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?