There is a lot of talent across the board off-contract for next season and I hope we can finally "play the game" in a way that sees us rebuild with long term success top of mind, but with the real prospect of short term competitiveness being a reality. Here are the 16 WT players coming off contract;
Matt Ballin,
Joel Edwards,
Tim Grant,
Watson Heleta,
Justin Hunt,
Jamal Idris,
Jack Littlejohn,
Kyle Lovett,
Matt McIlwrick,
Mitchell Moses,
Kevin Naiqama,
David Nofoaluma,
Jordan Rankin,
Ava Seumanufagai,
James Tedesco,
Aaron Woods
If we leave aside Woods, Tedesco (decisions pending) and Moses (already gone)...then in my opinion the only players out of the 16 that demand re-signing are; McIlwrick, Nofa, Ava & Grant.
Fullback: A lot will depend on whether we keep Tedesco but if we don't we'll have even more cash to play with and I can't see a better option than Michael Gordon, he's playing well at the moment and will be a big net gain in terms of dollars and if Tedesco does go to the Roosters then it's a bo-brainer for mine. If Tedesco goes to Canterbury then we could still chase him as the Roosters won't dig too deep as they probably see Latrell as a long term FB anyway. The other option is Dugan who is off contract and if Saints re-sign Widdop on the reported offer of $2.2m for 3y on top of Hunt then they will probably not be able to afford Dugan as well. Alex Johnston from Souths is another off contract option but Souths should be able to retain him so he is unlikely I would think.
Outside Backs: Aaron Gray (Souths) would come pretty cheap and I thought he had a really good year a couple of years back and Will Chambers (Storm) are both off contract. Chambers would cost more but he's accomplished, tough and a very solid defender, he wouldn't be too cheap though and the Storm rarely lose anyone they really want to retain. Another off-contract player is Kirisome Auva'a who ripped us apart on Monday. He's off contract but has baggage. In addition to this we look as though we've agreed to terms with Taane Milne (Saints).
Halves: Everyone knows the halves situation; Cronk, Foran, Widdop, Reynolds are the big names and we'll all just have to wait for the game of chess to play out....but as someone already mentioned above I wouldn't mind Tyrone Roberts he's a very good goal-kicker and a good general play kicker. Him and Brooks would be a competent halves pairing with ability and potential and they would only take up a comparitively small amount of cap compared to what most clubs end up paying for their 6s & 7s...so it would allow us to strengthen up in other positions.
Forwards: Likely that Matulino is coming and McQueen is signed so some depth on the way already. Another GUN worth chasing that would add X factor is Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Storm) - Wow imagine if we could get this huge unit (but I doubt it). Other notables worth a look some have experience and others are promising; Robbie Rochow (Souths), Aiden Guerra (Roosters) offer some experience and Jai Arrow (Broncos) and Zane Tetevano (Roosters) are both on the up but struggling for opportunity at their clubs...they are up-tempo, have good leg drive and are both physical.
It's a Good Year to be in the market and hopefully we have the right coach to do the shopping!
