The Rumours Thread

[Slippery Morris]

The fact they are offering a guy like Manu 5mil over 4 years shows Saints have money in the bank for a marquee. If not Manu hopefully they can land a big fish whether it be Manu, Dearden, etc.

I am very interested in Taumalolo if that is true that he is being shopped around. Under Flanno this guy will be a gun. If Saints get him at 750k a season that is a bargain. Luki and Piakaru are also great additions if they can snag one of them big fellas.

One guy I think I heard Saints were interested in a while ago was the Broncos hooker Corey Paix I think his name is. He is now free to negotiate with other clubs but I did not hear anything since so they must have lost interest the Dragons. I have a feeling they may go for Brailey seeing he has a Flanno connection instead.

 

[Illusion]

Is Flanagan serious about luring Joey Manu from the Chooks. Back in August Manu denied he was coming to the Dragons and added he wont be going on the market. Well he is going on the market so what about the former, has he changed his mind about becoming a Dragon? Perhaps a mooted 5m offer over four years will entice the big Maori part time play maker to leave the chooks. The bonus being the offer is for Manu to play full back, a position he has not played before in the NRL, but apparently wants to but cant at the chooks as long as Tedesco remains there..

I'd take him yes , but not sure if it's going to be another Hunt sort of signing, (Hunt thinks he is a 7 and is not) Manu thinks he is a fullback or 5/8 but is not ?........ Either way we need above average players , just hoping all the money doesn't go on a couple of players only .......

 

[Slippery Morris]

Joey Manu is a special player and far better than Hunt. I cannot see him leaving the Roosters or better still the Roosters letting him go.

 

[Rocket Rod]

1.2m for Manu is obviously overs and probably abt 400k pa more than what the Rorters would be able to pay ( not incl paper bag) so I’m thinking he may be swayed. The beauty of his signing would be that he could attract other quality signings. The only players whinger attracted were has been broncos mates.
Sloan to the wing with his speed would be a good move as well.
All talk for now but at least we know that our coach is not chasing garbage

 

[kit66]

I'm not convinced on Manu, a Centre for $1.2M a year ? Sure he's a media darling and makes some spectacular plays but is he what we need. His experiment at 5/8 this year was hit and miss, with the better teams showing him up somewhat. Is he an organizer, a game breaker or just a "star" who shines in a good team. I'd take him if we could get him but is it money well spent.
I'd be far more happy to spend that cash on a Dearden, a specialist in his position and a very good organizer. Or spend that money on an experienced campaigner and leader for our underperforming pack.

 

[Desperate Dragon]

I would be one of the happiest Dragon's fans if we signed Manu or Dearden.
It might take a bit of time to play out, but I cannot possibly see Manu leaving the Roosters now.
Dearden would be the more likely of the two to switch in my view, but once again the odds of that happening are fairly long as well.
I really believe Flanagan has a couple of targets he has in his sights, but would not want those names being bandied about in the media.
If he can land just one reasonably big name player, that may well be the catalyst to getting a few more

 

[kit66]

Joey Manu is a special player and far better than Hunt. I cannot see him leaving the Roosters or better still the Roosters letting him go.

In what ways is he far better than Hunt ? He's a centre, less tackles, less time with ball in hand, very little in the way of decision making or creating plays, building pressure, kicking, reading the game and initiating set plays and deciding when it's the best time to do that etc, etc. Chalk and cheese. Hunt has 4 times the try assists that Manu has and is a better defender.
You might not like Hunt's attitude but don't let that blind you to the fact that he's a brilliant little player who has unfortunately been playing in the company of a bunch of losers and sh*t coaches. Without Hunt this year we get the spoon easy.

 

[Dragon David]

The fact they are offering a guy like Manu 5mil over 4 years shows Saints have money in the bank for a marquee. If not Manu hopefully they can land a big fish whether it be Manu, Dearden, etc.

I am very interested in Taumalolo if that is true that he is being shopped around. Under Flanno this guy will be a gun. If Saints get him at 750k a season that is a bargain. Luki and Piakaru are also great additions if they can snag one of them big fellas.

One guy I think I heard Saints were interested in a while ago was the Broncos hooker Corey Paix I think his name is. He is now free to negotiate with other clubs but I did not hear anything since so they must have lost interest the Dragons. I have a feeling they may go for Brailey seeing he has a Flanno connection instead.

