The Rumours Thread

[JubileeJeffro]

Bud is not nrl standard, next?

 

[Dragon the chain]

Ben Haran is quoted as saying he does not know football and only learnt about it when he was at the storm. There's only so much you can learn if you are not heavily invested in the sport and its pretty clear he's got zero idea what's going on.

Again, I think you are confusing him with Webb, who knows nothing about football. Ben Haran was a good football player and coach for Helensburgh. That's not NRL, but it's a good level of football. He's played with and against NRL players. He knows football.

 

[Dragon the chain]

Toby Sexton???!!!???!?!!?
Geez. What a deadset dud. Couldn't hold down a starting spot at the TITANS and can't get on the field in front of Drew Hutchinson. No thanks.

Don't understand the all Kyle F hate I've been seeing after the last game. 5/8 wasn't the problem against the Roosters.

You say that Sexton can't hold down a spot at Titans. But he was recruited over Kyle by the Bulldoigs.

 

[BLM01]

Unfortunately, we've missed the boat again, they are just useless this bunch. Get Ben Haran away from a high profile position for starters. Can you believe we have a head of football who has openly admitted to not knowing football because he didn't watch or know anything about it being from Melbourne? That is ludicrous. This is a first grade f**king rugby league club, how in the world do you have someone who doesn't know football as the head of FOOTBALL.

I agree we need middles over all else. Unfortunately for us, there is f**k all on the market. There is only three middles I'd consider that are still off contract, none of which are game breakers, but:

Trey Mooney (Raiders), Jack Williams (Sharks), Jazz Tevaga (Warriors)

All of these guys upgrade our side, albeit no where near enough. Could argue Angus Crichton could start on an edge and then become a middle for us mid-game, but I highly doubt we'll be getting him anyway so it's probably not even worth a discussion.

Outside backs, really slim pickings again:

Reimis Smith (Storm), even this is extremely uninspiring.

Halves:

Toby Sexton (Bulldogs). Reportedly killing it in reserves, lets be honest Kyle Flanagan is a short-term stop-gap, not good enough for week to week NRL. Sexton plays a similar style at a higher level, so why would we not upgrade a position where we can? At worst you sign Sexton for 2 years, upgrade your halves, and if someone better comes along sign them and have Sexton as a back-up. You could do way worse than that. I just hope the plan is not to have Kyle in the 17 every week long-term. He's a fine backup and nothing more.

Ben Haran has been moved away and is there by title only ATM
If you have not noticed he is on the sideline relaying messages for the box and in recent times his opinion is not sought after for anything as they go straight to the coach or maybe CEO if warranted
he was taken away from running recruitment and pathways which is what HEAD of Footballs are heavily vested in.
How many other Head of Footballs really do that mundane stuff on the sideline etc but that is where he belongs, they have just found a chair for him as they recognised this when they chatted to Richo, as the Dragons were looking to bring someone in to teach and guide him how to do the job in conjunction but has not eventuated yet.

 

[Dragon the chain]

Ben Haran has been moved away and is there by title only ATM
If you have not noticed he is on the sideline relaying messages for the box and in recent times his opinion is not sought after for anything as they go straight to the coach or maybe CEO if warranted
he was taken away from running recruitment and pathways which is what HEAD of Footballs are heavily vested in.
How many other Head of Footballs really do that mundane stuff on the sideline etc but that is where he belongs, they have just found a chair for him as they recognised this when they chatted to Richo, as the Dragons were looking to bring someone in to teach and guide him how to do the job in conjunction but has not eventuated yet.

Titles are not very nuanced. He was never head of football in the way Gould is at Bulldogs. It's always been hard to understand the structure in the Dragons' football department.

 

[The fox]

Titles are not very nuanced. He was never head of football in the way Gould is at Bulldogs. It's always been hard to understand the structure in the Dragons' football department.

Is there a structure??

 

[JubileeJeffro]

Shame to see Lewis Dodd likely to join the rabbit scum. Would have been worth a punt at 7 over the next 2-3years.

 

[barry]

Sorry its you who are missing the point. So I'll help you.
Let's do a little thought experiment.
Let's say magically before the Roosters game we sign Turuva, this supposed marquee signing you're crying and moaning about missing out on. If he slots in to our backline - you pick the position you want him to play in - fullback, wing, centre - does the score against the Roosters change on Anzac Day? No, of course not. It stays about 60 -18, give or take a try or two either way.
Now let's say on Anzac day due to another piece of magic, we're allowed to pick any 2 of the NRL's best 10 front rowers to play for us. Does the dynamic of that game change? Yes of course it does.
Backs are a minor issue compared to the glaring weaknesses in our front row, . We need as our number one priority, big, menacing, powerful front rowers. Once we get that sorted out, sure let's improve the backline. Turuva or anyone of his quality changes absolutely nothing for us without fixing the forwards first.

100% the rebuild starts with the forwards, the rest will follow

 

[Das Hassler]

Bud got benched under Benji. This year was his chance to develop under Benji and turn into a gun half. But Galvin beat him and now Fainu is taking the bench spot.

With Luai coming next year to Tigers, he will be pushed out.

Yeah I know...I'm WT..just hoping someone will take him off our books. I can't imagine how he will get another shot at FG with us.

