Recruitment & Retention 2027

[RufusRex]

Su'a has a player option for 2027
Missing Setu Tu
I was of the belief (most likely mistaken) that Cyrus/Leeroy/Reed come in 2027

If that is the case then our roster for 2027 is sitting at 21/22 (depending on SuA)

 

[TheRev]

Even if all the off-contract players leave, there are not that many spots for next year if guys like CST and Weatherall are in the 30.. also guys like Tu/Fale/Buchanan are 3 that we still dont know if they are real first graders yet, but all have Top30 spots.. if they dont come on.. our backline depth is in strife... esp once ct/feagai/lawson go.. if they all go.... and we still dont have a hooker on the books to push up under cook/liddle.. Sloan is going (we assume) but needs to be replaced with a reserve grade fullback, does TPH need a spot by then?

There are a lot of guys in flegg and cup.. well they are forwards mostly... who are pushing up and if they have break out years and some have started very well.. suddenly we need to find room for them in the next 1 or 2 years.. its a lot to manage.

On top of that we still have 2 x 2026 spots to fill yet.. they r likely to be 2yr (or more) contracts.. lets hope they are quality and not taking spots for pure depth... they rly cant be fillers imo..not unless its a 6mth contract.

It does my head in.. rumour on other forum that a fullback deal is close, as are some players likely to leave (assume its the bears), you would say the most likely would be LKT or Buchanan if not getting opportunity.. LPT I still dunno where the truth lies on that one.

 

[redv13]

Surely Su’a ain’t going anywhere now that KK is coming

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Buchanan should reconsider leaving. He could be a starter in 2028 when Suli and Val both leave at the end of ‘27

Outside backs are everywhere though, even in sevens you can pluck an athletic young guy

We got Tamale from rugby iirc, the scout that found him did well

I’m miffed that Weatherall is into the top 30 next year. I said last year he was on the same path as ackers (tbf ackers had bad injuries) and I’ve been proven right sadly

I reckon Feagai is the kind of guy that would be happy signing 2 year deals on 200k a year

He’s got a young family in the gong and been here since he was mid teens. Just keep extending him until the wheels fall off

 

[TheRev]

Buchanan should reconsider leaving. He could be a starter in 2028 when Suli and Val both leave at the end of ‘27

Outside backs are everywhere though, even in sevens you can pluck an athletic young guy

We got Tamale from rugby iirc, the scout that found him did well

I’m miffed that Weatherall is into the top 30 next year. I said last year he was on the same path as ackers (tbf ackers had bad injuries) and I’ve been proven right sadly

I reckon Feagai is the kind of guy that would be happy signing 2 year deals on 200k a year

He’s got a young family in the gong and been here since he was mid teens. Just keep extending him until the wheels fall off

o Not saying Hayden would leave, just saying he and LKT could be the ones being spoken about as potential targets on contract if we dont play em this year..... imo this is a big year for Hayden, hes had a big preseason..... Val is injured regularly.. if Hayden comes in and does a good job at left ctr.. and rly surprises us (or certainly me as im not all in on him), who knows where he goes from there... I believe we just promoted him so lets see..

o With Weatherall, I was surprised at the time we signed him up to a longterm deal, but a lot of those contracts are made when the kids are 16 or 17, thats what the player managers essentially demand (or another club will give it to them)...... but yeah we dont always pick the right kids.. and they dont always get the timing right.. I mean they develop at different rates.. even CST I was pretty damn sure about but im not 100% locked in.. im like 85% there.. think maybe just needs another year more than we expected... maybe moves into cup later this year to cover injuries. And someone like Daniel Meafou I was pretty high on.. maybe its just injuries but thats rly set him back a long way in where I thought he would be.. CMeafou also hasnt come on at the pace I expected..

o Feagai I hesitated to say he will leave because hes not bad as 1-5 coverage for cheap.. its just that we do genuinely have to make some calls for 2027 and beyond.. especially if we sign a gun fullback, a gun winger (that we were supposed to be after), and potentially a Chevy type fullback upandcomer.. there are only so many spots.. if Fale turns out to be a flop and Tu turns out to be a reserve grader.. our outside backs will be gross... I wish we could find some of the athletes you talk about.. cant believe how bad Lawson ended up for us vs Warbrick/MarkN/Moses Leo etc.. plus throw in Williams not staying in the game on top.. Kirk hasnt kicked on mostly due to injuries but im not sure im seeing his potential yet either.. not a fan of TobyRumble, I was liking Lyric, but im not in love with any of them atm.. only Heidke whos also injured.. maybe Burton playing up grades could come through at 18 or 19.. maybe..

 

[Dragons Chris]

Buchanan should reconsider leaving. He could be a starter in 2028 when Suli and Val both leave at the end of ‘27

Outside backs are everywhere though, even in sevens you can pluck an athletic young guy

We got Tamale from rugby iirc, the scout that found him did well

I’m miffed that Weatherall is into the top 30 next year. I said last year he was on the same path as ackers (tbf ackers had bad injuries) and I’ve been proven right sadly

I reckon Feagai is the kind of guy that would be happy signing 2 year deals on 200k a year

He’s got a young family in the gong and been here since he was mid teens. Just keep extending him until the wheels fall off

I don't know why Suli is considered locked in for a week let alone 2 more seasons.

