Frank Facer
SGI Jersey Flegg
Wouldn't it mean Wests took the 900K a season option? Or did Bula re sign with them for a longer contract and for more than 900K a season?
Round 1 team so far in 2026
- Thread starter Morgan
- Start date
Frank Facer
SGI Jersey Flegg
Just because he signed for just under a mil, doesn't mean he is worth that. Blake Lawrie is reported to be on 600K a year and someone on this site said it was even more. I always thought Lawrie wasn't even up to first grade standard. Some would have said I underrated him.
Slone is on a reported 500K a year. Again I don't think he is worth that much. Is he over rated or over paid
Leilua is on a reported 900K a year. Does that mean he is underrated by some or many
Melbourne had Jack Howarth on a reported 600K a year, for 2 years before he played first grade. I think he is only worth about that much now he is playing first grade.
Newy have apparently signed Dylan Brown for 1.4 mil a season. Is he worth that? Is he underrated by some or is he overpaid
Some think Gutho on 900K a years is too much. Does it mean he is underrated or overpaided? The same applies to Howarth, Leilua, Slone, Lawrie and many others
I suppose it is the old saying, something is only worth as much as someone is prepared to pay at the time. It can also be a case of supply or demand.
Time will tell if Bula is worth close to a mil a season. Personally I wouldn't have paid it.
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Frank Facer
SGI Jersey Flegg
Brisbane had the "Thoroughbreds" backing them up until 2007. Since then they didn't win another comp until last year, which was rather surprising to me. We could do with a group of businessmen like them backing us or any other club in the NRL for that matter. Here is a copy and paste regarding the Thoroughbreds
The Thoroughbreds is a group of prominent Brisbane businessmen who have historically supported the Brisbane Broncos by providing financial backing and career assistance to players. Key figures include Tony Scanlon, John Geaney, and Craig Davison, who collectively owned 25% of the club’s shares at various points. They were instrumental in the club’s operations but faced challenges gaining influence due to News Ltd’s controlling 68% stake.
Despite their efforts, including unsuccessful bids to purchase News Ltd’s controlling interest in 2007, the group was sidelined. Craig Davison later led a separate initiative to establish a second NRL team in Brisbane, known as the “Battle for Brisbane” bid, though he stated he was not acting on behalf of the Thoroughbreds at that time.
The group’s influence has waned over the years, and while they remain connected to the club’s legacy, their direct role in current operations is limited. The Brisbane Broncos remain the only publicly listed NRL club, with News Corp Australia (via Nationwide News Pty Ltd) as the largest shareholder.
This is me again. Since 2007 after the Thoroughbreds withdrew their support for Brisbane they have not been anywhere near as successful as they had been previously. This is/was public knowledge too.
Dragons Chris
SGI NSW Cup
For a club like Brisbane with all the advantages they have, to go as long as they did without a premiership and picking up a spoon along the way is an astounding failure. Dragons should be and are looking at Penriths success. There are a lot of similarities with them and the Dragons.
Dragons Chris
SGI NSW Cup
I was very impressed by Howarth. If he remains fit, he might become the best centre in the competition this year. A certainty for QLD because the two best centres now are Farnworth (England) and Crighton (NSW).
As for Dylan Brown, I thought Parra paying him 900k was overs.
Frank Facer
SGI Jersey Flegg
Queensland are not exactly stacked with good centre options. Toia was a surprise selection last year, so was Shibasaki. I would pick Purdue and Holmes at centre ahead of Toia, Shibasaki and Howarth, but I think they will stick with Toia and not sure who their other one will be. I was very impressed with Holmes playing centre for us last year and think he was a great purchase.
I think Brown is worth 900K a year, but not 1.4 mil a year. Brown is one of the best 5/8's in the comp. Last year and the year before he spent a lot of time playing out of position and his form dipped. He spent a lot of time at halfback over the last 2 years, but he isn't a halfback. If he returns to 5/8 this year, his game may benefit from those games at halfback. I would have been very happy if we signed Brown for 900K or even a mil a season.
Dragons Chris
SGI NSW Cup
Purdue? You really rate this guy! He might well turn into a star over the next 4~5 years but I haven't seen anything to suggest that and unless he improves a lot from last season, he'll be nowhere near QLD if the 5/8s are Munster with Dearden his back up. Fullback is Walsh with Ponga his back up and they have Holmes, Howarth, Toia and Shibasaki to choose from in the centres.
TSP
SGI Jersey Flegg
Chris, you could be right, but I think the key is the right people rather than a big model.
And the right people could come from Penrith as well.
