OFFICIAL Broncos 2025 Draw

[Sproj]

“I’m human, if you get a job offer and it’s lower than what you’re actually on, you’re going to be a bit upset but then I realised it’s the best decision to stay here,”

“I was a bit disheartened at first, but after sitting on it for a while it was more than money, it’s a growth decision - we have built this thing together and I just want to see it out.

“I’m actually really lucky, I’m at a great club, I’m around great people and I’ve got great support.

“I was talking to one of the owners [Matt Tripp] and told him I wasn't really comfortable signing a three-year deal purely based off I want to get back playing, back enjoying myself, and that's when the one-year extension got offered up.

I’m part of something bigger than myself and trying to achieve the main goal. People are buying in and it’s a hard environment to find anywhere else."

Ryan Papenhuyzen on why he re-signed with Melbourne.

Storm brotherhood and personal growth sway Paps to stay

On the back of signing a one-year extension at the Storm, Ryan Papenhuyzen reflects on what the club means to him and why he knocked back bigger offers to stay in Melbourne.

www.nrl.com

One could read this as:

“I’m human, if you get a job offer and it’s lower than what you’re actually on, you’re going to be a bit upset but then I realised it’s the best decision to stay here (I'm not really sacrificing anything really),”

“I was a bit disheartened at first, but after sitting on it for a while it was more than money, it’s a growth (financial portfolio) decision - we have built this thing together and I just want to see it out (the company shares).

“I’m actually really lucky, I’m at a great club, I’m around great people and I’ve got great support (shares).

“I was talking to one of the owners [Matt Tripp] and told him I wasn't really comfortable signing a three-year deal purely based off I want to get back playing, back enjoying myself, and that's when the one-year extension got offered up (two sets of books).

I’m part of something bigger (betting agency) than myself and trying to achieve the main goal (increasing shares available only to Melbourne players). People are buying in (shares) and it’s a hard environment to find anywhere else (Tripp's betting agencies only available in Melbourne)."

I cannot wait to see the Storm apologists launch at this. Yes, its the offseason and I'm having fun with it.

 

[Xzei]

“I’m human, if you get a job offer and it’s lower than what you’re actually on, you’re going to be a bit upset but then I realised it’s the best decision to stay here,”

“I was a bit disheartened at first, but after sitting on it for a while it was more than money, it’s a growth decision - we have built this thing together and I just want to see it out.

“I’m actually really lucky, I’m at a great club, I’m around great people and I’ve got great support.

“I was talking to one of the owners [Matt Tripp] and told him I wasn't really comfortable signing a three-year deal purely based off I want to get back playing, back enjoying myself, and that's when the one-year extension got offered up.

I’m part of something bigger than myself and trying to achieve the main goal. People are buying in and it’s a hard environment to find anywhere else."

Ryan Papenhuyzen on why he re-signed with Melbourne.

Storm brotherhood and personal growth sway Paps to stay

On the back of signing a one-year extension at the Storm, Ryan Papenhuyzen reflects on what the club means to him and why he knocked back bigger offers to stay in Melbourne.

www.nrl.com

One could read this as:

“I’m human, if you get a job offer and it’s lower than what you’re actually on, you’re going to be a bit upset but then I realised it’s the best decision to stay here (I'm not really sacrificing anything really),”

“I was a bit disheartened at first, but after sitting on it for a while it was more than money, it’s a growth (financial portfolio) decision - we have built this thing together and I just want to see it out (the company shares).

“I’m actually really lucky, I’m at a great club, I’m around great people and I’ve got great support (shares).

“I was talking to one of the owners [Matt Tripp] and told him I wasn't really comfortable signing a three-year deal purely based off I want to get back playing, back enjoying myself, and that's when the one-year extension got offered up (two sets of books).

I’m part of something bigger (betting agency) than myself and trying to achieve the main goal (increasing shares available only to Melbourne players). People are buying in (shares) and it’s a hard environment to find anywhere else (Tripp's betting agencies only available in Melbourne)."

I cannot wait to see the Storm apologists launch at this. Yes, its the offseason and I'm having fun with it.

im more concerned with them being offered up shares while it was privately operated maybe with a bit of insider info about the bluebet merger being in the works, insider trading much lol?

 

[Big Pete]

imo Kevvie should have allowed him a bit more game time because he wasn't a game killer by any metric back then and he would have got him offloaded at the end of the season as it's easy value being in a top team, but what he did basically killed our options on that.

The issue was the Broncos found themselves in a position where they had four hookers on the roster. That would have been tenable in '23 but something had to give in '24. When they committed to Paix they either had to do one of two things.

Fashion him as a back-up half and provide him with more versatility. He wouldn't be the first half to have a stint at hooker only to return to the halves.

