The Rumours Thread

[Slippery Morris]

Rub it in Nutz....lol Bud will be a good signing IF he stays fit. That is the key. Looking like another Kyle Stanley at the moment. Poor kid cannot take a break.

 

[Dragon David]

Rub it in Nutz....lol Bud will be a good signing IF he stays fit. That is the key. Looking like another Kyle Stanley at the moment. Poor kid cannot take a break.

Yep, Bud cannot take a break alright. Injury prone unfortunately like Kyle Stanley and others - Turbo, Papenhuysen to name a few.

 

[BLM01]

I don't have a great memory at the best of times but I will tell you this. I do remember you, and a few others on here, telling me I was wrong to be so adamant that we sign up Nicho Hynes when Melbourne let him go. It was not really a miss as far as you saw it and other posters had so much hate for the idea. He went on to immediately win a Dally M on a fraction of Hunt's salary. Fast forward two years and we are exactly where we were in squad quality.

It's been a complete failure again in recruitment, ever since Flanagan knew he was joining the Dragons. While I pin that more on the rancidness of our club than Flano, I am not going to buy that we have not missed out on opportunities and 'she'll be right'.

I urge some supporters to learn from history and not just expect better things around the corner. If he is afforded the opportunity Flanagan will clear the house of 70% of our playing ranks, especially if they don't perform like professionals.

Well thanks For the history lesson but missed the point. What mistakes has our new unproven either way coach at our club made apart from trying hard but publicly to lure those type of players you refer to. Yes Hynes was a miss 3 yrs ago when signed and gone good in R1-27 but he would not if been the same player with our squad snd coaching around him.
Hindsight excuse the pun is wonderful tool

 

[thebigredv]

Well thanks For the history lesson but missed the point. What mistakes has our new unproven either way coach at our club made apart from trying hard but publicly to lure those type of players you refer to. Yes Hynes was a miss 3 yrs ago when signed and gone good in R1-27 but he would not if been the same player with our squad snd coaching around him.
Hindsight excuse the pun is wonderful tool

AFB is the only real miss? That's wrong. I don't care if the coach makes it public or not either, but there have been some excellent talent floated on the market and we've missed out - either not identified or simply can't land them but you pretend otherwise. You couldn't see the value in Hynes and are throwing a blanket over and declaring the same for the likes of Dearden, Capwell, Luai, Tracey, Olam, Xerri, Curran etc.

It's not hindsight. It's foresight.
Some followers of the game have it. Others don't.

 

[Old Timer]

AFB is the only real miss? That's wrong. I don't care if the coach makes it public or not either, but there have been some excellent talent floated on the market and we've missed out - either not identified or simply can't land them but you pretend otherwise. You couldn't see the value in Hynes and are throwing a blanket over and declaring the same for the likes of Dearden, Capwell, Luai, Tracey, Olam, Xerri, Curran etc.

It's not hindsight. It's foresight.
Some followers of the game have it. Others don't.

Your point is far too logical for some.

Look at who other clubs managed to sign and look at who we managed to sign absolute chalk & cheese.

 

[thebigredv]

Your point is far too logical for some.

Look at who other clubs managed to sign and look at who we managed to sign absolute chalk & cheese.

Ask Shane Flanagan if we missed out. He will tell you we missed out.

Denial has gotten us nowhere in the last 10 years.

 

[Hound of Dracula]

AFB is the only real miss? That's wrong. I don't care if the coach makes it public or not either, but there have been some excellent talent floated on the market and we've missed out - either not identified or simply can't land them but you pretend otherwise. You couldn't see the value in Hynes and are throwing a blanket over and declaring the same for the likes of Dearden, Capwell, Luai, Tracey, Olam, Xerri, Curran etc.

It's not hindsight. It's foresight.
Some followers of the game have it. Others don't.

"It's not hindsight. It's foresight.
Some followers of the game have it. Others don't."

If only these followers were in the appropriate positions at our club!

 

[Mojo]

"It's not hindsight. It's foresight.
Some followers of the game have it. Others don't."

If only these followers were in the appropriate positions at our club!

You mean leaders should have foresight and followers can have hindsight.

 

[Hound of Dracula]

You mean leaders should have foresight and followers can have hindsight.

Yeah, Ironically only hindsight is 20/20!

 

[denis preston]

Don’t know that one sorry.

But I did hear that the “player of the year” (I think all grades?) has n the early 60s? won a block of land in the Cronulla Sutherland area. Prize supplied by a fan that was a Real Estate agent.
Can anyone confirm or deny that one?

Denis Brandley , a red haired centre who mainly played 2nds & Thirds in 68 ( played some 1st in 69/70) Mad as a meat axe. The prize was a block of land at the new development at Sylvania Waters. Shows how cashed u we were in 68 .

