Mark O'Neill

[JokerEel]

I would be doing whatever we can to get Pasifiki Tonga to the club

 

[JokerEel]

Saints told him that they wouldn’t be extending his contract beyond 2027.

Ok then scratch him from the list its back to 0...

 

[senior]

Btw if we do sign SuA will he be the first nrl quality signing from another club that actually had other options but decided to join us??

it was only the Titans after him I think

 

[Avenger]

I would be doing whatever we can to get Pasifiki Tonga to the club

His NSW Cup stats from last week have never been matched by any one of our current NSW Cup Players for season 2026. Plus he is good mates with Tuivati where they played together in junior reps.

 

[King-Gutho94]

Listened to Avengers favourite podcast tonight..
He said that we should not be blaming MON... also Ben Rogers....

Then went on and on and on that we have a shit football department our S&C coach is shit recruitment is crap.

But its not the head of football to fix this at all....

Why have a HOF if its not his job to fix it this at all.

What minute on the podcast was this said btw.

We may has well fold the club then and put everyone out of there misery if this is the attitude.

I don't know about everyone else but i put my money in this club every season and have done since i was financially able to do so.

I travel to some away games every year going to Brookvale in a few weeks and going up again to Magic Round for that weekend to basically watch us get hammered by Melbourne.

I want answers and solutions not the continued excuses.

Sunday was a downright disgrace and now we have 18 more weeks where its going to be misery and hell watching this team battle it out to be competitive let alone jag a win.

 

[JokerEel]

Why have a HOF if its not his job to fix it this at all.

What minute on the podcast was this said btw.

We may has well fold the club then and put everyone out of there misery if this is the attitude.

I don't know about everyone else but i put my money in this club every season and have done since i was financially able to do so.

I travel to some away games every year going to Brookvale in a few weeks and going up again to Magic Round for that weekend to basically watch us get hammered by Melbourne.

I want answers and solutions not the continued excuses.

Sunday was a downright disgrace and now we have 18 more weeks where its going to be misery and hell watching this team battle it out to be competitive let alone jag a win.

It was at the start of the podcast not sure on time.

He also mentioned that he used to give it to MON but changed... I am assuming MON and Jim bought him a few beers..

Said he was going to the 40 year thing at Rose Hill on Friday night assume another hand out by the club...

 

[Avenger]

It was at the start of the podcast not sure on time.

He also mentioned that he used to give it to MON but changed... I am assuming MON and Jim bought him a few beers..

Said he was going to the 40 year thing at Rose Hill on Friday night assume another hand out by the club...

Never bite the hand that feeds you donuts.

 

[Wizardssleeve]

Btw if we do sign SuA will he be the first nrl quality signing from another club that actually had other options but decided to join us??

What options does he have ? Haven’t been following. But I am truly shocked if a player with options chose us .

 

[Wizardssleeve]

It was at the start of the podcast not sure on time.

He also mentioned that he used to give it to MON but changed... I am assuming MON and Jim bought him a few beers..

Said he was going to the 40 year thing at Rose Hill on Friday night assume another hand out by the club...

I actually had a listen to this dribble , he sounded like he was blaming the senior players , or at least a group of our players for our recruitment problems ?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

All well and good IF Moses and Brown were locked up with long term contracts. At that stage BOTH had options.

The options had nothing to do with it. They were off contract, which is where they wanted to be at that point when they agreed to the initial contract duration. Clubs don’t get to unilaterally set contract durations. The player has to agree to it, and if it’s favourable to the club then he will want some compensation.

Maybe we should’ve offered Sanders/Talagi a Pezet-Hughes clause, where they were free to leave if we re-signed Drown/Moses. But most merkins don’t want to hang around in reserve grade until 23 just in case. They want to get on with their careers.

Talagi played most of the NRL season at 6 last year, in a strong squad that could cover his flaws. He would’ve gotten neither if he had stayed. He would’ve played fullback and not as well as Iongi.

Sanders can’t play fullback, wing or centre so he would be genuinely stuck as a backup waiting for Drown/Moses to leave. At Canberra he had the bird in the hand.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

The development of Blaize was just strange if he wanted to be a 5/8 why did we play him in the centres in Ball then fullback in cup..

Because we didn’t have a vacancy at five-eighth. Why can’t you keep these two ideas in your head at the same time?

Also if we had Brown in his way why did we invest in him and not a fullback / centre coming through.

He was a teenaged footballer and played his whole SG Ball and Flegg career at centre. He was the centre coming through.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

The decline is basically that the signings made during their tenure were all basically reserve graders , and we were losing NRL players.

Obviously some will improve, but if you go back and look at who have been lost against who these “experts” signed, it’s pretty damning, and we have arrived where we sit due to those actions.

Lomax, Addo Carr and Walker the outliers and available due to circumstances and not really In a competitive situation as most elite level players have been.

Why wouldn’t any other club want them?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

the whole thing was weird
why give the kid a PO?
its like taking your girl to the club and letting her flirt with other men.

You have to assume he wouldn’t have signed without it. He was an elite junior talent. He wanted to go to market when it suited him best and that was 2024. If we didn’t agree to the PO it could have instead been a one year contract with no PO and for more money. And if we didn’t like it, he would have gone to one of the other clubs fishing in other clubs’ pathways. For example we signed Bamblett from Penrith’s Harold Matts team. Maybe they wouldn’t give him a PO.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

We know about the history of the Storm.

How many of our current players have options ?

We don't know how many current players have POs because it isn't allowed to be reported. But we know the Storm have used POs in the past, and for good reason.

 

[the phantom menace]

Because we didn’t have a vacancy at five-eighth. Why can’t you keep these two ideas in your head at the same time?

We didn't have a vacancy at five-eighth in Ball or Cup? Those entire grades are essentially ongoing vacancies, if someone has the talent in a particular position.

He was a teenaged footballer and played his whole SG Ball and Flegg career at centre. He was the centre coming through.

And then didn't want to be? When the pathway was open in front of him? Strange...

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Hopefully none. And why do you think that is the case? Because this strategy failed.

Looks like that strategy was more effective than the strategy of not using them.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

no POs, matt beach wont stand for it

He might've changed his mind.

 

[the phantom menace]

You have to assume he wouldn’t have signed without it.

No you don't. But you have to assume his team were better negotiators than the club's negotiators.

 

[the phantom menace]

We don't know how many current players have POs because it isn't allowed to be reported.

But we know our club publicly said they wouldn't be offering any more POs. But here you are peddling your nonsense...

But we know the Storm have used POs in the past, and for good reason.

See above, re peddling nonsense...

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Saints told him that they wouldn’t be extending his contract beyond 2027.

And we're the last club standing? Unlikely. Though we might be the only club able to offer him a start this year.