I don't know how the journos know what amount a club is prepared to offer a player but I guess they have the senses closer to the grindstone than us. If we are one of the clubs who would be happy to fork out the big bucks for a player like Manu, we must have plenty of coin in the kitty to make a significant offer for Manu's services. It would be great of course, but when this sort of article openly comes out for many of league followers to see, then I have a feeling that we will not end up with him. Most of our signings are kept on the quiet until they are confirmed officially in the website and on Fridays. Maybe expect something Friday week.

In the case of Brailey, I know that he is close to the Flanagans family, like Connor Tracey is but I read that Brailey is wanted by the Knights and is not going anywhere and he is still under contract to the end of 2025. He would be a great pick-up for us, but lets see what the Dragons can do.

 

[Dragon David]

BTW, where is the money for us to be offering Manu? We have only got rid of Musgrove and Sullivan.

 

[This Year?]

I couldn't think of anything worse than having that injury feigning coward playing for us.
Guess I'll have to wait until Friday to find out.

 

[Parko1310]

BTW, where is the money for us to be offering Manu? We have only got rid of Musgrove and Sullivan.

We're well under the cap. We haven't got a single player on our books on over $1m. Ben Hunt re-signed for about 900k by reports last year. The money is there for at least one marquee, maybe two, and some other really good signings like Luki for example that would command about 550k-600k. Finefuaki would cost about 450k-500k. Plus, Manu wouldn't be here until 2025 anyway IF Flanno got him which I doubt he will, by which time we may have let go of Su'a, Suli, amone, etc. Whether it's Manu or anyone else, we can afford to spend that kind of money. Cap only just went up too. $1.2m in the current cap is like $1m a few years ago

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

1.2m for Manu is obviously overs and probably abt 400k pa more than what the Rorters would be able to pay ( not incl paper bag) so I’m thinking he may be swayed. The beauty of his signing would be that he could attract other quality signings. The only players whinger attracted were has been broncos mates.
Sloan to the wing with his speed would be a good move as well.
All talk for now but at least we know that our coach is not chasing garbage

He’ll end up staying at the rorters for much less money and he’ll come out with “it’s not about the money…it’s all about the culture at the roosters and how much I love the place and blah blah blah”

 

[Dragon David]

He’ll end up staying at the rorters for much less money and he’ll come out with “it’s not about the money…it’s all about the culture at the roosters and how much I love the place and blah blah blah”

Yes, spot on R&W.

 

[The Word]

BTW, where is the money for us to be offering Manu? We have only got rid of Musgrove and Sullivan.

It's for 2025. Currently we've got more than half the squad off contract for that year. You're right about the money side of it, complete speculation by the press about the size of the contract.
The only facts we know atm are that Flanagan has said he wants him at the dragons as a full back (hence the higher wages than centre). Personally I love the fact that Flanagan is more than happy to put it out there. Let them all know we're in the market and we're cashed up and hopefully the phone starts ringing.

 

[redVinme]

I couldn't think of anything worse than having that injury feigning coward playing for us.
Guess I'll have to wait until Friday to find out.

This part is stuck iny head

BTW, where is the money for us to be offering Manu? We have only got rid of Musgrove and Sullivan.

2025, we have only a few players signed for 25 and beyond. Plenty of cash

 

[TheRev]

I thought Manu had no interest in leaving.. and the Chooks no interest in letting him go.. that said he didnt have the best year after being crowned the golden boot, and there is a queue for fullback..

What I dont understand is if we couldnt land guys like Taaffe and Curran etc.. how are we are going to steal high profile players from the rich clubs.. but I just hope there is something to this and its already been negotiated, not just another whimsical offer for us to be rejected yet again.

 

[Ben_Kusto_magic]

A lot of money for a bloke that’s starting to pick up a few injuries…

 

[Parko1310]

A lot of money for a bloke that’s starting to pick up a few injuries…

Could be a risk as well. Just did his hamstring, although I don't think that's a recurring injury for him? I know he did injure it again in their sharks game but that was because he was rushed back way too quickly for a hamstring injury to heal. It was always a massive risk to play him. He still played 21 games this season out of a possible 26 for the roosters which isn't too bad at all.

 

[redv13]

Huge if Flanno can pull this off. I’d take Joey in a heart beat. Can play 1/6 or Centre and more importantly attract decent players. Usually takes 1 big domino to fall then the rest follow

 

[RedVee_8]

Manu was excellent at Fullback for the Kiwis up to and through the RLWC tournament