 

[BLM01]

Ask Shane Flanagan if we missed out. He will tell you we missed out.

Denial has gotten us nowhere in the last 10 years.

Missing out on a player and saying these are the coaches mistakes is flawed.
Missing out on a player is a club thing, not necessarily the coach making mistakes. Yep he may part but not sure how much yet.
But anyway our coach is on a hiding to nothing regardless before he starts with some of our lynch mob.

I am not denying... Yep our club is in a poo position (10 years as you call it and is that on Flanno too?) who is in his early tenure of trying to get us out of it pretty much alone ATM, but whose mistake is that.

What miracles did you expect with us being such an unattractive destination that was kicked from pillar to post in the media only 4 months ago. Yeh I can name the better signings too you called out in Deardon and Capewell, you forgot AFB and Manu who have all gone to well established Top 8 clubs or staying home. Luai yeh big risk and well done Tigers. Am i jealous?. Hed be an improvement but I hope he works out for that money in a broken side.
We saw how Hunt has not really worked out but he is still our best player.

The other names Tracey and Curran good for bench but thats it

For those that dont like Flanno or want him there.. thats Ok your entitled to your opinion but exaggerating and holding him accountable for everything that has gone down this off season is just going too far to justify frustration that still should remain aimed at the club.
Flanno will have his chance to prove who is right or wrong on him as a coach over the next couple of years but not yet. Till then, the knives are still in the rack IMO

 

[TheRev]

The story I heard is money is agreed, the sticking point is he (Su’a) (or his manager) wants 4 years, the club wants 3 years.

This makes sense to me.. I often rant about the glut of 2nd rowers coming through that are between 2 to 4 yrs away from needing that 1st grade spot.. at some point we need permanent spots for the Couchmans, or an Egan, or a NickyT or a Watchirs... we will need that carrot to dangle if we want to retain even a couple of them.. and thats not considering a recruit like Luki, or that there aren't 4 other juniors who impress during that time period.

That's why signings like Eisunheth (1yr), RFM (2yrs) are smart.. they will tide us over until the new brigade can prove themselves, but Su'a if its 4yrs.. thats a long time.. I mean just how close is R.Couchman to a starting first grader? I mean we can probably just sign Su'a and trade him at some stage if he's playing well enough..clubs seem to want him... he is one of our best.. he does have injuries though, and suspensions, and 4yrs won't leave him all that hungry either.

 

[thebigredv]

Missing out on a player and saying these are the coaches mistakes is flawed.
Missing out on a player is a club thing, not necessarily the coach making mistakes. Yep he may part but not sure how much yet.
But anyway our coach is on a hiding to nothing regardless before he starts with some of our lynch mob.

I am not denying... Yep our club is in a poo position (10 years as you call it and is that on Flanno too?) who is in his early tenure of trying to get us out of it pretty much alone ATM, but whose mistake is that.

What miracles did you expect with us being such an unattractive destination that was kicked from pillar to post in the media only 4 months ago. Yeh I can name the better signings too you called out in Deardon and Capewell, you forgot AFB and Manu who have all gone to well established Top 8 clubs or staying home. Luai yeh big risk and well done Tigers. Am i jealous?. Hed be an improvement but I hope he works out for that money in a broken side.
We saw how Hunt has not really worked out but he is still our best player.

The other names Tracey and Curran good for bench but thats it

For those that dont like Flanno or want him there.. thats Ok your entitled to your opinion but exaggerating and holding him accountable for everything that has gone down this off season is just going too far to justify frustration that still should remain aimed at the club.
Flanno will have his chance to prove who is right or wrong on him as a coach over the next couple of years but not yet. Till then, the knives are still in the rack IMO

I’m not making this about Flannagan. We were undesirable before he got here and we knew he was up against it when he joined.

Happy for people to sing his praises. I wish him the best. But stating he hasn’t missed out on anyone besides AFB in your opinion matches up with the absurdity that Hynes was a gamble not quite worth taking when he was available. That’s just my opinion of course. It’s the club the players want no part in. What part the coach plays in that would vary from player to player.

For the record Hook went all out for Hynes but he didn’t sign because the Dragons were garbage. Fingers crossed it’s not more trash we get come kick off but regardless we need to have one eye on the performances and another firmly fixed on the market and hopefully this coach is not living in some fairy land in which we have a squad worthy of this competition. Exactly what Hook and Mary did with their stubbornness, delusion and putting their precious selves before the club.

 

[SnowDragon]

This makes sense to me.. I often rant about the glut of 2nd rowers coming through that are between 2 to 4 yrs away from needing that 1st grade spot.. at some point we need permanent spots for the Couchmans, or an Egan, or a NickyT or a Watchirs... we will need that carrot to dangle if we want to retain even a couple of them.. and thats not considering a recruit like Luki, or that there aren't 4 other juniors who impress during that time period.

