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Rumoured & Confirmed Signings - Part 5

Iamback

Coach
Messages
16,988
I have heard others putting us at 4 because of our loss of quality. But my question (and I ask for the purposes of debate rather than trying to be aggressive) is which three other teams do you think will be better?

Storm might be an obvious answer, but I think they lose more than we do next year and their depth is questionable already.

Storm have barely had their spine play this year. So hard to get a read on them also have some cap to spend to re-stock their pack

Sharks
Cows
Broncos

All will get better as the young guys and coaches take affect.

Souffs have had no Latrell and new coach teething issues.

Manly get rid of some duds. Guys like Koula improve.

I don't think we win last night without Api
Pre - Origin win either with neither.

Round 2 v Dragons. Kiks try off a charge down. Api put Spencer over.

Take those 3 wins out we are in that top 4 fight.

That is with Cows and Sharks dropping games they won't when they hit that next level.
 

Original Name

Juniors
Messages
1,286
Didn't Ivan say sometime this year or late last year that he doesn't see himself still being a coach by the tail end of Nathans career?

I know this is more of a 'hope' than likely reality but I'd love to see Ivan at some point move to a 'Head of Football Operations' role and for Ciraldo to get the head coach gig.

Would just be a lovely story of continuity within our club.
That's a long ass time with the how diligent Nathan is around stretching and extras. Nathan will still be playing until he's 36 barring injury.
 

Panfa

Juniors
Messages
1,235
It's all good not all our juniors are guns, some will make it others will just be average 1st graders.
 

GongPanther

Referee
Messages
28,281

Panthers drop whiz-kid after signing with Bennett and Dolphins​


Michael Chammas

Penrith have made no apologies for leaving Dolphins-bound teenage sensation Isaiya Katoa out of their lower-grade teams, prioritising the development of long-term players over Wayne Bennett’s prized recruit.

Tensions between the Panthers and Dolphins were already simmering after the NRL’s 17th team raided the team’s junior nursery, as well as unsuccessfully pursuing young gun Sunia Turuva and boom winger Taylan May.

Katoa, who is regarded as one of the best under-18 players in the country, recently turned down a contract extension at the Panthers to sign a deal with Bennett and the Dolphins for next season.

While he was given the opportunity to finish the SG Ball season, in which he picked up the man-of-the-match award in the grand final, he hasn’t been sighted since.

The Panthers have decided they won’t invest any more time into developing Katoa, who is trying to get a game of football with his local team, the Glenmore Park Brumbies, and has been added to their A-Grade squad.

Bennett, who has been critical of the Panthers in the past, declined to comment when contacted by the Herald.

Panthers rugby league chief executive Matt Cameron defended the decision, which has riled influential figures north of the border.
“Isaiya has done nothing wrong here. Unfortunately, this is just the competitive nature of the NRL,” Cameron told the Herald.

“The club made an offer to him earlier in the year, which he declined and then accepted the offer at Redcliffe. We’re disappointed he’s leaving but as a club we have an obligation to develop the next one and the one behind him. He plays in a pivotal position, and it’s in the club’s best interest to make sure we continue to develop the halves that are committed to Panthers.

“I said that to his manager at the time. My job is to future-proof the Penrith Panthers. Continuing to play him in front of others with longer-term contracts doesn’t do our club any favours in the long term. It’s why Jack Cole and Niwhai Puru are playing in those positions moving forward.”

Irrespective of his contract decision, Cameron said that the club was reluctant to add to his heavy workload, which includes rugby union at North Shore private school, Barker College.

“We knew this year would be a busy year for Isaiya,” Cameron said.

“He has commitments playing rugby for Barker at the weekend. We knew he’d get picked in the CIS [Combined Independent Schools] team to go to Redcliffe this week, and we assumed he’d be in the NSW and Australian rugby schoolboys teams.

“We also thought he was a chance of being selected in the train-on squad for Tonga, which he was. We thought it would be good for him to continue playing SG Ball after accepting the offer. At that point, to be brutally honest, the amount of stuff he had on his plate after the SG Ball grand final would have precluded him from playing in any scenario. We wouldn’t have overloaded him.”

The Panthers said they had no issue with the Dolphins signing off-contract NRL top 30 players Robert Jennings and Sean O’Sullivan. However, Cameron took umbrage to the raid of their juniors.

“It’s a free market. We have no problem with the NRL boys,” he said.

“My disappointment is the need to go and get 18-year-old Katoa and Harry Hassett, 19-year-old Mason Teague and 17-year-old John Paul Donevski. The need to go and take those kids out of our junior league.


“Part of their submission would have been based around their capacity to develop juniors in their own area, so why do they feel the need to come and take our kids?


