Recruitment & Retention 2027

J

Justadragon

SGI NSW Cup
Dave03 said:
Thoughts on Xerri (on the outer) and/or C. Graham (injury prone)? Both have some elite qualities & are modern day outside backs while still in their mid 20s. Anyone else on the outer/injury prone? Both also solve some outside back issues for us. Assume we'd have to move on the likes of Suli & potentially pay out Gutho.

1. Drinky
2. Holmes
3. Xerri
4. Graham
5. Sami
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Agree, but someone has to tell me where Gutho plays next year anyway. To me he better start to think about being a pathways coach.
 
Ryan

Ryan

SGI NSW Cup
Dave03 said:
Thoughts on Xerri (on the outer) and/or C. Graham (injury prone)? Both have some elite qualities & are modern day outside backs while still in their mid 20s. Anyone else on the outer/injury prone? Both also solve some outside back issues for us. Assume we'd have to move on the likes of Suli & potentially pay out Gutho.

1. Drinky
2. Holmes
3. Xerri
4. Graham
5. Sami
Click to expand...
Would much prefer Howarth from Melbourne. Though I haven't seen any official confirmation Melbourne are willing to let him go. I doubt it.
 
RedV01

RedV01

SGI NSW Cup
Xuiz said:
Xerri having a meeting with us this week

He has already met with Melbourne and Parramatta
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Are we considering the steroid munching fringe first grader now?
Inverted63 said:
I have to say, I don’t quite get all the enthusiasm for next years signings.

When you then look at who we have recruited:
KK - potentially a great middle forward, but some question marks over his knees. He is 28 years old and in his peak performance window now, but we have signed him for 5 years.

Connor Watson - We are just a transit lounge for him. If he is a stop gap measure for Cook to bide time for someone like Pattie, Mozer or Healey then that could be a good outcome. But I suspect Watson will be focussed on 2028 and he will just bide his time and avoid injury. Then we are back in the market again.

Drinkwater - Turns 30 next year in his first season with us and has never played rep footy of any kind. Creative in attack, but tackle efficiency just over 70%. How will he go without weapons like Purdue and Chester running off him? Could very easily be Gutho V 2.0 for us.

Sami - Experienced and reliable, but hardly what you’d describe as a game breaking attacking weapon. 8 tries from 14 appearances so far this year. I don’t think signing the 28 year old winger from the team coming second last is going to give us the attacking capability that we will need next year.

Metcalf - If he can recreate his form from 2025 he will be great for us, but can he? Recovering from ACL and hamstring injuries, on his return could not unseat Tannah Boyd in the Wahs lineup, and then when Boyd got injured the Wahs have preferred Martin at 7.

There is a lot of media spin about the Dragons rebuild at the moment, but I’m not convinced. These signings don’t address the capability gap we currently have in our outside backs. Some of them are not investments for the future as their best footy is probably behind them.

I know you can only sign the players that are available, and of those only the ones that are willing to come. I also know that the players we have signed are potentially better than those they replace in our current roster. But I don’t think it will be enough to move the needle.

I’m hoping there are more signings to come and I’m hoping that they are all young fast outside backs.
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To be politically correct, you are supposed to say every Dragons recruit is a superstar and Dragons are getting a good deal.

I'm not politically correct. After the Gutherson episode and I can tell you, a lot of fans are very poor judges of what the clubs needs. Number of people doing virtual handstands over this signing was something to behold.

But I think KK is a very good signing who will compliment our young forwards very well. Maybe got him for a year too long but he often plays in the middle for 80 minutes. Something that is very rare. Might have signed him for a year too long or maybe in his 4th and 5th years, he'll only play the same number of minutes as the average prop.
I'm gonna say KK is an A- signing for the Dragons.

Connor Watson isn't very good but coming on to give Liddle a rest for 20 minutes a game for 1 year. Not bad a signing.
I'm gonna rate his signing a B.

Drinkwater isn't one of the best fullbacks but as for our needs, a bit of speed and creativity in the spine, he is exactly what we need. As an attacking player, don't get much better.
I'm gonna give him a straight A.

Sami, depends on how much money he is on. He's a good winger without being anything special. I'll give him a C+.

Metcalf is the one I don't like. I would have pushed on with Reed. But I'm not as bitter about his signing as I was with Gutherson's because of his age and speed. Also the good news is that if Reed comes out and kills it next year but Metcalf is just average, it will be the same situation as has occured at Warriors. We will be able to ship him off to another club. Due to his age and being a halfback, it should be easy. So IMO he's a C.
 
