The Rumours Thread

[redandwhite4evr]

ofcourse they can still fit Moses, Crichton, Leniu and NAS

Yep- I want Gus running my household budget- he can obviously make money buy a lot more than I can.

 

[Dr Fruitbasket Returns]

I don't know how hard or even if they are even trying to land top class players Qdf and there have been many people on here give reasons why. I think for the next few years the club will be concentrating on ensuring our juniors have good pathways to be thoroughly developed and given experience in the respective grades subject to their growth in development worthy of eventually being first grade players.

The nursery of good future players in the regions of the South Coast and the St George District is quite big as we know. In the past, we have had many players become great for several clubs including the Dragons and who knows who there might be just waiting to show his excellence as a great forward, back etc.

To sign top class players will mean spending higher amounts for several individuals at the expense of bringing up and paying for more kids that have prospects and once they become "top class" themselves, they would then be costly to keep and could leave but that is what the cap is about.

So I am hoping that the club knows what they are wanting and know what they are doing about the future.

Yes, it would be great to field a team of top class players on high wages but more or less leaves little to pay for the other players in the squad who could be just a few tweaks away from being top class themselves. Nearly every week since the end of the 2022 season, we see that the Bulldogs are "talking" to certain noted big money players and we wonder how in hell do they attract them. A lot to do with the clubs management, sponsors and spiel that they have going for them under Ciraldo and Gould. I can see that they will be a force in the years ahead but I can also see that there will be money problems and keeping those new guys on big bucks doesn't come cheap (haha) so one day, they will come a cropper. Right now they look like they want immediate results and a premiership at a big cost.

Dude, no offense, but I don't see any evidence of a strategy of achieving success by developing junior pathways and no evidence on top of that there's an obvious fertile nursery of talent in either St George and the Illawarra. I think it's more likely that there's just no one in the place who's qualified to design and implement an ambitious recruitment and retention strategy. If C**terbury do achieve some success over the next few years and the cost of that is a couple of seasons of reckoning and readjustment at the end it'll be more than we'll achieve with the usual crop of cheap, last-minute reserve graders.

 

[HenryTatana]

Dads Army 2023 edition.

 

[Dragon David]

Dude, no offense, but I don't see any evidence of a strategy of achieving success by developing junior pathways and no evidence on top of that there's an obvious fertile nursery of talent in either St George and the Illawarra. I think it's more likely that there's just no one in the place who's qualified to design and implement an ambitious recruitment and retention strategy. If C**terbury do achieve some success over the next few years and the cost of that is a couple of seasons of reckoning and readjustment at the end it'll be more than we'll achieve with the usual crop of cheap, last-minute reserve graders.

I agree insofar as what you say about the Dogs achieving "some success over the next few years and the cost of that is a couple of seasons of reckoning and readjustment at the end it'll be more than we'll achieve with the usual crop of cheap, last-minute reserve graders" but basically what I have said about the junior guys is in hope that the club is working on bringing these young ones who have potential into our pathways and hoping that they will develop into great players because I don't think that there is much hope of the club signing any top class players for a number of years going from the past years of rejects and journeymen signings.

 

[twinkletoes]

Are any of the forwards we have signed better than what we got rid of… Tariq Sins??

if the answer is no then we are just going around in circles with no plan into the future

 

[thebigredv]

Correction a 2 year deal

This would be a great start.

But I said the same thing about Paseka...

 

[Dragon David]

Tigers sign English superstar John Bateman on four-year deal: Transfer Centre

Bateman is BACK in the NRL as Tigers sign England superstar on huge deal: Transfer Centre

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Slippery Morris]

This guy is 31 and an ex-West Tigers playing at Warriors. Do the Dragons look at teams in the top 10 of the NRL or what? And people think Tigers are a basket case. Saints are taking their rejects which show who really is the worse off from the 2 teams. The Tigers have signed 2 players from last years Grand Final and Saints from the bottom 2 battlers.

