Rumoured & Confirmed Signings - Part 5

[murraymob]

Not sure. Maybe grandparents. But he played in a recent International.

Yes it was via the grandparents

 

[MugaB]

Brilliant story, love it! The personal connection if you meet a player makes such a difference.

Brandy made me a Panther for life. As a new immigrant in 1988 who had never watched a single game of league in my life, I just went to watch the local team play out of curiosity. Soccer was (still is really) so bad in Australia I couldn't stomach watching it, so off I went to Penrith Park. Even as a complete newbie it was obvious to me that Brandy was special, all grace, speed and vision. I was hooked and what made it even more personal was the fact you could bump into players in the town. Freddie in K Mart Nepean Square (cocky bugger and built like a brick sh*thouse even at 17), Brad Izzard in the cocktail bar at Panthers, MG in the Panthers nightclub drunker than a sailor on shore leave. Then about a year and a half later, Brandy moved in two doors away from me on Castlereagh Street. He had a lot of visitors, some times, not often though, they were men, just sayin......

That was me sold. My town, my team, warts and all. Wooden spoons, poo coloured jerseys (not for too long thankfully), mediocrity, all of it, but it was my team and I loved them and still do.

To be honest, I am still waiting for the alarm clock to go off and to wake up and find the three premierships are a dream and we have three wooden spoons. Our halfback is an ex St George Flegg player with dodgy hamstrings that prevent him from running, our fullback is Neil Baker's son and when the ball goes in the air the Pacific Islanders in the team gather in a circle and pray. Our hooker is a former Dogs NSW Cup legend, the five eighth is a reformed drug dealer signed from Canberra once he finished his sentence and the coach is an ex-Tigers player who does stand up comedy in the off season to supplement his income. The fitness coach is a local guy who has a Pie Face franchise, a mullet and a Torana. He is best mates with the coach, they used to work together as garbos, back in the day. The team physio qualified at the New England Institute for Alternative Medicine and makes sure his sponge is always soaked in Witch Hazel and TCP, it starts the recovery process immediately, and the team practices Tibetan throat singing every Monday, it unblocks their chakras.

With any luck, the alarm clock won't go off for at least one more year.........ZZZZZZZZZZZ

Same here... i was a norths kid growing up, brandy in the late 80s turned me into a panther for life

 

[The Realist]

It's my Mums fault. Tigers were the first team I remember liking, cause Tigers are awesome. Then all the other kids were Parra fans so I wanted in on that. It would have been 1980 or 81 and I finally talked Mum into getting me a Jersey. We went down to Venture on High St and I'm grabbing for the Parra one to try on.

Mum grabs a Penrith one, and offers it up. I'm like no thanks, dont want that poo coloured thing. SHe then tells me a story that Parra are going to change their colours from blue & gold to pink and purple, and the Eels mascot is going to be a wooden spoon. (Had no idea what the wooden spoon was back then) Now my Mum is an honest woman so of course I believed her. I desperately wanted a Jersey so Penrith it was.

Parra went on to win the next 3 comps in blue and gold and as Eels.

Probaly a few weeks after I got my Jersey I was at the Plaza with Dad on a saturday morning. We called into Mick Simmons and a young Royce Simmons was there. I still remember getting his autograph on a card and him chatting to me about if I played. I'll never forget how genuine he was and I felt like I had made a friend. From that moment on I was always going to be a Panther for life. Brandy hitting the scene a few years later didn't hurt either. Used to see him a bit when he first started at Stafford St shops

Still the only time my Mum has lied to me I reckon. Turns out it was a good one.

Your Mum played a LOOOOONGGG Game. Traded a near instant threepeat for one 4 decades later!

 

[Aliceinwonderland]

Your Mum played a LOOOOONGGG Game. Traded a near instant threepeat for one 4 decades later!

I love these stories. My first viewing of a Sydney rugby league game was in about 1971 or 1972. Our family lived up on the mid north coast and my dad (who was a train driver) had to come down and see the 'railway doctor'. We stayed with my aunt and uncle who were huge Western Suburbs fans. So we all piled into my uncle's car and came out to Penrith park.

At that time Penrith park was oval shapes. No eastern grandstand, a very small western grandstand, and some slattered bench seats (not unlike what was a Brookvale just a few short years ago). Western suburbs won, and won well.

Fast forward to the early 90's Penrith in their first ever grandfinal. I had since married and was living at a place called 'St Clair'. We had though moved to mid west NSW. Of course Penrith was the team of choice in that grandfinal.....you all know the story.