 

[Zen]

courier Mail reporting that the compensation warriors want from the dragons to sign Barnett is they want sloan

Asking for
-Saab from Manly
-Samrani from parra
-Verhoeven from broncos (he’s a young gun)


I don’t understand how the Sloan part is right as Sloan can leave at the end of this season. Unless they mean immediately getting Sloan it makes zero sense

There's a good reason you dont understand it. It's because:

 

[Frank Facer]

Parra supposedly has offered Barnett $2.6M over 3 years.

$2.6m swoop: New team within 48 hours as FOUR clubs chase Test star Mitch Barnett... and hot tip exits

$2.6m Eels stunner as FOUR clubs chase Test star with call on future imminent

www.foxsports.com.au

Barnett will be 33 next year. I think he is too old to sign, especially for that money.

 

[George Sancti]

Barnett will be 33 next year. I think he is too old to sign, especially for that money.

I tend to agree, Frank. He’s a quality player, and if we’d been able to bring him in this year the value would’ve made sense. But for 2027–29, he just doesn’t sit high on the priority list.

 

[GCRV]

I tend to agree, Frank. He’s a quality player, and if we’d been able to bring him in this year the value would’ve made sense. But for 2027–29, he just doesn’t sit high on the priority list.

Now we've got KK, don't need Barnett.

 

[Dragon David]

Barnett will be 33 next year. I think he is too old to sign, especially for that money.

....and getting over an ACL injury.

 

[The Word]

I'm happy it's not just me that thinks that. If you could get him now on current form for a couple of years for reasonable money then of course you would. If you get him starting next year for 2/3 years on serious money then you're taking a huge risk which we've done before with older players and it hasn't always worked.

At the end of the day all players decline at different rates. Middle Forwards in the NRL have to have one of the toughest physical jobs around. You've got the likes of Jared WH who maintained the rage into his mid-30's. However plenty of others can't make it much past 30 without losing their power and pace. None of us have any idea how long Barnett will play well for, so it's about the length of contract and salary.

 

[Dragsters]

courier Mail reporting that the compensation warriors want from the dragons to sign Barnett is they want sloan

Asking for
-Saab from Manly
-Samrani from parra
-Verhoeven from broncos (he’s a young gun)


I don’t understand how the Sloan part is right as Sloan can leave at the end of this season. Unless they mean immediately getting Sloan it makes zero sense

Could the Sloan thing be if Barnett was to come immediately due his family issues or has he committed to them for the year?

 

[Mug Fan]

I reckon Feagai is the kind of guy that would be happy signing 2 year deals on 200k a year

He’s got a young family in the gong and been here since he was mid teens. Just keep extending him until the wheels fall off

Spot on Matt is on minimum contract covers multiple positions we need squad fillers like him.

We may re sign a few others, every player we let go we should be replacing with a better player and we will have trouble doing that.

This year we just bumped up 2 Supp players to get to 28 so we have had 4 spots we can't fill.

 

[redv13]

Personally I don’t mind Matt tbh. I don’t blow a head gasket if he’s named to play. I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

 

[Justadragon]

Now we've got KK, don't need Barnett.

Whatever drama if any is going on with LPT the club needs to sort out and there will be no need for Barnett.

 

[The Word]

Whatever drama if any is going on with LPT the club needs to sort out and there will be no need for Barnett.

True. For that to happen he needs to knuckle down and do what his coaches tell him to do. He has a premiership winning head coach to learn from, and two assistant coaches who have won the comp as players who did most of their work in the middle of the pitch. He will not be overlooked if he is showing the goods and the coaches think he can help them win.

So he's not quite there yet, which most fans agree on. We can't play him if he's not quite ready. However it does give unscrupulous agents an opportunity to get into his head. You can imagine him being told he should be in the 19, and he should move clubs to somewhere he will be more appreciated and his career will take off. Sometimes you lose players with good potential when trying to protect them because at the end of the day they're not from that area and are not loyal to the badge.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Personally I don’t mind Matt tbh. I don’t blow a head gasket if he’s named to play. I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

I agree mate, I much prefer him on the left wing to playing centre but like was said before he’s a textbook definition of a squad filler and he’s talented enough to get the better of plenty of opposition outside backs

Think the Feagai boys are from Leeton in the country, always find it funny seeing islanders in those regional towns. They’d stand out like dogs balls at the kids footy on the weekend hahah

 

[TheRev]

I'd consider playing Feagai over CT and I still havent got a good gauge on Tu's ceiling yet.. need a bigger sample size.. but my point is the difference isnt huge.. but Feagai has more pace than CT and can handle other positions to cover injury.. hes a potentially useful extended bench utility also.

In any case.. it just depends how recruitment is going for 2027 (i.e. how many spots have we got)... like Mug said we ended up 4 short of our recruitment target this year.. thats not a good sign.. and will we pull that gun fullback and winger that we were after for 2027? i.e. how many spots do we have? Also need to see how the start of the season pans out.. if we can earn some respect in these next weeks/months... it will make it easier to land some of those off-contract 2027 players.. if we struggle, its the opposite effect.

 

[Dave03]

Feagai still has bad errors in his game, he dropped a bomb without any pressure v dogs. He's the perfect bench utility, covers multiple positions but isn't really part of our future so his development isn't much of a concern. He's also not really elite at anything while being average at a few things, his pace isn't elite either. Imo his best attribute is his tackle breaking ability, CT is at least elite at yardage. I doubt either will be our starting winger in 2027.