Rumoured Targets 3

[mozza91]

Lol Dylan Brown is a gun

This is up there with the "Liam Martin is bog average" chat from awhile ago

Has all the tools to be a top player but rarely shows it. Dishing out 1.2 mill a year for a bloke who plays good occasionally is bad management.

 

[Knight Tales]

Defensively the statistics show Brown is a great defender. The issue is he has to produce with the ball and for whatever reason plays within his abilities. You see this a lot in clubs where a halfback is allowed to override the play as much as Moses is. Then there was Gutho who is as alpha as they get. That said Brown’s career will go out with a whimper unless he shows the spine to get on the ball and play what he sees. I agree his ability is all there. But that has been said many times before about many players.

 

[slotmachine]

If you're not having a crack at free agent spine players why are you losing blokes like Dom and Leo? All this cap space and no one to spend it on... And it's not like there are any decent halves (that would come to Newcastle) off contract over the next few years, at which point KP will be signed somewhere else.

 

[Knight Tales]

According to the Daily Telegraph we are one of five clubs about to have a crack at signing Brown.

 

[Woody90]

Lol Dylan Brown is a gun

This is up there with the "Liam Martin is bog average" chat from awhile ago

Problem signing Brown is that we’d still need to sign a half to get the team around the park and the general game management. He can’t do that, hence what happened to him and Eels when Moses was out last year. Yes he can definitely pull off some gun plays in the opposition 20, but when he was the senior half last year his side were one game off a wooden spoon.

Why I said before I was in 2 minds as there are benefits to chasing him. He would offer an additional running threat to take some pressure off Ponga and for that alone I’d definitely entertain it. 1.2 mill for someone where we’d still need to find a halfback is overs 100%, but there aren’t halfbacks to sign. Apart from injuries I’d also see him as less of a risk than someone like Luai who’s come from Penrith’s system. The Eels are an absolute basket case, so we’d get what we expected.

FTR I don’t actually think he’d leave the Eels and I think he’s just trying to get an upgrade. I could see him going to the Roosters though if he’s given the financial benefits.

 

[Old dog]

It could come to him playing 6 and Cogger or whoever looking and playing better at 7 until we actually get a 7.
Brown at 6 is an improvement on what we have and that would/should make an improvement in the spine, not happening until 2026 so time to find a 7.

 

[macavity]

Lol Dylan Brown is a gun

This is up there with the "Liam Martin is bog average" chat from awhile ago

I would play Martin at 6 at that money

 

[Yosh]

I'd take Moses for that 1.2m but Brown seems a bit meh. If it happens, not going to complain. He could be deadly combining with Ponga on the left. Hope Gamble can step up and be a real halfback in the coming years then.

 

[Knight Tales]

Brown fits that criteria of having a tonne of ability but you are still rolling the dice to sign him as your primary playmaker. But when you look at what we are paying Hastings then his asking price is not so bad. We really cannot be choosy here. My concern is we go above 1.2. Cos if a club matches the asking value then there is only way it goes to other potential buyers. Up! Thankfully Sully will be there to bring sanity back into it. Hopefully!

 

[steph_hurry]

Outside of the guys that have been mentioned, its worth keeping a close eye on the Cowboys, Raiders & Bulldogs halfback situation. If the Cowboys don't hand the keys to Tom Duffy from the get go, he's off contract at the end of the year already and definitely would be an upgrade over current options. They also have Zach Herdegen (who Newcastle thought they had in the bag) on a development deal to go along with Dearden, Clifford, Purdue & Drinkwater who could move into the halves depending on the development of Mason Barber.

Raiders situation is that they have Strange & Sanders who definitely view themselves as long-term 6 & 7. They've got Weekes who could be moved to 6 to accommodate Stewart. They've got 3 youngsters in Keahn Skipps, Jonah Anderson and Jalen Afamasaga who all started in the Jersey Flegg in 2024. That's without mentioning their first choice halfback and captain Jamal Fogarty. If the Raiders opt to go younger in 2026, Fogarty could be moved on and he would be perfect in Newcastle.

The Bulldogs situation is simpler. Sexton is already free to talk to other clubs and has Mitch Woods & Cassius Tia breathing down his neck. I believe Sexton is definitely an NRL halfback in the right spine and I believe Tia is probably the most talented young halfback that doesn't get weekly attention. Tia went to the 2022 SG Ball GF with the Roosters (Ethan Strange was his partner) but they lost to saiya Katoa & Keagan Russell-Smith. 2023 he single handedly beat a star-studded Panthers Flegg team, then the Sanders/Talagi-led Eels Flegg side before just losing to the Bulldogs in the GF (7 Bulldogs from that side have played NRL, whilst Joash Papali'i, Karl Oloapu & Jonah Glover have all dominated reserve grade since). The Bulldogs thought so highly of Tia they bought him, and he led them to another GF win. Tia finished with 5 tries, 51 goals & 17 try assists, multiple 40/20s. They beat Cronulla 14-12 in the GF, with Tia scoring 1 try, kicking 1 goal and having a hand in both other tries the Bulldogs scored.

Anyway forgive my rambling - there are halfbacks to be poached.

 

[Lynoman]

If you're not having a crack at free agent spine players why are you losing blokes like Dom and Leo? All this cap space and no one to spend it on... And it's not like there are any decent halves (that would come to Newcastle) off contract over the next few years, at which point KP will be signed somewhere else.

We lost Dom because his Old Man didn't rate us and the Newy lifestyle, not because we didn't offer him as much money. And Leo, well, I genuinely believe he's a few brain cells short and read too much of his own press and what his manager was telling him.

