Terrel May

[Nanadragon]

So May chose Benji
Nothing more to say

Bye bye

 

[Jubilee]

.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

To be honest I never thought that he would come our way , yes it would had been nice if he had however not to be .

Whether or not there will be other decent forwards on the market we don’t know however the other teams would have their full compliment by now so perhaps we may yet still snare one worth signing .

So the dragons are waiting for all other teams to update their rosters by making big signings, and then the dragons swoop in and get all the leftovers when the other teams don’t have cap space. All the other teams are playing checkers, whilst the dragons are playing chess…or maybe Uno…I don’t know.

 

[BLM01]

Exactly right. Tiges paid top dollar for Luai, but he will turn out to be good value.

They hope...without the same coach, squad, leadership and No 7 surrounding him.. time will tell
His prancing and a dancing will take some getting used to for the Tigpies

 

[Das Hassler]

That still remains to be seen, having Luai there sure helps but it wont turn them into an instant Penrith, remains to be seen what the players around him do. Look at Olam and Bateman classic example.

Olam was playing injured since he came right up untill he had to sit it out for surgery...'24 had nothing to do with his form.

 

[Gareth67]

So the dragons are waiting for all other teams to update their rosters by making big signings, and then the dragons swoop in and get all the leftovers when the other teams don’t have cap space. All the other teams are playing checkers, whilst the dragons are playing chess…or maybe Uno…I don’t know.

I never said that , you have misinterpreted what I wrote .

However for what it is worth once again - should another player of note happen to come onto the market now then the Dragons would be in a better position to sign the individual , why ?

As you have pointed out , other clubs would be close to their maximum salary cap level - however that was not Flanagan’s plan of action as he wanted those individuals then , whilst negotiating with them , but unfortunately the players that he was after chose elsewhere to continue their careers .

You call it chess , checkers - or maybe it’s just plain simple old arithmetic , that equation being more dollars on offer at other clubs .

 

[saintmar]

So you have spoken to him and he has told you personally that Benji is a better coach than Flanagan who has won a premiership? Secondly you also know that the fact that Luai and Sinai Turuva both Penrith players that I assume he knew were now at the Tigers had nothing to do with his decision?

No I haven’t spoken to him but apparently he spoke to Flano and gave him the big NO THANKS

 

[Crush]

No I haven’t spoken to him but apparently he spoke to Flano and gave him the big NO THANKS

RUOK?
Saying Flanno is a bad coach is like trying to argue that Cameron Smith is overrated, I tried that for ages and in the end I just looked stupid, he was clearly a great player as much as I didn’t like him….

 

[Crush]

I told you so. na na na na na.
View attachment 96727

Another good signing Nutz.
My prediction for next season is more misery however, you don’t have a coach. Now that you have the roster, Benji will have nowhere to hide.
I actually think he will quit mid season, fall on his sword.
Once you get a coach on there that roster will fly, 2026 should be a big year for tigers.

 

[RedVee]

Another good signing Nutz.
My prediction for next season is more misery however, you don’t have a coach. Now that you have the roster, Benji will have nowhere to hide.
I actually think he will quit mid season, fall on his sword.
Once you get a coach on there that roster will fly, 2026 should be a big year for tigers.

Yeah, Madge would do well with this new Tigers squad me thinks

 

[Dragon David]

Another good signing Nutz.
My prediction for next season is more misery however, you don’t have a coach. Now that you have the roster, Benji will have nowhere to hide.
I actually think he will quit mid season, fall on his sword.
Once you get a coach on there that roster will fly, 2026 should be a big year for tigers.

I agree. Benji just doesn't have what it takes as a coach to get his team to be consistent enough. The squad that he has been able to be put together looks formidable and will win games I have no doubt. It will be very interesting to see how well they are going mid season.

The question I have is do the players who have joined actually want to be Tigers or is money the motivator?

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

I never said that , you have misinterpreted what I wrote .

However for what it is worth once again - should another player of note happen to come onto the market now then the Dragons would be in a better position to sign the individual , why ?

As you have pointed out , other clubs would be close to their maximum salary cap level - however that was not Flanagan’s plan of action as he wanted those individuals then , whilst negotiating with them , but unfortunately the players that he was after chose elsewhere to continue their careers .

