Recruitment & Retention 2027

[TheRev]

Sloan to me (probably since signing overseas) is finally playing with the freedom to go after defenders and attempt to break tackles, and with the confidence that he may well pull it off.... and you have to believe ur gonna pull through or you will get swallowed up..... combined with the extra size he has now.. I think he could finally have a place as an NRL winger with the bonus of fullback depth if we had an injury... however not on the sort of salary hes been on... Sami for example will be 100k cheaper and Stonestreet probably 250k cheaper.. but tbf they cant cover fullback.

I'm mostly pi$$ed off with us as a club that we kept giving Sloan the opportunities (and the extension)... the player he is in 2026 is where I would have wanted him 4yrs ago.. I mean not the whole package.. but in terms of taking on defenders, big carries woth footwork.. not just looking to run fast into empty space which was his hallmark.

It's a shame all round really.. maybe if he had of spent time in flegg and then cup and rly taken his time.. maybe it works out, but thats not very realistic in the modern age with teenagers in a rush.

 

[dragonheart]

I remember Flanno said we got Kerr cheap, but he still ties up a top 30 spot.

 

[TheRev]

I dunno where Kerr, Atko, Gutho, Kyle could fit in the 17, extended bench certainly.. a year of minimal gametime is likely.. but the problem is if they all stay, then Gutho is likely our fullback depth and Kyle is likely our #3 hooker/14 depth.. I think one of Atko or LKT will go though.. esp when we have 2-3 young halves to play NSW Cup already.

The other x-factor is Suli.. you'd have to assume hes staying now.. not sure who replaces him if he goes.. and Buchanan/LKT are 2 players that if they signed with other clubs come Nov 1st.. who knows whether we let them go early.

 

[TheRev]

I remember Flanno said we got Kerr cheap, but he still ties up a top 30 spot.

there is a chance he comes good.. I dunno if there is an underlying injury or he needs a reboot of some sort.. I cant explain his dropoff... but esp if Webster and eventually Hutcho start to come on.. then short of injuries.. Kerr is definitely playing Cup Or 18th/19th man.

I will say I think it was 12mths ago we had about 6 forwards injured.. and it was last man standing.... life looks very different when things go badly with injuries... Kerr's not bad as a depth backup.. I just thought he would be one of our best when we signed him.

 

[Morgan]

I dunno where Kerr, Atko, Gutho, Kyle could fit in the 17, extended bench certainly.. a year of minimal gametime is likely.. but the problem is if they all stay, then Gutho is likely our fullback depth and Kyle is likely our #3 hooker/14 depth.. I think one of Atko or LKT will go though.. esp when we have 2-3 young halves to play NSW Cup already.

The other x-factor is Suli.. you'd have to assume hes staying now.. not sure who replaces him if he goes.. and Buchanan/LKT are 2 players that if they signed with other clubs come Nov 1st.. who knows whether we let them go early.

With Stewart playing the way he is, I guess the idea of having Suli try to play in the second-row is now firmly on the back-burner.

 

[dragonheart]

I think its fair to say nearly all recruited players had a drop off under Flanno and are now in the love fest era of Deano, so we may see their true form again.
Kerr was in the QLD SOO squad last year wasnt he?

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Just had a think about the Keaon signing, I remember at the time people thought it was a bit steep

$1m a year with the cap going up 20%, I reckon that’s about fair tbh. Especially good considering he can play well on an edge if necessary to move him there on occasion

 

[Morgan]

Just had a think about the Keaon signing, I remember at the time people thought it was a bit steep

$1m a year with the cap going up 20%, I reckon that’s about fair tbh. Especially good considering he can play well on an edge if necessary to move him there on occasion

Tino Fasu********* is paid more than that but is about half as good as Keaon.

I reckon 1 mil is a bit of a bargain for him. 5 years might be a year too long but not necessarily if DY can manage his minutes, which the Couchman's give him the luxury of doing.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

If he plays 50-60 Quality mins a game rather than 70 or a full game getting flogged we should get a good return in those 5 years.

Last year might be rough but for the position we are in/were in before season started it’s a worthwhile investment

 

[RufusRex]

Honestly with Loko/Ryan/Toby/KK they all only need to play 40 minutes because the others are just as good ...
Managed workload will mean effective middle for the entire season. Will also mean longevity and minimal in game fatigue raising the middle baseline drastically ... No drop offs when the likes of Lawrie/Kerr come onto the field.