 

[Hound of Dracula]

I'm all for giving Flanagan sufficient time but you cannot convince me all is right when we haven't landed one signature for next season. You have to be getting in quick on these things. Plans for '25 and '26 need to be sewn up as we speak in the player market. Not a matter of being rash anymore. That excuse won't fly.

By now surely the coach has identified where that cap needs to be spent (add to that Lomax now which is another gaping hole) and needs to be getting our club the best players he can, something a little more convincing than a journeyman.

Publicising these did not turn out well for us but surely there's whispers of who we are after. I'd imagine we'd be sniffing out big Stefano Utoikamanu and keeping a close eye on him. You'd come in with an offer he can't refuse.

Urgency is required here.

When the economy is down smart business operators increase their sales staff!

Certainly makes you wonder the rationale of rejecting Scott Fulton, when we are struggling to recruit..

 

[Dragon David]

When the economy is down smart business operators increase their sales staff!

Certainly makes you wonder the rationale of rejecting Scott Fulton, when we are struggling to recruit..

Not only are we not recruiting players but we don't appear to be recruiting the staff to do the recruiting, so how in hell will we be spending the overflow of money we have for 2025?

 

[thebigredv]

Shame to see Lewis Dodd likely to join the rabbit scum. Would have been worth a punt at 7 over the next 2-3years.

Probably was on our club's Things to Do list. Always three steps behind.

 

[Dragon Blood]

I thought they were quality signings by your man the drug cheat coach?

Is that you Anthony “Hook” Griffin?

All your posts sound like your butt still hurts after getting sacked.

 

[Craig93]

Everyone looks good in the Panthers system.
Remember over the last few years they lost Staines & Naden both to the Tigers and neither have been great since.
Not saying Turuva won’t be better but I don’t think his game changing fast, or strong, or big etc?
If Panthers wanted him because he was the next big thing they would have made another 100k per year work.

Just my 2c

 

[Dragon David]

So the Bunnies look like getting St Helens Super League half back Lewis Dodd meaning Ilias is on the outer I would say.

We should definitely be trying to get a few Super League giants to join our club. Will we, I doubt it.

Ilias’ future unclear as Souths move to sign UK standout; Townsend could stay up north: Whispers

Shock switch floated for struggling star as Bunnies set to sign Super League standout

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Hound of Dracula]

Can someone explain why Wollongong, south coast, is not a favourable destination for players, locality wise, not Club-wise.

Newcastle doesn’t seem to have that issue – ‘too far from Sydney’, in fact they are further away

Canberra does, but appear to be able to adjust when recruiting.

I live in Sydney Metro, on north side, but I never go North for hols – I love the south (Beyond the shires of course)

Why is the south considered undesirable for recruitment?

I don't think it's a fair dinkum excuse.

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

Mate for our athletic Polynesian boys I think it is more about living round the corner form family and friends

is that half of our best 17 ?

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

Can someone explain why Wollongong, south coast, is not a favourable destination for players, locality wise, not Club-wise.

Newcastle doesn’t seem to have that issue – ‘too far from Sydney’, in fact they are further away

Canberra does, but appear to be able to adjust when recruiting.

I live in Sydney Metro, on north side, but I never go North for hols – I love the south (Beyond the shires of course)

Why is the south considered undesirable for recruitment?

I don't think it's a fair dinkum excuse.

Unfortunately, I think it is part of the problem. For anyone already living in Sydney, you probably want to stay in Sydney. Look at the Penrith players, they'd much rather move to Wests Tigers than us despite their miserable record. They don't have to move house, their wives/girlfriends don't have to change jobs, their support networks don't change, it's an easy choice. Who wants to move to Wollongong for what may be only employment for 1 or 2 years, then you have to move back again? Got friends/family from interstate who want to visit? You can get a flight to Newcastle, Gold Coast, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney but not Wollongong. It may be a great place to live but it's a pain in the big A to get to. Real Estate? Move out of the Sydney market and it's not easy to get back in.

The fact that Flanno wants some training at Kogarah says to me that he has spoken to the players and the Wollongong location is a real issue. It may not be the biggest issue but if it comes down to a choice between us and another Sydney club, I can understand why some players wouldn't choose us because of location.

 

[Sage63]

Can someone explain why Wollongong, south coast, is not a favourable destination for players, locality wise, not Club-wise.

Newcastle doesn’t seem to have that issue – ‘too far from Sydney’, in fact they are further away

Canberra does, but appear to be able to adjust when recruiting.

I live in Sydney Metro, on north side, but I never go North for hols – I love the south (Beyond the shires of course)

Why is the south considered undesirable for recruitment?

I don't think it's a fair dinkum excuse.

I too, love the South Coast, but in my travels during my time on this planet I've met a few people who have left the South Coast because they claimed it was full of too many aggressive, misogynistic male bogan's.
I don't know; I once did have a "boss" originally from Wollongong, who was a sexist, racist bogan, but that's one out of many.
And they can be found anywhere!
I love visiting the South Coast but quite frankly, I don't know if I'd really want to live their permanently.

 

[St Tangles]

Alomoti looking like a gun on the Panthers wing

Maybe Turuva is not a significant miss