That's why signings like Eisunheth (1yr), RFM (2yrs) are smart.. they will tide us over until the new brigade can prove themselves, but Su'a if its 4yrs.. thats a long time.. I mean just how close is R.Couchman to a starting first grader? I mean we can probably just sign Su'a and trade him at some stage if he's playing well enough..clubs seem to want him... he is one of our best.. he does have injuries though, and suspensions, and 4yrs won't leave him all that hungry either.

4 years takes him to 30. I’m fine with that considering our current contracts. (Assuming money isn’t crazy, and I’d front load the contract atm)

 

[Dragon David]

AFB's decision to sign with the Sharks was the perfect fit for him so he says -

‘Perfect fit for me’: Fonua-Blake opens up Sharks deal... and reveals promise to Warriors

‘Forever grateful’: Fonua-Blake breaks silence over ‘unforseen’ twist that sparked switch

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

AFB said "But there’s also the next generation of forwards coming through — Zyon Maiu’u, Jacob Laban and Leka Halasima — that Fonua-Blake has big raps on.

“If the club can hold onto them, they’re going to be in very good shape in the future,” he said.

“I like to think I’ve been around footy for a while and I’ve seen a lot of players... I think these guys are freaks.”

.......................

all 3 are signed on until end of 2026 sadly

 

[Dragon David]

AFB said "But there’s also the next generation of forwards coming through — Zyon Maiu’u, Jacob Laban and Leka Halasima — that Fonua-Blake has big raps on.

“If the club can hold onto them, they’re going to be in very good shape in the future,” he said.

“I like to think I’ve been around footy for a while and I’ve seen a lot of players... I think these guys are freaks.”

.......................

all 3 are signed on until end of 2026 sadly

Having great forwards in the team to build around is the key to a successful club. We ought to follow suit and I mean asap.

 

[Parko1310]

Having great forwards in the team to build around is the key to a successful club. We ought to follow suit and I mean asap.

The positive is we have plenty of good forwards coming through, however it will take a few years yet for them to be ready for week to week NRL in the forward pack. I also don't know how we hang onto all of them. We're actually in a position where we've got so many real talents in the forwards that we need to start choosing who to keep, which is a good spot to be in.

Regarding Su'a, I would offer 3 years with a mutual option for a 4th. The 4th will obviously depend on his form, how well our juniors are progressing, etc. If he can't agree to that, then 4 years is too long for someone who hasn't been able to stay on the field so far in his tenure here. As much as I'd want to keep him, 4 years is a big ask that I couldn't agree to.

 

[Dragon David]

The positive is we have plenty of good forwards coming through, however it will take a few years yet for them to be ready for week to week NRL in the forward pack. I also don't know how we hang onto all of them. We're actually in a position where we've got so many real talents in the forwards that we need to start choosing who to keep, which is a good spot to be in.

Regarding Su'a, I would offer 3 years with a mutual option for a 4th. The 4th will obviously depend on his form, how well our juniors are progressing, etc. If he can't agree to that, then 4 years is too long for someone who hasn't been able to stay on the field so far in his tenure here. As much as I'd want to keep him, 4 years is a big ask that I couldn't agree to.

What I am really hoping for are a couple of things that would determine who stays, for how long and who goes. These would include how well our trainers and conditioners have been so far with improving the stamina of all players for strength and endurance and how Flanno has been able to "fine tune" each Dragons player like he supposedly was able to do to get with his players at the Sharks - for example Matt Prior, Andrew Fifita, Luke Lewis, and others.

So the ones who stay would be those who have improved greatly and should be re-signed for a minimum of three years and the ones to go are either retiring or have not been able to lift themselves to become much better and these ones replaced by more decent ones and I guess some good planning will need to be done at the right times in order to start talks with those replacements.

 

[Newcomerfan01]

The positive is we have plenty of good forwards coming through, however it will take a few years yet for them to be ready for week to week NRL in the forward pack. I also don't know how we hang onto all of them. We're actually in a position where we've got so many real talents in the forwards that we need to start choosing who to keep, which is a good spot to be in.

Regarding Su'a, I would offer 3 years with a mutual option for a 4th. The 4th will obviously depend on his form, how well our juniors are progressing, etc. If he can't agree to that, then 4 years is too long for someone who hasn't been able to stay on the field so far in his tenure here. As much as I'd want to keep him, 4 years is a big ask that I couldn't agree to.

The same whisper it was said he was happy with 3 years, but if money isnt adjusted (and i dont think the parties are too far apart) he will just go to market this season, try to earn the $$ on the field. was in pretty good form for us before his injuries.