Recruitment and Retention for 2026

[Mailroomsgi]

It’s an indictment on the recruitment that there’s only 1 guy here that HAS to be kept and the rest for the most part we’d all be happy to see leave

Stewart the obvious keep and then there’s Sua who’s good but I could understand if Cyrus/Halangahu/Egan keep on their upwards trajectory that the club decide they don’t want to upgrade + extend

Sione Finau on a small contract to fill the top 30 is fine but allegedly he has a 3 year deal offer from another NRL club

The good news is it gives Daniel Anderson a blank canvas to work with to shape the squad and plan accordingly with which juniors are good enough to give a top 30 deal

I wouldn’t mind if we offered top 30 deals to some elite prospects from other clubs/regions like the roosters did with the Seve Bro’s (yes I know I sound like a broken record)

 

[George Sancti]

Seems a lot of young players coming through but god knows who are going to be the 4 props and 2 wingers if Finau leaves. 3 props seem pretty certain, Couchmans and LPT but the last one and 2 wingers. CT is ok but he's hardly a star.

This is why being a development club like the Dragons is such a disadvantage when compared to procurement clubs like the Roosters and Bulldogs. We identify potential, enlist local parents or other members of the community to coach and nurture the young players, and then after years of development, hopefully produce a handful of first grade players, which we may or may not be able to retain. Whilst the Roosters and Bulldogs can sit back monitor emerging talent and if they see a young player they like, they can throw a few dollars their way, bring them into their systems, and if they work out, great, and if not, there are plenty of other youngsters who can take their place.

Sorry for the rant GCRV, but it drives me crazy seeing the volume of work being put in at the grass roots, only to see the benefits go to clubs which have allowed their junior competitions to disintegrate.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

We don’t do anything to help the situation, roosters and Canterbury invest so much money into pathways they are bound to be successful

The manpower they have and the work their pathways and recruitment staff put in + resourced invested mean their ambition will be rewarded

On the bright side it sounds like Tim Watford has identified this as a weakness of ours and is aiming to rectify the issue with more scouts/recruitment manager etc.

Don’t blame the dogs/roosters for being ambitious and progressive, we should be doing the exact same thing instead of hoping we produce 10 world class players from the Illawarra every year sprinkled in with 3-4 kids from outside our catchment. Invest heavily in pathways and I guarantee we won’t go 8 straight years without making the finals

 

[TheRev]

View attachment 659It’s an indictment on the recruitment that there’s only 1 guy here that HAS to be kept and the rest for the most part we’d all be happy to see leave

Stewart the obvious keep and then there’s Sua who’s good but I could understand if Cyrus/Halangahu/Egan keep on their upwards trajectory that the club decide they don’t want to upgrade + extend

Sione Finau on a small contract to fill the top 30 is fine but allegedly he has a 3 year deal offer from another NRL club

The good news is it gives Daniel Anderson a blank canvas to work with to shape the squad and plan accordingly with which juniors are good enough to give a top 30 deal

I wouldn’t mind if we offered top 30 deals to some elite prospects from other clubs/regions like the roosters did with the Seve Bro’s (yes I know I sound like a broken record)

Mat Feagai (vs Max) is still here for 2026.. I dont hate him being here (1 guy like him for depth is prob ok), but id much rather give his spot to Heidke or Sione, or take a crack at someone else who hasnt reached their ceiling yet.

Hamish Stewart has a PO for 2027, but im not sure what a PO is really worth.. we probably look to extend him before then if he keeps developing.. by that point he could be a real prospect too... and perth bears etc..

Jury still out on Tim & Daniel in terms of their ability to help us get players signed..... intentions r good though which I like, im frustrated we wasted this last 12mths in particular.. but hopefully soon Daniel will come onboard (though ppl r saying October.. which is ages away), not sure how conflict of interest works also in that space.

But something I feel perhaps POS found after moving from wayne/dolphins to adam/knights, and probably a weaker back office.. he seems to have had a lot more trouble getting signings, and I feel like its led to a bit more panic than you would expect from such a recruitment pro...

