Recruitment and Retention for 2026

jodragon40

jodragon40

Staff
Ryan said:
Maybe because last year our first and second choice halfbacks were KF and LI? Not exactly Immortals in waiting. If Atkinson is a good halfback, there will be no need to rush Reed. If he isn't, there will be an urgent rush. Isn't he 20 now? I didn't realise it was such a strange thing for 20 year-olds to play first grade.

Why are we so nervous about promoting young players? A week or two ago I mentioned that after Gutho retires, Burton or Rokko Walker might take over at fullback when they are 19. Caused a mini meltdown. Lots of other clubs debut backs that age and younger but seems when it comes to this forum they need to be developed until they are 24 or 25 years old.
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Not being condescending here but im just speaking from my own personal experiences. It is in nobody's best interest to be rushing young kids into 1sts without proper grounding.

Reed is 19 made his ressies debut in round 26 last year against the Dogs. He played 5/8 because illias was the 7, they got flogged 46 - 10.

Don't forget he has signed on until 2028 so every man and his dog in positions of authority at the Dragons know what they have. Leave it to the actual experts to decide when and where the kid weaves his promising but not proven magic.
 
R

redv4life

SGI Jersey Flegg
Ryan said:
Maybe because last year our first and second choice halfbacks were KF and LI? Not exactly Immortals in waiting. If Atkinson is a good halfback, there will be no need to rush Reed. If he isn't, there will be an urgent rush. Isn't he 20 now? I didn't realise it was such a strange thing for 20 year-olds to play first grade.

Why are we so nervous about promoting young players? A week or two ago I mentioned that after Gutho retires, Burton or Rokko Walker might take over at fullback when they are 19. Caused a mini meltdown. Lots of other clubs debut backs that age and younger but seems when it comes to this forum they need to be developed until they are 24 or 25 years old.
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hard to see him crack first grade when he’ll likely have to push the coaches son out of the position
 
RedV01

RedV01

SGI NSW Cup
redv4life said:
hard to see him crack first grade when he’ll likely have to push the coaches son out of the position
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True
Ryan said:
Maybe because last year our first and second choice halfbacks were KF and LI? Not exactly Immortals in waiting. If Atkinson is a good halfback, there will be no need to rush Reed. If he isn't, there will be an urgent rush. Isn't he 20 now? I didn't realise it was such a strange thing for 20 year-olds to play first grade.

Why are we so nervous about promoting young players? A week or two ago I mentioned that after Gutho retires, Burton or Rokko Walker might take over at fullback when they are 19. Caused a mini meltdown. Lots of other clubs debut backs that age and younger but seems when it comes to this forum they need to be developed until they are 24 or 25 years old.
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No Sir. Should wait until he's at least 26 or send him to the Shonkies so he can play first grade with them. As a matter of fact, with the injuries they suffered from last year, it clearly shows the Couchman's need another 2 years in the lower grades. Ditto Stewart. The pack should be:

8. Gular
9. Cook
10. Lawrie
11. Su'A
12. Leilua
13. JDB.... oh fuk! Can we get Tom Eisenhuth to go around one last season?

14. Liddle
15. Kerr
16. Sele
17. M. Molo (is he still on the books?)

That way there doesn't have to be any rush.
 
RedVHeartbeat

RedVHeartbeat

SGI NSW Cup
Flanagan has his dial in the news again. NC scribes must think he leads a premiership winning side given all the publicity they give him. Stop this personal back slapping and concentrate on keeping our goodn's eh coach.
 
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RedV01

RedV01

SGI NSW Cup
jodragon40 said:
Don't forget he has signed on until 2028 so every man and his dog in positions of authority at the Dragons know what they have. Leave it to the actual experts to decide when and where the kid weaves his promising but not proven magic.
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I was going to say something snarky but self control got the better of me..........

Don't forget the head coach has a vested interest in who plays in the halves.

He should play the first 2 or 3 games in Flegg. If he's cutting there, which he was last year, he should be moved up to Cup. After 3 or 4 games if he's cutting there and the first grade halves aren't cutting it, it might be time to give him a chance in first grade. Because clearly there will be an urgent need for him.
 
D

Dave03

SGI NSW Cup
RedVHeartbeat said:
That is trolling pal. We dont like those here. At some stage over past two yrs almost all us regular Dragon Lairers have derided KF, along with his useless halves mate. Praised him too when deserved. No way is he our future hooker, plenty putting up their hand already for that role after Liddle is done.
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No it's not. Stop making stuff up, keep the anti flanno & kyle posts to the appropriate thread.
 
R

redv4life

SGI Jersey Flegg
RandomDragon said:
The people who are saying kyle is only in FG because of dad are either dumb, ignorant or just dont get RL. The minute cook retires KF will be moving to 9/14. Right now kyle is the second best half in the club behind atkinson, why would you put someone else there who isnt better than him?
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how do we know kyle will be our best half? he was given the spot before the pre-season even started literally from Shane’s mouth. should’ve been a competition for that spot and there wasn’t = nepotism.
 
RedVHeartbeat

RedVHeartbeat

SGI NSW Cup
RedV01 said:
He should play the first 2 or 3 games in Flegg. If he's cutting there, which he was last year,
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Reckon he has completed his Flegg apprenticeship mate. Was brilliant at times and almost single handedly won us games. Pity he had such a weak pack to play behind. I say start him in Ressies with Quinn as his partner.
 
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Frank Facer

Frank Facer

SGI Jersey Flegg
jodragon40 said:
So Purdue - FB games- 0
Farnworth- FB games - 1
Papenhuyzen not playing in 26, extremely injury prone. Would you take a chance on him? After a year off? I wouldn't .