It could be easier to steal people from different clubs instead of trying to gut one.
I know that the dogs were after Peter Wallace for the training but he stayed solid.
The new people will need to adjust their understandings to SGI circumstances.
It’s not going to be cheap or easy to implement “operation dragons lair”
The headhunting of administrative and organisational talent.
Not an old boy on the matey, unless said old boy is also a talent in the tasks so required.
Not necessarily strong academics, just good at what they need to do.
For example:
Which team has the strongest set of players contracting for unders? How did that come about? What was said to persuade these players to join that club? Things I’d like to know about anyway.
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Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
Now it seems certain KK won't be coming early, Liddle out and comments out in public I'm thinking:
- Gutho
- Tu
- Suli
- Holmes
- Fale
- LKT
- Atkinson
- Couchman
- Cook
- Gular or Kerr
- Su'A
- Luciano: On notice to perform from the first game
- Stewart
- Kyle
- Couchman
- LPT
- Gular or Kerr
- Nick T
Justadragon
SGI NSW Cup
yep, they will probably get found out in the future and fined an insignificant amount. Piss weak.
Justadragon
SGI NSW Cup
He could be going to Parra on the Lomax deal. And if the NRL step in to force Parra to accept bugger all just to get Lomax back in, there should be a lot of clubs up in arms about it, including the Dragons, once again this restriction of trade BS coming into it.
GCRV
SGI NSW Cup
Doubt they'll get found out. I guess they are severely bending the rules, not breaking the rules.
Braith Anasta said on TV if you sign with the Roosters the board members will set you up for life after football. If I remember correctly, he said "there's a sense" they'll do that. In other words, they'll do it.
Eric
Staff
I think it was a week later Gordon Tallis was talking about it. Brian Fletcher intervened to tell him to stop because the players don't like it. Tallis then said "ok" and immediately stopped talking about.
I know they aren't trained to be hard-hitting journalists but that was pathetic. Should've been sacked on the spot!
Justadragon
SGI NSW Cup
V'landys talks a big game but he's just a pathetic little wimp who allows Politis to walk all over him. We really know who runs the show, the sooner him and Abdo leave the better.
GCRV
SGI NSW Cup
I'm glad Penrith dominated for so long. Of course I'd prefer it was the Dragons but barring that, they showed how a club like ours can compete and beat the big monnied up clubs with dubious salary cap compliance like Roosters, Melbourne and Broncos (some years ago the Broncos CEO quit in order to not be compelled to provide info about their cap compliance under oath).
Frank Facer
SGI Jersey Flegg
With Leilua playing for a new contract and lose of weight and apparently "ripped" body shape, we may see him perform better than he ever has. He could be instrumental in us having a good year. I still think he should be in the prop rotation.
Frank Facer
SGI Jersey Flegg
I think Purdue is the most exciting young talent in the game right now.
Cam Munster is 31 years old right now. He probably only has another 2 or 3 years at the most playing for Qld. I predict in 3 or 4 years time, Qld's halves will be Sam Walker and Jaxon Purdue and they will be a top pair of halves at that.
You and myself also forgot Tabaui Fidow as another centre option for Qld. Him and Toia are probably the front runners for Qld's centres this year. I would still pick Purdue and Holmes ahead of them, if I was selecting the team, with Tabaui Fidow and Coates on the wings. Ponga is another one I would strongly consider to play centre ahead of Howarth, Toia, and Shibasaki
Dragsters
SGI Junior League
This should be the side picked as of now but it remains to seen if Flano is willing to move Kyle to 14 even if this is clearly the best option without Liddle...
TSP
SGI Jersey Flegg
Another form post.
Benji wasn’t appointed on any basis of merit, he was promoted early as the club panicked when Sheens f&&ked it.
As for the close knit players and coach, it’s true and it’s helped their recruitment…but at the end of the day, he still can’t coach.
And the problem with too close a relationship with players and coaches is that it makes it harder to dispense with either when issues arise.
So you have a club that is effectively controlled by the players and coach.
Very little control by the board and senior management.
It’s a unique kind of socialist model to present to the NRL.
Time will tell, but so far it hasn’t produced that much, underwhelming for that squad last year.
Flanno is not promising the world. He’s sober and composed in his assessment.
He rules the roost by order, he doesn’t need the romantics. Maybe that’s why his coaching record is climbing close to twice as good as Benjis.
Giving the players too much control and the difficulty with that is that they don’t see the whole.
Then he’s got the players who aren’t powerful in the player group. That can build resentment when they aren’t picked when a Benjiphile is performing poorly.
So it’s a bit unbalanced.
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