Joel Thompson Announcement

[dragonssamy61]

JT leaves and he provided a bit of mongrel and played 80 minutes.
JG comes in and he will provide a bit of mongrel for 50 - 60 minutes.
The question is who provides the missing 20 - 30 minutes and the answer is obviously TS.
That means TS should remain a bench player and must always be on the field whilst Graham is off.
Therefore Host should be the starting left edge player.
If we ever have a situation where Sims and Graham are both off the field at the same time who can take on the aggressive role?

Agree ot with above
Vaughan can step up.
Imo

 

[Life's Good]

Sad to see Thomo leave. Good player, better bloke.
With LL resigned we have plenty of backrow depth so this will simplify something that Mary would have had to juggle.

 

[MrDragon007]

MrDragon007's record of fail continues

It was a long week! But there you go. Congrats to the OP, and to Joel

Mate, iv noticed alot how people jump the gun and ridicule people who pass on info.
Not all info turns out to be correct, but that doesnt mean people are making Sh!t up.
I normally wouldnt bother with the "Dont you feel dumb now?" line, but the fact that you stated my record of fails continues and ran like a little b!tch when i hit you up and asked tell me one time beside this that i said something and it was in-correct was, you didnt reply.
Hopefully this teaches you to drop the hero smug attitude of waiting for someone to say something that doesnt eventuate, and jumping on them like you know what your talking about.
The one week i was told turned into months, but like iv said all along, shit happens, and shit changes last minute alot too.
People like you cant comprehend that fact, people like me can.
Anyways, just knowing how silly you must feel now, well, i guess its a very merry Christmas to me hahahaha

 

[ST Tangles 01]

JT leaves and he provided a bit of mongrel and played 80 minutes.
JG comes in and he will provide a bit of mongrel for 50 - 60 minutes.
The question is who provides the missing 20 - 30 minutes and the answer is obviously TS.
That means TS should remain a bench player and must always be on the field whilst Graham is off.
Therefore Host should be the starting left edge player.
If we ever have a situation where Sims and Graham are both off the field at the same time who can take on the aggressive role?

Some good points OT.
I think the game time can be covered by better use of the bench.

 

[TruSaint]

It really is that simple.

Its now a 17 man squad. Use the bench and FFS use 17 players.

2017 was a case of lost opportunities in many games , by not utilizing the full extent our of squad in several games.

Hope Mary and his assistants can maximise our players strengths over 80 minutes.

 

[hewi]

Great club man like Nighty. Really sorry to see him go however I think it’s the correct decision. Good luck to you, you wore the mighty red V with pride.

 

[nontime111]

Thanks so much for your immense service to the mighty Red V Joely!! Good luck at the Eagles you were MASSIVE for us and will give them the mungrel requried ! One of my all time favourite Dragons you leave here a Saints legend brother!

 

[Smack]

He played with a lot of ticker, will be missed. We just need some consistency in 2018.

 

[Red V for life]

No much to say really. Weird feeling. I fully understand the decision made on all sides, but am disappointed he is moving on!

Probably the hardest thing for me atm is the thought that there may finally be a Manly player I like.

I’ll never forgive you for that JT!

 

[Dragon Revival]

Thompson had 4 years with us and you would assume at that 29 he will not be on the improve. Good luck to him.

 

[Frank Facer]

I'm sure if we offered Packer 550k in Jan 17, he would have accepted it with both hands. Demand for Packer from Wests only came about after Cleary was appointed head coach and then in Mar/Apr, Woods indicated he was going to the Dogs. Having said this, I'm happy with Graham as Packer's replacement and would be even happier if we signed Walmsley.

I think that Packer and his manager wanted to wait and test the market.

Also I don't think Packer warranted being offered 550K a season before the beginning of last season, but he did start to perform well and would have been worth 550K on his early season form. I too, think that we need another big hard running prop.

 

[Frank Facer]

With 900K still available on our cap, maybe we could sign 2 quality players for that price. An outside back and a prop.

 

[muzby]

I think that Packer and his manager wanted to wait and test the market.

Also I don't think Packer warranted being offered 550K a season before the beginning of last season, but he did start to perform well and would have been worth 550K on his early season form. I too, think that we need another big hard running prop.

i'll take graham any day over packer.

even taking into consideration the age gap.

i think we ended up okay in the prop roundabout this year...

 

[Uplifting]

I just wanted to say my bit, and thank JT for giving his body and sole to the team.

Also, I think both he and the club made the right choice. Credit to both JT and Millward for the honesty and respect shown in negotiation. I’m full of admiration.

 

[getsmarty]

St George Illawarra Dragons release Joel Thompson to join Manly Sea Eagles

• Dragon's Den
  
  
  
  Manly bound: Joel Thompson has left St George Illawarra after four seasons to join the Sea Eagles. Picture: AAP
  Joel Thompson won’t be wearing the red V in 2018, with the back-rower securing a release from St George Illawarra to join Manly.
  
  The Dragons announced on Friday morning they had agreed to release Thompson from the final year of his contract. Manly confirmed they had signed Thompson on a two-year deal shortly after.
  
  Thompson is the third big name Dragons player from their 2017 squad who will be in new colours next season after Josh Dugan and Russell Packer joined Cronulla and the Wests Tigers respectively.
  
  The Dragons said Thompson and his management had requested the release to secure longer-term security for his family. The club are happy with their depth in the forwards with Tyson Frizell, Tariq Sims, Luciano Leilua and Jacob Host competing for spots in the back row and are likely to replace Thompson in the squad with an outside back.
  
  The 29-year-old played 85 NRL games for the Dragons over four seasons.
  
  "It's an emotional day leaving this great club. But with three girls and a young family I had to make that decision [to request a release]," Thompson said.
  
  "It's going to be really tough leaving the staff, the players and the fans. Everyone has been unbelievable to me and I can't thank them enough.
  
  "I've not only grown as a footballer but as a person at the Dragons. Everyone has helped me so much and I couldn't be more grateful and thankful for what they've done for me.
  
  "Thank you to the Red V Members and fans for all the support you've given me over the years. I encourage you to get behind this great team. They have plenty of potential and are going to play some really good football.
  
  "That was another part of my decision, I believe the young guys coming through now will step up, make that role their own and take this club to where it deserves to be."

http://www.theleader.com.au/story/5137920/thompson-leaves-dragons-to-join-manly/?cs=3833

 

[muzby]

the thing that baffles me is that he was after a 'long term deal' but effectively only gets an extra year over what he had now...

seems to be more to it..

 

[getsmarty]

the thing that baffles me is that he was after a 'long term deal' but effectively only gets an extra year over what he had now...

seems to be more to it..

Could be due to the Salary cap issues..

 

[muzby]

Could be due to the Salary cap issues..

still doesn't smell right..

even if they promise him a longer term deal after the 2 years, it leaves a lot of risk on his side for someone who's looking to sure up a deal for his family...

 

[SaintPauli]

Sad to see Joel Thompson go and i wish him the best, but on the upside I see Luciano Leilua working really well with strike players Widdop, Hunt and Dufty. Up and up from here.

 

[Frank Facer]

Could be due to the Salary cap issues..

I don't think it is salary cap issues. We now apparently have 900K left to spend on our salary cap.