 

[Maddragon99]

Tigers sign English superstar John Bateman on four-year deal: Transfer Centre

Bateman is BACK in the NRL as Tigers sign England superstar on huge deal: Transfer Centre

www.foxsports.com.au

Finally an official rumour!

Another typical moneyball/dumpster dive signing but at least he’s a current international. If he can stay fit he might be ok, I’m hoping de Belin can now play 13 I think he’s wasted at prop.

 

[Dragon David]

As I said in an earlier post, we won't be signing any top class players and the club will continue the trend of signing rejects or journeymen. I am really hoping that we have some youngsters in the system that will be ready to shine when these older blokes hang up their boots. There had better be!

 

[BLM01]

Finally an official rumour!

Another typical moneyball/dumpster dive signing but at least he’s a current international. If he can stay fit he might be ok, I’m hoping de Belin can now play 13 I think he’s wasted at prop.

Those words "current international" get thrown around too easily especially if not in Aus or NZ sides
However thought BMM went alright in the big Warriors pack of last year, big unit, bit of leg speed over the 1st 5 metres anyway. Just plays minimal minutes which is typical and not sure of his fitness
But he will be up there as one of our best props regardless showing he can potentially bust the line

 

[Phantom V]

Those words "current international" get thrown around too easily especially if not in Aus or NZ sides
However thought BMM went alright in the big Warriors pack of last year, big unit, bit of leg speed over the 1st 5 metres anyway. Just plays minimal minutes which is typical and not sure of his fitness
But he will be up there as one of our best props regardless showing he can potentially bust the line

Agree BLM. The key is to get him to bend the line and get a quick play the ball away to create opportunities for our outside players. Sounds good in theory…..

 

[possm]

It should have always been Sims for David Fifita!

 

[Dragon David]

It should have always been Sims for David Fifita!

Don't you mean David Fifita for Sims possm? We have never had Fifita!

 

[shiloh dc]

SGI nab the TUNA joint WESTS reject!

 

[Maddragon99]

Those words "current international" get thrown around too easily especially if not in Aus or NZ sides
However thought BMM went alright in the big Warriors pack of last year, big unit, bit of leg speed over the 1st 5 metres anyway. Just plays minimal minutes which is typical and not sure of his fitness
But he will be up there as one of our best props regardless showing he can potentially bust the line

Upgrade on Burgess though

prop rotation looks better now;

BMM
Lawrie
M Molo
Woods
Musgrove
Lui-Toso
F Molo
Kerr
J Hunt

de Belin now our lock where he belongs

 

[Crush]

Upgrade on Burgess though

prop rotation looks better now;

BMM
Lawrie
M Molo
Woods
Musgrove
Lui-Toso
F Molo
Kerr
J Hunt

de Belin now our lock where he belongs

De belin doesn’t belong at lock, he should be starting prop. Bird is our best 13.
De Belin has to start prop, F Molo the other when back from suspension and Lawrie, Musgrove bench.

 

[Maddragon99]

De belin doesn’t belong at lock, he should be starting prop. Bird is our best 13.
De Belin has to start prop, F Molo the other when back from suspension and Lawrie, Musgrove bench.

We only have one decent second rower in Su’a, I’d prefer Bird at second row over Burns.

 

[carltonsouth79]

Upgrade on Burgess though

prop rotation looks better now;

BMM
Lawrie
M Molo
Woods
Musgrove
Lui-Toso
F Molo
Kerr
J Hunt

de Belin now our lock where he belongs

Bird in a recent article said he was comfortable now at 13. I think we will still see JDB at prop.

 

[Inisai Toga]

I wouldn’t mind De Belin as second rower. Always thought he was more effective running hard at the line, rather than playing before the line; got selected for NSW playing that way (some time back)……When he played that way against Souths last we had a pretty handy lead at halftime due to the attacking shape and room his running was given us.