Rumoured Targets 3

[Jono078]

I just don't know about the direction we are going with those two players. Surely there are better options available to fix our needs.

Finucane might be a great leader but I don't see him improving the likes of Saifitis, Klemmer, Firizell and Fitzgibbon, what's he really going to add?

Gagai, as mentioned previously, is showing signs of regression. If we aim to play him in the centres then I'm not so sure he'll be that big of an upgrade on Tuala..

 

[Yosh]

We better not sign Gagai and Finucane and lose out on Jones. That would almost be the stupidest recruitment decision our club has ever made.

Local hero leaves club for two retirement package oldies.

I'm not saying Jones is as talented as either of those two players but he is home grown and is already a crowd favorite 15 games into his career. He needs to be here till he retires. It's what Newcastle would have done in the 90s when we were among the best teams in the comp.

I think Finucane is worth more off the field than on it but we already got that with Klemmer and Frizell. Brailey also brings a ton as a youngster and Dan Saifiti will mature more as a leader as he plays more rep games.

Of course having Dale and Gagai would be good for the club but it's only second place compared to Staggs and Jones.

 

[GidleyTwinz]

Gagai, as mentioned previously, is showing signs of regression. If we aim to play him in the centres then I'm not so sure he'll be that big of an upgrade on Tuala..

There are some arguments against signing Gagai, but this is a bit of an overstatement. There's a reason one of those players was playing Origin on the weekend, and the other has half the posters on this site arguing he shouldn't start for the 12th placed team in the comp.

 

[Burwood]

It's what Newcastle would have done in the 90s when we were among the best teams in the comp.

I think you’re confusing the 90s with when Hags was in charge of recruitment in the 00s and ran the club into the ground.

 

[Jono078]

There are some arguments against signing Gagai, but this is a bit of an overstatement. There's a reason one of those players was playing Origin on the weekend, and the other has half the posters on this site arguing he shouldn't start for the 12th placed team in the comp.

Sure it's an exaggeration but I still think our right edge D will be a weakness if he's playing centre there.

 

[PhilGould]

Finucane is a very good player, but how many Storm players (particularly forwards) have left that system and looked as good or better? He's only going to leave for a bigger payday, and teams that outbid Melbourne for their own players usually live to regret it.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

I don’t mind the idea of getting Finucane, he’s a pretty straight up and down sort of forward but he’s tough as nails and super professional which is something we could use a bit more of.

We’d probably pay more than Melbourne are offering to get him here but I hope that his connections to AOB and the fact that we’ve got a decent playing roster would be enough to get him here without paying ridiculous money.

Signing Gags seems to be a fairly divisive topic. Ultimately if he’s better than what we’ve got (which he is) and if we’re getting him at the right price (which I hope we do) then I don’t have a major problem with it. Ultimately it all comes down to value for money. If we don’t over pay then it’s a good signing because he definitely makes our side stronger.

 

[GidleyTwinz]

Sure it's an exaggeration but I still think our right edge D will be a weakness if he's playing centre there.

Statistically and (IMO) based on the eye-test, Souths' left edge defence is not bad. Gagai isn't Morris, but he's been defending pretty well the last couple of years in club footy.

Focussing on the origin performances I think is a bit misleading. Yes, he got handled by Mitchell - but there really aren't many players who are going to look good against a switched on Latrell. Especially when they're getting no help because he's linking up with Luai, Sims, To'o, and one of Tedesco/Turbo on that edge.

Obviously if we pay too much, it's a bad deal. But I think some of the defensive concerns on here are a bit overblown.

 

[Pretty Penny]

I hear big Dale Funnycan is a chance to be signed from Melbourne

Evidently Newcastle are going to offer him a 4 year deal and then a 3 year coaching contract post his career.

 

[aqua_duck]

Not sure where this narrative of inexperienced forwards keeps coming from;
Klemmer-NSW and Aust rep
Brailey-co captain
D Saf-co captain and NSW starting prop
Frizell-NSW and Aust rep
Fitz-close to 90 1st grade games now and 6th year in 1st grade
Barnett-over 100 top grade games and member of the leadership group

J Saf- close to 90 top grade games and 5th year in the top grade
Sue-over 150 games and 9th year as a 1st grader

'Inexperience' is such a lazy excuse when the real issues are terrible game plan and lack of depth.

Watching the ineptitude of QLD's attack on Sunday really reminded me of watching the knights, trying to barge over at every opportunity close to the line and when that doesn't work the backline plays are clunky and disorganised

 

[aqua_duck]

Statistically and (IMO) based on the eye-test, Souths' left edge defence is not bad. Gagai isn't Morris, but he's been defending pretty well the last couple of years in club footy.