“This is also artificially inflating the market when it comes to signing other young players in our juniors.”

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/pa...ith-bennett-and-dolphins-20220703-p5aypa.html

They'll end up playing for the Broncos.
 

Black Panther

Juniors
Messages
1,398
I actually thought initially I was going to like the Dolphins, but they can f—k off now. I understand you can’t keep them all, but this is as bad as Manly if not worse coming into Blacktown to run their Reserve Grade team.
Like the article stats, I have no problem with the fringe NRL players signing but to blatantly come in and poach our brightest young stars is ridiculous.
A lot comes back on the NRL for not rewarding teams to develop talent. No benefit for putting years into these kids to be taken off us.
I guess one thing it does show is how good our Junior Pathways system is working, problem is the pathways are towards other teams..
 

snickers007

Juniors
Messages
1,448

Panthers drop whiz-kid after signing with Bennett and Dolphins​


Michael Chammas

Chammas is a pretty good journo, and writes well-balance stuff. And we've been absolutely stitched up by his dickhead editor with that headline.

He was signed to our SG Ball squad - and we fulfilled our obligations to him (and he did the same for us). If we wanted to punt him, we would have done so back in February when he signed with them. Instead we let him play the remaining 10 games of the competition. No-one is entitled to enter our Flegg squad from SG Ball - it's a strategic development option (and a privilege) that we use for players who we're trying to fast-track within our system.

Considering the contempt that Wayne Bennett shows the media when he's coaching, it's amusing how much of his recruitment for the Dolphins has played out in the media. This hit piece is particularly hypocritical considering Bennett himself has axed players after they've signed with a rival for the following season (eg. Justin Hodges in 2001).

Can't wait to go up to Redcliff and give them a flogging next year.


Edit:
FoxSports have jumped on this article too - with their own form of clickbait heading:
 

Iamback

Coach
Messages
16,988
Chammas is a pretty good journo, and writes well-balance stuff. And we've been absolutely stitched up by his dickhead editor with that headline.

He was signed to our SG Ball squad - and we fulfilled our obligations to him (and he did the same for us). If we wanted to punt him, we would have done so back in February when he signed with them. Instead we let him play the remaining 10 games of the competition. No-one is entitled to enter our Flegg squad from SG Ball - it's a strategic development option (and a privilege) that we use for players who we're trying to fast-track within our system.

Considering the contempt that Wayne Bennett shows the media when he's coaching, it's amusing how much of his recruitment for the Dolphins has played out in the media. This hit piece is particularly hypocritical considering Bennett himself has axed players after they've signed with a rival for the following season (eg. Justin Hodges in 2001).

Can't wait to go up to Redcliff and give them a flogging next year.


Edit:
FoxSports have jumped on this article too - with their own form of clickbait heading:

It looks like we have done the same with Teague.

Good so we should. Flegg is zero chance of winning the comp so it should just be to develop guys going forward
 

Iamback

Coach
Messages
16,988
I actually thought initially I was going to like the Dolphins, but they can f—k off now. I understand you can’t keep them all, but this is as bad as Manly if not worse coming into Blacktown to run their Reserve Grade team.
Like the article stats, I have no problem with the fringe NRL players signing but to blatantly come in and poach our brightest young stars is ridiculous.
A lot comes back on the NRL for not rewarding teams to develop talent. No benefit for putting years into these kids to be taken off us.
I guess one thing it does show is how good our Junior Pathways system is working, problem is the pathways are towards other teams..

It is a strange policy.

To have such faith in our Junior Development they sign so many guys is just dumb. Very few teams produce so many FGers
 

BossleyPanther

Juniors
Messages
2,117

Panthers drop whiz-kid after signing with Bennett and Dolphins​


Michael Chammas

Penrith have made no apologies for leaving Dolphins-bound teenage sensation Isaiya Katoa out of their lower-grade teams, prioritising the development of long-term players over Wayne Bennett’s prized recruit.

Tensions between the Panthers and Dolphins were already simmering after the NRL’s 17th team raided the team’s junior nursery, as well as unsuccessfully pursuing young gun Sunia Turuva and boom winger Taylan May.

Katoa, who is regarded as one of the best under-18 players in the country, recently turned down a contract extension at the Panthers to sign a deal with Bennett and the Dolphins for next season.

While he was given the opportunity to finish the SG Ball season, in which he picked up the man-of-the-match award in the grand final, he hasn’t been sighted since.

The Panthers have decided they won’t invest any more time into developing Katoa, who is trying to get a game of football with his local team, the Glenmore Park Brumbies, and has been added to their A-Grade squad.

Bennett, who has been critical of the Panthers in the past, declined to comment when contacted by the Herald.

