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The Rumours Thread

thebigredv

First Grade
Messages
5,207
Just thought people might find this of some interest. Nice to see a player for any club talking about loyalty in this manner (though I'm not necessarily endorsing all his comments).

With all due respect I don't recall a decent performance from Woods yet. I think most of us were hoping he was off to the Tigers ☺️. Then again if he leaves they will probably have to put Sloan in at prop.
 

justadragon

Bench
Messages
2,509
Just thought people might find this of some interest. Nice to see a player for any club talking about loyalty in this manner (though I'm not necessarily endorsing all his comments).

Lets hope this great feel translates to performances on the field, I've listened to this great feel story for over ten years in preseason, just to hear the words " we weren't good enough and embarrassing" at the end of the season.
 

dungay dragon

Juniors
Messages
1,014
Tr
Lets hope this great feel translates to performances on the field, I've listened to this great feel story for over ten years in preseason, just to hear the words " we weren't good enough and embarrassing" at the end of the season.
Translated .........
" I was busting to get home to Benji and the Tiges , but there was never any firm offer , and the Drags are paying me overs and i have a 2023 contract with them, so i'll stay put...for now " :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 

possm

Coach
Messages
15,587
Agree. StGI has always been blessed with its young talent pool. We waste money trying to buy ‘marquees‘ at the expense of our youth. The problems created by this approach have now become starkly obvious. This is also a key aspect of our ‘culture’ issues imo. A real conviction to the centre of excellence is an urgent priority.
The problem is all around planning; there is none.
 

Dea

Juniors
Messages
2,171
While i appreciate and agree with Woods’ expression of not dumping on your employer, there is also a reasonable performance level expected from employees. He received a contract extension because he was selected to play a certain number of games, not becuase he performed well in those games. Sadly, Woods [and our forwards generally] have been delivering below the level we require from a front rower and is in decline. It is great that he can provide some mentoring to the young forwards, however does he need to be playing NRL games to offer that? In my opinion we have a deficiency in the forwards that has not been addressed with recruitment. Having Woods to mentor the next batch is good, but relying upon him to play every week is not.
 

BIG RIG

Juniors
Messages
957
I would hate to see that list up against a Roosters or Rabbitohs list. Makes me wince just thinking about it.

Club needs more win at all costs people high up. Instead we get inaction, stubbornness, disconnection and an annoying amount of silence on top of it all.
Haha well out of curiosity I have done the research for the Roosters and it’s painted a damning picture

2013
- Michael Jennings
- James Maloney
- Sam Moa
- Luke O ‘ Donnell
- Sonny Bill Williams

2014
- Remi Casty
- Jackson Hastings
- Heath L’Estrange

2015
- Blake Ferguson
- Martin Kennedy
- Suaia Matagi
- Willie Manu
- Matt Mcllwrick
- Lagi Setu
- Lopini Paea

2016
- Joe Burgess
- Ryan Matterson
- Jayden Nikorima

2017
- Michael Gordon
- Luke Keary
- Liam Knight
- Zane Tetevano
- Chris Smith
- Paul Carter
- Lindsay Collins

2018
- James Tedesco
- Cooper Cronk
- Reece Robinson
- Kurt Baptiste

2019
- Brett Morris
- Angus Crichton
- Ryan Hall
- Drew Hutchison
- Brock Lamb

2020
- Kyle Flanagan
- Josh Morris
- Sonny Bill Williams
- Sam Walker

2021
- Dale Copley
- Joseph Suualii
- Adam Keighran

2022
- Renouf Atoni
- Kevin Naiqama
- Connor Watson
- Paul Momirovski

2023
- Brandon Smith
- Jake Turpin
- Jaxson Paulo
 

st george sam

Juniors
Messages
138
Haha well out of curiosity I have done the research for the Roosters and it’s painted a damning picture

2013
- Michael Jennings
- James Maloney
- Sam Moa
- Luke O ‘ Donnell
- Sonny Bill Williams