GCRV

GCRV

SGI NSW Cup
RedV01 said:
Are we considering the steroid munching fringe first grader now?

To be politically correct, you are supposed to say every Dragons recruit is a superstar and Dragons are getting a good deal.

I'm not politically correct. After the Gutherson episode and I can tell you, a lot of fans are very poor judges of what the clubs needs. Number of people doing virtual handstands over this signing was something to behold.

But I think KK is a very good signing who will compliment our young forwards very well. Maybe got him for a year too long but he often plays in the middle for 80 minutes. Something that is very rare. Might have signed him for a year too long or maybe in his 4th and 5th years, he'll only play the same number of minutes as the average prop.
I'm gonna say KK is an A- signing for the Dragons.

Connor Watson isn't very good but coming on to give Liddle a rest for 20 minutes a game for 1 year. Not bad a signing.
I'm gonna rate his signing a B.

Drinkwater isn't one of the best fullbacks but as for our needs, a bit of speed and creativity in the spine, he is exactly what we need. As an attacking player, don't get much better.
I'm gonna give him a straight A.

Sami, depends on how much money he is on. He's a good winger without being anything special. I'll give him a C+.

Metcalf is the one I don't like. I would have pushed on with Reed. But I'm not as bitter about his signing as I was with Gutherson's because of his age and speed. Also the good news is that if Reed comes out and kills it next year but Metcalf is just average, it will be the same situation as has occured at Warriors. We will be able to ship him off to another club. Due to his age and being a halfback, it should be easy. So IMO he's a C.
Click to expand...
The new rules and his bad knee have ruined Gutho. No way one could have predicted that. He got a medical and got a pass. And the new rules? They caught the entire competition off guard. It seems in recently weeks they have started slowing it down a bit. The right move. Much better spectacle now that arbitrary 6-agains don't determine the winner.
 
Inverted63

Inverted63

SGI Junior League
RedV01 said:
Are we considering the steroid munching fringe first grader now?

To be politically correct, you are supposed to say every Dragons recruit is a superstar and Dragons are getting a good deal.

I'm not politically correct. After the Gutherson episode and I can tell you, a lot of fans are very poor judges of what the clubs needs. Number of people doing virtual handstands over this signing was something to behold.

But I think KK is a very good signing who will compliment our young forwards very well. Maybe got him for a year too long but he often plays in the middle for 80 minutes. Something that is very rare. Might have signed him for a year too long or maybe in his 4th and 5th years, he'll only play the same number of minutes as the average prop.
I'm gonna say KK is an A- signing for the Dragons.

Connor Watson isn't very good but coming on to give Liddle a rest for 20 minutes a game for 1 year. Not bad a signing.
I'm gonna rate his signing a B.

Drinkwater isn't one of the best fullbacks but as for our needs, a bit of speed and creativity in the spine, he is exactly what we need. As an attacking player, don't get much better.
I'm gonna give him a straight A.

Sami, depends on how much money he is on. He's a good winger without being anything special. I'll give him a C+.

Metcalf is the one I don't like. I would have pushed on with Reed. But I'm not as bitter about his signing as I was with Gutherson's because of his age and speed. Also the good news is that if Reed comes out and kills it next year but Metcalf is just average, it will be the same situation as has occured at Warriors. We will be able to ship him off to another club. Due to his age and being a halfback, it should be easy. So IMO he's a C.
Click to expand...
I agree with you on Xerri. As desperate as we are for outside backs, there has to be some consideration about what kind of culture we are trying to build.

However, my grading of the new recruits would be quite different to yours.
KK - I read somewhere that his stats last season were better than Haas. Very impressive if true, and we do need an experienced forward to lead young bulls. So potentially an A+ given best case. However, he is 28, he is playing with a PCL injury, missed blues selection this year and we reportedly paid $5m for 5 years. That’s a lot of cap at risk of sitting on the sidelines due to knee injury. So in 3 or 4 years time we could be looking back and asking why we signed him. Possible C- worst case.

Watson - he’ll be playing in a dinner suit all season to ensure he is good to go for the Chiefs in 28. Anything above C+ will be a bonus.

