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Walmsley to sign - Possm take a bow!

possm

Coach
Messages
15,959
Again people willing to overlook what we have for someone who hasn’t even played NRL
Let’s overlook our youth for another ageing forward playing against second raters, pie eaters and pensioners in Super League.
This guy is a 10 - 15 minute impact player at best and you want to throw big money at him
Ridiculous
Our young forwards Sele, Lawrie and Kerr did not stand out last season. All Clubs need an impact prop who can come off the bench and make a difference - Wlamsley will be our Kasiano. If our young guns are god enough, Walsley will be consigned to reserve grade however, at this stage I'd day that Walmsley is heads and shoulders above these young guns and I'd day he will be the catalyst for them to try to succeed rather than a player blocking their progression.
 

dragonssamy61

First Grade
Messages
5,549
nrlnrl, that being the case , then I now highly doubt that he will be in our colours in 2019 or any year for that matter . Thanks for clarifying things .

Your smarter than the average bear Gareth.
Why would they extended Vaughan till 2021.
Sign Graham for 3 years. Sele till 2020 and lowrie till the end of 2019
Sign fizz and luc till 2021and JDB till
2020
and are in the process of resign lowrie.
Unless they are not going to keep LAM (wich I dont see happening).
Then there is no room at the inn.
 
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Gareth67

First Grade
Messages
8,832
Your smarter than the average bear Gareth.
Why would they extended Vaughan till 2021.
Sign Graham for 3 years. Sele till 2020 and lowrie till the end of 2019
Sign fizz and luc till 2021and JDB till
2020
and are in the process of resign lowrie.
Unless they are not going to keep LAM (wich I dont see happening).
Then there is no room at the inn.

Hope you and yours had a nice Christmas Sammy , and yes , perhaps the 'old grey matter ' is still doing its job , but it is the off-season and we need something to keep us all going . If I can embellish a story by putting a bit more shine onto it , just like a cricket ball, well there's no harm done .

By the way , did you hear about that chap who owns a diamond mine in South Africa and is interested in buying a big chunk of the Dragons ? :ring:
 

possm

Coach
Messages
15,959
Your smarter than the average bear Gareth.
Why would they extended Vaughan till 2021.
Sign Graham for 3 years. Sele till 2020 and lowrie till the end of 2019
Sign fizz and luc till 2021and JDB till
2020
and are in the process of resign lowrie.
Unless they are not going to keep LAM (wich I dont see happening).
Then there is no room at the inn.

First Grade Prop Rotation:
Vaughan
Graham
Ah Mau
Walmsley


Reserve Grade Prop Rotation:
Allgood
Latimore
Lawrie
Kerr
 

possm

Coach
Messages
15,959
You obviously think that Lawrie, Kerr & Co can’t make it whereas I do
You have little or no faith in our juniors and think that the cheque book mentality is the answer
Our club is always at its strongest when we have strong junior involvement in our playing ranks and because I lean that way you call it whinging.

Our Club is at it's strongest when we keep our outstanding juniors and then fill the holes in our squad with great players who are on the market.
 

hewi

Bench
Messages
4,203
I agree 100% but Walmsley ain’t great by any measure
He is just another that falls into the adequate bucket
Adequate import doesn’t cut it if you are dead serious about our roster

Proof is in the pudding and only time will tell, personally I think he will be a huge success.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
17,977
Proof is in the pudding and only time will tell, personally I think he will be a huge success.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Lots of Little Jack Horner’s in the world
I have seen very little to make think he will make it whereas our up and comers will not.
 

dragonssamy61

First Grade
Messages
5,549
Hope you and yours had a nice Christmas Sammy , and yes , perhaps the 'old grey matter ' is still doing its job , but it is the off-season and we need something to keep us all going . If I can embellish a story by putting a bit more shine onto it , just like a cricket ball, well there's no harm done .