 

[George Sancti]

We don’t do anything to help the situation, roosters and Canterbury invest so much money into pathways they are bound to be successful

The manpower they have and the work their pathways and recruitment staff put in + resourced invested mean their ambition will be rewarded

On the bright side it sounds like Tim Watford has identified this as a weakness of ours and is aiming to rectify the issue with more scouts/recruitment manager etc.

Don’t blame the dogs/roosters for being ambitious and progressive, we should be doing the exact same thing instead of hoping we produce 10 world class players from the Illawarra every year sprinkled in with 3-4 kids from outside our catchment. Invest heavily in pathways and I guarantee we won’t go 8 straight years without making the finals

I agree that the Roosters and Bulldogs are ambitious and progressive. However, development clubs like the Dragons provide a service to all clubs and the game in general, which is generally unrewarded.

 

[Ryan]

I sorta want Kyle to start in the halves next year for the melts on this forum

If I went back and looked at your posts on the subject, would I find you are one of the very few in favour of keeping Kyle in the team? Because if so that would show you just what a sick joke it is. Even his supporters inadvertently say the team is going to be shit as long as he is in it. The Flanagan family has been taking the piss out of this club.

And I don't go anywhere near "another forum" but on Twitter and Facebook, the Flanagan family has been copping it way more than here. Sometimes a bit too much.

 

[Ryan]

Mat Feagai (vs Max) is still here for 2026.. I dont hate him being here (1 guy like him for depth is prob ok), but id much rather give his spot to Heidke or Sione, or take a crack at someone else who hasnt reached their ceiling yet.

Hamish Stewart has a PO for 2027, but im not sure what a PO is really worth.. we probably look to extend him before then if he keeps developing.. by that point he could be a real prospect too... and perth bears etc..

Jury still out on Tim & Daniel in terms of their ability to help us get players signed..... intentions r good though which I like, im frustrated we wasted this last 12mths in particular.. but hopefully soon Daniel will come onboard (though ppl r saying October.. which is ages away), not sure how conflict of interest works also in that space.

But something I feel perhaps POS found after moving from wayne/dolphins to adam/knights, and probably a weaker back office.. he seems to have had a lot more trouble getting signings, and I feel like its led to a bit more panic than you would expect from such a recruitment pro...

I don't mind keeping Fegai around personally. He goes ok. Not Jack Bostock but he's ok. Probably a better centre than Bostock.

 

[Dragons Chris]

View attachment 659It’s an indictment on the recruitment that there’s only 1 guy here that HAS to be kept and the rest for the most part we’d all be happy to see leave

Stewart the obvious keep and then there’s Sua who’s good but I could understand if Cyrus/Halangahu/Egan keep on their upwards trajectory that the club decide they don’t want to upgrade + extend

Sione Finau on a small contract to fill the top 30 is fine but allegedly he has a 3 year deal offer from another NRL club

The good news is it gives Daniel Anderson a blank canvas to work with to shape the squad and plan accordingly with which juniors are good enough to give a top 30 deal

I wouldn’t mind if we offered top 30 deals to some elite prospects from other clubs/regions like the roosters did with the Seve Bro’s (yes I know I sound like a broken record)

Who is the one guy that HAS to be kept? Su'A? As far as his ability goes, I'd say that's true but we have Egan, Halanagahu, Tsougranis, Stanley-Traill all pushing for first grade, or already there for Egan, next year.

 

[Dragons Chris]

If I went back and looked at your posts on the subject, would I find you are one of the very few in favour of keeping Kyle in the team? Because if so that would show you just what a sick joke it is. Even his supporters inadvertently say the team is going to be shit as long as he is in it. The Flanagan family has been taking the piss out of this club.

And I don't go anywhere near "another forum" but on Twitter and Facebook, the Flanagan family has been copping it way more than here. Sometimes a bit too much.

There is that.......