2014
- Remi Casty
- Jackson Hastings
- Heath L’Estrange

2015
- Blake Ferguson
- Martin Kennedy
- Suaia Matagi
- Willie Manu
- Matt Mcllwrick
- Lagi Setu
- Lopini Paea

2016
- Joe Burgess
- Ryan Matterson
- Jayden Nikorima

2017
- Michael Gordon
- Luke Keary
- Liam Knight
- Zane Tetevano
- Chris Smith
- Paul Carter
- Lindsay Collins

2018
- James Tedesco
- Cooper Cronk
- Reece Robinson
- Kurt Baptiste

2019
- Brett Morris
- Angus Crichton
- Ryan Hall
- Drew Hutchison
- Brock Lamb

2020
- Kyle Flanagan
- Josh Morris
- Sonny Bill Williams
- Sam Walker

2021
- Dale Copley
- Joseph Suualii
- Adam Keighran

2022
- Renouf Atoni
- Kevin Naiqama
- Connor Watson
- Paul Momirovski

2023
- Brandon Smith
- Jake Turpin
- Jaxson Paulo
Usually every second year at least one marquee player is signed up
 

Slippery Morris

First Grade
Messages
7,395
Looking at the buys During Mary's time he bought in Widdop, Marshall, Hunt and Norman. All pretty decent halves and good for mentoring the up coming juniors in Sullivan/Amone to form a strong future in the halves. Seeing Mary let Benjo go I would say he would have made the same decision with Hunt as he could see his time probably had come and the 2 youngsters would get the halves spot. They finally got to the age they would probably be getting more game time and then Hook has come in and brought in all these has-beens. He has given Amone decent game time and Sullivan could have gotten so much more game time but the ill-discipline and attack has been horrendous under his watch and due to the people he bought in. Plenty of experience but lack leadership unlike McInness and Sims who he has punted.

Mary was trying to build something and then the backwards movements happened and lack of discipline. I am not saying Mary did a great job as I am glad he has gone but he did better than Hook and the guy before Mary that is for sure. The JDB case really impacted him as he was getting somewhere before that. All Saints needed to do was get a higher profile coach to take them to the next level after Mary and they failed big time with getting Hook which they could have fixed this year by punting him at the end of the season and starting 2023 with a good coach.

All Hook has done is show his favourtism for Qld's and any players he previously coached like Macca and Billy Burns. Nothing worse than a coach that shows favourtism with players that play poorly hoping one day they will shine. Both Mary and Hook are guilty of that Hook more so. That is the fist thing Saints should look for in the new coach.
 

Dragon David

First Grade
Messages
7,375
While i appreciate and agree with Woods’ expression of not dumping on your employer, there is also a reasonable performance level expected from employees. He received a contract extension because he was selected to play a certain number of games, not becuase he performed well in those games. Sadly, Woods [and our forwards generally] have been delivering below the level we require from a front rower and is in decline. It is great that he can provide some mentoring to the young forwards, however does he need to be playing NRL games to offer that? In my opinion we have a deficiency in the forwards that has not been addressed with recruitment. Having Woods to mentor the next batch is good, but relying upon him to play every week is not.
I am hoping that we can just do what is needed to get us wins. Woods or no Woods. There are some youngsters at the Dragons that really want to put in and do the hard work.

We might not have the really big names or marquee players but a squad of hard working players and working as one will get us some good results.

 

draco

Juniors
Messages
662
Ipswich State High School duo sign with St George Dragons

Two top teen rugby league prospects from Ipswich could be on their way to representing one of rugby league’s most storied clubs after signing NRL deal

Nick Tucker

Two Ipswich teens could be on track to play for one of rugby league’s most storied clubs after signing NRL deals on the back of leading their school to a history-making premiership.

Towering prop Loko Pasifika Tonga and speedster Joven Gyemore have been rewarded for helping Ipswich State High School to its first Langer Trophy with both being signed by the St George Illawarra Dragons.

The 17-year-old Tonga, who stands tall at 194cm and 122kg, has signed for three years while Murgon’s Gyemore, an electric wing or outside back, has signed for one year.

