ItsCamxron
SGI Junior League
Luch looks set to extend. Sassine says that Sloan wont be a Dragon next year, and he also said its 99.99% Hornby as HC next year
Recruitment & Retention 2027
- Thread starter jodragon40
- Start date
Dave03
SGI NSW Cup
Drinky upgrade on Gutho
KK upgrade on Sua
Metcalf upgrade on Kyle/Atko
Our signings have been improvements which is what we want like Mug has said previously, keep improving the roster.
KK upgrade on Sua
Metcalf upgrade on Kyle/Atko
Our signings have been improvements which is what we want like Mug has said previously, keep improving the roster.
Dave03
SGI NSW Cup
Wonder what happens with Loko, I'd like to keep him at the right price. At least Hornby has a relationship with KK, fits the bill of a young coach coming from a successful system. He'd also likely have a close relationship with Creagh who got promoted recently. I personally would've liked someone who doesn't have a dragons connection but happy it's not Young.
jodragon40
Staff
Wow that successful franchise hmmm...... the Titans didn't think Boyd was any good, surely they didn't make an error in judgement by letting him leave
jodragon40
Staff
Well at least Hornby has had the best teacher
jodragon40
Staff
Castleford need to change their name from Tigers to Dragons
Illusion
SGI NSW Cup
I'd rather no ex players because they can still be influenced by the by the Youngs Dousts ECT .......
jodragon40
Staff
agree
ItsCamxron
SGI Junior League
Sassine is under the impression Loko is staying considering he retracted his release request. I personally think Loko will stay as long as he starts the remainder of the year, which he should if he continues to perform well, and on the basis both Lawrie and Guler most likely wont be here next year
TheRev
SGI NSW Cup
Hello there, thanks for the info drops ;-)
I'm sure quite a few are still to be locked in around LPT/Halangahu in particular, but other than that it feels like that is almost all best case scenario news for us... imo if it is Hornby (and even though I was hoping Arthur, I bet Hornby is the compromise choice), we are about to start our ~7-month honeymoon period where the vibes are all positive (even with the losses, its essentially a different team and different coach for 2027 so its seperated).
The gyst of what I took from MC's article & other posts today:
- Watson is done (and announced next week)
- We are hoping to extend Luciano for 1yr (price will be interesting though)
- We are hoping to lure Dylan Lucas back home for 2028, and I have heard heard Bostocks name before also.. and this makes me think that the club are quite deliberately wanting to right some wrongs and rly focus hard on that home-grown Illawarra connection moving forward.
- The outside back... good that we are shooting for Herbie, even if it was Averillo though, we need 1 fast one (2 or 3 even if Val and Suli go).. Bostock if we went for him would be 2028 you imagine.
- Everyone knows the Couchies r the priority next (im glad he said it though).. but there is no rush rush nrly 6months to go yet, I think lets get the coach announced, rly starting to lean hard into the good vibes again before we get to the negotiation table, space out a few announcements also.
- Note that I did hear elsewhere Sloan may be asked to continue.. im not sure if that's accurate.. only if we cant do any better.. and we do need someone to replace him... i.e. someone to cover Drinkwater injuries if Gutho is gone... id rather chase a 21yr old who can cover 1 and ideally centre who has an unknown ceiling (Faulalo clone), rather than Sloan even if he was on 250k or something.. I know someone will mention Burton, but honestly hes 17 and quite a few years away and it could be anywhere in the backline 1-5 that he comes through.. i.e. it doesnt have to be Fullback at all.. it probably wont be.. we need burto and more to come through yet.
jodragon40
Staff
With our youngsters as we have recently seen with Reed, patience is a virtue. There is absolutely no need to rush anyone into this particular team
ItsCamxron
SGI Junior League
Yeah Caryannis article suggests Lucas is the target considering he's an Illawarra junior. RE Sloan - I personally think we should keep him as he can play FB and on the wing, and with Feagai gone who can play 2-5, we need depth in the backs, especially on the wing and in the centres. I really like Tevita Naufahu from the dolphins and with Cobbo - Farnworth - Averillo - Bostock all ahead of him (for 2027 anyway), his first grade minutes may be blocked somewhat. Regarding Averillo, he was said to be extending but I haven't heard much more about it or seen anything so maybe there's a chance he does leave? If so, I'd be all over him as he's exactly what we need - speed and can play anywhere from 1-7. Back to Sassine's TikTok live, he did end it saying he got some mail RE Joey Manu, to which he abruptly ended his live. If we can get that done, I'd be very happy. Can play 1-5 and would fit the age profile of players we seem to be signing (Late 20's, Early 30's). From all reports and suggestions, we are nowhere near done in terms of recruitment and I for one am super excited to see how we line up in 2027, and who we look to bring in for 2028
TheRev
SGI NSW Cup
Ai I wish we had of signed Averillo last year or got the deal done early season.. would have been a 400k type signing... cause any backs now with pace have suddenly becomes waaaaaaayyyyyy more valuable in the NRL.. its not just us who needs to find speed before next season.. dogs, storm, everyone is now trying to bring more pace into their backline, the 1-5 slots in particular.
ItsCamxron
SGI Junior League
I agree, but with that being said, our youngsters are needed. Fringe youngsters who haven't got much gametime lately - Loko, Halangahu, Tsougranis for example - all can have a significant place in the team, for this year and next. Loko can serve as a 30-35 min bench player, or as a 40-50 min starter if needed, Halangahu can be either an edge starter or middle forward bench player who can play significant minutes (pending the signing of Lucas if it happens and/or the departure of Guler/Lawrie/Sele) and Tsougranis who can also be an edge bench player and/or centre depth option if needed. But yes, I do believe we need to be very patient with our youngsters given the sheer number of talented players we have coming through in key positions (e.g. Burton: FB, Reed: HB, Williams: Winger and all the others). I think one thing we've done really well is line up the signings we've made to the age of which these players are too. Burton should be set to be our starting FB once Drinkly contract expires, Reed should be set to play either 5/8 or HB once Metcalf contract expires, Williams should be set to start once Sami contract expires. We've given the youngsters players with experience to learn from for the next 3-5 years, which is a good thing if they can be patient and bide their time to be starting players
ItsCamxron
SGI Junior League
I would love to know how much Averillo is earning at the Phins with his new extension, because we could have easily matched or exceeded what he is getting, as well as offering him a guaranteed starting spot 1-5 (post Drinkwater signing). Regardless, the names we're currently being linked with (Farnworth and Manu) tickle my fancy a little bit more so we need to sign at least one, don't care who, but just get one of them