Kaide Ellis signs

[possm]

I think he was the unlucky one that was just off contract, if you had to choose who to keep out of Merrin, K Sims and Ellis I think Ellis has youth and size on his side. Unfortunately those other 2 Nuffies have a contract for 2021 and it was easier to maintain them as their contract was already accounted for in the cap.
I still believe we have another forward incoming that will be announced in the coming weeks that will make this whole picture clearer.

Unfortunately the easy way to obtain salary cap is not to resign players who's contract is ended. Host, Ellis, K Sims, Aitken and Lafai all fall into that category. Recruitment should be aware of who they want to target, their value and their players with contracts ending this season.

The likes of Merin, Norman and Hunt are under contract and don't want to move on so, it is a matter of bleeding salary cap by subsidising these players in order to shift them, or to create an environment in which they request a release; both of these options create difficulties and are the hard way out.

The easier way would be to provide 2 year contracts with options in favour of the club for an additional one or two years. In this way players are kept keen and non-performing players can be shifted more easily.

 

[Maxwell]

Maxwell, I don't really want to compare Kaide to the Dragons forwards under contract. But I do want to say I think he did his best and showed potential to perform well with a full preseason behind him and under a more professional management than has been the case at the Dragons since the end of the Bennett era. I was hoping he would be re-signed but as a Dragons fan I can only say that a positive is the new management must have some quality players in their sights if they have passed over him. Please pass on from this fan appreciation for his effort and wish him the best in landing a deal in what is a pretty cut-throat business. As a grandfather myself I can understand your concerns and applaud your support. I think professional sport may be great for a small number of champions but a tough environment for all the rest.

Thank you for your words and appreciate what you said and your support.

 

[Maxwell]

Max, in the scheme of things and in life's journey and all that, as long as Kade is a honest good person that is more important than 10 years of professional football that he may play. I am a new GF and would love my GS to play one NRL game so well done. Still think he has a future but there may be other things he places more value in that takes him away from the game and who knows in later years he may look back at some of his more esteemed compatriots and find that glory at 22 to 30 years of age doesn't weigh up against a life being truly loved & well lived !

Thank you Dennis much appreciated

 

[possm]

I agree with Sloth

If K.Sims and T.Merrin had been off contract, K.Ellis stays and they go.

Merrin has been disguised unemployment for several seasons.

K.Sims has been a busted toy after so many injuries, ill disciplined and inconsistent.

Ellis should have been given a full pre-season under the new coach to prove himself for 2021.

I agree with much of what you say however, I did read somewhere that K Sims has secured a contract in the ESL. You are right about Merrin and I would also class Norman and Hunt in the same category.

Looking at the props we have in our rotation:
Vaughan
Kerr
Lawrie
Blacker
It is obvious that we only have one first grade prop and 3 fringe first grade props that need further development. So adding another prop to this line up that needs a lot of work is not really what we need.

The new prop from the Roosters (still not confirmed) seems to be the type of player Griffin is looking for. The rumoured signing of Joe O would suggest that this is the replacement of Frizell (for the record I don't believe he is anywhere near Frizell's standard).

Rumours of interest in Nap and McGuire have not proved to be of substance at this point however, with the signing of Hetherington, the Dogs no longer want to hold onto Napa and so, he may be an option.

In the backs we have a few bright young juniors coming through, one who does not want to play for the big red V (Saab), maybe Griffin can change his mind as I rate this player very highly. We also are left with a couple of high price non-performing halves who if their contracts were up, would not be extended for 2021. There is also the rumour that Jack Bird is a target of the Dragons recruitment manager but his price is way beyond his market value and unless the Bronccos take Norman and unless we can have Bird on a one year deal, it seems that this deal is doomed.

 

[Dragonsteve2]

Thank you for your words and appreciate what you said and your support.