A couple of years later. I decided (after moving back to Sydney) to take my kids to the footy at Penrith Park. The rest as they say is history.

 

[Iamback]

Terrell May asking price $500k....
But he will come here for cheap. Some people have no idea

 

[Black Panther]

Say goodbye to Taylan if Terell signs with the Dogs.

 

[Iamback]

Say goodbye to Taylan if Terell signs with the Dogs.

Everyone is assuming he will be a big loss before he has played a single game at centre

 

[BossleyPanther]

Terrell May asking price $500k....
But he will come here for cheap. Some people have no idea

That's too pricey. O well my dream is over .., bye Taylan.

 

[Iamback]

That's too pricey. O well my dream is over .., bye Taylan.

He was never going to be cheap. Too many sides need middles.

Also I am not sure we are or should be in a rush to re-sign our guys

 

[Chins get the wins]

Everyone is assuming he will be a big loss before he has played a single game at centre

Yep see ya mate

 

[Iamback]

Yep see ya mate

He could turn into a gun.

So could McLean who is contracted until 2026 on a cheap deal.

So too Alamonti.

No point rushing it yet particularly if he is slow like his brother was after his busted ACL

 

[Black Panther]

Yep see ya mate

Taylan is a powerhouse with the ball in hand. Unproven at NRL level in the Centres yes, but so is the other Junior blokes we have in our system. When he played Natal he was outstanding.

 

[Black Panther]

NRL

 

[Chins get the wins]

Taylan is a powerhouse with the ball in hand. Unproven at NRL level in the Centres yes, but so is the other Junior blokes we have in our system. When he played Natal he was outstanding.

Yeah but he's non essential and the family are pricks really

 

[maple_69]

In my opinion, medium term, anyone not named To'o who wants more than a bridging deal (eg Turuva could probably take a 2 x $350K deal to cement his credentials) in the backline needs to look elsewhere. May can go, Tago can go the following year. J. McLean, Alamoti, Cole, Iongi, C. McLean, Sielaff-Burns can have their crack. Nothing personal, doesn't matter who it is, just the way our side is built, we can't afford them if we want to keep the key pieces.

 

[MugaB]

In my opinion, medium term, anyone not named To'o who wants more than a bridging deal (eg Turuva could probably take a 2 x $350K deal to cement his credentials) in the backline needs to look elsewhere. May can go, Tago can go the following year. J. McLean, Alamoti, Cole, Iongi, C. McLean, Sielaff-Burns can have their crack. Nothing personal, doesn't matter who it is, just the way our side is built, we can't afford them if we want to keep the key pieces.

The more we keep the nucleus together the better, but at what point do we end up looking like Manly or Melbourne in a few seasons when the older part of our roster retires, and we only rely on Nathan, keeping these young but experienced guys, not all, but some will help us in the long run, tago and may are going to be weapons, i don't see alamoti getting a look in at centre, maybe as a middle if he can add some pounds

 

[Chins get the wins]

In my opinion, medium term, anyone not named To'o who wants more than a bridging deal (eg Turuva could probably take a 2 x $350K deal to cement his credentials) in the backline needs to look elsewhere. May can go, Tago can go the following year. J. McLean, Alamoti, Cole, Iongi, C. McLean, Sielaff-Burns can have their crack. Nothing personal, doesn't matter who it is, just the way our side is built, we can't afford them if we want to keep the key pieces.

Exactly. Our core is locked in

 

[Chins get the wins]

The more we keep the nucleus together the better, but at what point do we end up looking like Manly or Melbourne in a few seasons when the older part of our roster retires, and we only rely on Nathan, keeping these young but experienced guys, not all, but some will help us in the long run, tago and may are going to be weapons, i don't see alamoti getting a look in at centre, maybe as a middle if he can add some pounds

This is why "losing" Luai will be a good thing overall

 

[Iamback]

The more we keep the nucleus together the better, but at what point do we end up looking like Manly or Melbourne in a few seasons when the older part of our roster retires, and we only rely on Nathan, keeping these young but experienced guys, not all, but some will help us in the long run, tago and may are going to be weapons, i don't see alamoti getting a look in at centre, maybe as a middle if he can add some pounds

Turuva 21
Tago is 22.
May 23

6 - options

Laurie 24
Cole 20
Schneider 22

The way we churn through guys will keep the squad young

 

[Luke Bowden]

Say goodbye to Taylan if Terell signs with the Dogs.

The Dogs don’t have a spot for him