By the way , did you hear about that chap who owns a diamond mine in South Africa and is interested in buying a big chunk of the Dragons ? :ring:

Sure did gareth.
Hope your family had a great Christmas and a healthy new year.
 

giboz71

First Grade
Messages
9,676
Your smarter than the average bear Gareth.
Why would they extended Vaughan till 2021.
Sign Graham for 3 years. Sele till 2020 and lowrie till the end of 2019
Sign fizz and luc till 2021and JDB till
2020
and are in the process of resign lowrie.
Unless they are not going to keep LAM (wich I dont see happening).
Then there is no room at the inn.

Ah Mau, Kerr, Allgood and Latimore all unsigned after 2018. That’s potentially 4 props we would need to replace.

Hence I said it makes more sense he’s signed for 2019 if at all. I don’t mind LAM as a player, but if Walmsley comes as advertised, he could be a good pick up in the prop rotation for 2019 and beyond.
 

Gareth67

First Grade
Messages
8,832
Sure did gareth.
Hope your family had a great Christmas and a healthy new year.

Thank you dragonssamy61 , yes most enjoyable.
Just further to your earlier post ( my original reply did not answer your question mate ) .

Each of the younger players that you mentioned , certainly have the potential to do great things in the top grade . However I feel that the Dragons still need to ' hedge their bets ' by the occasional astute signing ,( as not all of the younger blokes will be entirely successful ) .This is exactly what all the other clubs do and it's about time that our recruitment joined them , otherwise we shall have only the ' leftovers ' to choose from .

Should this so called signing of Alex Walmsley prove to be factual ( and personally I hope it is ) it shows me that at long last our recruitment is indeed looking towards the future and the future that I refer to is not 2018 , but 2019 and beyond . This is what will allow the Jiont Venture to keep pace with the big boys of the NRL . That and money , plus a mixture of our juniors and one or two hard nosed international players .
 
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Old Timer

Coach
Messages
17,977
Do people realise that if Walmsley does come in 2019 he will be 29 years old so IMO starting to run on old legs.
Do people championing his signing really think that he will instantly start playing NRL at the top level having never played it and coming from the much slower paced English club football system played in a much cooler climate?
How many big Englishmen have ever come to this country to play NRL and achieved great success in the first couple of years and how does Walsmsley compare to them in quality?
If he signs for 2 years and doesn't achieve anything notable and is let go what do we do then having let go or not promoted juniors to fill the front row position?
Why is it we go for the "cheap option" or the "he might be ok" option or the "he is a great player but never played NRL" option?
Regardless of his injury Masoe was never going to make it yet people want to keep going down that big man track.
If we need a prop because our juniors can't cut it then go and buy the best one we can for the money we have and who is already playing good footy in the NRL.
Time to stop gambling on outside player quality either buy 100% quality or use existing resources until we are able to attract the best quality in other words punt the coach first and foremost.
 

giboz71

First Grade
Messages
9,676
Do people realise that if Walmsley does come in 2019 he will be 29 years old so IMO starting to run on old legs.
Do people championing his signing really think that he will instantly start playing NRL at the top level having never played it and coming from the much slower paced English club football system played in a much cooler climate?
How many big Englishmen have ever come to this country to play NRL and achieved great success in the first couple of years and how does Walsmsley compare to them in quality?
If he signs for 2 years and doesn't achieve anything notable and is let go what do we do then having let go or not promoted juniors to fill the front row position?
Why is it we go for the "cheap option" or the "he might be ok" option or the "he is a great player but never played NRL" option?
Regardless of his injury Masoe was never going to make it yet people want to keep going down that big man track.
If we need a prop because our juniors can't cut it then go and buy the best one we can for the money we have and who is already playing good footy in the NRL.
Time to stop gambling on outside player quality either buy 100% quality or use existing resources until we are able to attract the best quality in other words punt the coach first and foremost.

Props hit their peak in their late 20’s early 30’s. We’ve just bought James Graham and he’s 32.

If I were to guess, if we do sign him, he’ll likely be a straight swap for Ah Mau who is roughly the same age and wouldn’t be on peanuts.

As I’ve said, I don’t mind Leeson as a player but if we could get an English international and someone regarded as the best prop in the super league as a replacement (to effectively be a bench Prop) I wouldn’t be too unhappy.
 