 

[GCRV]

This is why being a development club like the Dragons is such a disadvantage when compared to procurement clubs like the Roosters and Bulldogs. We identify potential, enlist local parents or other members of the community to coach and nurture the young players, and then after years of development, hopefully produce a handful of first grade players, which we may or may not be able to retain. Whilst the Roosters and Bulldogs can sit back monitor emerging talent and if they see a young player they like, they can throw a few dollars their way, bring them into their systems, and if they work out, great, and if not, there are plenty of other youngsters who can take their place.

Sorry for the rant GCRV, but it drives me crazy seeing the volume of work being put in at the grass roots, only to see the benefits go to clubs which have allowed their junior competitions to disintegrate.

I agree completely and no need to apologise for ranting. Isn't this the place supporters are meant to be able to rant? Though I was under the impression Bulldogs also have a big junior league. Is it wrong?

 

[RedVHeartbeat]

Our BOD need their heads read telling New Corp they wanna keep Sione Finau ''but are yet to make him an offer". Does that even make sense, either you want to keep a player or you dont. While we pussy foot over the gun wing man, others are hovering with their check books open. Did they do same with CT, Lawson, Allan or Feagai? A big no. Pull out the proverbial finger front office.

 

[RedVHeartbeat]

OFF-CONTRACT 2025	OFF-CONTRACTS 2026
Sione Finau (hope they keep) Corey Allan (retire) Max Feagai (undecided. Decent depth for the backs) Michael Molo (Undecided) Raymond Faitala-Mariner (retire) Viliame Fifita (I guess he won't be kept) David Klemmer (As above)	Tyrell Sloan (bye) Mikaele Ravalawa (bye) Christian Tuipulotu (undecided) Blake Lawrie (bye) Damien Cook (retire) Emre Guler (bye) Hame Sele (bye) Hamish Stewart (Extend ASAP) Jaydn Su’A (Extend. Good player but costs a lot) Lachlan Illias (bye) Luciano Leilua (bye)

Ditto Finau. Totally decided on Feagai, piss him off. Allan or Lawson to be the outside back depth player. Keep Mike Molo and persevere with Fifita. He will be a weapon if Dan Lawson can get more mins out of him. That is what the much hyped fitness guru is being paid the big bickies to do. Agree on RFM and J Klemmer, off to the knackers yard.

What chance of putting CT in the pack. Is as slow a finisher as Rava. Keeping Luch but in the middle. Unless we pick up a marqee half retaining Ilias. On same page with rest.

 

[Dragon David]

Ditto Finau. Totally decided on Feagai, piss him off. Allan or Lawson to be the outside back depth player. Keep Mike Molo and persevere with Fifita. He will be a weapon if Dan Lawson can get more mins out of him. That is what the much hyped fitness guru is being paid the big bickies to do. Agree on RFM and J Klemmer, off to the knackers yard.

What chance of putting CT in the pack. Is as slow a finisher as Rava. Keeping Luch but in the middle. Unless we pick up a marqee half retaining Ilias. On same page with rest.

To be honest RVH our squad has so many players that need to be booted. Except for the newcomers this year, we have had several in the squad for a few years now and they just haven't produced the goods in games to warrant keeping any longer - have we made the finals with them? I have some doubts also about a couple of newbies that we have signed from this year as well. Atkinson is a big question as well. OK, he may not be as good as the fellas playing ahead of him and that is why Fitzy hasn't put him on as a starter at all this year - bench at best. We don't know what his real form is like do we? - Flanno was jumping out of his skin to get him signed up based on just seeing him play a few first grade games earlyish last year. However, when he has played this year he hasn't killed it for the Sharks - not even much mentioned of him in the Reserves Wrap on Foxsports. Is he our answer to be slotted into the halves is the big question?

People say that we haven't done too bad this year - so close to winning in several games. So close doesn't mean a damned thing. If in 24 games a season we say we were close to winning all of them but losing them all instead, does that mean we have done a good job - bloody no way. A good team defends better and scores more tries than the opposition and keeps the opposition scoring much less. We win a few games and we think well done but over the next 2-3 games we lose. That is just not good enough and you cannot get too excited about it. We are just heart attack material in most games. If we lead by 18 points there is no guarantee that we will win. We will know that we are good team when we don't have to worry about being run down and losing a game with the team coming home to beat us.