Perhaps the best ressies fullback I saw was the Warriors, Taine Tuapiki. I think he is off contract this season.
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I rate the above 3 very highly.
I wouldn't be interested in Taupiki.
Papenhuyzen is still one of the best fullbacks in the comp and certainly provide X factor.
I would sign Purdue to play in the halves, but I think he would be one of the best fullbacks in the game. I think he could be Billy Slater like
Some rate Farnworth the best centre in the game. I know he wanted to play fullback. The top fullbacks can earn up to 1.4 mil a season, while top centres are around 800K, which I think Herbie is on. Here is a copy and paste regarding Herbie.

Herbie Farnworth has expressed interest in playing fullback in the past, particularly during his time with the Brisbane Broncos, where he was reportedly aiming to challenge for the No.1 jersey. However, he has since clarified that his focus is now firmly on playing centre.

Despite earlier speculation, Farnworth stated in 2023 that he was "100 per cent on board" for playing in the centres at the Dolphins, noting that coach Wayne Bennett could decide otherwise, but his current mindset is centered on the centre position.

As of 2025, with Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow firmly established as the Dolphins' fullback until 2027, Farnworth has confirmed he has not given a potential move to fullback any serious thought. He emphasized his contentment at centre, saying, “At the moment, I am pretty happy here at centre.”

I will Shane Flannagan was very interested in signing Joey Manu from Easts to play fullback for us and was prepared to go a mil or more a season for him. He has played most of his career at centre, but excelled at fullback, when given the opportunity to play for Easts when Teddy was unavailable. I would have liked us to sign Manu too. Manu will be 30 years old in a couple of weeks.
 
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Frank Facer

Frank Facer

SGI Jersey Flegg
jodragon40 said:
So Purdue - FB games- 0
Farnworth- FB games - 1
Papenhuyzen not playing in 26, extremely injury prone. Would you take a chance on him? After a year off? I wouldn't .

Perhaps the best ressies fullback I saw was the Warriors, Taine Tuapiki. I think he is off contract this season.
Click to expand...
If Tuapiki is any good, he would have other clubs offering him big dollars to play fullback for them. The three I mentioned would all command big dollars. Do you think he is a million dollar fullback? How much do you think Tuapiki would be worth a season?
 
Frank Facer

Frank Facer

SGI Jersey Flegg
Ryan said:
Maybe because last year our first and second choice halfbacks were KF and LI? Not exactly Immortals in waiting. If Atkinson is a good halfback, there will be no need to rush Reed. If he isn't, there will be an urgent rush. Isn't he 20 now? I didn't realise it was such a strange thing for 20 year-olds to play first grade.

Why are we so nervous about promoting young players? A week or two ago I mentioned that after Gutho retires, Burton or Rokko Walker might take over at fullback when they are 19. Caused a mini meltdown. Lots of other clubs debut backs that age and younger but seems when it comes to this forum they need to be developed until they are 24 or 25 years old.
Click to expand...
I obviously agree.
 
RedV01

RedV01

SGI NSW Cup
Frank Facer said:
I rate the above 3 very highly.
I wouldn't be interested in Taupiki.
Papenhuyzen is still one of the best fullbacks in the comp and certainly provide X factor.
I would sign Purdue to play in the halves, but I think he would be one of the best fullbacks in the game. I think he could be Billy Slater like
Some rate Farnworth the best centre in the game. I know he wanted to play fullbacks can earn up to 1.4 mil a season, while top centres are around 800K, which I think Herbie is on Here is a copy and paste regarding Herbie.

Herbie Farnworth has expressed interest in playing fullback in the past, particularly during his time with the Brisbane Broncos, where he was reportedly aiming to challenge for the No.1 jersey. However, he has since clarified that his focus is now firmly on playing centre.

Despite earlier speculation, Farnworth stated in 2023 that he was "100 per cent on board" for playing in the centres at the Dolphins, noting that coach Wayne Bennett could decide otherwise, but his current mindset is centered on the centre position.

As of 2025, with Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow firmly established as the Dolphins' fullback until 2027, Farnworth has confirmed he has not given a potential move to fullback any serious thought. He emphasized his contentment at centre, saying, “At the moment, I am pretty happy here at centre.”

I will Shane Flannagan was very interested in signing Joey Manu from Easts to play fullback for us and was prepared to go a mil or more a season for him. He has played most of his career at centre, but excelled at fullback, when given the opportunity to play for Easts when Teddy was unavailable. I would have liked us to sign Manu too. Manu will be 30 years old in a couple of weeks.
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Frank, not every good centre can become a good fullback. In fact, it's rare.
 
HaydoM8

HaydoM8

SGI Jersey Flegg
RedVHeartbeat said:
That is trolling pal. We dont like those here. At some stage over past two yrs almost all us regular Dragon Lairers have derided KF, along with his useless halves mate. Praised him too when deserved. No way is he our future hooker, plenty putting up their hand already for that role after Liddle is done.
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Who? Finau? Muhl?
If anything hooker seems to be out shallowest depth in any position
 
jodragon40

jodragon40

Staff
Frank Facer said:
If Tuapiki is any good, he would have other clubs offering him big dollars to play fullback for them. The three I mentioned would all command big dollars. Do you think he is a million dollar fullback? How much do you think Tuapiki would be worth a season?
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Non are $1m players, I was just mentioning him because what I saw of him in ressies and his limited time in 1sts he reminds me of those small in stature players with high speed an excelleration such as Jye Gray (souths) , Su'a Faiologo (storm) to name just 2.

To my eye those kids will cement 1st grade spots this season. Value wise, I would initially start at $650k . Just my views
 
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