Maxwell, after I wrote my post last night I should have added that last week while walking along the beachfront at Wollongong I bumped into Jordan Pereira. He was very generous with his time so I was able to have a good chat with him. He seems to be a lovely, humble guy, very well spoken. I did not want to get political so I did not raise the name of "Mary" but he offered that he was happy with his first meeting with Anthony Griffin and thought the club and the squad would benefit from the change. Afterwards I thought I should have sympathised with him for playing outside a centre who found passing such an issue. Instead I complimented him on his consistently strong effort throughout the season.

Why am I telling you this? Sometimes on this Forum the comments can get so negative about individual players that it's like the player's whole personality is being denigrated. I think we need to remember that like Kaide these young guys are attempting to do their best in a tough, unforgiving environment. And for many seasons at the Dragons that has meant doing their best when the admin and coach have had many shortcomings. Jordan is the only player from the current crop that I have met aside from Josh Kerr, another humble, decent young man. These two remind me that mostly the players, obviously with a few high profile exceptions, are decent human beings, who deserve more support from the club's fans who need to distinguish between a perceived lack of skills and ability and negative character assassination.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Maxwell, after I wrote my post last night I should have added that last week while walking along the beachfront at Wollongong I bumped into Jordan Pereira. He was very generous with his time so I was able to have a good chat with him. He seems to be a lovely, humble guy, very well spoken. I did not want to get political so I did not raise the name of "Mary" but he offered that he was happy with his first meeting with Anthony Griffin and thought the club and the squad would benefit from the change. Afterwards I thought I should have sympathised with him for playing outside a centre who found passing such an issue. Instead I complimented him on his consistently strong effort throughout the season.

Why am I telling you this? Sometimes on this Forum the comments can get so negative about individual players that it's like the player's whole personality is being denigrated. I think we need to remember that like Kaide these young guys are attempting to do their best in a tough, unforgiving environment. And for many seasons at the Dragons that has meant doing their best when the admin and coach have had many shortcomings. Jordan is the only player from the current crop that I have met aside from Josh Kerr, another humble, decent young man. These two remind me that mostly the players, obviously with a few high profile exceptions, are decent human beings, who deserve more support from the club's fans who need to distinguish between a perceived lack of skills and ability and negative character assassination.

Great post.

Interesting that Hook has already spoken to or had meetings with some (or all) players. It really points to him hitting the ground running come Nov 1.

 

[possm]

Maxwell, after I wrote my post last night I should have added that last week while walking along the beachfront at Wollongong I bumped into Jordan Pereira. He was very generous with his time so I was able to have a good chat with him. He seems to be a lovely, humble guy, very well spoken. I did not want to get political so I did not raise the name of "Mary" but he offered that he was happy with his first meeting with Anthony Griffin and thought the club and the squad would benefit from the change. Afterwards I thought I should have sympathised with him for playing outside a centre who found passing such an issue. Instead I complimented him on his consistently strong effort throughout the season.

Why am I telling you this? Sometimes on this Forum the comments can get so negative about individual players that it's like the player's whole personality is being denigrated. I think we need to remember that like Kaide these young guys are attempting to do their best in a tough, unforgiving environment. And for many seasons at the Dragons that has meant doing their best when the admin and coach have had many shortcomings. Jordan is the only player from the current crop that I have met aside from Josh Kerr, another humble, decent young man. These two remind me that mostly the players, obviously with a few high profile exceptions, are decent human beings, who deserve more support from the club's fans who need to distinguish between a perceived lack of skills and ability and negative character assassination.

I was born in Wollongong in 1954 and have been a Saints fan all my life but unlike you, these days, like most fans, I don't have the opportunity to meet and talk to players. So unfortunately, most fans these days judge players on their performance each game. They want their team to be competitive and show skill and x-factor on the field.

These day NRL football is a business run with the aim of being successful on and off the field. So just as in the same way, we judge our coach on his performance, our recruitment manager on his performance, our CEO and the Board on their performance, we also judge players mostly on their performance and to a lesser extent on their personality.

