Rumoured targets 2

[mozza91]

Christ did we even make him an offer? What a bloody joke. Good luck to Cuthbo though, he'll kill it over there & hopefully he's on real good coin too.

 

[Noname36]

I bet he just got fed up and left because the contract negotiations were all put on hold during the f**king management circus.

I'm so over this shit. I reckon we should all send our memberships back or something. They keep f**king with us because they think we'll support the side no matter what.

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

What's the next genius plan by the Knights? Re-sign Newton for another year to replace Cuthbertson?

 

[perverse]

I bet he just got fed up and left because the contract negotiations were all put on hold during the f**king management circus.

Wouldn't surprise me, I'm sure our management just figured that the rest of the market and our players off contract would all stand still and wait for us to sort our shit out. f**k...

 

[Jono078]

Cuthbo's been one of our best this year but im not fussed at all about losing him.

He is a replaceable forward. We just better get that capable replacement.

 

[Apey]

Cuthbo's been one of our best this year but im not fussed at all about losing him.

He is a replaceable forward. We just better get that capable replacement.

He is replaceable if you aren't a club struggling to get any decent signings on the board.

 

[Nuffy]

I'm so pleased that all the people associated with the club are so relaxed about resolving the issues that they spent the weekend doing anything but working through the issues.

By the time the issues are resolved, it will be irrelevant, the club will be dead.

I am surprised that things are getting worse after everything we've been through, but I am never surprised by this club when it comes to calamities.

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

Cuthbo's been one of our best this year but im not fussed at all about losing him.

He is a replaceable forward. We just better get that capable replacement.

Who's going to want to come to our club after everything that has gone down recently? Especially if Bennett does end up leaving?

 

[Rod]

I think I'll see if more than one guy leaves before we start panicking about everyone bailing from the sinking ship etc. That sounds like Daily Telegraph talk.

It sucks to lose Cuthbo, but TBH historically we do pretty well at keeping the players we want to keep. The Leeds deal would have been hard to refuse, 4 years on what is probably very good money, I don't think there's much more to it than that.

 

[Nuffy]

What's the next genius plan by the Knights? Re-sign Newton for another year to replace Cuthbertson?

What worries me is that Mason is in the media talking about a new deal.

Love the bloke but he's not the answer.

 

[RHCP]

Holy shit has somebody died?

I'd say this has been in the works for a while. Cuthbo has been playing well, just like Wes Naqaima did for a season. Would have liked to see him re-signed I guess. But f**k me, it's not the end of the world.

 

[perverse]

Cuthbo is absolutely nothing like Wes. Aside from some poor games when he first got here in the first couple of months, Cuthbo has ranged from good to fantastic for us... and has been in stellar form this year.

It's not the end of the world, no... but losing another prop when we've already lost 3 forwards this year is a kick in the teeth. We were beyond desperate for props for 2015 before this announcement... now it's just ridiculous.

 

[Serc]

I am usually pretty level headed but this one is tough to swallow!

There must be some big rabbits to be pulled out of the hat recruitment wise over the next month or two, because our middle forward stocks for next year are now officially looking very much below NRL standard.

Whoever said we could potentially ruin Mullo's entire career via a lack of half decent props could very well be right - he has turned 27 this year, and if it takes another 3 to 4 years for us to build a decent prop rotation he will have well and truly hit the 30 year mark by the time this happens.

 

[Nuffy]

Holy shit has somebody died?

I'd say this has been in the works for a while. Cuthbo has been playing well, just like Wes Naqaima did for a season. Would have liked to see him re-signed I guess. But f**k me, it's not the end of the world.

The issue is not cuthbo per se, but rather the fact that right now we are down about 5 established NRL forwards already and we've signed a under 20s prop.

There just seems to be zero plan and strategy at any level within the club.

 

[perverse]

What worries me is that Mason is in the media talking about a new deal.

Love the bloke but he's not the answer.

Had we signed 2 new props to come in next year and not lost Cuthbo and Tets, I'd say we would be in a position to be picky. As it stands at this moment, we need Willie pretty bad... and he's not going that bad this year anyway. It's a worry if you're relying on him to start, but I could see Willie providing some value from the bench next year.

 

[RHCP]

I don't think we would (or should) have offered Cuthbo a four year deal. Unless we threw a tonne of cash at him (which once again, I don't think we should have) Leeds would've been a better option for a guy looking for his last major contract.

I'm not happy to see him go, but that's footy. Honestly, I think this would have happened whether we were top of the table or in the position we are right now.

 

[Nuffy]

Had we signed 2 new props to come in next year and not lost Cuthbo and Tets, I'd say we would be in a position to be picky. As it stands at this moment, we need Willie pretty bad... and he's not going that bad this year anyway. It's a worry if you're relying on him to start, but I could see Willie providing some value from the bench next year.

Not arguing with you but it's a measure of how far we've sunk when Mason re-signing could be a highlight.

 

[perverse]

It's just rumours at this point, but I've heard from a few places already that it's more that we put everything on hold while the ownership is up in the air, and Cuthbo got sick of waiting for an offer and took what was on the table.

I'm not saying that he definitely would have stayed for less, but I doubt that shipping off to England was his first preference.

Agree, we shouldn't have given him a 4 year, big money contract... but who is to say that the Leeds deal is on big money, anyway? The English salary cap is pretty bloody small when compared to the NRL these days. I don't know where things stand with tax these days playing over there.

 

[perverse]

Not arguing with you but it's a measure of how far we've sunk when Mason re-signing could be a highlight.

Definitely.

I'm sure the club is aware of it's position. Wayne was trying to get props in for this year - look what happened with Packer. Despite the claims of some on this forum, he's not a stupid man or a stupid coach... he'll know full well that a lot of our pack isn't up to chop and that we're particularly desperate for props. He would have known this before a ball was kicked this year... we have enough proof that he did in that he was bringing more forwards in.

There's also been the odd whisper here and there from rnb11 on the forums regarding the club chasing unnamed forwards around the NRL... and I tend to believe it. Plenty of paper talk, too. We are out in the market trying... or at least, we have been.

What worries me is that he's underestimated how unattractive Newcastle is to outside players, and also didn't expect this ownership debacle either. I'm not particularly worried that the club isn't trying to make it right and fix the forward pack... I'm worried that we couldn't get even a mid-profile player here even if our salary cap were 10 times it's current size.

 

[Rod]

In the off-season I thought Mason was on his last legs. But if he keeps playing like he has been I'd be happy for him to get a one year extension.