The Rumours Thread

[Parko1310]

If a contract is already done for Eels then anti-tampering at it's best. Would love it if Lomax move confirmed and end of the season Eels are hit with some huge fine and Lomax is stuck with a club that will be in limbo for a few years to recover whilst he is there.

Looks like you don't need to wait if players contracts are up, just offer them more cash and they can find a reason like a positional switch, location is to far etc to get a release.

I really hope Flanno can make Saints a top 8 side again which I feel he can more than any other coach in the NRL apart from Bellamy, Robbo, Cleary or Wayne. I feel that Flanno is a top 5 coach in the NRL. Once that happens Saints can go open slather and pick up players without waiting on contract to expire as they clearly mean nothing. Being top 8 side will make it so much easier for retention so this year is vital for Flanno.

Brad Arthur is the Brian Smith of the league, top coach but one that will never win a comp I feel. He has had a top roster for the last 10 years or so and achieved 1 GF and lost more finals games than won. Brian Smith is actually better than Brad as his hit rate in finals is so much better than 1 GF in that length of time. Joseph Manu was an Eels junior so they really are clueless when it comes to their own. I really hope Saints can get Blaze out of this. Penesini and Zac in the centres should scare him of. Zac may even cop what Bud is and Blaze kills it only for him to be a back up to Penesini and Blaze.

I remember Parra did a similar thing ages ago to the Sharks signing Adam Dykes early only for him to go to the Eels busted up the following year and play terrible for the duration of his contract. Pretty big risk but hey, serves them right if they are anti-tampering. Aren't they another team that was fined heavily for salary cap breaches in the past? Seems they don't really care about the consequences as after that they had a strong roster and were finals bound most of the last 10 years.

They're about to overpay for a proven average centre. Lomax could potentially go to another level when he moves back there, but that is an unknown. What we do know is that on previous performance in the centres he has not set the world alight by any means. Zac has been fantastic on the wing, he really has, but he is replaceable. Not to mention, he does seem from the outside looking in like a difficult character for some to get on with. There has been whispers here and there for years that he doesn't get along with a lot of players/coaches, and they're surfacing again. He has said himself on Graham's podcast that he's learnt he "won't get along with everyone like a house on fire"... hmmm.

It is shaping as a decent move to get rid of his contract from the books. 800k (or thereabouts - I'd guess more like 650-750k) is a decent chunk to free up. We have to actually go and land some quality signings with all this money now - that will be the challenge. Turuva replaces Lomax's wing as long as we get him - and we save around 300k on the cap there. 300k extra to spend on getting another deal or two across the line (keeping in mind we already had heaps of money to spend without this). It means we have the funds to really do some damage in the player market.

1) Halves, 2) hooker, 3) one centre, 4)one/two wingers, 5) potentially a fullback and 6) the biggest issue probably two props, one considered in the "good" category, another in the "very good/elite" conversation. These need to be our focus with all this money. There are plenty of players we could look at in these positions.

 

[offiah]

Excuse the ignorance but am not an AFL fan at all.

how does their draft work? Do juniors still come through the clubs and then into the draft at some point? If so, what incentive is there for clubs to spend time and money on their juniors only to have them likely playing elsewhere?

Also, how are contract values negotiated if they have to go to the club they’re picked by?

 

[Wolfgang90]

Excuse the ignorance but am not an AFL fan at all.

how does their draft work? Do juniors still come through the clubs and then into the draft at some point? If so, what incentive is there for clubs to spend time and money on their juniors only to have them likely playing elsewhere?

Also, how are contract values negotiated if they have to go to the club they’re picked by?

Juniors come from high school unless they're part of an academy which is run by the clubs (basically nsw/qld teams). There's points associated with each pick.

They all still have to go through a draft, so a team can use their pick to select an 'academy player'. The club whose academy that player is selected from will need to match the points associated with that pick.

e.g. Tyrell Sloan has come from our academy & the roosters have pick no.3 & use it to select him. We would need to use our picks to match the points associated with the roosters pick. So we have pick 8, 16, 24, we could use pick 8 & 24 to get the required points to match the roosters pick 3. We would then get Tyrell Sloan but lose picks 8 & 24, Roosters would not get those picks. Roosters then move onto the next player they want to select with pick 3 who could be a non-academy player so no other teams can select him.

There's also father/son rules & a couple of other things but that's pretty much it.

The academy helps teams from non AFL states select/retain juniors. That's the purpose of the academy.

The draft also adds another element of strategy & gives further content for fans/media during the off-season.

IF rugby league were to go down that path then something similar would have to be implemented imo.

 

[TheRev]

o The draft system would have some sort of allocation where the club that develops gets to pick the first 6 or 12 or whatever juniors.. they just cant keep them all.. its all solvable if the NRL and the RLPA had the desire to make change.

o What I am concerned about with Turuva is we are once again offering a fraction more than the minimum to get a player to leave a club they want to stay at.. I know its financially smart.. but it hasnt worked at all so far.. no point having a 3million dollar war chest and an even crapper roster.