So, for us to be a really successful winning club, we have to have the best players - as simple as that. Haha I wish it was.

 

[TheRev]

Something I heard today, forget which podcast, think it was from Chimes the player manager.. said just wait for end of this year when the new teams start trying to pull talent out of an already stretched player base... said it would be 'super league' levels of bidding wars.. that most clubs just wont be able to sign much at all.

That's why the well run clubs have got their young ones all locked up.. its gonna be very interesting.. we don't really have a lot of ours locked up longterm.. trying to stay nimble, but things could get interesting.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Said it ages ago, 2027 for these kids isn’t long enough, yes it’s a gamble to go longer but at least they won’t be on huge wickets. Leaving ourselves open to get picked off by other clubs, ideally I’d have gone to 2029 for the cream of the crop kids and then the ones in the tier below like Cyrus 2027 is fine

I read that Storm signed the Newcastle Matt’s #6 Cooper Votano today so maybe that halts their interest in Jasais Ah Kee

Carayannis reporting Daniel Anderson starts at the dragons in 2 weeks, very glad to hear as somebody mentioned October which would have been a massive hindrance to our club to wait so long

 

[Mailroomsgi]

That’s also the big knock on Ben Haran from many people, his ability to evaluate talent and how much players are worth + length of contract is very poor

I’d love to hear what he thinks each of our players is worth and who he’d keep

ravalawa, Sloan and Blake Lawrie all extended when there were major question marks and now their all wasting valuable top 30 spots

Not to mention the coin their all on is double what their actually worth

 

[TheRev]

We rly need Daniel Anderson onboard with Tim and Shane to sort this sh*t out.. Could even look to extend a couple before Nov 1 perhaps, but kids might be happy to keep things ad they are..

The gun GM is the last piece of the puzzle, but with Daniel and Tim, I think we can get to work..

 

[RedVictory]

Carayannis reporting Daniel Anderson starts at the dragons in 2 weeks

Officially starts in 2 weeks. He’d have already begun mapping things out and been in communication with Dragons so he can hit the ground running.

 

[Gippsy]

Said it ages ago, 2027 for these kids isn’t long enough, yes it’s a gamble to go longer but at least they won’t be on huge wickets. Leaving ourselves open to get picked off by other clubs, ideally I’d have gone to 2029 for the cream of the crop kids and then the ones in the tier below like Cyrus 2027 is fine

I read that Storm signed the Newcastle Matt’s #6 Cooper Votano today so maybe that halts their interest in Jasais Ah Kee

Carayannis reporting Daniel Anderson starts at the dragons in 2 weeks, very glad to hear as somebody mentioned October which would have been a massive hindrance to our club to wait so long

Not necessarily. They seem to have a scatter gun approach to buying players to replace their spine. I remember when Slater was coming to the end of his career they stocked up on fullbacks, Munster, Hughes, Papenhuzen, Drinkwater, Hynes. They were lucky they could move a couple of these to the halves but they still had to release a couple as well. Very smart, and ruthless, recruiting.

 

[Edward]

St George Illawarra back rower Jaydn Su’A has become the latest big name to appear on the radar of rugby union.

Su’A, who played rugby at Anglican Church Grammar School alongside Kalyn Ponga in Queensland, is believed to be in the sights of Japanese and French rugby clubs.

R360, the privately-backed organisation threatening to invade rugby league, is also understood to be aware of Su’A’s history in the rival code. The 27-year-old has another year remaining on his deal at the Dragons and then an option in his favour for the year after.

It means he has the right to leave at the end of next season. The Dragons can ill-afford to lose him given he has arguably been the most consistent player over the past couple of years.

They may have a fight on their hands.

---

Hope he stays but wouldn't be the end of the world if he left. He's not one of the best secondrowers in the competition.