The other option would have been to give him more NRL starts with a view that he was going to be here until '25 while Billy finishes up in '24.

As it happened, Billy received more minutes against Cronulla, his game went to another level and he played well for the rest of the '23 season. In hindsight, the Broncos shouldn't have extended Paix's contract but the whole thing runs deeper.

I remember raising the point last year when Sailor's stocks were much higher that we should have let him go, because it's not like we struggled for FB depth, Cobbo does the role exceptionally well from a backup point of view and Sailor badly needed consistent pro level footy to rebuild his career as he still carried too much teenage/lower 20 year old habits in his game, which is what showed it self big time in 24.

I still think the Broncos had to go out and sign somebody because you'd expect both Walsh and Cobbo to be unavailable during the Origin period. The unfortunate thing was, Sailor was easily the best choice of the affiliates which shouldn't be the case if the Broncos were more diligent with their recruitment/retention.

For now outside Paix the obvious one is Baker and I don't see that ever being resolved till the contract is over, he isn't first grade standard in any scenario that I have seen, J Hunt could be as well but he is a min wager unlike Baker so it's not as big of a deal.

I don't think it helped Baker that he was consistently struggling with injuries and picked out of position. Still, the club needs to be selective about who they bring in and what qualities they possess. Baker always seemed like a gamble - a fringe first grade prop entering his prime - I think the only time the Broncos nailed this signing was Jensen and even then he couldn't make the Broncos best 17.

 

[Sproj]

The issue was the Broncos found themselves in a position where they had four hookers on the roster. That would have been tenable in '23 but something had to give in '24. When they committed to Paix they either had to do one of two things.

Fashion him as a back-up half and provide him with more versatility. He wouldn't be the first half to have a stint at hooker only to return to the halves.

The other option would have been to give him more NRL starts with a view that he was going to be here until '25 while Billy finishes up in '24.

As it happened, Billy received more minutes against Cronulla, his game went to another level and he played well for the rest of the '23 season. In hindsight, the Broncos shouldn't have extended Paix's contract but the whole thing runs deeper.


I still think the Broncos had to go out and sign somebody because you'd expect both Walsh and Cobbo to be unavailable during the Origin period. The unfortunate thing was, Sailor was easily the best choice of the affiliates which shouldn't be the case if the Broncos were more diligent with their recruitment/retention.

I don't think it helped Baker that he was consistently struggling with injuries and picked out of position. Still, the club needs to be selective about who they bring in and what qualities they possess. Baker always seemed like a gamble - a fringe first grade prop entering his prime - I think the only time the Broncos nailed this signing was Jensen and even then he couldn't make the Broncos best 17.

In fairness to the Broncs, Baker looked a pretty good signing on the back of his Roosters showings and he seemed to be getting better. I wonder if we might see a different version of him this year if he is free of injury, I hope so at least.

 

[Big Pete]

In fairness to the Broncs, Baker looked a pretty good signing on the back of his Roosters showings and he seemed to be getting better. I wonder if we might see a different version of him this year if he is free of injury, I hope so at least.

I didn't hate the signing at the time. I thought his mobility, skill-set and stamina could compliment the team. However I couldn't name one performance where I would want to go out and instantly have him in my starting side.

Mind you, a 'pretty good' signing for me would be borderline representative level, not borderline first grade level.

Think Spencer Leniu or Josh Curran.

 

[Sproj]

I didn't hate the signing at the time. I thought his mobility, skill-set and stamina could compliment the team. However I couldn't name one performance where I would want to go out and instantly have him in my starting side.

Mind you, a 'pretty good' signing for me would be borderline representative level, not borderline first grade level.

Think Spencer Leniu or Josh Curran.

You have to pay for that level of player though. For the cap space we apparently had, Baker seemed a decent signing. I'm still hopeful he will be a different beast under Maguire but time will tell whether that is true or not of course.

 

[Harry Sack]

You have to pay for that level of player though. For the cap space we apparently had, Baker seemed a decent signing. I'm still hopeful he will be a different beast under Maguire but time will tell whether that is true or not of course.

All of those type of players have a clean slate this year IMO.

 

[Big Pete]

You have to pay for that level of player though. For the cap space we apparently had, Baker seemed a decent signing. I'm still hopeful he will be a different beast under Maguire but time will tell whether that is true or not of course.

$300,000 was always a gamble. I was hopeful it would pay off because like you I saw some decent qualities but it was definitely a case of wait and see.

Fingers crossed for Baker. Hopefully we see improvements across the board and they all help prop one another up. Last year it seemed like only Patty and Jensen were giving their all (and by the end, Patty had nothing left to give).

 

[BroncsFan]

I didn't hate the signing at the time. I thought his mobility, skill-set and stamina could compliment the team. However I couldn't name one performance where I would want to go out and instantly have him in my starting side.