 

[BLM01]

Maxwell, after I wrote my post last night I should have added that last week while walking along the beachfront at Wollongong I bumped into Jordan Pereira. He was very generous with his time so I was able to have a good chat with him. He seems to be a lovely, humble guy, very well spoken. I did not want to get political so I did not raise the name of "Mary" but he offered that he was happy with his first meeting with Anthony Griffin and thought the club and the squad would benefit from the change. Afterwards I thought I should have sympathised with him for playing outside a centre who found passing such an issue. Instead I complimented him on his consistently strong effort throughout the season.

Why am I telling you this? Sometimes on this Forum the comments can get so negative about individual players that it's like the player's whole personality is being denigrated. I think we need to remember that like Kaide these young guys are attempting to do their best in a tough, unforgiving environment. And for many seasons at the Dragons that has meant doing their best when the admin and coach have had many shortcomings. Jordan is the only player from the current crop that I have met aside from Josh Kerr, another humble, decent young man. These two remind me that mostly the players, obviously with a few high profile exceptions, are decent human beings, who deserve more support from the club's fans who need to distinguish between a perceived lack of skills and ability and negative character assassination.

All you say are noble comments, however
But I rarely see anyone on here attack a Dragons players personality, credibility as a human being to that you are alluding too.
Yes we attack their football abilities..but as supporters we have a right to question and comment on peformance,ability and in some instances effort (whether it be players fault or not). That is what these forums are about.
When you get to that level..you are putting yourself out there and public critique will always be there (as long as it just stops at performance critique only)
Even out of the main public eye, I am sure we all have had own own peformances questioned including self critique
JDB's personality has been questioned (whether it be right or wrong) but apart from when a player is actually guilty of something stupid do I see character assasinations.

 

[Old Timer]

Mate if you get over called for the ball and the dummy half doesn’t pass the ball to you , what do you do take your own ball out there. To play with , they let him run thru as a decoy passed behind him.

Maxwell,
As a club we have been killing forwards for some years now particularly those who don't appear to be part of "the click" or "coach's plan".

I think Kaide fitted into that genre where our halves, game plan and particularly Hunt at 9 only fed the ball to those "designated players" regardless of how many times players like Kaide or young Host were running an effective line.

Never given a chance to do his best work and IMO was only there to do the donkey work allocated by Mc Fookknuckle and Young.

Hopefully he picks up a contract at a good club with a decent coach.

I follow my beloved grandson through all his sporting endeavours and whilst he is never the best player year in year out he is always contributing at the best of his ability and on a given day is the MOM and as long as he gives his all I'll have none of anyone being critical for the sake of it as without him the team would go a damned site worse as would we have this year without Kaide.

 

[True_Believer]

Mate not only them also Kerr and Lawrie are far from up to scratch, go back to a few games when they came back in the 2nd half as starters the tries they let in . And according to news Jack Bird is your next signing . Whoopee hasn’t played much for 2 years. As for my grandson , it’s hard coming into a system 3/4 way thru the season and be expected to be a star especially in a busted system like Mary and Dean young through up .

Not only that, he's come in with no CC being played so most likely woefully under done. Would take at least a couple of weeks to get up to speed - and get used to the speed of the game.

I'm a little disappointed with this news tbh (as I was with Host). Even with the info you are providing around this game time, his stats were pretty good in most areas so showed some serious potential. I'd be surprised if someone didn't pick him up.

 

[murraymob]

We would have him back at Penrith top bloke hard workerKaide has played no lower grade footy this year to improve compared to your other soft forwards Who got to play each week at least he has a go

 

[TheFlash]

Don't call our soft forwards, soft, for that i hope Melbourne trample all over you..
Go Melbourne STORM!!!

 

[qld redvee]

Not only that, he's come in with no CC being played so most likely woefully under done. Would take at least a couple of weeks to get up to speed - and get used to the speed of the game.

I'm a little disappointed with this news tbh (as I was with Host). Even with the info you are providing around this game time, his stats were pretty good in most areas so showed some serious potential. I'd be surprised if someone didn't pick him up.