Panthers rugby league chief executive Matt Cameron defended the decision, which has riled influential figures north of the border.
“Isaiya has done nothing wrong here. Unfortunately, this is just the competitive nature of the NRL,” Cameron told the Herald.

“The club made an offer to him earlier in the year, which he declined and then accepted the offer at Redcliffe. We’re disappointed he’s leaving but as a club we have an obligation to develop the next one and the one behind him. He plays in a pivotal position, and it’s in the club’s best interest to make sure we continue to develop the halves that are committed to Panthers.

“I said that to his manager at the time. My job is to future-proof the Penrith Panthers. Continuing to play him in front of others with longer-term contracts doesn’t do our club any favours in the long term. It’s why Jack Cole and Niwhai Puru are playing in those positions moving forward.”

Irrespective of his contract decision, Cameron said that the club was reluctant to add to his heavy workload, which includes rugby union at North Shore private school, Barker College.

“We knew this year would be a busy year for Isaiya,” Cameron said.

“He has commitments playing rugby for Barker at the weekend. We knew he’d get picked in the CIS [Combined Independent Schools] team to go to Redcliffe this week, and we assumed he’d be in the NSW and Australian rugby schoolboys teams.

“We also thought he was a chance of being selected in the train-on squad for Tonga, which he was. We thought it would be good for him to continue playing SG Ball after accepting the offer. At that point, to be brutally honest, the amount of stuff he had on his plate after the SG Ball grand final would have precluded him from playing in any scenario. We wouldn’t have overloaded him.”

The Panthers said they had no issue with the Dolphins signing off-contract NRL top 30 players Robert Jennings and Sean O’Sullivan. However, Cameron took umbrage to the raid of their juniors.

“It’s a free market. We have no problem with the NRL boys,” he said.

“My disappointment is the need to go and get 18-year-old Katoa and Harry Hassett, 19-year-old Mason Teague and 17-year-old John Paul Donevski. The need to go and take those kids out of our junior league.


“Part of their submission would have been based around their capacity to develop juniors in their own area, so why do they feel the need to come and take our kids?


“This is also artificially inflating the market when it comes to signing other young players in our juniors.”

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/pa...ith-bennett-and-dolphins-20220703-p5aypa.html

They'll end up playing for the Broncos.
They should have fed him McDonalds 5 times a day then send him off to Bennett lol
 

soc123_au

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
18,451
Is Bennett using a scatter gun approach to these players ?
He has to fill a squad and going to a well that delivers isn't a bad move. You would assume they will set up their own pathways and having a few kids coming from a professional setup will rub off on their local kids.

That being said the wrinkly old prune can f**k off as far as I'm concerned.
 

Iamback

Coach
Messages
16,988
He has to fill a squad and going to a well that delivers isn't a bad move. You would assume they will set up their own pathways and having a few kids coming from a professional setup will rub off on their local kids.

That being said the wrinkly old prune can f**k off as far as I'm concerned.

Look at Teague. In the Top 30 with minimal Jersey Flegg. No NSW Cup experience it is an odd approach
 

WestyLife

First Grade
Messages
6,086
The dolphins aren't exactly set up for a first grade club so no surprise they had to look at those who do it well for the shirt term.
 

maple_69

Bench
Messages
4,420
Penrith screen for character & attitude first and foremost through the elite junior programs. Bennett knows he's getting good kids when he goes to the well at Penrith. Looking at his recruitment across the board, he's not looking for talent, he's looking to establish a good culture initially. Right approach for mine. Handing out $800K-$1.2M contracts to guys like Munster & Lodge will get fans & media frothing but dudes like that on their golden parachute contract won't be taking the Dolphins to a premiership in the next 3 years.
 

GongPanther

Referee
Messages
28,281
Penrith screen for character & attitude first and foremost through the elite junior programs. Bennett knows he's getting good kids when he goes to the well at Penrith. Looking at his recruitment across the board, he's not looking for talent, he's looking to establish a good culture initially. Right approach for mine. Handing out $800K-$1.2M contracts to guys like Munster & Lodge will get fans & media frothing but dudes like that on their golden parachute contract won't be taking the Dolphins to a premiership in the next 3 years.
Not to mention that Katoa would be playing reserve grade for most of his time at Panthers until the SOO period comes around.

I'm not going to tar the whole Fins club with the same brush, because it seemed that they were starting to get a little desperate that they were not landing big name players.

Anyway, in the back of my mind, I thought something like this was on the horizon.
 

Iamback

Coach
Messages
16,988
The dolphins aren't exactly set up for a first grade club so no surprise they had to look at those who do it well for the shirt term.

Except NSW Clubs have missed 2 years development.

Wouldn't be my choice especially 4 players from a single club
 

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