be knocking on the door of top 4

Not sure about happy team…but Moses is a marquee half with an elite running game and a booming boot. We have nothing like that.
Losing him was a big part of NSW losing the SOO series.

 

[possm]

Not sure about happy team…but Moses is a marquee half with an elite running game and a booming boot. We have nothing like that.
Losing him was a big part of NSW losing the SOO series.

Our halves performed poorly in SOO3.

Saints need a marquee halfback as a matter of urgency. We do have Reed coming through and if we can't sign a marquee halfback, we should bite the bullet and promote Reed. He is very quick, has a great boot, defends well and all the skills to steer a team around the park. He is a good game manager.

 

[getsmarty]

Doueihi? Sloan?: Panthers CEO comments on transfer rumours​

MSN

 

[dungay dragon]

Raiders blowing up de luxe over visit from Sione Finau leaked to Media
App deal unlikely to go ahead

 

[RedV11]

Raiders blowing up de luxe over visit from Sione Fainu leaked to Media
App deal unlikely to go ahead

I heard it was Sione Finau i don’t know a Fainu

 

[saintmar]

Eels look like a happy side playing for each other…. we don’t!!

if we had a Moses I’m convinced we’d be knocking on the door of top 4

Ricky Stuart looks like a happy coach
If we had a coach we would be leading the comp

 

[shiloh dc]

Based on that criteria I expect a call from the Dragon's recruitment office shortly as I meet 4 (80%) of them.

If you meet 80% then lock you in for a spine position.

 

[dungay dragon]

I heard it was Sione Finau i don’t know a Fainu

Thnx Junior
Lucky it wasnt Marky Mark

 

[jak]

Based on that criteria I expect a call from the Dragon's recruitment office shortly as I meet 4 (80%) of them.

so, you're saying you're not a good bloke?

 

[Draginzaaar]

So anyone who thinks we are safe from Dean Young being given the HC job is kidding themselves.

Sack Young and Carr and then hire the Walker Brothers to take their place.

Why not get the new Recruitment manager to try and sign Joseph Swahii from Rugby? Offer him the fullback job.

Boy you come up with some dumb shit. Sua'ali'i is on $1.5M, if not more. Where is that going to come from?

 

[possm]

Boy you come up with some dumb shit. Sua'ali'i is on $1.5M.

Do it, and maybe we will be able to sign some quality players.

 

[shiloh dc]

Why would Sua'ali'i come to the Dragons for $1.5M when he is the sort of player that could command $5m+ from Rugby 360?

Dismiss Rugby 360 if you choose but remember the Saudi's have invested over $5B into LIV golf thus far.
Aramco's profits for the past 2 years were $120B & $106B respectively. The Saudi's via the Royal Family and PIF own 97%. That's some serious dividends that can be thrown towards Rugby 360. They could easily cover a $5B investment if not more.

Imagine these metrics -
Teams: 12
Players per team: 30
Total player: 360
Salary pool 50% of the $5B operating costs = $2.5B
Initial Term: 5 years
That's an average salary of $1.39M per player per year.
Now apply the usual bell curve distribution to salaries and it's clear key players will receive $5M+ per year (some maybe $10M) while 'minimum wage' players will receive $500K per year.
And remember - these amounts are in US Dollars!
And remember - any player that is prepared to move their residency to Saudi Arabia would pay minimal tax.

Now how does this effect the NRL - well you can kiss goodbye any decent player that has played Union. Players like - Cam Murray, Angus Crighton, Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, Tom Trbojevic, Kayln Ponga, James Tedesco, Loko Pacifica Tonga and Cam Munster just to name a few. Some players would not want to join Rugby 360 but you can be sure their player agents would be steering them in that direction. Easy $$$$ for them.

Where does that leave the NRL as it expands to 18,19 & 20 teams. Any reduction in top class player numbers will dilute the watchability of the game. If spectator and TV ratings reduce it could result in lower media rights going forward which then means lower player salaries which ironically make the Rugby 360 metrics even more compelling. It could even force the NRL to reduce the number of teams?

 

[Dragon Blood]

I heard it was Sione Finau i don’t know a Fainu

Tomato, Tomahto.......same same but different, .....aaaaahhhh dozen matta said Con the Fruiterer

 

[Draginzaaar]

Do it, and maybe we will be able to sign some quality players.

f**k me, you say dumb shit.