Flanno's New Signings

[Jubilee]

The Nov 1 rule creates a funny lag in recruitment. It doesn't matter how well we perform in 2025, it can only have a positive effect for recruitment for 2027. In the two and a half years until then, Flanno has to build a competitive team out of cast-offs, those who have been sacked from their clubs, and juniors.

Identifying and developing young talent and managing pathways is essential when dealing with these long timelines. Who will be ready for NRL in 2027?

 

[Jubilee]

.

 

[Nutz]

Yes but there is a chance to get them early if clubs are willing to move them. No point going after November 1 targets late we need to draw up a hit list & go hard from day 1

True. Contracts mean diddly squat these days. If your club is interested in a player they can negotiate with the agent after Nov 1 for 2026 and if the price is right and the player and agent wants it to happen then they agitate for a release.
The media gets involved and the agent does his magic.
Shite system but it works both ways.
I personally think it's the CEO and the Football department that makes things happen with player agents involvement.
If a roster sucks it will be these people not gelling....usually.

 

[mattw5]

True. Contracts mean diddly squat these days. If your club is interested in a player they can negotiate with the agent after Nov 1 for 2026 and if the price is right and the player and agent wants it to happen then they agitate for a release.
The media gets involved and the agent does his magic.
Shite system but it works both ways.
I personally think it's the CEO and the Football department that makes things happen with player agents involvement.
If a roster sucks it will be these people not gelling....usually.

Exactly this is why it’s important to get to November 1. The players available for next season have been for almost 12 months it’s literally the scrap left from November 1 2023.

 

[possm]

Stay calm no one is coming Nov 1 haha.Hope I’m wrong. Big Kafusi for Sharkes is a good prop.

Also, Cory Allen is a reasonably good player when fit. Suffered various knee issues in recent years with an ACL tear in pre season for us. Easts picked him up for a year in 2023 and they don’t usually recruit bog ordinary players.

I'm tipping a back five of:
1. Holmes
2. JAC
3. Suli
4. Allan
5. Tuipulotu

I'd say this is a strong back five.
Sloan to reserve grade as a 6.

 

[possm]

The Nov 1 rule creates a funny lag in recruitment. It doesn't matter how well we perform in 2025, it can only have a positive effect for recruitment for 2027. In the two and a half years until then, Flanno has to build a competitive team out of cast-offs, those who have been sacked from their clubs, and juniors.

Identifying and developing young talent and managing pathways is essential when dealing with these long timelines. Who will be ready for NRL in 2027?

I remain hopeful that Flanno will land two big props and find a replacement for Hunt. So, with addition of JAC (fingers crossed we should have a very competitive 17 in 2025.
1. Holmes
2. JAC - Canterbury
3. Suli
4. Allan
5. Tuipulotu
6. Flannagan
7. Trindall - Cronulla
8. Hazleton - Cronulla
9. Cook
10. RGC - Parramatta
11. Leilua
12. Su'A
13. Sele

14. Liddle
15. Molo
16. De Belin
17. Couchman

With about 4.5m to spend and we can easily afford these 4 recruits for 2025.

 

[offiah]

Possm that'd be lovely and all, but Trindall and Hazleton aren't available till 2026 and RCG isn't interested in us... wonder what we'd have to offer them to get 2 players out of contract early?

 

[Draginzaaar]

I remain hopeful that Flanno will land two big props and find a replacement for Hunt. So, with addition of JAC (fingers crossed we should have a very competitive 17 in 2025.
1. Holmes
2. JAC - Canterbury
3. Suli
4. Allan
5. Tuipulotu
6. Flannagan
7. Trindall - Cronulla
8. Hazleton - Cronulla
9. Cook
10. RGC - Parramatta
11. Leilua
12. Su'A
13. Sele

14. Liddle
15. Molo
16. De Belin
17. Couchman

With about 4.5m to spend and we can easily afford these 4 recruits for 2025.

Except Trindall will never be let go a year early, when Cronulla are only paying $300,000 for him.

 

[dragon thomo]

Don't want Hazelton. Another plodder.

 

[TheRev]

I think Trindall or Atkinson could agitate.. Wishart also.. they are all being brutally underpaid.. this assumes the clubs dont have extra cash to upgrade them which would end the discussion.

It still seems more likely Kennedy would go before Trindall or Atkinson though, as others have said..

 

[Jubilee]

For me, we will not get a run at the top 4 before 2028 at best (unlikely) bcs we are facing so much potential team turnover, both retirements and dead wood. This could be great in the longer term and could revive the club, but in the meantime a lot of change has to be managed.

2027 - new contract for coach Flanno?
2025 - Hunt gone end 2025
2025 - JDB contract ends end 2025
2025 - Kyle Flanagan contract ends end 2025
2025 - Jacob Liddle contract ends end 2025 with mutual option for 2026
2026 - Lawrie and Ravawala and Cook gone end 2026
2026 - Hame Sele contract ends end 2026
2026 - Sua 28 y.o.contract ends end 2026, so probably re-sign (crystal ball)
2026 - Sloane contract ends end 2026
2027 - Val 31 y.o.and last year of his contract
2027 - Suli 28 y.o.and last year if his contract

The three year contracts for Rava, Laurie and Suli were just dumb. Three year contracts are for players that other teams are also chasing, not for just average guys.

Anyway, 2028 seems a long way off but there are a lot of positions to fill over time and a lot of competition for players. I hope that Flanno has his scouts out looking right now for young players with a future bcs trying to get quality established players away from other teams under the Nov 1 rule is a planning nightmare. The good thing is, as it stands, is that young players can see that - with this turnover - there is a chance of a future at the dragons.

