Rumours (signings, sackings & other NRL stuff)

[Nutz]

He’s hit and hope anyway..I can just hear everyone crying about him running across the field all the time

We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out. I'm putting my faith in Benji and Fulton and the Interim Head of Football Mathew Betsey....what else can we supporters do?

 

[Nutz]

Wests Tigers appoint Interim Head of Football

Wests Tigers has announced the appointment of Matthew Betsey as Interim Head of Football, as the 2024 NRL squad continues to assemble for pre-season training.

www.weststigers.com.au

Interesting how we bring someone in who spent the last decade in coaching and development at Cricket Australia. I hope he does something to help us get out of this rut.

 

[WA Tiger]

We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out. I'm putting my faith in Benji and Fulton and the Interim Head of Football Mathew Betsey....what else can we supporters do?

Have an opinion on Luai..

 

[Nutz]

Have an opinion on Luai..

I did say in one of my earlier posts that his smugness could be unsettling amongst our playing group. However he apparently is a friend of Benji's so I would take a gamble on that. There is no denying he is a confident player and isn't shy of taking the D on. I agree with you on your assessment of him when you said he runs too laterally. I can recall Benji doing a lot of that.
It would be up to Benji to harness that without dampening his confidence. Also has to get the team running lines off him in support.
Look, the way I see it is if we snare him and it's successful then I could see us as a top 8 team because we have no trouble getting into the red zone but our halves didn't convert it into points.
You also have to consider Sezer could get injured and that would leave us with 2 inexperienced halves...not good.

 

[WA Tiger]

I did say in one of my earlier posts that his smugness could be unsettling amongst our playing group. However he apparently is a friend of Benji's so I would take a gamble on that. There is no denying he is a confident player and isn't shy of taking the D on. I agree with you on your assessment of him when you said he runs too laterally. I can recall Benji doing a lot of that.
It would be up to Benji to harness that without dampening his confidence. Also has to get the team running lines off him in support.
Look, the way I see it is if we snare him and it's successful then I could see us as a top 8 team because we have no trouble getting into the red zone but our halves didn't convert it into points.
You also have to consider Sezer could get injured and that would leave us with 2 inexperienced halves...not good.

I think Benjis vision and awareness and ability to dumby etc running across field to find the gap was prob as good as you’d see…Luai on the other hand can look a bit lost ..you’re right it’s for ‘25 isn’t it …still it’s a lot of $$$ on someone not proven as a match winner and who failed at origin ..

 

[Nutz]

I think Benjis vision and awareness and ability to dumby etc running across field to find the gap was prob as good as you’d see…Luai on the other hand looks a bit lost ..you’re right it’s for ‘25 isn’t it …still it’s a lot of $$$ on someone not proven as a match winner and who failed at origin ..

Yep I agree with all that. The other thing is that Luai plays outside arguably the best halfback in the world and a very cohesive forward pack and adept backline which allows him to play confidently.... that's a big issue than anything else.
Benji is an untested coach. He was a champion player. If he can pull off a miracle and get us in the finals then signing Luai is irrelevant.
I've said it a numerous times now that as supporters we have no choice but to get back on the bus and support them.
Some will dissagree and rant and rave about the stuff ups but for now it's lets get on with it!

 

[WA Tiger]

There’s been failure for so long, so I get that ...and Benji is an unknown quantity but it does feel like somethings going on

 

[Tigerm]

Sharks star’s Super League exit; Dogs win cross-code race for budding star: Transfer Whispers

Sharks star’s Super League exit; Dogs win cross-code race for budding star: Transfer Whispers

www.foxsports.com.au

Tigers close in on Storm swap deal

 

[Nutz]

Sharks star’s Super League exit; Dogs win cross-code race for budding star: Transfer Whispers

Sharks star’s Super League exit; Dogs win cross-code race for budding star: Transfer Whispers

www.foxsports.com.au

Tigers close in on Storm swap deal

Even though Olam is nearing the end of his career and fell out of favour with Bellache, Olam came back for the finals and showed he still has a few years left in the tank.
If he comes to WT and Benji and the club show belief in him he could be rejuvenated enough to make a huge impact.
I would be cautious offering him anything over 2 years with club options which I doubt he would take.
I guess it's all in the presentation Benji puts on as he's flown down to Melbourne to get the deal done.

 

[Tigerm]

Even though Olam is nearing the end of his career and fell out of favour with Bellache, Olam came back for the finals and showed he still has a few years left in the tank.
If he comes to WT and Benji and the club show belief in him he could be rejuvenated enough to make a huge impact.
I would be cautious offering him anything over 2 years with club options which I doubt he would take.
I guess it's all in the presentation Benji puts on as he's flown down to Melbourne to get the deal done.

Agree, Olum is 30 at the end of this year, but 2 years with an option sounds about right?

Again, another player who can show our all young & older backs what's required to make it to the big show.

 

[Nutz]

Agree, Olum is 30 at the end of this year, but 2 years with an option sounds about right?

Again, another player who can show our all young & older backs what's required to make it to the big show.

Yes mate, and then we can bring in Josh or Triston depending on who is making a go of it.

 

[macnaz]

Sharks star’s Super League exit; Dogs win cross-code race for budding star: Transfer Whispers

Sharks star’s Super League exit; Dogs win cross-code race for budding star: Transfer Whispers

www.foxsports.com.au

Tigers close in on Storm swap deal

Win Win imo

 

[Nutz]

If anyone has serious reservations about Luai coming to us just look at all his YouTube highlights especially his rep ones.
I have no doubts about his raw ability. It's 1+mil I'm worried about, especially if he's wanting a lengthy contract.
Penrith have increased their offer to 850k I think so to lure him out from the panthers it's gonna hurt.