 

[The Word]

I might be on my own here but I see absolutely no reason why we should let Lomax go.

He's playing some of the best footy of his career,

At no point has he come out and had a go at the club / coach / other players in public or to the press.

So he doesn't get on with everyone. Who cares?

He's asked Flanagan for a release. Flanagan has said no, and he's reiterated that after the agreement to delay a conversation until round 4. Same answer.

We should just keep getting behind him at the games like we have and he'll keep producing the goods. Next conversation will be at the end of the season.

As for the potential swap deal with Asofa-Solomona, we should still have money in the kitty to sign a quality front rower so if Flanagan thinks this bloke is the one, then go after him for next year. But don't let Lomax go., we don't have enough high quality players to just let them leave.

 

[Parko1310]

I might be on my own here but I see absolutely no reason why we should let Lomax go.

He's playing some of the best footy of his career,

At no point has he come out and had a go at the club / coach / other players in public or to the press.

So he doesn't get on with everyone. Who cares?

He's asked Flanagan for a release. Flanagan has said no, and he's reiterated that after the agreement to delay a conversation until round 4. Same answer.

We should just keep getting behind him at the games like we have and he'll keep producing the goods. Next conversation will be at the end of the season.

As for the potential swap deal with Asofa-Solomona, we should still have money in the kitty to sign a quality front rower so if Flanagan thinks this bloke is the one, then go after him for next year. But don't let Lomax go., we don't have enough high quality players to just let them leave.

Too late, he's already leaving no matter what. He no longer has a contract here beyond 2024

 

[TheRev]

I might be on my own here but I see absolutely no reason why we should let Lomax go.

He's playing some of the best footy of his career,

At no point has he come out and had a go at the club / coach / other players in public or to the press.

So he doesn't get on with everyone. Who cares?

He's asked Flanagan for a release. Flanagan has said no, and he's reiterated that after the agreement to delay a conversation until round 4. Same answer.

We should just keep getting behind him at the games like we have and he'll keep producing the goods. Next conversation will be at the end of the season.

As for the potential swap deal with Asofa-Solomona, we should still have money in the kitty to sign a quality front rower so if Flanagan thinks this bloke is the one, then go after him for next year. But don't let Lomax go., we don't have enough high quality players to just let them leave.

I agree, but I just think we are missing a whole lot of the info from behind the scenes.. I think there are a lot of wheels and issues we are unaware of... hopefully a couple of good news stories to come out the back of it all..

 

[Slippery Morris]

The draft does have it's problems as well speaking to my AFL mates in Victoria. It all goes down to whoever finishes lower on the table to decide who gets fist pick so by the later rounds of the season, teams that have no chance of making finals don't go as hard so they can get a better chance to pick up a gun in the draft being lower down the rankings. This frustrates fans who see their teams not having a go. It would also impact who make the 8. So although it can help strengthen a poor side, it does ruin the back end of the season. Not sure how you can fix this issue. Maybe bottom 8 sides get put in a pot and it is picked randomly on screen as a spectacle like they do in soccer in the knock out comps around Europe. Top 8 sides remain as they are as team that finishes 1st gets last pick.

 

[barry]

Lomax hasn't agree to forgo his final 2 years without having another contract already pretty much sealed. Him & his management aren't stupid.

You’ll be suprised… Lomax is as dumb as dog sh*t.

 

[Wolfgang90]

The draft does have it's problems as well speaking to my AFL mates in Victoria. It all goes down to whoever finishes lower on the table to decide who gets fist pick so by the later rounds of the season, teams that have no chance of making finals don't go as hard so they can get a better chance to pick up a gun in the draft being lower down the rankings. This frustrates fans who see their teams not having a go. It would also impact who make the 8. So although it can help strengthen a poor side, it does ruin the back end of the season. Not sure how you can fix this issue. Maybe bottom 8 sides get put in a pot and it is picked randomly on screen as a spectacle like they do in soccer in the knock out comps around Europe. Top 8 sides remain as they are as team that finishes 1st gets last pick.

They have a draft lottery in the NBA which is similar to what you're describing. Odds for each team are determined by their ladder position & then a random lottery occurs. e.g. last place team has 50% shot at no.1 pick then 2nd last has 40% etc.

 

[justadragon]

I might be on my own here but I see absolutely no reason why we should let Lomax go.

He's playing some of the best footy of his career,

At no point has he come out and had a go at the club / coach / other players in public or to the press.

So he doesn't get on with everyone. Who cares?

He's asked Flanagan for a release. Flanagan has said no, and he's reiterated that after the agreement to delay a conversation until round 4. Same answer.

We should just keep getting behind him at the games like we have and he'll keep producing the goods. Next conversation will be at the end of the season.

