Round 1 team so far in 2026

[Dragsters]

100% if it was supercoach, but we've been linked to koula for >6mths, maybe he just isn't interested.. And we need a backup plan in any case, can't put all our eggs in 1 basket that might be a 20% chance.

Koula could be a 1mill risk mind you.. I've never seen him actually play fullback week to week.. But I love him also... In the end though maybe we will end up with a Tracey or a Kennedy.. But I like that we r chasing higher level fish first.

Sure, either would be great.

The other two I'm not so sure about. Not enough X factor.

 

[Justadragon]

Lomax is a very good winger. I'd rate Bula a fullack just a bit below Lomax as a winger. So a 7 out of 10 fullback is better than an 8 out of 10 winger.

Agree, though Lomax doesn't think he is a winger, he thinks he is the chosen one.

 

[Justadragon]

Sure, either would be great.

The other two I'm not so sure about. Not enough X factor.

Hey mate, good to see you on this forum, welcome.

 

[TSP]

Agree, though Lomax doesn't think he is a winger, he thinks he is the chosen one.

Nope, Bula thinks he’s the chosen 1 ( Boom boom justa!)

 

[Justadragon]

Nope, Bula thinks he’s the chosen 1 ( Boom boom justa!)

I think that is what Fittler had named him, went to his head I think.

 

[Ryan]

I think Frank Facer is spot on.

The Tigers want to keep him but they aren’t prepared to offer him 1 to 2% more or they could have wrapped him up.

So that’s not a desperate position by any stretch. It’s a half finger.

Plus they hate his manager.

And they’ve bought a heavyweight marquee junior from Penrith to bring on in the role.

Don't you think the idea he is willing to knock back 800k to go to the market is a pretty decent indication of how much demand he is in?

 

[Ryan]

Agree, though Lomax doesn't think he is a winger, he thinks he is the chosen one.

Good one.

 

[Ryan]

There was the Su'a moment. Then there were the 2 games we were up by 12 and got beat by a point against Parra and I think it was Souths. Then there was the game against the Warriors that we got beat by a point as well, when we lost DeBelin and Stewart in one go. You can't blame any of that on Flanno. If we won those 4 games we would have finished equal 8th on points but officially 9th with Easts having a better for and against. Add the injuries we had last year and the fact the bookies had us favourite for the spoon, I think Flanno did a great job under the circumstances. I don't know what fans expect from Flanno. They rate him that highly and think he should have done better with the roster he had and the circumstances he had to deal with or they don't rate him and look for anything to have against him. He blooded so many juniors, which should pay dividends over the next few years.

Flanno gave Ilias first shot at the number 7 jersey. Ilias was our number 7 when we lost the games to Souths and Parra by a point after leading by 12 points early in the season. Ilias was given 2 more games after the the lose to Parra and dropped after round 7. I thought Ilias was completely bland at Souths and then for us. In hindsight Adam Doueihi would have been the halfback we should have signed instead of Ilias. There was talk we could have signed him, but his injury history, would have made it a risky signing.

I will say it again, I don't know what you and the other Saints fans expected from Flanno over the last 2 years with the roster we had and the injuries we had. The bookies had us either favourites for the spoon or second favourites for it. That is what was expected of us. I don't think any other coach would have done any better than Flanno over the last 2 years, with he roster and injuries we had. I say at least wait until Flanno has a decent roster, before judging him. I also said the same about McGregor in his first few seasons. When he finally got a decent roster in 2018, even he had us performing well and got us to the semis. I rate Flanno higher than McGregor.

Respect your opinion but can't agree. We played Souths without Mitchell, Parra without Moses, Manly without Tom Turbo, Storm without Hughes. We had our share of good and bad luck.

The worst luck was not Su'A dropping the ball but Couchman going down for the season early in round 1.

But I still think Flanno needs to pull his coaching socks up. I'm not calling for his sacking. Not one iota. But if we get into round 6, the team is struggling and Flanno still isn't behaving like a professional, knives out.

 

[TheRev]

In terms of wingers.. we r linked to Sami again, this time for 2027.. shame cause we would have almost had him for 2026...

 

[TSP]

Don't you think the idea he is willing to knock back 800k to go to the market is a pretty decent indication of how much demand he is in?

if the demand was that great, I think he’d be snapped up already.