 

[Nutz]

It looks like this guy has already developed.
Some of the development lads are huge. At least our trainers are doing a good job.

 

[Tigerm]

If anyone has serious reservations about Luai coming to us just look at all his YouTube highlights especially his rep ones.
I have no doubts about his raw ability. It's 1+mil I'm worried about, especially if he's wanting a lengthy contract.
Penrith have increased their offer to 850k I think so to lure him out from the panthers it's gonna hurt.

It will only hurt if he turns out to be a dud? I think his natural talent won't let that happen.

 

[Tigerm]

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/like-this-a-lot-tigers-close-in-on-swap-deal-for-storm-centre-justin-olam/news-story/3de03ad2d7df373fb3048f05d676d466

Benji Marshall has ventured to Melbourne to finalise a player swap involving out of favour Storm centre Justin Olam and Tigers forward Shawn Blore.

The Daily Telegraph’s David Riccio reported on SEN radio the swap deal is imminent with Marshall believing Olam is the missing piece for his 2024 backline.

“From a Wests Tigers point of view, I like this a lot,” Riccio said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“We all know the type of player Justin Olam. He’s all power and can be hugely damaging.

“He fell out of favour big time at the back end of last season for the Melbourne Storm.

“I don’t think Olam makes the (2024 Melbourne) team with the likes of Nick Meaney, Will Warbrick, Reimis Smith, Xavier Coates, Ryan Papenhuyzen now back into the fray and Grant Anderson who has shown plenty of promise.

“Olam is almost surplus to needs when you think about the depth of the outside backs at Melbourne.


Anyone know why he fell out favour for?

 

[Shredder]

Hey guys, work and work travel have taken me away and Im just catching up now. Ive been through 10 pages of this thread.

My thoughts.
Olam is exactly the kind of player we need. Experienced, solid and still seems to have the fire. Right now, hes a better fit for us than Best, who is coming off one good year.
Douehi should go straight to rah rah. If they are paying Suali $1mln a season, they are desperate and will pay him close to that to. I think we signed him for like $300k? I suspect we are only holding onto him for now as we are having trouble signing players and we need to use all of our cap.

What impact is this external review having on us signing players? The board needs to sign off on signings and if half of them are going to be shafted are they / we holding off on buying new players until it comes out?

I like our pack and we just bought three new halves, so we need to give them an opportunity. Bulla is gold (obviously).
The outside backs are where we are skinny and rather than spending $1mln on the penrith wanker, I'd much rather spend $500k on two outside backs. But unfortunately none are on the market.

If we can claw off the bottom of the table, we wont have to pay overs as much so I would rather we sit tight this year, see how the new spine progresses, hopefully swap for Olam and then go to market to fill spots in 2025,

 

[Ned Kelly]

I think this backs up what you are saying Nutz. The Tigers future would look a whole lot brighter to me if we sign him from 2025 on-wards.

an excerpt from

Smart Signings: Why the Tigers need to throw the keys to the team - and the cheque book - at Jarome Luai

If the Tigers want to get out of their rut, they need to make a statement. Signing a marquee half can do exactly that.

www.theroar.com.au

It’s clear that the key issue is creativity and the halves signings for 2024 are long-shots at best, so there;’s only one place to go for a signing recommendation.

They need a half, they’ve got cash, and they need a kick up the backside. The Wests Tigers need to throw the cheque book at Jarome Luai.

Moreover, they don’t just need to sign him. They need to sign him to play halfback.

There are a lot of myths about Luai, chiefly that he is a bit of a support act to Nathan Cleary, but they don’t stand up to much.

Luai has often played without his great mate in the 7 jumper and generally impressed when tasked with being the senior half, both for the Panthers and, in particular, for Samoa.

Smart Signings is a stats and tactics based method of recruitment, but you don’t really need reams of spreadsheets to tell you that a guy with three Premierships back-to-back-to-back, plus a World Cup Final appearance with a Tier 2 nation, plus a load of rep jerseys, is good at football. If you don’t think Luai is good, then there’s no hope for you.

If anyone has serious reservations about Luai coming to us just look at all his YouTube highlights especially his rep ones.
I have no doubts about his raw ability. It's 1+mil I'm worried about, especially if he's wanting a lengthy contract.
Penrith have increased their offer to 850k I think so to lure him out from the panthers it's gonna hurt.

 

[Ned Kelly]

Even though Olam is nearing the end of his career and fell out of favour with Bellache, Olam came back for the finals and showed he still has a few years left in the tank.
If he comes to WT and Benji and the club show belief in him he could be rejuvenated enough to make a huge impact.
I would be cautious offering him anything over 2 years with club options which I doubt he would take.
I guess it's all in the presentation Benji puts on as he's flown down to Melbourne to get the deal done.

I'm witnessing enough changes at the club to feel like it is the start of something new. I reckon it will help the team a lot mentally to think we are starting fresh and it's not a matter of same old same old.

 

[Nutz]

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/like-this-a-lot-tigers-close-in-on-swap-d
“He fell out of favour big time at the back end of last season for the Melbourne Storm.
Anyone know why he fell out favour for?

TM, Justin Olam was injured back end 2022 which effected his preseason training and again suffered a fractured arm in the first 2023 trial game.
After a slack performance in Storm's 2024 loss to the knights he was dropped.
He did enough in reserve grade to warrant a recall for the finals.
He's far from over. He just needs to have Benji's and the team's backing and he'll be an astute pick up.
I do wish it wasn't Blore who's going but it seems that he has his heart set on a switch so it's a win ein situ.