 

[Illusion]

Flanagan in my view is a 1st grader. He is not an organiser or game manager and certainly lacks attacking nouse. Originally signed as a 14 played 6/7, not ideal but that was his job.

Now he is a very good defender, last week the Sharks targeted his edge more than LKT edge. He made 25 tackles missed 0, tgats impressive, that definitely helped us win that game.

LKT is entirely a different player, runs the ball becoming more aggressive and confident, finally learning not to run sideways but straight also helped us win that game in an attacking sense. Made 17 tackles, missed 3 not really a pass mark in my view.

Attacking wise, chalk and cheese, between the two of them. Flanagan ran once LKT ran 8 times.

I don't know where Flanagan fits into the 17 , I doubt he makes it but at least we have depth now.

Agree about Kyle the guy is not a starting player , has little skill , to be a danger to opposition teams , but what he does have is heart ....... Tries his "guts" out week in week out , always there first to tackle someone on the 5th tackle bomb , tackles well , but just lacks the polish needed ....... Handy bench player ? maybe .........

 

[Morgan]

Honestly with Loko/Ryan/Toby/KK they all only need to play 40 minutes because the others are just as good ...
Managed workload will mean effective middle for the entire season. Will also mean longevity and minimal in game fatigue raising the middle baseline drastically ... No drop offs when the likes of Lawrie/Kerr come onto the field.

Toby and Ryan should play a bit longer. There is hardly any drop in 70 or 80min. They should be playing about 60.

 

[Morgan]

Agree about Kyle the guy is not a starting player , has little skill , to be a danger to opposition teams , but what he does have is heart ....... Tries his "guts" out week in week out , always there first to tackle someone on the 5th tackle bomb , tackles well , but just lacks the polish needed ....... Handy bench player ? maybe .........

Trying hard is not enough.

 

[jodragon40]

Agree about Kyle the guy is not a starting player , has little skill , to be a danger to opposition teams , but what he does have is heart ....... Tries his "guts" out week in week out , always there first to tackle someone on the 5th tackle bomb , tackles well , but just lacks the polish needed ....... Handy bench player ? maybe .........

Agree that's all he was signed for originally and he has done that part of his job he just couldn't manage to improve his skillsets required to play run on 6/7

 

[jodragon40]

Trying hard is not enough.

You know it is, it really is. In today's game its impossible to get the best players in the one team so you are usually left with Neville nobody's apart from say 3 or 4 quality players.

Plus he has done something you and I will never do, play 140 first grade games, 61 for us.

 

[Morgan]

You know it is, it really is. In today's game its impossible to get the best players in the one team so you are usually left with Neville nobody's apart from say 3 or 4 quality players.

Plus he has done something you and I will never do, play 140 first grade games, 61 for us.

Lack of talent is irrelevant. It's all about trying hard. Got it.

 

[BekB]

Lack of talent is irrelevant. It's all about trying hard. Got it.

Hahahah

 

[RufusRex]

Toby and Ryan should play a bit longer. There is hardly any drop in 70 or 80min. They should be playing about 60.

This is predicated on recruitment of a better edge than Hamish so Hamish (out best lock) can play lock in a rotation with Liddle/Watson taking into account hooker as well.

That being the case then if you are playing Toby and Ryan for 60 then KK and Loko play 20 ??? nope.

The math aint mathing ...

Of course if Stewart plays edge then Ryan plays lock in that rotation and we end up with KK/Loko/Toby/Jake sharing 160 mintues or 40 each .. if you drop Jake to 30 then someone can play 50 ...

We dont need toby/kk to play longer simply because we have more than enough quality in the others to limit the numbers.


We are in an enviable position where we only need two middles and a hooker on the bench ... the other three players become tactical interchanges or injury focussed ... You have Nick/LKT (or atkinson) and Webster in those roles and hope that Cup scheduling is better ...


Forget player x needs 60 minutes we will be beyond that .... Imagine only needing to play them for 40 given how good everyone else is .. quite scarey ...
Less minutes for higher quality ...

 

[dragonheart]

More noise about Izack Tago and the Dragons next year ......... had a look at his highlights and yes he's fast and elusive and very strong one on one. Didn't see any video of his defence. Some year if Daniel Anderson achieves this with Panthers paying some of the freight.