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dragonssamy61

First Grade
Messages
5,549
Props hit their peak in their late 20’s early 30’s. We’ve just bought James Graham and he’s 32.

If I were to guess, if we do sign him, he’ll likely be a straight swap for Ah Mau who is roughly the same age and wouldn’t be on peanuts.

As I’ve said, I don’t mind Leeson as a player but if we could get an English international and someone regarded as the best prop in the super league as a replacement, I wouldn’t be too unhappy.

I can see your logic giboz.
Mybe LAM would like to finish up in super league.
But not to sure.
LAM was very consistent last year.
So I would make the decision on him about half way though the year.
Imo
 

AyiosYiorgos

Coach
Messages
14,186
We were quite prepared to rehabilitate Dugan and Packer yet we showed Fonua Blake the door.
Why didn't we do the same for one of our own?? Seems hypocritical to me.
The result being Manly got one of our top line juniors which we had invested a lot of time in.
Look at him go now.
.
It's like an unwritten rule, if they f**k up at your club, you release them for someone else to rehabilitate them, i wish he was still with us, having Graham/Vaughan with him he could become anything...
 

Gareth67

First Grade
Messages
8,832
I am quietly confident that James Graham and Gareth Widdop , would more then adequately bring a player such as Walmsley ' up to speed ' on playing in the NRL . More so should Graham give him a few pointers , as I hope he shall also do with any of our juniors who make the top grade side .

I realise that there is a hell of a difference between playing in the ESL and the NRL on a weekly basis , as it is another thing entirely . Walmsley did not have an outstanding W.C. series's , but by the same token he certainly did not play like a 2nd rate player , in fact well enough for a number of NRL clubs to make enquiries .

But many of us have have got ahead of ourselves on this subject , although most of us DO realise that this is only pure speculation and nothing more .
From what I have read about his thoughts ( from the ESLeague news ) he is quite contented where he is at present , but he would not 100% rule out the possibility of coming down under to play with the big boys of the game .

Speaking of which - the big boys are indeed the clubs most likely to gain his signature , should he ever decide upon a move . However , until our younger players manage to make the jump into the top grade and prove themselves we will continue to need new blood from somewhere , whether that be here or overseas .
 
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possm

Coach
Messages
15,959
Do people realise that if Walmsley does come in 2019 he will be 29 years old so IMO starting to run on old legs.
Do people championing his signing really think that he will instantly start playing NRL at the top level having never played it and coming from the much slower paced English club football system played in a much cooler climate?
How many big Englishmen have ever come to this country to play NRL and achieved great success in the first couple of years and how does Walsmsley compare to them in quality?
If he signs for 2 years and doesn't achieve anything notable and is let go what do we do then having let go or not promoted juniors to fill the front row position?
Why is it we go for the "cheap option" or the "he might be ok" option or the "he is a great player but never played NRL" option?
Regardless of his injury Masoe was never going to make it yet people want to keep going down that big man track.
If we need a prop because our juniors can't cut it then go and buy the best one we can for the money we have and who is already playing good footy in the NRL.
Time to stop gambling on outside player quality either buy 100% quality or use existing resources until we are able to attract the best quality in other words punt the coach first and foremost.

Firstly, I haven't given up on him coming in 2018; in my opinion we need him most in 2018.

Secondly, he should only be selected for first grade on form. Given that he has missed most of the off-season training for 2018, I guess it would take a few rounds before he is up to the fitness required; similar to what happened with Cooper.

Thirdly, if our youngsters are better than Walmsley or deserve selection to first grade ahead of Walmsley on form, then they should leap frog him.

We should keep in mind that Millward recruited two fringe first grade props as depth players - Allgood and Latimore. I consider Lawrie and Kerr as fringe first graders based on last years performance - with Lawrie slightly ahead of Kerr on last years form. So Allgood, Latimore, Lawrie and Kerr are fringe first graders and will all compete for the fourth prop position in the first grade rotation. When Walmsley arrives, he will be classed in the same catergory and will have to earn his spot on form/merit.

At 29, he should just now be coming into his prime. I would have loved to have recruited Graham at the age of 29; he is now 33 and still one of the best in the business.
 

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