The Ipswich State High School rugby league boys come in pairs - at least that’s what it looks like if we take the Redcliffe Dolphins signing of Tommy Luhrman and Caleb Jackson, and now the Tonga and Gyemore signings into consideration.

For Tonga, the opportunity was not only unexpected, but a blessing in disguise.

The Year 11 was living in Melbourne in 2021, before moving to Brisbane without his family to expand his rugby league horizons in 2022 but it didn’t all go to plan with Keebra Park State High School opting not to select him in their Langer Trophy squad.

But champion school Ipswich SHS came to the rescue and the rest was history and funnily enough, in round one the two powerhouse teams met and Ipswich came away 24-16 winners. “Beating them in round one knowing they didn’t select me helped a lot with my confidence, knowing what I could be,” Tonga said.

“I was pretty shocked at first when I got the call from Craig, my agent, saying the Dragons want to have a meeting.

“I had a little cry at school with the boys.”

This was around October, after his Ipswich team had been crowned the best rugby league team in the nation, when Tonga and his teammates were still training.

“Mr. Dore (one of Tonga’s coaches at Ipswich) says only elite players train everyday...of course, we never stop. Two gym sessions and two field sessions a week,” Tonga said.

“I didn’t know I was going to be signed at all, never in my whole life.

“Realising my dream was coming true, well I was quiet for a few days, I thought it was a dream the whole time.

“I called my mum after and we had a little cry, then, I sat on the field, thanking Ipswich for what they’ve done for me to get this far.”

The Dragons have set the friendly giant up with a house and his parents are on their way to Sydney so that they can live together again.

“One of the reasons we took it (the contract) this year was so I can start living with my family again,” Tonga said.

After just three weeks training with the Dragons SG Ball squad, Tonga has been promoted into the leadership group.

“I was pretty stoked to hear another Ipswich boy (Gyemore) was coming with me, I didn’t want to go by myself so it’s sick having a mate go through it with me,” Tonga said.

Originally published as Ipswich State High School duo sign with St George Dragons

Ipswich State High School duo sign with St George Dragons | Herald Sun

 

Yow

Juniors
Messages
361
Ipswich State High School duo sign with St George Dragons

Two top teen rugby league prospects from Ipswich could be on their way to representing one of rugby league’s most storied clubs after signing NRL deal

Nick Tucker

Two Ipswich teens could be on track to play for one of rugby league’s most storied clubs after signing NRL deals on the back of leading their school to a history-making premiership.

Towering prop Loko Pasifika Tonga and speedster Joven Gyemore have been rewarded for helping Ipswich State High School to its first Langer Trophy with both being signed by the St George Illawarra Dragons.

The 17-year-old Tonga, who stands tall at 194cm and 122kg, has signed for three years while Murgon’s Gyemore, an electric wing or outside back, has signed for one year.

The Ipswich State High School rugby league boys come in pairs - at least that’s what it looks like if we take the Redcliffe Dolphins signing of Tommy Luhrman and Caleb Jackson, and now the Tonga and Gyemore signings into consideration.

For Tonga, the opportunity was not only unexpected, but a blessing in disguise.

The Year 11 was living in Melbourne in 2021, before moving to Brisbane without his family to expand his rugby league horizons in 2022 but it didn’t all go to plan with Keebra Park State High School opting not to select him in their Langer Trophy squad.

But champion school Ipswich SHS came to the rescue and the rest was history and funnily enough, in round one the two powerhouse teams met and Ipswich came away 24-16 winners. “Beating them in round one knowing they didn’t select me helped a lot with my confidence, knowing what I could be,” Tonga said.

“I was pretty shocked at first when I got the call from Craig, my agent, saying the Dragons want to have a meeting.

“I had a little cry at school with the boys.”

This was around October, after his Ipswich team had been crowned the best rugby league team in the nation, when Tonga and his teammates were still training.

“Mr. Dore (one of Tonga’s coaches at Ipswich) says only elite players train everyday...of course, we never stop. Two gym sessions and two field sessions a week,” Tonga said.

“I didn’t know I was going to be signed at all, never in my whole life.

“Realising my dream was coming true, well I was quiet for a few days, I thought it was a dream the whole time.

