Knights Land Gagai

[aqua_duck]

Oh I just posted in the rumor thread, didn't realise it was official (didn't read the article, assume it is by this thread).

I don't like it. Hope we haven't upped our offer in desperation.

Don't like offering a 30 year-old back a 3-year contract either. You watch him come here for 3 years and spend more time on the sidelines than playing - it's the Knights way.

I also can't understand how Finucane and Gagai have been our two big targets when we have someone like Zammit who is meant to be one of the best at identifying good young talent.

To be fair to Zammit he's a renowned junior scout so it'll take time for him to prove his worth and it's not helped but current travel restrictions

 

[Old dog]

This could very well mean we don’t sign Watson with Mann to be 14 if all fit.
Gagai isnt a bad signing providing it’s not too high a cost, 3 years a bit much at his age

 

[Burwood]

Not sure if it’s a great signing or terrible signing yet. I was thinking $400-500k for him is about right, so if $1.3m over three years that’s about spot on. Also, is it a straight out 3 year contract, or 2 years with a club/player option?

Also hoping the club view him as a winger or injury cover in the centres. Best and Young should be our long-term options.

Round 1, 2022:
1. Ponga
2. Hunt
3. Best
4. Young
5. Gagai

No idea who is best suited to the left or right, but something along those lines.

 

[Old dog]

If I was selecting and went with that back 5 then Hunt with poorest defending centre and Gagai with strongest but that’s fairyland stuff

 

[macavity]

oh heeeellll naw.

 

[Woosh]

Sorry guys just got off the phone with Spot On.
He has been a busy boy organising this contact for the die hard Novocastrians

 

[Spot On]

What's not to like?

We've finally signed a brilliant defensive centre and out-an-out try scorer coming into his prime years for an absolute bargain and beaten off incredible interest from a plethora of other desperate clubs.

Combine Gags and our MiLLiOn DollAr HaLfBaCk and we are finals bound!

 

[Walk On Home Boy]

A Hagan-esque signing if ever there were one. A step backward. Feels like a huge kick in the guts imo.

Of all the players...

 

[slotmachine]

Outstanding, less Mann and woosh gets to rustle some jimmies

 

[Rod]

Doesn't help our defence but no matter what he's a massive upgrade on what we have, our outside backs have literally cost us multiple games this year. And it makes a lot more sense as a position of need than Finucane.

FWIW Toohey is saying less money than his current deal. I'm hoping we made a fair offer and more or less didn't budge.

 

[Yosh]

This could very well mean we don’t sign Watson with Mann to be 14 if all fit.
Gagai isnt a bad signing providing it’s not too high a cost, 3 years a bit much at his age

I really really really hope not...

 

[Johns Magic]

The only figure I can find is “around $1.5mn for 3 years” per the Tele.

I think that’s fine.

 

[Alex28]

Peter Badel is suggesting $500K per year for 3 years. Pretty good deal really - when is the last time someone has come here for unders?

 

[aqua_duck]

Peter Badel is suggesting $500K per year for 3 years. Pretty good deal really - when is the last time someone has come here for unders?

Wouldn't say it's a good deal, I'd say the dollar amount is fine but 3 years is terrible IMO. For context Addo Carr signed for $550k per year over 4 year for the bulldogs who are coming dead last.
I've said this before, Gagai will be 33 years old during the final year of his deal, look around the league there just aren't any 33 year old outside backs playing good footy.

 

[Johns Magic]

Wouldn't say it's a good deal, I'd say the dollar amount is fine but 3 years is terrible IMO. For context Addo Carr signed for $550k per year over 4 year for the bulldogs who are coming dead last.
I've said this before, Gagai will be 33 years old during the final year of his deal, look around the league there just aren't any 33 year old outside backs playing good footy.

Not that I disagree with you but keep in mind wingers get paid less than centres. Jarrod Croker is on $600k a year. Manu, Leilua, Dugan all $700k+.

I would guess Best is on more than $500k after his upgrade.

 

[aqua_duck]

Not that I disagree with you but keep in mind wingers get paid less than centres. Jarrod Croker is on $600k a year. Manu, Leilua, Dugan all $700k+.

I would guess Best is on more than $500k after his upgrade.

Yeah but most of those contracts have turned out to be big mistakes and all of them were signed when those players were in their mid-late 20s. As I said I have no issue with the monetary amount, the issue I have is with the length

 

[Johns Magic]

Yeah but most of those contracts have turned out to be big mistakes and all of them were signed when those players were in their mid-late 20s. As I said I have no issue with the monetary amount, the issue I have is with the length

Ok well I think a like-for-like comparison which you made in your earlier post with the dead-last Bulldogs would be Cotric on $600k. Next to that , Gagai on $500k looks pretty fair.

I agree two years would have been better, but given we are screaming out for a centre, how much we need someone experienced in the centres/wings to help guide Best etc, and who else was available on the market, we just had to take a leap of faith there. Gagai hasn’t shown signs of slowing down to me, and I don’t think his game will fall away with age as much as some other centres out there who rely on speed or power.

That’s me being optimistic, but I can see how the club got pushed into that third season. There are other centres who’ve played well to that age, although they have to be classy.

 

[aqua_duck]

Ok well I think a like-for-like comparison which you made in your earlier post with the dead-last Bulldogs would be Cotric on $600k. Next to that , Gagai on $500k looks pretty fair.

I agree two years would have been better, but given we are screaming out for a centre, how much we need someone experienced in the centres/wings to help guide Best etc, and who else was available on the market, we just had to take a leap of faith there. Gagai hasn’t shown signs of slowing down to me, and I don’t think his game will fall away with age as much as some other centres out there who rely on speed or power.

That’s me being optimistic, but I can see how the club got pushed into that third season. There are other centres who’ve played well to that age, although they have to be classy.

Cotric was paid well overs by a side that could not land any decent 1st graders and is well overs, though Cotric was 22 when he signed so obviously the expectation is that he's got his best football ahead of him, the opposite would be expected in Gagai's case.
I think the issue I have with your comparative deals is that you've chosen some of the worst contracts out there as some sort of baseline, those contracts you've brought up aren't a baseline but an example of what not to do (with the exception of Manu).

 

[Johns Magic]

Cotric was paid well overs by a side that could not land any decent 1st graders and is well overs, though Cotric was 22 when he signed so obviously the expectation is that he's got his best football ahead of him, the opposite would be expected in Gagai's case.
I think the issue I have with your comparative deals is that you've chosen some of the worst contracts out there as some sort of baseline, those contracts you've brought up aren't a baseline but an example of what not to do (with the exception of Manu).

But you’ve chosen a winger as a baseline comparison for the $? All I’m doing is showing that’s apples and oranges. As shown by Cotric getting paid more by the same club.

Centres get paid much more, and there are plenty of worse centres out there getting paid more than Gagai. The club would have preferred two years but the reasonable asking price justified the third year we had to take a punt on as part of the deal. I think implying we paid up by comparing to JAC and then making the extra year on top sound like even more of a stinker is unfair.

 

[Yosh]

To be fair, Mann on minimum contract for a 2 year contract extension or Gagai for 3 years at $500k, which is worse?

Gagai is an attempt to address an issue the squad has. Why did we extend Mann?