Drinkwater - we might get one good season from him, but that’s about it. He will be playing on ageing legs and he isn’t Tedesco. He will create opportunities in attack, but if we don’t sign some speedy outside backs those opportunities could amount to little. But it’s not just about attack. Drinkwater’s defence positioning, effort off the ball, and one-on-one tackling is a liability. C. But if we get some decent outside backs to run off him - B.

Sami - he’s just a C. He’s reached his ceiling and isn’t going to get any better than his current level. He will fill a role and do a job, but he’s not going to score hat tricks or match winners for us.

Metcalf - last year he was playing well enough to lead the Dally Ms by a long margin. If he can regain that form and mentor young Reed he is A+ all day long. Organising halves that can execute are worth their weight in gold! But after 2 ACL recons of the same knee, hamstring issues and a tibia fracture - that is a lot to overcome. It may be that he has lost his explosive acceleration and that could bring him back to the field. Maybe a B.
 
Eric

Eric

Staff
Inverted63 said:
I agree with you on Xerri. As desperate as we are for outside backs, there has to be some consideration about what kind of culture we are trying to build.

However, my grading of the new recruits would be quite different to yours.
KK - I read somewhere that his stats last season were better than Haas. Very impressive if true, and we do need an experienced forward to lead young bulls. So potentially an A+ given best case. However, he is 28, he is playing with a PCL injury, missed blues selection this year and we reportedly paid $5m for 5 years. That’s a lot of cap at risk of sitting on the sidelines due to knee injury. So in 3 or 4 years time we could be looking back and asking why we signed him. Possible C- worst case.
Click to expand...
I could be wrong and have been known for it (being wrong) before but I'd say KK would've been the third NSW forward picked (behind Haas and Yeo) if he played for the Sydney Rorters. Victor Radley in the team but not KK is a bit of joke.
 
D

Dragon David

SGI NSW Cup
Inverted63 said:
I agree with you on Xerri. As desperate as we are for outside backs, there has to be some consideration about what kind of culture we are trying to build.

However, my grading of the new recruits would be quite different to yours.
KK - I read somewhere that his stats last season were better than Haas. Very impressive if true, and we do need an experienced forward to lead young bulls. So potentially an A+ given best case. However, he is 28, he is playing with a PCL injury, missed blues selection this year and we reportedly paid $5m for 5 years. That’s a lot of cap at risk of sitting on the sidelines due to knee injury. So in 3 or 4 years time we could be looking back and asking why we signed him. Possible C- worst case.

Watson - he’ll be playing in a dinner suit all season to ensure he is good to go for the Chiefs in 28. Anything above C+ will be a bonus.

Drinkwater - we might get one good season from him, but that’s about it. He will be playing on ageing legs and he isn’t Tedesco. He will create opportunities in attack, but if we don’t sign some speedy outside backs those opportunities could amount to little. But it’s not just about attack. Drinkwater’s defence positioning, effort off the ball, and one-on-one tackling is a liability. C. But if we get some decent outside backs to run off him - B.

Sami - he’s just a C. He’s reached his ceiling and isn’t going to get any better than his current level. He will fill a role and do a job, but he’s not going to score hat tricks or match winners for us.

Metcalf - last year he was playing well enough to lead the Dally Ms by a long margin. If he can regain that form and mentor young Reed he is A+ all day long. Organising halves that can execute are worth their weight in gold! But after 2 ACL recons of the same knee, hamstring issues and a tibia fracture - that is a lot to overcome. It may be that he has lost his explosive acceleration and that could bring him back to the field. Maybe a B.
Click to expand...
Gee with these gradings on the newcomers plus the possibility of Young being the head coach, 2027 might not be as bright as bright can be (sorry about this toothpaste bit). I think that there will be an improvement in our games, very much so. It all depends on how the team players gel and co-ordinate themselves on the field. Attack and Defence needs massive improvement. Just waiting for 2027 comp to start. Forgetting about this year.
 
Edward

Edward

SGI NSW Cup
Dragon David said:
Gee with these gradings on the newcomers plus the possibility of Young being the head coach, 2027 might not be as bright as bright can be (sorry about this toothpaste bit). I think that there will be an improvement in our games, very much so. It all depends on how the team players gel and co-ordinate themselves on the field. Attack and Defence needs massive improvement. Just waiting for 2027 comp to start. Forgetting about this year.
Click to expand...
Good overhaul when considering those coming through the grades. Will get us going in the right direction but will need the 3 backs to play out of their skin to make the GF.
 
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