Recruitment and Retention for 2026

Mailroomsgi

Mailroomsgi

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Justadragon said:
Yeah I dont know Ryan, I'm just going off a previous post, if that is the case there would be a lot of fans spewing over it. It would be that none of the big 3 Sullivan, Amone and Sloan never survived at the Dragons.
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I’m still gutted about Amone, he’s an idiot first and foremost

But my god he was a talented player, anyone that watched the SG ball in the 2021 season knew he was head and shoulders the best player in NSW

We provided a terrible environment for those young guys to succeed

Go watch the games Amone played on his preferred edge (right) as a 19/20 YO in the NRL

Absolutely brilliant, there was an away game in Canberra where he scored a hatrick and assisted the other to nearly win us the game on his own

Then a home game against the raiders in Wollongong, he absolutely ran the show and looked a class above

So disappointing how it’s played out

Hopefully this crop of young guys have it much better
 
TheRev

TheRev

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Mutual Option means both parties need to take it up.. in other words the contract may aswell not even exist... Liddle is free to do whatever he wants..

It did sound like he had signed with Manly (possibly in cooling off), but if Mailrooms source is true (lets hope) then maybe he has changed his mind or maybe we have offered an upgrade.. which we should if he stays... because hes been very good.. I think fundamentally he probably wanted to know from Flanno that he had a proper path to be our main #9 here.. and who knows whats happened behind the scenes.. does he feel loved.. I dunno..

Again though, dont get too excited until we hear anything for certain..
 
jodragon40

jodragon40

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TheRev said:
Mutual Option means both parties need to take it up.. in other words the contract may aswell not even exist... Liddle is free to do whatever he wants..

It did sound like he had signed with Manly (possibly in cooling off), but if Mailrooms source is true (lets hope) then maybe he has changed his mind or maybe we have offered an upgrade.. which we should if he stays... because hes been very good.. I think fundamentally he probably wanted to know from Flanno that he had a proper path to be our main #9 here.. and who knows whats happened behind the scenes.. does he feel loved.. I dunno..

Again though, dont get too excited until we hear anything for certain..
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I said after Cook was signed that I felt for Liddle . He is not an 80 min hooker according to his stat's but when on the park he was rated one of the better hookers running around. He has shown this season especially that he is an excellent impact player off the bench. That is exactly what you need to be competitive your bench players to come on and change the momentum of a game if your starting 13 are struggling or alternatively add impetus if you are on top. I personally hope he stays until we can sign a very good younger alternative.
 
AyiosYiorgos

AyiosYiorgos

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Morgan said:
So he's not happy with LKT? Or doesn't rate Reed long-term? I seriously don't understand Flanno's recruitment and retention. Only Holmes and Gutho have been good recruits and as good as they are, they are veterans on big money.
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Reed is a few years away, Flano probably is looking for instant results, not going to wait 3 years to fix a problem in the halves..
If he brings in a new 1st grade ready half, Ilias might end up in Super League, can't see him wanting to spend 18months in reserve grade.
 
TheRev

TheRev

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Reed rly needs time, like a year in cup probably next year.. and then maybe he is the injury cover.. throw him in now honestly it might end his career before he even takes off.

But to be talking with another half means:
a) Glover is not staying on and
b) Ilias probably looking to leave end of year (which would be really helpful to clear a spot for us), I dont think hes coming back other than to cover injuries.. and he came here for 1st grade opportunity.. that said, where is he going to go bar super league.. its possible we r stuck with him.

Atkinson could play other positions also.. I think LKT could also.. but I think Atkinson is most likely to be in the halves..
 
Morgan

Morgan

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AyiosYiorgos said:
Reed is a few years away, Flano probably is looking for instant results, not going to wait 3 years to fix a problem in the halves..
If he brings in a new 1st grade ready half, Ilias might end up in Super League, can't see him wanting to spend 18months in reserve grade.
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3 years? That's a bit extreme. Isn't he on a development contact this year?

I can't see even Flanno recruiting a new half, dropping LKT but keeping Kyle. That's a bit too absurd.
 
Edward

Edward

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Morgan said:
3 years? That's a bit extreme. Isn't he on a development contact this year?

I can't see even Flanno recruiting a new half, dropping LKT but keeping Kyle. That's a bit too absurd.
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3 years including this year sounds typical. In reserve grade all next year for the second year. Debut in 2027. Though with the number of teenage halves in the competition, I see where you are coming from.
 
Dragons Chris

Dragons Chris

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Morgan said:
3 years? That's a bit extreme. Isn't he on a development contact this year?

I can't see even Flanno recruiting a new half, dropping LKT but keeping Kyle. That's a bit too absurd.
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On paper, do LKT and Reed have games that perfectly compliment each other? Reed with the ball playing and game management and LKT with the running right into the line and being unpredictable as to weather he will kick, run or pass. Specially when LKT has gotten a bit bigger and stronger.
 
D

Dave03

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imo we can't have all our eggs in the reed basket, what happens if he gets an LTI? LKT has shown promising signs but very early to make a judgement if he's going to be an nrl top 8 standard 5/8th. Kyle, Illias & Glover are all placeholders & tbh only one of them should be here next year after Atkinsons arrival.