It seems the “coalition of the un-willing” are not chucking in the extra 1-2% on top of an alleged market rate to secure him.

His terms and conditions are too ambitious.

It’s not uncommon for players and managers to overstate their value.

 

[Frank Facer]

Lomax has been a revelation on the wing. I think he only got play 1 game at fullback for us and he looked very solid in that one outing. I don't know if he got injured and then lost the spot, or if he was just filling in there. I know he had fullback aspirations, early in his career with us and he may have even been promised the fullback spot at one stage, while he was here. Maybe that was one reason he wanted out, before Flanno got here?

Almost any outside back can play wing to a pretty decent level, but good fullbacks are much harder to find.. they are responsible for so much in both attack and defence.

I think Bula is being very much undervalued on here, just coming into his prime years, all the hard work is done... but if he wants to stay there so be it.. just hope we can come up with an alternative that is close that standard.. there are a few out there but none of them are on the market.. NRL clubs lock them all up.

Very few outside backs would have taken the NSW and Australian wing spot in their first season playing there and kept the NSW spot year after like Lomax did. He also has kept Kiraz out of the NSW and Australian team, who I rate extremely highly and would love for us to sign to play wing for us.

I wonder if Nawaqanitawase will be picked for NSW and Australia this year on the right wing? He is an amazing player. I would sign him for a mil a year to play fullback for us, if I could.

I would take the Lomax, Kiraz and Nawaqanitawase all over To'o or any other wingers in the comp and that is no knock on To'o either

 

[Frank Facer]

Doesn't rly matter which player we think is better given their playing in different positions... and we may well still be chasing a winger (the rumours of taulagi seem to have gone cold though).

But we 100% 'are' chasing a fullback, we obviously have realised that ryles was right around the need for speed @1... And the dogs did chase bula... But bula and/or his manager want maximum coin... so the guses of this world won't be paying anything like that for anything but a sure fire rep star..and even then there is a limit to marquees you can keep... otherwise they will want value for money given the amount of stars they need to retain.

We however are still desperate for talent.. And the 2027 targets are already starting to dry up.. Bula and koula the only 2 I can think of that are left.. Drinkwater a distant 3rd option but he'll be post 30 already...

Parra had already identified a need for more speed and X factor at fullback, before Ryles got there. I think Slone may have even been mentioned as an option at one stage, before Ryles got there. I say be a bit patient and get the right player for fullback, if possible. Purdue and Sharpe would be at the top of my list

 

[Frank Facer]

100% if it was supercoach, but we've been linked to koula for >6mths, maybe he just isn't interested.. And we need a backup plan in any case, can't put all our eggs in 1 basket that might be a 20% chance.

Koula could be a 1mill risk mind you.. I've never seen him actually play fullback week to week.. But I love him also... In the end though maybe we will end up with a Tracey or a Kennedy.. But I like that we r chasing higher level fish first.

I agree regarding Koula. I haven't seen much of him at fullback and am not 100% if he is a great fullback. There was talk he was going to take over from Turbo at fullback when Turbo retired, then Hopoate jumped ahead of him for fullback. He was playing some great football at centre at the end of last season. He has speed to burn.

I doubt we will end up with Tracey or Kennedy. I don't think our recruitment team and coach would go down that path now.

 

[Frank Facer]

Lomax has been a revelation on the wing. I think he only got play 1 game at fullback for us and he looked very solid in that one outing. I don't know if he got injured and then lost the spot, or if he was just filling in there. I know he had fullback aspirations, early in his career with us and he may have even been promised the fullback spot at one stage, while he was hear. Maybe that was one reason he wanted out, before Flanno got here?

Agree, though Lomax doesn't think he is a winger, he thinks he is the chosen one.

Copy and paste here
Brad Fittler first dubbed Zac Lomax "the gifted one" in 2017, during Lomax’s standout performance for the NSW Under-18s, where he set up two tries and kicked the game-winning field goal. Fittler praised Lomax’s all-around talent, comparing him to his younger self, and the nickname became a defining label throughout Lomax’s junior career. The moniker followed Lomax into the NRL, where he made his debut in 2018, and remained a symbol of high expectations. Despite a career marked by positional changes and challenges, Lomax’s long-awaited State of Origin debut for New South Wales in 2024 was seen as a culmination of that early promise

 

[Ryan]

if the demand was that great, I think he’d be snapped up already.