Focussing on the origin performances I think is a bit misleading. Yes, he got handled by Mitchell - but there really aren't many players who are going to look good against a switched on Latrell. Especially when they're getting no help because he's linking up with Luai, Sims, To'o, and one of Tedesco/Turbo on that edge.

Obviously if we pay too much, it's a bad deal. But I think some of the defensive concerns on here are a bit overblown.

Gagai has definitely improved alot defensively but being defensively sound is the bare minimum you'd expect from a 'marquee' centre. My fear with Gagai is what kind of player he will be in a year or 2 when he loses a yard or 2 of pace, I look around the league now and can't find too many centres running around and having an impact into their 30s beside J Moz and Gagai is definitely no J Moz

 

[Burwood]

Gagai has never relied on pace- he’s the player who, in his prime, got chased down by Frizell in origin. As long as he doesn’t do his knee, he should keep his main asset- his footwork- until he retires.

 

[Jono078]

Gagai's asset is his tackle break ability when either returning the ball or taking those tough dummy half runs, also his positioning in attacking plays is good too. I'm not against him coming, just like most, I think it has to be at a fair value.

The more I think about Finucane, the more I think it's a bad signing. What message do all of our current forwards take from him coming here? They will all question what he brings that they don't, and I think that's valid. Hopefully just the talk of him coming here gets the existing crop to lift their games a bit more.

So for me I'm ok with Gagai at the right price and length of contract. Finucane's money I think can be better spent elsewhere.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

I don’t think it’s about Finucane coming along to fix a specific problem necessarily but ultimately he would walk into our starting pack and would be an upgrade on our lock position.

8. DSaf
9. Brailey
10. Klemmer/JSaf
11. Frizell
12. Barnett
13. Finucane

14. Watson
15. Sue
16. JSaf/Klemmer
17. Jones

18. Fitzgibbon (or let him go... whatever)
19. King
Etc
Etc
Etc

That’s a strong pack and I would feel confident in going up against any other pack in the comp and at least matching them.

I guess I’m looking at it from the perspective of... would Finucane improve our team??? Yes.

 

[Jono078]

I don't like Finucane as a lock at all. 5 years ago sure, but not now.

We need a ball playing, tackle busting lock. Finucane is as simple as it gets, basically like Klemmer as far as making his runs and tackles and not too much extra.

Look at the top Locks now.. Radley, Murray, Yeo, they all have the ability to setup or be a link in certain plays. All super agile too with high work rates and capable of playing 80 easily.

 

[macavity]

Finucaine would be a terrible use of cap space. Just terrible. It would make me really lose faith that AOB has any idea how to build a team at all.

We need a centre (not Gagai) and an edge back rower not named ShitGibbon.

 

[Yosh]

4 years for a breaking down 30 year old who is known for playing a hard and tough brand of football.

Unless it's on relatively low money and we have a plan to medically retire him early, what are we thinking?

 

[aqua_duck]

I don't like Finucane as a lock at all. 5 years ago sure, but not now.

We need a ball playing, tackle busting lock. Finucane is as simple as it gets, basically like Klemmer as far as making his runs and tackles and not too much extra.

Look at the top Locks now.. Radley, Murray, Yeo, they all have the ability to setup or be a link in certain plays. All super agile too with high work rates and capable of playing 80 easily.

Hit the nail on the head, under the new rules having a lock that can act as that link and extra ball player is invaluable. Finucane is great don't get me wrong but his skillset is pretty similar to what we already have.

 

[aqua_duck]

Gagai has never relied on pace- he’s the player who, in his prime, got chased down by Frizell in origin. As long as he doesn’t do his knee, he should keep his main asset- his footwork- until he retires.

Gagai isn't quick over long distances but he does have good acceleration, agility and short area quickness that makes him a half decent ball runner, those attributes will likely decline significant in the next 18 months with age. Outside backs over 30 just aren't a good investment, as I said look around the league I think there are like 2 outside backs over 30 starting this weekend, Gagai might still be an asset as a 32-33 year old but if he is he'd be an exception rather than the norm

 

[Knight Tales]

Are we being premature in our recruitment given we have barely had a full strength side for 3 years now.? In particular our spine? Maybe if we fail to win games now KP is back then we can ask questions. Our forward pack is imo no better off with Finucane. They do their job holding the middle. So why do we need Finucane? Our edge is our weakness. It is like a vanity project for O’Brien. D Saf is growing into a great leader as is Brails. It takes time.
I would be playing the long game into 2023 when guys like Kikau are OC and at long odds to stay at Penrith unless they move players on.