 

[mattw5]

For me, we will not get a run at the top 4 before 2028 at best (unlikely) bcs we are facing so much potential team turnover, both retirements and dead wood. This could be great in the longer term and could revive the club, but in the meantime a lot of change has to be managed.

2027 - new contract for coach Flanno?
2025 - Hunt gone end 2025
2025 - JDB contract ends end 2025
2025 - Kyle Flanagan contract ends end 2025
2025 - Jacob Liddle contract ends end 2025 with mutual option for 2026
2026 - Lawrie and Ravawala and Cook gone end 2026
2026 - Hame Sele contract ends end 2026
2026 - Sua 28 y.o.contract ends end 2026, so probably re-sign (crystal ball)
2026 - Sloane contract ends end 2026
2027 - Val 31 y.o.and last year of his contract
2027 - Suli 28 y.o.and last year if his contract

The three year contracts for Rava, Laurie and Suli were just dumb. Three year contracts are for players that other teams are also chasing, not for just average guys.

Anyway, 2028 seems a long way off but there are a lot of positions to fill over time and a lot of competition for players. I hope that Flanno has his scouts out looking right now for young players with a future bcs trying to get quality established players away from other teams under the Nov 1 rule is a planning nightmare. The good thing is, as it stands, is that young players can see that - with this turnover - there is a chance of a future at the dragons.

Disagree on Suli he is worth 3 years

 

[Jubilee]

Disagree on Suli he is worth 3 years

Were other teams chasing him? Would they be chasing him in 2026? Would he not have re-signed (an extension!) for just two years? He had to have three? Who gives out three year extensions, for heaven's sake?!

We have to maintain our recruitment flexibility. The team is currently bogged down with 3-year contracted duds that we can't offload (Laurie and Ravawala - more 3 yr extensions believe it or not!) and we now also have two established centers who will come off-contract at the same time. We will be in the market for two NRL centres at the same time! What do young players think when they see that?

 

[mattw5]

Were other teams chasing him? Would they be chasing him in 2026? Would he not have re-signed (an extension!) for just two years? He had to have three? Who gives out three year extensions, for heaven's sake?!

We have to maintain our recruitment flexibility. The team is currently bogged down with 3-year contracted duds that we can't offload (Laurie and Ravawala - more 3 yr extensions believe it or not!) and we now also have two established centers who will come off-contract at the same time. We will be in the market for two NRL centres at the same time! What do young players think when they see that?

Wests Tigers were interested in luring him back. He was one of the main players worth keeping; he was in great form this season. It showed when he got injured we missed him. His defence is underrated, and he makes significant yardage with his carries. Anything less than three years would be crazy, as he is coming into his prime. With expansion on the horizon, it’s important to lock up any good players where possible, because signing players will only become harder, and we already struggle with recruitment. As for our youth for years they have been hyped up but to be brutally honest aside from Robson, Wishart, Garrick & Lomax (Only this season) have excelled the rest have been average at best i am not prepared to fall into a false sense of security around our juniors.

 

[sammymills]

hey all havent logged on for a few weeks. Have we signed anyone?

 

[Parko1310]

Were other teams chasing him? Would they be chasing him in 2026? Would he not have re-signed (an extension!) for just two years? He had to have three? Who gives out three year extensions, for heaven's sake?!

We have to maintain our recruitment flexibility. The team is currently bogged down with 3-year contracted duds that we can't offload (Laurie and Ravawala - more 3 yr extensions believe it or not!) and we now also have two established centers who will come off-contract at the same time. We will be in the market for two NRL centres at the same time! What do young players think when they see that?

Lawrie and Rava were incredibly dumb deals, done by dumb people who know nothing about football and thought they were good players. We now have to cop that as fans, as a club and our coach has to deal with it too (they did these deals before he got there).

You are heavily underrating Suli though, yes there would most certainly have been other teams chasing him. He earned that 3 year deal. Flano has shown he doesn't just hand them out like our club has in the past. Suli's reputation before coming here still sticks with him I feel and people label him as a run of the mill centre who is bad defensively and lazy. He's not that player anymore. Suli has legitimately become one of the best defensive centres in the game, one of the best centres for making metres coming out of his own end in the game and someone that actually makes me more confident when he's available. I believe he is better on the right, which he'll finally get a chance at next year with Val coming as well. Hunt's slow and predictable service hasn't given Suli much room to move with ball in hand, yet he still consistently makes 10 or more metres in his carries. I'm hoping we see him in a bit more space next year, and being on the right he will get more ball since that is where Hunt sends all of the play.

 

[sammymills]

I can’t handle the Sharks winning, but they do win a lot of games every season. Are they flat track bullies, well yeah kinda. But you still have to be professional enough to win the games.
I’m never confident about the dragons winning regardless of the opponents. Like literally, I’m nervous playing Tigers.
I wish we were flat track bullies.

i wish we could go back to the days when i grew up and we choked in the finals. Ill take going back to being a choker to what we have now any day. we didnt know how good we had it.

 

[TheRev]

Were other teams chasing him?

There are plenty more players getting offers than we hear about.. the Feagais for example.. fans assume noone is interested but they are.. and we lost Max for that reason... which I know many were happy about, but understand that the forum views dont always align with reality (a shock I know ).

 

[shiloh dc]

There is one stat on Suli that basically sums it up - 24 tries in 137 games.
Is there another centre in the NRL with worse try scoring stats than this?
Suli is extremely one dimensional with little or no legwork.
The only saving grace is that he has improved since he joined the Dragons.

 

[st.phil]

Still think Suli could be a fantastic edge forward / bench utility - prob paid him a bit much for that role tho