It seems the “coalition of the un-willing” are not chucking in the extra 1-2% on top of an alleged market rate to secure him.

His terms and conditions are too ambitious.

It’s not uncommon for players and managers to overstate their value.

If the demand were not great, do you think he'd knock back 800k?

 

[TSP]

If the demand were not great, do you think he'd knock back 800k?

Whatever he thinks he is worth, no one actually agrees with him.

Thats why he’s still on the market.

An over-inflated sense of self worth and poorly advised.

 

[TheRev]

If a player/manager are of the mindset to squeeze every last cent out of their club (i.e. loyalty is a complete after-thought)... then these things can drag out.. and they are realistically in no hurry, they have all year... or atleast a few months..

Not sure if you've ever bought property.. but you go through this intense negotiation process back and forth.. thats when its just you and the seller... but oh boy if a 2nd buyer comes into the equation, the power dynamic completely shifts... if you're an experienced player manager you are happy to take your time.. and wait till a bidding war kicks off.. or perhaps wait till Bula has a few good weeks then try again... could be the same with Koula.

 

[TSP]

If a player/manager are of the mindset to squeeze every last cent out of their club (i.e. loyalty is a complete after-thought)... then these things can drag out.. and they are realistically in no hurry, they have all year... or atleast a few months..

Not sure if you've ever bought property.. but you go through this intense negotiation process back and forth.. thats when its just you and the seller... but oh boy if a 2nd buyer comes into the equation, the power dynamic completely shifts... if you're an experienced player manager you are happy to take your time.. and wait till a bidding war kicks off.. or perhaps wait till Bula has a few good weeks then try again... could be the same with Koula.

An interesting analogy.

But the cap may stymie the power of the buyers, whereas homebuyers have a bigger pool.

Subject to contingencies, I don’t think extra time is going to help him.

He’s just being precious.

Certainly with the Tigers, it’s not the club where you can make your mark too easily unless there’s a major shift in all facets.

And he’s likely heading for another injury too as he’s pretty fragile.

Lomax has insight issues, makes bad career decisions…but I think he is an excellent footballer. It’s a pity he didn’t stay at SGI but he has to own all the trouble stemming from that.

 

[Ryan]

Whatever he thinks he is worth, no one actually agrees with him.

Thats why he’s still on the market.

An over-inflated sense of self worth and poorly advised.

Well, rumour has it Dragons agree with him. That is to say Daniel Anderson agrees with him. Tigers trying to up their offer as well. Bet a few more are interested as well.

Bottom line is, for the Dragons I rate him as a 900k a year fullback. The golden age of fullbacks is drawing to a close. The only really good young fullbacks are Walsh and Bula. Melbourne and Gold Coast might have as well but a bit early to say.

 

[TSP]

Lomax has been a revelation on the wing. I think he only got play 1 game at fullback for us and he looked very solid in that one outing. I don't know if he got injured and then lost the spot, or if he was just filling in there. I know he had fullback aspirations, early in his career with us and he may have even been promised the fullback spot at one stage, while he was hear. Maybe that was one reason he wanted out, before Flanno got here?

Very few outside backs would have taken the NSW and Australian wing spot in their first season playing there and kept the NSW spot year after like Lomax did. He also has kept Kiraz out of the NSW and Australian team, who I rate extremely highly and would love for us to sign to play wing for us.

I wonder if Nawaqanitawase will be picked for NSW and Australia this year on the right wing? He is an amazing player. I would sign him for a mil a year to play fullback for us, if I could.

I would take the Lomax, Kiraz and Nawaqanitawase all over To'o or any other wingers in the comp and that is no knock on To'o either

Very thoughtful post, really underscores the talent of Lomax and in my view, the talent of Flanno in player analytics.

Flanno has said that the decision was a result of an ongoing and intensive review of zacs game and strengths.

It was a life changing decision.

Fair chop for Lomax for having a genuine swing, despite his subterfuge with the eels which of course didn’t work out.

Zac said he was a professional and would do his best on the wing, but his heart wasn’t in it. The eels was a one night stand. Melbourne is another fling and 360 is something yet again.