“I called my mum after and we had a little cry, then, I sat on the field, thanking Ipswich for what they’ve done for me to get this far.”

The Dragons have set the friendly giant up with a house and his parents are on their way to Sydney so that they can live together again.

“One of the reasons we took it (the contract) this year was so I can start living with my family again,” Tonga said.

After just three weeks training with the Dragons SG Ball squad, Tonga has been promoted into the leadership group.

“I was pretty stoked to hear another Ipswich boy (Gyemore) was coming with me, I didn’t want to go by myself so it’s sick having a mate go through it with me,” Tonga said.

Originally published as Ipswich State High School duo sign with St George Dragons

Ipswich State High School duo sign with St George Dragons | Herald Sun

A young fella with size and another with speed wow
 

Dragon David

First Grade
Messages
7,375
Ipswich State High School duo sign with St George Dragons

Two top teen rugby league prospects from Ipswich could be on their way to representing one of rugby league’s most storied clubs after signing NRL deal

Nick Tucker

Two Ipswich teens could be on track to play for one of rugby league’s most storied clubs after signing NRL deals on the back of leading their school to a history-making premiership.

Towering prop Loko Pasifika Tonga and speedster Joven Gyemore have been rewarded for helping Ipswich State High School to its first Langer Trophy with both being signed by the St George Illawarra Dragons.

The 17-year-old Tonga, who stands tall at 194cm and 122kg, has signed for three years while Murgon’s Gyemore, an electric wing or outside back, has signed for one year.

The Ipswich State High School rugby league boys come in pairs - at least that’s what it looks like if we take the Redcliffe Dolphins signing of Tommy Luhrman and Caleb Jackson, and now the Tonga and Gyemore signings into consideration.

For Tonga, the opportunity was not only unexpected, but a blessing in disguise.

The Year 11 was living in Melbourne in 2021, before moving to Brisbane without his family to expand his rugby league horizons in 2022 but it didn’t all go to plan with Keebra Park State High School opting not to select him in their Langer Trophy squad.

But champion school Ipswich SHS came to the rescue and the rest was history and funnily enough, in round one the two powerhouse teams met and Ipswich came away 24-16 winners. “Beating them in round one knowing they didn’t select me helped a lot with my confidence, knowing what I could be,” Tonga said.

“I was pretty shocked at first when I got the call from Craig, my agent, saying the Dragons want to have a meeting.

“I had a little cry at school with the boys.”

This was around October, after his Ipswich team had been crowned the best rugby league team in the nation, when Tonga and his teammates were still training.

“Mr. Dore (one of Tonga’s coaches at Ipswich) says only elite players train everyday...of course, we never stop. Two gym sessions and two field sessions a week,” Tonga said.

“I didn’t know I was going to be signed at all, never in my whole life.

“Realising my dream was coming true, well I was quiet for a few days, I thought it was a dream the whole time.

“I called my mum after and we had a little cry, then, I sat on the field, thanking Ipswich for what they’ve done for me to get this far.”

The Dragons have set the friendly giant up with a house and his parents are on their way to Sydney so that they can live together again.

“One of the reasons we took it (the contract) this year was so I can start living with my family again,” Tonga said.

After just three weeks training with the Dragons SG Ball squad, Tonga has been promoted into the leadership group.

“I was pretty stoked to hear another Ipswich boy (Gyemore) was coming with me, I didn’t want to go by myself so it’s sick having a mate go through it with me,” Tonga said.

Originally published as Ipswich State High School duo sign with St George Dragons

Ipswich State High School duo sign with St George Dragons | Herald Sun

Great article and both guys look very promising. I hope that they are successful in the SG Ball and one day become part of our NRL squad.
 

jak

Bench
Messages
3,060
I am hoping that we can just do what is needed to get us wins. Woods or no Woods. There are some youngsters at the Dragons that really want to put in and do the hard work.

We might not have the really big names or marquee players but a squad of hard working players and working as one will get us some good results.
all the bi
Why was he crying? Maybe because the Dragon's gave him a call instead of a decent team.🤣
thats the spirit
 

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