I can see something like
1st grade: Atkinson/new half recruit
nsw cup: LKT/Reed & Kyle at hooker

LKT is only 20, lets see how he goes for the rest of the season. If he kills it & we recruit another good half then it's a good headache to have for next season.

Atko was on radio, he said he's a footy nerd & watches Dragons games. Love hearing that from a likely halves player.
 
TheRev

TheRev

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One of the names that recently came on the market is Sandon Smith.. he would be an upgrade on our current 'Seven', but I think ultimately hes not the one to invest in.. but he would be an improvement... maybe he could be a 6 with Atkinson 7.. but I thought we might shoot for a huge kicking 7 if we were gonna go external.

The guy I wanted last year who was available all year is Tanah Boyd.. like every failed half plenty of fans hate on him, but he was a junior gun for Australia, hes smart and has a huge boot on him.. its literally all we needed... has the warriors #1 in cup, one of the only teams to beat us.. and beat us 40-12 too.. wasted behind Metcalf.

Edit: Another left field idea would be Latu swapped for Hutchinson.. not a very inspiring choice though, not sure if hes a big improvement over what we already have? The difference is he could come in immediately.
 
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RedV01

RedV01

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Dave03 said:
imo we can't have all our eggs in the reed basket, what happens if he gets an LTI? LKT has shown promising signs but very early to make a judgement if he's going to be an nrl top 8 standard 5/8th. Kyle, Illias & Glover are all placeholders & tbh only one of them should be here next year after Atkinsons arrival.

I can see something like
1st grade: Atkinson/new half recruit
nsw cup: LKT/Reed & Kyle at hooker

LKT is only 20, lets see how he goes for the rest of the season. If he kills it & we recruit another good half then it's a good headache to have for next season.

Atko was on radio, he said he's a footy nerd & watches Dragons games. Love hearing that from a likely halves player.
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LKT in first grade this year but back to reserve grade next year? No. If he's not good enough to continue in first grade after spending a year there, move him on. I can't see how that's the case. Who TF is this 20-something Shonkies utility who can talk about having no interest in coming a year early, "cause he wants to win a premiership with the Shonkies" and automatically have Dragons fans pick him in the halves ahead of our own very promising 20 year-old?

I'm backing LKT.
 
Mailroomsgi

Mailroomsgi

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great minds think alike Rev, I was just going to say roosters have been shopping around Sandon Smith, wouldn’t shock if he’s the one we have our eye on

They’ll have Rodwell spend a year in cup and then take over from DCE when he retires at the roosters IMO

Chammas said the other week that Sandon Smith knocked back a 400k a year deal from the chooks
 
AyiosYiorgos

AyiosYiorgos

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Mailroomsgi said:
great minds think alike Rev, I was just going to say roosters have been shopping around Sandon Smith, wouldn’t shock if he’s the one we have our eye on

They’ll have Rodwell spend a year in cup and then take over from DCE when he retires at the roosters IMO

Chammas said the other week that Sandon Smith knocked back a 400k a year deal from the chooks
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WOW
 
R

redv13

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TheRev said:
One of the names that recently came on the market is Sandon Smith.. he would be an upgrade on our current 'Seven', but I think ultimately hes not the one to invest in.. but he would be an improvement... maybe he could be a 6 with Atkinson 7.. but I thought we might shoot for a huge kicking 7 if we were gonna go external.

The guy I wanted last year who was available all year is Tanah Boyd.. like every failed half plenty of fans hate on him, but he was a junior gun for Australia, hes smart and has a huge boot on him.. its literally all we needed... has the warriors #1 in cup, one of the only teams to beat us.. and beat us 40-12 too.. wasted behind Metcalf.

Edit: Another left field idea would be Latu swapped for Hutchinson.. not a very inspiring choice though, not sure if hes a big improvement over what we already have? The difference is he could come in immediately.
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Agree with Smith or Boyd but please no for Hutchinson
 
TheRev

TheRev

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Yah I dont think we will sign Hutcho, just making the point is that would give us someone 'tomorrow' rather than in 2026.. and we r losing Latu anyway... but i dunno if hes actually an upgrade.. if they had someone better then maybe, but i dont think they are letting Tia or Hayward go..even though I dunno where either will fit in their squad.

And roosters yes they have Hugo and Walker ready to go... Rodwell as backup (Rodwell is young tho, like Reed young), I dont think they would give up Smith until end of season though.. they might play finals yet.. and Walker is coming off a large injury...even though they were willing to let a few others go early.
 
Mailroomsgi

Mailroomsgi

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It’s a weird spot for LKT as well if we sign a half

Like if it does end up being Sandon Smith then he’s a long term option- He’s 23 in december

Atkinson is 25 in january so you pair them together and it’s 2 halves that haven’t even entered their peak years yet

Maybe they say to LKT just keep grinding away and working on your game in cup

Because let’s not forget he’s only just turned 20

I’d be pro signing Sandon Smith as he’s obviously talented and just a better player than both Flanagan and LKT right now

In saying all this, imagine the half we met with was Chad Townsend 😂
 
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