Rumoured Targets 3

[Spot On]

I don't recall seeing anything that would warrant a very good rating. I'd have rated Kostjacyn more along the lines of adequate. He mostly just passed the ball short from the play the ball, did he have any darts from dummy half?

And yes, I am aware that is what a hooker does mostly. Lol.

Rory was very solid in the first 30 mins last night. Does his job well. Barks at the big blokes too.

 

[Spot On]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...l/news-story/4eafa2953f1db6b7eb960f2695719b77

Kade's retirement to be rubber stamped in time for him to be farewelled this weekend.

Some very good news

Also says this creates over 700K in cap space... Holy moly!! Does that mean Kade himself frees up 700K or we now have 700K in total freed up to spend next year?

This isn't going to turn into a Watmough/QBE fiasco now is it???

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

This isn't going to turn into a Watmough/QBE fiasco now is it???

If watmough didn't get an insurance pay out I doubt Snowden will.

 

[Burwood]

Snowden's injury problems date back before 2014, so think he'd end up the same as Watmough.

Won't be long until club doctors and physios stop documenting all injury problems with players...

 

[Knight76]

And I expect this may throw a spanner in the works of that rubber stamping from the NRL. If the insurance company rejects the claim, guess who is left paying out his contract at the moment? The NRL.

They will likely stall on his medical retirement until a new owner comes in, then rubber stamp it shortly after.

 

[voltron]

I hope we spend that money well.
not a fan of rein,

 

[TheFrog]

The article gives it away...."chronic neck and back injuries". Insurance won't pay.

 

[Sydney Knight]

Depends whether they were chronic at the time he signed the last contract

 

[otori]

Looks like Snowy has been granted his medical retirement

 

[Glendale]

You know what, I actually reckon Fensom could be exactly what we need. Not a talented player by any stretch but gives his absolute best and tackles everything that moves. He'll be a senior player, and the biggest thing we need from our senior players is attitude. Apart from Mullen and Smith the rest of our senior players just bludge and get paid. Fensom would be the exact opposite. I could see him becoming a fan favourite here.

 

[Joel-22]

You know what, I actually reckon Fensom could be exactly what we need. Not a talented player by any stretch but gives his absolute best and tackles everything that moves. He'll be a senior player, and the biggest thing we need from our senior players is attitude. Apart from Mullen and Smith the rest of our senior players just bludge and get paid. Fensom would be the exact opposite. I could see him becoming a fan favourite here.

I agree. Out of everyone we've been linked to I'm actually most optimistic about Fensom. I won't bother explaining what he'll bring to the side because your above post does that but I will also add that he turns 28 in October. That's a good 4-5 years that we can get out of him. Which gives our young boys exposure to a solid, experienced first grader with a great work ethic well into their mid twenties. I'd applaud the signing (provided it wasn't geniused money)

 

[Knight76]

Now the insurance battle starts.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

He would make our team better no doubt, he's gotta come at the right price though. At least given how vocal Brown has been this year it looks like we won't be paying overs for anyone so when we do sign a player or two we can at least be confident that Brown is getting them at a good price.

 

[The Showstopper]

Fensom would be a smart signing. I believe he is a far better player all round than he gets credit for. He is clearly a very aggressive and hardworking defender. TBH I would put him above Bird by some distance due to his relatively young age and the fact he is equally as effective. Of course he has not got Brid's class but there is 4-5 years age gap. Heighington on a small deal is no bother to me. He is going to get his job done.

No idea how the Akulla situation will go. He just keeps resisting every offer going. He is like a child who can't accept no for an answer. It is over mate. Accept.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

What are everyone's views on Levi?
We keep hearing he is our future but, even though he is very young, he hasn't come on as much as I thought he would.
He's a bit light in his frame, doesn't seem to have much of a kicking game, doesn't seem to get as much structure behind him as Randell and doesn't do a full 80.
A lot might be due to who he is playing with but, at this stage, I'd take Randall over Levi.

 

[BuderusIsaBeast]

I rate Levi very highly however I don't think its fair on a 21 year old with back issues for them to play 80 or even be the main hooker. For the right price I would have no issue with picking up Mitch Rein on a 2 or even 3 year deal and bringing Levi off the bench especially after back surgery. Rein has been very good for the Dragons right up till this year where its fair to say the majority of Dragons have struggled

 

[Burwood]

I've been disappointed with Levi this year- I was expecting a lot more from him. We've looked much better defensively and with ball in hand when Randell was on the field.

But I also know that's he's been playing with a crook back for most of the season. Hopefully next year he'll have his injury in order and can kick on from there.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

The back problem with Levi is definitely an issue and to his credit he has shown the sort of commitment the club needs.
I still reckon we will need to carry him with a bench spot next year.
We've developed a habit of having a bench utility and that usually makes good sense.
I'd like , however, to see Levi cut it on his own and leave the possibility of being more flexible off the bench according to what we need for a particular game or at a particular time.

 

[Glendale]

Levi is just playing too much first grade ahead of his time. He's not physically ready to play week in week out NRL as a starter and in an ideal world we'd have him coming off the bench. But this is a major rebuilding year and despite the fact Randell is more developed for first grade right now, we need Levi to get as much experience as possible. He probably didn't have a great game at all this year, but I reckon we'll look back at it as a pivotal time in his career, if he can get over these back issues I'm confident he will be a very good player. Buying Kostjasyn and keeping Randell could be handy as we can give him a break when he needs it.

 

[Swarzey]

Kid shouldn't be playing at all. Period. I can't criticise Levi when he should have been gone for back surgery a looooong time ago. The only reason I support signing Kostjasyn is so we're not in this position next year IF his back returns to the same state but he again feels forced to keep surgery away; we would have a more than capable backup in Randell.

I still believe he's our long term solution at hooker. This is just an unfortunate obstacle for him and the club. If we lighten the load for him in 2017, this could be the last we see of his back problems. I don't think anyone can disagree we saw a more than capable hooker before this all happened.