True
agree with you 100% mate, Kaide was signed to replace Graham yet it took our supercoach weeks until he got his chance . Totally underdone with no CC and then supercoach game plan to contend with,
I think Kaide has potential and with host frizzell graham luke aitken lafai lovuda gone - rumours of Korbin being shipped around so I cant see how we couldnt afford to keep him on the books for 2021 - even if he stayed in cc . hes a fair size and would be a good back up not to mention he will fill a top 30 spot . If we do get Joe o / then we have some competition for spots . He also worked under hook at penrith so its surprising how is offer was pulled with all the spots open we have . I can only hope that hook and co have a hit list that we dont know about .. And if we dont resign kaide I wish him all the best for 21

 

[redandwhite4evr]

Maxwell, after I wrote my post last night I should have added that last week while walking along the beachfront at Wollongong I bumped into Jordan Pereira. He was very generous with his time so I was able to have a good chat with him. He seems to be a lovely, humble guy, very well spoken. I did not want to get political so I did not raise the name of "Mary" but he offered that he was happy with his first meeting with Anthony Griffin and thought the club and the squad would benefit from the change. Afterwards I thought I should have sympathised with him for playing outside a centre who found passing such an issue. Instead I complimented him on his consistently strong effort throughout the season.

Why am I telling you this? Sometimes on this Forum the comments can get so negative about individual players that it's like the player's whole personality is being denigrated. I think we need to remember that like Kaide these young guys are attempting to do their best in a tough, unforgiving environment. And for many seasons at the Dragons that has meant doing their best when the admin and coach have had many shortcomings. Jordan is the only player from the current crop that I have met aside from Josh Kerr, another humble, decent young man. These two remind me that mostly the players, obviously with a few high profile exceptions, are decent human beings, who deserve more support from the club's fans who need to distinguish between a perceived lack of skills and ability and negative character assassination.

Not surprised to read this positive assessment of Jordan as he showed great courage to return to play from an upper spinal injury that would have ended the career of many others. Tries his heart out and is fearless in attack and defence. I posted on a number of occasions last year that, after his blockbusting displays, he should be the first back chosen the following week.

 

[Dragon David]

Not surprised to read this positive assessment of Jordan as he showed great courage to return to play from an upper spinal injury that would have ended the career of many others. Tries his heart out and is fearless in attack and defence. I posted on a number of occasions last year that, after his blockbusting displays, he should be the first back chosen the following week.

JP reminds me of Josh Mansour when he takes the ball up. Just wish he had a tad more speed, but he is all heart and fearless as you say redandwhite4evr.

 

[The calm one]

JP reminds me of Josh Mansour when he takes the ball up. Just wish he had a tad more speed, but he is all heart and fearless as you say redandwhite4evr.

Owen wants him at lock.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Owen wants him at lock.

Me too!!!

 

[rasaint]

I posted a month or so back that Jordan P could make a good lock. He carries back strongly, good front on tackler and around 95 Kgs. Not quick enough as a winger IMO, but can scoot a bit.

A few of the other posters then cautioned this idea and noted we need big bloopers not smaller and I thought ‘fair enough’ and I dropped off.

If Jordan bulked another 3 to 5 kg on that pretty powerful build maybe could go well. I am not sure how big his motor is for highEr workload.

 

[qld redvee]

I posted a month or so back that Jordan P could make a good lock. He carries back strongly, good front on tackler and around 95 Kgs. Not quick enough as a winger IMO, but can scoot a bit.

A few of the other posters then cautioned this idea and noted we need big bloopers not smaller and I thought ‘fair enough’ and I dropped off.

If Jordan bulked another 3 to 5 kg on that pretty powerful build maybe could go well. I am not sure how big his motor is for highEr workload.

RA,
If he bulked up like you suggest then maybe he could become dare i say our bench utility at a pinch

 

[possm]

JP reminds me of Josh Mansour when he takes the ball up. Just wish he had a tad more speed, but he is all heart and fearless as you say redandwhite4evr.

He is a good backup winger. Some may say he needs to move on after his current contract in order to not block our promising young juniors.