Mind you, a 'pretty good' signing for me would be borderline representative level, not borderline first grade level.

Think Spencer Leniu or Josh Curran.

It depends what we were looking to recruit... were we looking for depth or starting 17 player??

I think we were potentially looking for a new Jensen / depth signing and going with a moneyball approach and hoping to get a starting 17 player.

He does have qualities with his quick ptb and surprisingly decent skill shown from a couple try assists coming from his limited time on the field (potentially also shows footy smarts)... unfortunately I think one of his biggest issues is a lack of physicality.

Jensen might not have the best post contact meters or tackle busts going around, but he will seemingly always run 100% into the line.

I think Baker would be better as the third wheel on the field i.e. being out there with 2 of Haas, Patty or Willison... his lack of physicality means he can't be expected to maintain or turn momentum... which is not a great trait to have as a middle forward.

Unfortunately physicality is a mental thing, but I'm assuming it must be in him somewhere, because how else do you make it to this level as a middle forward... and it's not like he's a small dude.

Maybe it's fitness or something??

You'd really be hoping that he is able to dominate Qcup level and be a leader of the pack down there to be demanding selection in the 17... otherwise they'll just let his contract run out and he'll be looking to keep his career afloat

 

[Big Del]

In fairness to the Broncs, Baker looked a pretty good signing on the back of his Roosters showings and he seemed to be getting better. I wonder if we might see a different version of him this year if he is free of injury, I hope so at least.

Groin surgery last off season .
He is better than he showed . If he gets fit , I have hopes for him .

 

[Big Pete]

It depends what we were looking to recruit... were we looking for depth or starting 17 player??

I think we were potentially looking for a new Jensen / depth signing and going with a moneyball approach.

Judging by his reported salary, they viewed him as a regular first grader.

The issue is that I don't think the Broncos did their due diligence. It felt like a very reactive signing instead of having their systems in place to produce that style of player.

Look, the Broncos bring through plenty of talented players and they've made some quality signings as well. However there's definitely room for improvement and I think players like Baker, Paix, Gosiewski highlight that.

 

[BroncsFan]

Judging by his reported salary, they viewed him as a regular first grader.

The issue is that I don't think the Broncos did their due diligence. It felt like a very reactive signing instead of having their systems in place to produce that style of player.

Look, the Broncos bring through plenty of talented players and they've made some quality signings as well. However there's definitely room for improvement and I think players like Baker, Paix, Gosiewski highlight that.

They definitely seem to fill their roster chock full of top 13 and top 17 players, but don't really seem to have a plan on which ones to keep, who to move on or let leave for someone better coming through, etc.

If you build a squad of guys still playing in the league that started/debuted with the broncos it's a very decent squad and it shows that there is pretty much a full 30-man squad of starting 17 calibre players across them.

The issue is that the Broncos should know that they absolutely cannot afford to keep that much talent together, but they can't seem to pull the trigger at the right time and succumb to FOMO until the salary cap forces the decision to be made for them.

They also can't seem to develop talent that fills the role of serviceable next man up and instead seem to select the shiny top tier junior over a capable no frills footy player... It's not a bad tactic, because you're likely to hit on top tier talent, but those players inevitably demand bigger money once they hit first grade and then we don't like losing them, but it's not something that seems to get factored into the forward planning.

1 Reece Walsh (don't care that he didn't debut for us... he's a bronco through and through and would've debuted that year anyway)
2 Xavier Coates
3 Herbie Farnworth
4 Kotoni Staggs
5 Selwyn Cobbo
6 Tom Dearden
7 Ben Hunt
8 Payne Haas
9 Blake Mozer / Cory Paix / Matt Parcell
10 Thomas Flegler
11 David Fifita
12 Jaydn Su'A
13 Pat Carrigan

14 Kodi Nikorima
15 Xavier Willison
16 Francis Molo
17 Jai Arrow
18 Ezra Mam

19 Jordan Riki
20 Kobe Hetherington
21 Brendan Piakura
22 Deine Mariner
23 Dane Gagai
24 Corey Norman
25 Jarrod Wallace
26 Jamayne Isaako
27 Tevita Pangai Junior
28 Zac Hosking
29 Joe Ofahengaue
30 Tom Opacic
31 Ethan Bullemor
32 Keenan Palasia
33 Jake Turpin
34 Tesi Niu

 

[Sproj]

A few others floating around too:
Te Kura
T.Boyd (I know he didn't debut with us either but got basically to that point)
J.Gray (see above)
Simpkin (see above)
Collins (see above)
Granville
C.Allan (see above)

 

[ningnangnong]

This is the most intense draw discussion I've ever seen.