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Random Tigers articles from the media

Messages
15,387
I think Brooks will have a better 2023 for one reason and one reason only. The improvement of our pack will give him more chances to convert opportunities into points. He will still deliver a fair amount of f**k ups as he is just not very good. He needs to go if we can get a better half moving forward. The side badly needs a game manager.
Yeah.

I think Tim and co are being extremely stubborn.

There’s no higher risk in the game at the moment than backing our Brooksy.

It’s like starting the season 10 points behind on the table, losing three players with season ending injuries during the trials or having a jet hijacked in Ceylon crash into the coe.
 
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Wizardman

First Grade
Messages
8,505
Yeah.

I think Tim and co are being extremely stubborn.

There’s no higher risk in the game at the moment than backing our Brooksy.

It’s like starting the season 10 points behind on the table, losing three players with season ending injuries during the trials or having a jet hijacked in Ceylon crash into the coe.
In this instance, I take absolutely no pleasure in being right. But, we have seen far too much evidence to prove that he is very average.
 

Ned Kelly

Juniors
Messages
1,641
I read some where Bateman will be here in the next two weeks. So good if he gets to train with the team for a week or two before the start of the season.
 
Messages
15,387
I read some where Bateman will be here in the next two weeks. So good if he gets to train with the team for a week or two before the start of the season.
He might arrive on an expired visa with Ricky and the Raiders denying any knowledge of him.

f**king up his visa is a serious clusterf**k.

You’d think we would have been alive to the issue last year.
 
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Ned Kelly

Juniors
Messages
1,641
It took more than 3 months for someone who lived here for nearly 30 years whose father and brother are Australian's to get a visa to return because she overstayed her visit overseas by a couple of weeks. So no.I don't think the tigers stuffed up at all considering when Bateman put pen to paper.
 
Messages
15,387
It took more than 3 months for someone who lived here for nearly 30 years whose father and brother are Australian's to get a visa to return because she overstayed her visit overseas by a couple of weeks. So no.I don't think the tigers stuffed up at all considering when Bateman put pen to paper.
I understand Bateman was ready to come ages ago, it was only announced more recently.

Other clubs seem to get their signings when expected.

He may or may not turn up when the season is half over. It’s bullshit Ned.
 

Ron's_Mate

Bench
Messages
4,037
‘I was ready to go’: Legend’s pep talk convinced Brooks to stay at Tigers
By Christian Nicolussi
January 31, 2023 — 5.45am

Luke Brooks has revealed he was ready to quit Wests Tigers – until a heart-to-heart with Benji Marshall reignited his excitement for the season ahead.

Brooks also confirmed he had been in regular contact with good friend Mitchell Moses about returning to the club, and said the pair would “like a shot at playing together again”.

Canterbury boss Phil Gould confirmed the Bulldogs, once considered the frontrunners for Moses’ services, were no longer interested – leaving the Tigers locked in a battle with Parramatta for his signature.

“We never made an offer for Mitchell Moses – we asked that if he was thinking about leaving Parramatta, we’d like to be considered,” Gould told the Herald.

“We hadn’t heard anything from Mitchell or his manager since November. We never really thought he would leave Eels anyway.

“We had the opportunity to sign young Karl Oloapu from the Broncos last week and moved in that direction. We are very happy with that signing.”

Brooks’ future at the Tigers has been under the microscope in the past few seasons because of his mixed form and whopping price tag, which exceeds $1 million this year because of a heavily back-ended contract. The continued scrutiny led him to considering a fresh start towards the end of last season.

“There was a point towards the back end of last year I was ready to go, and I felt like I needed a change,” Brooks told the Herald.

“But a couple of weeks before coming back to pre-season training, I spoke with Benji a few times, then sat back and had a look at what the club was doing, who they were bringing in, and I started getting excited. It did feel like a fresh change for me.

“Benji said to me, ‘We obviously want you here, but if you want to go elsewhere, do what’s best for you’.”

Entering his 11th season in the top grade, Brooks said he was eager to build on his halves combination with another off-contract Tiger, Adam Doueihi.

Doueihi has played 51 games in three seasons at the Tigers, but only 16 games in the halves with Brooks. Moses is good friends with Brooks while he also has the Lebanon World Cup connection to Doueihi.

Brooks said he had been doing his best to woo Moses back to the same club he ditched midway through 2017.

Coach Tim Sheens confirmed last week the Tigers had made contact with Moses, but “it will be Mitch’s call”.

“I’ve spoken to Mitch a bit, I’ve tried to suss him out and sell the joint [to him],” Brooks said. “We’ve spoken about it before about how we were really young the last time we played together, and we’d like a shot at playing together again. I don’t know where his head is at.

“We know each other’s game back to front. Being close mates helps as well – he lives two minutes away, and we had daughters born two weeks apart. It would be good for him to come here.”

Sheens and Marshall have told Brooks to run the ball more and be “greedy”, especially close to the opposition’s try line.

Doueihi, like Brooks, is in no rush to thrash out his own future beyond this season and simply wants to build his combination with his little halfback.

“I’m not in a rush to sign anywhere or do anything – playing good footy will sort it out,” Doueihi said.

 

stryker

First Grade
Messages
5,277
I understand Bateman was ready to come ages ago, it was only announced more recently.

Other clubs seem to get their signings when expected.

He may or may not turn up when the season is half over. It’s bullshit Ned.
I was of the understanding that Wigan stalled talks due to transfer fee negotiations. They are the bad guys here.
 

Ned Kelly

Juniors
Messages
1,641
I understand Bateman was ready to come ages ago, it was only announced more recently.

Other clubs seem to get their signings when expected.

He may or may not turn up when the season is half over. It’s bullshit Ned.
My understanding is he wasn't ready to sign until after the world cup. Then immigration was slow because of the Christmas Holidays add to that finalizing terms with Wigan who were in no rush to release him.

I think those responsible for signing him and those responsible for speeding up the process of him getting here need to be congratulated.

Signing players in Australia who are with a club that is happy to release them is a whole lot easier than what has been achieved here.
 
Messages
15,387
My understanding is he wasn't ready to sign until after the world cup. Then immigration was slow because of the Christmas Holidays add to that finalizing terms with Wigan who were in no rush to release him.

I think those responsible for signing him and those responsible for speeding up the process of him getting here need to be congratulated.

Signing players in Australia who are with a club that is happy to release them is a whole lot easier than what has been achieved here.
Congratulations to his expert immigration team? Speeding up the process?

It’s quicker to get a Central African refugee over here.

Plus we’ve paid a Motza to his club and himself, and he’s yet to wrap an official sock around a toe.

No one can tell us when he’s even arriving.

Im not against his actual signing, so long as he actually plays…and there’s no sign of that.

Its been a dogs breakfast, nobody knows anything and it’s costing us a fortune.
 
Messages
15,387
Wish these merkins would shut their trap.

Every year for ten years it's been the toughest/best/fittest off season ever only to look dead on their feet 30 minutes into their round 5 fixture and half a dozen of them out injured.

They are very set in their public relations ways.

They take us for fools, which ends up making them look dumb.


They’ve got Brooksy believing that him and Moses will be playing in the same team and better still, they’ve got him to approach Moses.

The tears for brooksy is all making sense. He’s being used as an agent to win Moses over.

He’s only going to to do that if he thinks he’s secure.

It just might work.

Thence Brooksy will uncover the cunning plan when he returns to his diamond encrusted locker to find a “ welcome home Mitch” sign on it, with streamers and balloons.

Then his keycard won’t work, the red light flashes and after his fourth attempt the coe alarm sounds indicating a break in.
 
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