 

[Yosh]

We lost Dom because his Old Man didn't rate us and the Newy lifestyle, not because we didn't offer him as much money. And Leo, well, I genuinely believe he's a few brain cells short and read too much of his own press and what his manager was telling him.

Harsh on Leo there. More money and if I was player I'd rather play under Ciraldo and Gould than AOB.

 

[mozza91]

Harsh on Leo there. More money and if I was player I'd rather play under Ciraldo and Gould than AOB.

Ciraldo the SuperCoach. We could only dream of a 1st week finals exit. Oh wait.

 

[steph_hurry]

Harsh on Leo there. More money and if I was player I'd rather play under Ciraldo and Gould than AOB.

I think the recent failures in the FA market are all about AOB. If I was a player and I listened to any of his press conferences, I'd put a red marker through Newcastle whilst he's coaching. He just does not seem to back his players unless they are absolutely bonafide superstars. His comments about Will Pryce last year really annoyed me. His halves merry go round and how he picks players that he just doesnt get on with is so bizarre to me. He has seen a few young players develop into good players, but his ability to get no help for Ponga is so odd.

The fact he talks about winning a comp with a halves pairing of Jack Coggar and Tyson Gamble is just ridiculous.

Kurt Mann, Mitch Barnett, Connor Watson, Josh King, Jacob Kiraz, Chris Randall are all examples of players who stopped playing for him and saw huge improvements in their game, or they were just flat out ignored by AOB when they were in Newcastle. If it werent for injury. Yet he selects Enari Tuala (3), Brodie Jones (8), Jack Hetherington (18) and Hymel Hunt (20) are among the 20 players that he's selected the most in his time coaching Newcastle. There was always a better player that they lost because he picked those guys ahead of them.

If he picks Gamble at 7 to start the year, he will be the 8th halfback that AOB has genuinely selected as the "starter" since 2021. The 6th to start at 7 just in the last 2 years. Hastings & Pearce are the only ones of the 8 that have ever looked capable of being a halfback in the NRL that you could win a finals game with.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

2025 will be a lot harder for Ciraldo. Last year everyone’s expectations were low and they well and truly defied that and then some. Teams will do plenty of video on them and their play style and work them out. Not saying they’ll go terribly this year but I’m not locking the Bulldogs into a similar spot on the ladder just yet.

 

[Woody90]

I think the recent failures in the FA market are all about AOB. If I was a player and I listened to any of his press conferences, I'd put a red marker through Newcastle whilst he's coaching. He just does not seem to back his players unless they are absolutely bonafide superstars. His comments about Will Pryce last year really annoyed me. His halves merry go round and how he picks players that he just doesnt get on with is so bizarre to me. He has seen a few young players develop into good players, but his ability to get no help for Ponga is so odd.

The fact he talks about winning a comp with a halves pairing of Jack Coggar and Tyson Gamble is just ridiculous.

Kurt Mann, Mitch Barnett, Connor Watson, Josh King, Jacob Kiraz, Chris Randall are all examples of players who stopped playing for him and saw huge improvements in their game, or they were just flat out ignored by AOB when they were in Newcastle. If it werent for injury. Yet he selects Enari Tuala (3), Brodie Jones (8), Jack Hetherington (18) and Hymel Hunt (20) are among the 20 players that he's selected the most in his time coaching Newcastle. There was always a better player that they lost because he picked those guys ahead of them.

If he picks Gamble at 7 to start the year, he will be the 8th halfback that AOB has genuinely selected as the "starter" since 2021. The 6th to start at 7 just in the last 2 years. Hastings & Pearce are the only ones of the 8 that have ever looked capable of being a halfback in the NRL that you could win a finals game with.

In AOB’s defence, if a coach isn’t saying they think they can win a comp with the players they have available to them they shouldn’t be coaching.

I very much doubt any combination of Hastings/Gamble/Cogger/Pryce/Crossland would be his first choice if we had our choice of halves in the comp, hence all the chopping and changing last year.

 

[steph_hurry]

2025 will be a lot harder for Ciraldo. Last year everyone’s expectations were low and they well and truly defied that and then some. Teams will do plenty of video on them and their play style and work them out. Not saying they’ll go terribly this year but I’m not locking the Bulldogs into a similar spot on the ladder just yet.

100% Agree with this. There's potential for sure for continued success, but if Burton & Sexton don't really go up a level, Tracey is getting old fast and they don't have a clearcut back-up there. Loss of Addo-Carr is legit, but their forward pack does appear to get better in pretty much every facet. It's just whether the new additions Amone & Tupouniua can live up to their billing, while they'll need just as much if not more from their main weapons Kiraz, Crichton, Kikau & Xerri. No reason they can't deliver, but an NRL season is long and the Bulldogs depth in the spine is really poor. Any injuries to their 1, 6, 7 or 9 are unmanagable in my opinion.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

On the Dylan Brown thing…

To improve from our current position of just scraping into the 8 most years, we need quality players. I know that a quality halfback would be our preferred option right now but getting one is like hen’s teeth. That being said I think we can make do with a Hastings/Cogger/Gamble at halfback if we have a couple of really dynamic players like Brown & KP at 5/8 & FB respectively. We might need to alter our play style a little bit but at some stage we need to land another big signing to be any chance of winning a comp while KP is at the club. I honestly think Brown at 6 and KP at 1 would be seriously dangerous for opponents to face.

If those two were in those positions then we can make do with someone vanilla like Brailey or Crossland at 9 and one of our current halfbacks or someone like a Sexton/Weaver/Fogarty as an upgrade to our no.7 position without breaking the bank.

 

[Yosh]

I still don't trust AOB to do anything with the players we got... We still not looking for a new manager? Why did we have to go on that 10 win run...