You call it chess , checkers - or maybe it’s just plain simple old arithmetic , that equation being more dollars on offer at other clubs .

Sorry mate.i get what you meant. Not having a go at you. All good mate

 

[Nutz]

Another good signing Nutz.
My prediction for next season is more misery however, you don’t have a coach. Now that you have the roster, Benji will have nowhere to hide.
I actually think he will quit mid season, fall on his sword.
Once you get a coach on there that roster will fly, 2026 should be a big year for tigers.

Geez Crush, that's a bit premature but it could happen.
Can he coach regardless of experience?
I don't mean all the spin off from coaching but the gutz of coaching.
Assembling a good roster, tick.
Raising the bar, tick. He told all the players not to come back from holidays unfit, as a result he issued 5 breach notices. Something had to change after spoongate.
Running high standard training sessions rehearsing the game plan, not proven. Fail as in the last game he told the players to go out and throw the ball around. He admitted the players mindset was wrong.
You have to have more experienced players in your team than rookies. Benji had to debut more pathways players than any other team. Lachlan Galvin was one of those so that's a big tick.
Creating combinations, on the fence with this as he has Samuela Fainu and Lachlan Galvin working brilliantly together but we failed to score points so Benji needs to sort out the players roles especially in set plays and attacking in the red zones. The Tigers have never had trouble getting there but they just can't turn it into points.
I think even then best coaches would fail with an inferior roster, including the great Wayne Bennett. He's had failures and just moved on.
So if our team keeps on rebuilding, maybe Benji will surprise a lot of you.
If we don't make the top 8 next year I think Richo is the man to tap him on the shoulder.
Back to Saints forum....you need to recruit Bud Sullivan.

 

[Sloan Ranger]

Here come the Couchman twins - speed up the middle and close on the edge. 2025 will be their breakout year.

I think that's the current plan.

 

[Nutz]

I agree. Benji just doesn't have what it takes as a coach to get his team to be consistent enough. The squad that he has been able to be put together looks formidable and will win games I have no doubt. It will be very interesting to see how well they are going mid season.

The question I have is do the players who have joined actually want to be Tigers or is money the motivator?

Hi David,
it's a professional sport and money is the first and foremost factor in signing a player but if there's not much difference between offers of course other factors come into play.
Several players have an Api or Samoan connection.
Api played with Luai and Turuva. Luai played with May in the Samoan rep team, May is an ex Magpie four years ago and is a westy. Apparently it was a phone call from Api that persuaded May to come over.
There's a few more too like the underrated Staines from Penrith.
The gap between the quality of players is getting wider making selections easier for us.
That's why the team with the best roster usually wins because they play more games together and gel. We will improve.

 

[dragon-ss]

Hi Im new here.

Im not too worried about missing out on May. However, the issue is we cant sign any decent player when there is more than a one horse race. Gutherson, Holmes, Cook, these were all deals with us as the only suitor. This has been going on for years. Hunt was the same.

At some point soon we need to sign a player that chooses to come to us over another club. That will help our recruitment moving forward and give us a boost as well.

 

[CozDragon]

I have no doubt it is money. For him to inform Flanno of his decision means we showed interest at $$. Hence Flanno coming out and saying he was not getting in a bidding war with Tigers..Dogs also pulled out and probably for similar reasons. Fox reporting we could not (likely would not) afford it
Tigers paid more than we thought he was worth and potential. I am OK with that because this is where you get into cap trouble paying overs for guys that may not play not 80 mins on field or on potential alone. A good half YES top dollar.
It is not a failure as some are spruiking but just disappointment on missing getting an up & comer and YES we need a middle but at what price?. I am prepared to wait for the right hand in glove which includes value for money.

They are trying to buy their way into a premiership window and maybe with a better coach they could do it, but I just can't see it happening.
They may well get off the bottom of the ladder next year but they really only have 2-3 years before this method will turn on them and they will have cap issues again with players wanting out.

While I am worried about our lack of forward signings and the depth issues we would face as long as Flanno continues moving in the right direction, we will slowly become a more attractive option without needing to offer massive overs in both $$ & years to get it over the line.

Flanno is trying to build us for sustained success, not brief window which will ultimately lead to nothing.

I just hope he is given the time & means he needs to do it.