As for the potential swap deal with Asofa-Solomona, we should still have money in the kitty to sign a quality front rower so if Flanagan thinks this bloke is the one, then go after him for next year. But don't let Lomax go., we don't have enough high quality players to just let them leave.

Yes he hasnt come out and said he wants to leave, but he hasnt come out and said he wants to stay either. That was the whole problem from the start of this mess. The decision has been made now and we all wont be privy to all the info, time to move on.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Juniors come from high school unless they're part of an academy which is run by the clubs (basically nsw/qld teams). There's points associated with each pick.

They all still have to go through a draft, so a team can use their pick to select an 'academy player'. The club whose academy that player is selected from will need to match the points associated with that pick.

e.g. Tyrell Sloan has come from our academy & the roosters have pick no.3 & use it to select him. We would need to use our picks to match the points associated with the roosters pick. So we have pick 8, 16, 24, we could use pick 8 & 24 to get the required points to match the roosters pick 3. We would then get Tyrell Sloan but lose picks 8 & 24, Roosters would not get those picks. Roosters then move onto the next player they want to select with pick 3 who could be a non-academy player so no other teams can select him.

There's also father/son rules & a couple of other things but that's pretty much it.

The academy helps teams from non AFL states select/retain juniors. That's the purpose of the academy.

The draft also adds another element of strategy & gives further content for fans/media during the off-season.

IF rugby league were to go down that path then something similar would have to be implemented imo.

Very good summation.

I would also add that players have to nominate themselves for the draft with full understanding that they could be selected by any team, if at all.
I also believe clubs have to have spots available in their roster, for each draft pick.
It's been a while since I last looked at the AFL draft system, but that's what I can remember. It gets pretty complicated though.

 

[The Word]

Yes he hasnt come out and said he wants to leave, but he hasnt come out and said he wants to stay either. That was the whole problem from the start of this mess. The decision has been made now and we all wont be privy to all the info, time to move on.

Yeah looks like we’ve got some resolution now at least, we all know where we stand.

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

Yes he hasnt come out and said he wants to leave, but he hasnt come out and said he wants to stay either. That was the whole problem from the start of this mess. The decision has been made now and we all wont be privy to all the info, time to move on.

I think the risk Lomax is taking is inextricably linked to how much he wants to leave.

tearing up 2025 and 2026 is a big call by Lomax considering he was not allowed to negotiate re 2025 until yesterday post the media release

 

[RaginDannyDragon]

The Eels asked about him in the off season as well and were told no. Clearly they went ahead and had informal talks with him anyway.

Didn't the Broncos get a slap on the wrist for approaching Hunt last year? I know the tampering is hard to prove but there's clearly not big enough penalties to deter clubs from doing it. Didn't we pretty much do the same with AFB?

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

a reporter recently said that unless a contract is sent via an email to a player / manager..............the circus just goes on every day 365 re approaching players prior

 

[TheRev]

You’ll be suprised… Lomax is as dumb as dog sh*t.

I was trying to put it more gently, but this is my perspective on him also, both on and off the field... its why I think the wing suits him.. run hard tackle hard jump hard.. the stuff he is actually good at... I think he will come to this conclusion but it may take years.

 

[Draginzaaar]

I might be on my own here but I see absolutely no reason why we should let Lomax go.

He's playing some of the best footy of his career,

At no point has he come out and had a go at the club / coach / other players in public or to the press.

So he doesn't get on with everyone. Who cares?

He's asked Flanagan for a release. Flanagan has said no, and he's reiterated that after the agreement to delay a conversation until round 4. Same answer.

We should just keep getting behind him at the games like we have and he'll keep producing the goods. Next conversation will be at the end of the season.

As for the potential swap deal with Asofa-Solomona, we should still have money in the kitty to sign a quality front rower so if Flanagan thinks this bloke is the one, then go after him for next year. But don't let Lomax go., we don't have enough high quality players to just let them leave.

Get rid of him. He doesn't want to be there. See ya.

 

[TruSaint]

Yes he hasnt come out and said he wants to leave, but he hasnt come out and said he wants to stay either. That was the whole problem from the start of this mess. The decision has been made now and we all wont be privy to all the info, time to move on.

Bang on mate.

The fact he is " playing well at the minute " means zero to me if he doesn't want to play where is best for the Club.

He won't get what he is on elsewhere. This is not prime Gasnier or Cooper FFS.
Nowhere near it.

There's many reasons we have languished as cellar dwellers over the past decade, and NOT creating and all in mentality is one. It's as if the wheels will fall off if Hunt or Lomax or ( insert anyone ), leaves. So I ask what wheels ? The ones that have us celebrating missing the spoon ?

We are going to struggle in the foreseeable future. Let Flanno mould his team without the media bullcrap of division.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

According to nine news tonight, Lomax is meeting with Parramatta tomorrow, who are looking at offering a deal up to 2027.
As far as the Matterson swap rumour for this year, thinking and hoping Flanagan will want something more than that.

Way more