Rumoured Targets 3

[Joel-22]

lol Leo is fast becoming the most overrated player in the comp. Everyone bashes the saf brothers (most of which is justified), but I’d put my life on it that Leo will never reach the heights Dan did at his best.

 

[Yosh]

Doubt anyone is going to pay 800k for Leo. If he gets 600~650k, I reckon he'll be about the best front rower in that price range. Wonder how much we are offering him and how much he is going to get elsewhere.

 

[perverse]

It's weird there are so many clubs prepared to offer Leo big money when he is so average...

Strawman argument dude. Things aren't black and white. He's alright, but he's not worth this level of fuss. What do we point at - aside from clubs chasing him - that says we should bend over backwards getting this deal done?

Without mentioning the interest from other clubs - what about him on the field screams "we need to give this bloke a big contract to keep him"? This attitude is why we end up with plodders on inflated contracts. I don't give a stuff about other clubs interest - it has very little value in my mind - I care about what I see on the field. There's a limit to what he's worth, and pretending he's one of the best props in the game is a joke that will see us overpay and regret it down the line. Not even top 10, and without expending too much effort I wouldn't be surprised if someone could throw out 20 props better. What's more, with him generally trending downwards in form, not upwards - I'm not even convinced his ceiling is much higher than right where he is now.

I hope we have set our limit and aren't bothered by other clubs interest is the point. Recruiting based on the interest of other clubs is not good strategy. If other clubs are willing to splash big speculating on his improvement then good luck to them.

 

[Haffa]

Has anyone said he’s average? He’s a young bloke with potential. His stats last season were on par with Dan’s.

 

[slotmachine]

Has anyone said he’s average?

Leo is a good kind of guy to have in your squad. Defends well, pretty decent off the ball... runs hard, but it's generally pretty ineffective. Pretty average/poor work rate.

I think it's strange everyone is so blase about losing our best middle forward tbh.

He's getting a lot of interest because he's already a very good player with room to improve, and is the best middle forward on the market for 2026.

 

[mozza91]

I think it's strange everyone is so blase about losing our best middle forward tbh.

He's getting a lot of interest because he's already a very good player with room to improve, and is the best middle forward on the market for 2026.

I’d prefer to keep him but at the right price (550 or 600 a year at most). Paying overs for blokes has left our cap in a permanent f**ked state for the last 10+ years.

POS is supposed to be solution to this so I expect us not get in a bidding war with the Bulldogs (who seem to be the new Roosters with their bottomless pockets)

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

Should have upgraded and extended him in 2023. Should have never let it get to his last year.

Anyway, better to let him go then be stuck with another Hastings/DSaf like contract.

We extended him in 2022?

 

[perverse]

I think it's strange everyone is so blase about losing our best middle forward tbh.

He's getting a lot of interest because he's already a very good player with room to improve, and is the best middle forward on the market for 2026.

Ok, well you haven't really answered my question at all (I was pretty specific in how I asked it for a reason). I feel like I've explained pretty clearly and with detail about why I'm blase about him, and if we're just going to talk past each other then there's not much more to talk about really I guess?

But you have hit the nail on the head on one point of agreeance. He definitely is one of the best props off contract in that window (having just had a look at the list just now). The biggest reason being that every other off contract prop for that year outside of Kamikamica is a legitimate reserve grade player. That fact alone will almost definitely see him bag a contract for more than he's worth. It's a sellers market.

I think the last point I'll make is that I don't think we would have trouble replacing him - even just from within - if he does leave in 2026. We'll need him next year - but Friz can play a year in the middle for us if need be in 2026 while Hopwood (and hopefully one or two more of the young middles, maybe Leo's twin brother) work their way through the system.

So, based on what I see on the field, the market as it stands and all the rest of the smoke around it - yeah I'm just not that upset if he walks out. I don't think we'll be sitting around in 24 months time thinking about how Leo Thompson is the one that got away - and I actually think it's a higher risk that we'll be sitting around in 24 months wishing we hadn't blown our cap to keep him.

And I guess I should repeat to eliminate the strawman up front - I don't think Leo is a bad player. He's good and does have potential to improve too. This isn't a judgment of him as being useless, it's a judgment of the situation as a whole. We need to start backing our ability to replace mid-tier players, rather than getting hung out to dry by them.

 

[Woody90]

We're not, but if we don't keep trying to be then we never will be either.

Agree with this 100%

 

[Woody90]

Leo isn’t a top line prop by any means, if he leaves though I will be concerned about who replaces him given how few props there are out there. Getting rid of Dan was the right decision, but we’re very skinny if we lose Leo too. Someone like Hopwood has a higher ceiling than Leo, but the middle is the hardest place for rookies to start their careers. Will be a couple of years before he can at least hold his own week in week out.

 

[Rod]

The other factor with the interest in Leo is possibly that prop weirdly seems to have become one of the most important positions in the last few years. Clubs have seen the impact guys like Leota, JFH, AFB and Tapine can have on a team and are likely to shell out large for whoever they perceive as the next one.

I don't think Leo is in that class (not particularly close actually) but clubs will take a swing that he is. Not totally dissimilar to how we're taking a swing at Pezet and pay him overs in the hope he can fill another position that is hard to fill.

 

[Knight Tales]

The longer it drags the more likely he is to stay. Five clubs and has yet to make a call. The media making it up as they go. Just get it over already.

 

[Burwood]

Max Bradbury looks to be without a contract for next year…

 

[Mr_Knightside]

I think part of it as well is that there are a lack of quality off contract players in some of the key positions. So clubs have a bit of $$$ lying around and this begins to trickle into other positions instead.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

Max Bradbury looks to be without a contract for next year…

Now there's a name I've not heard in a long time...

Wasn't all the pearl clutching around us letting him go for Miller a complete waste of time and breath. Kid has faded to black

 

[PhilGould]

I was on the side of it being a dumb move. Not because Bradbury was some 'can't miss' prospect (despite being one of our better junior forwards) but because Miller was a 28-year old third string fullback, and we saw why once he got here. Subsequently was released for nothing in return within 12 months.

Bradbury did his ACL earlier this season but is still much more likely to play NRL in the future than Miller. Best case scenario for the Knights is the trade is seen as a wash but all it'll take is half a dozen good NRL games from him to change that.

 

[Knight Tales]

Bradbury and Hopwood coming through the ranks into our starting pack would he incredibly satisfying for all fans to see. We hear all the time about these kids and yet we either lose them or we aren’t good enough at developing them in time. You only have small window before their managers see a road block or manufacture one in the player’s mind to get more money elsewhere. Max was alway a reluctant release. I am sure AOB would do it differently now.

 

[Old dog]

Give him a train and trial for 2025 and if he is ok, over injury, and shows good form look at 2026 with or without Leo

 

[Alex28]

We should have had him signed up pronto even before it became an issue. Don't think this sorta thing is gonna happen with POS here which is good.

Remember how we signed Dan Saifiti pronto?

 

[Alex28]

My concern is that I’m not sure we’re the best club to help him reach that potential. We don’t have a good track record with halves other than the obvious. If he was an outside back or a second rower I’d be very confident we’d be able to support him to kick on but I’m not convinced we have the coaching structures to support a young half to reach their potential.

We probably aren’t the right club for anyone to reach their potential - so we let them all go?