NRL Player Movement and Rumours 2018

[Sproj]

Jeez, swapping out Graham for Woods. What a riot. Woods is garbage. Graham might be an ear muncher, but least the bloke tries. Woods is lazy and soft.

Yeah but I don't think it's as simple as that. Graham is heading home I believe, at least Woods is a big name replacement for them.

Foran is a HUGE in for the Dogs.

The Roosters will actually be a better side cutting some of those players anyway and finally, who aren't the Eels apparently signing?

How will they fit Hayne back in?

 

[Rhys van Beurden]

Yeah but I don't think it's as simple as that. Graham is heading home I believe, at least Woods is a big name replacement for them.

Foran is a HUGE in for the Dogs.

Hmm, I hadn't heard nothing about Graham, but that makes sense. I couldn't imagine the transaction otherwise. Even so, Woods just seems a waste of money, and their spine is still weak even with Foran.

 

[Big Pete]

That's devastating for Wests.

Since Taylor took over they've lost...

Blake Austin
Adam Blair
Nathan Brown
Robbie Farah
James Gavet
Marika Koroibete
Te Maire Martin
Mitchell Moses
Tim Simona
Curtis Sironen
Martin Taupau
Bodene Thompson

With James Tedesco and Aaron Woods apart of that squad, his reign can only be considered a disaster and one of the worst in club history.

While that list does a wonderful job of telling the story, the fact that the Tigers weren't able to promote many players from within during his time at the club adds to the narrative. Wests have one of the strongest junior nurseries in the game and it's one of the few advantages they have over other clubs, yet despite boasting so many talented prospects, none of them were able to play their best footy and most of them either had to go elsewhere or just find themselves stuck in NSW Cup purgatory. Now granted, the few who went elsewhere like Manuel-Liolevave, Woods, Funaki, Seve, Paseka, Cassel, Graham etc. haven't had much luck at other clubs, but it's these junior players that usually make all the difference.

It will be interesting to see what approach Cleary takes from here on out. If his past behaviour can be considered, he was usually good at signing depth players who had something to offer but weren't given the time or opportunity required. Notable signings include James Maloney, James Segeyaro, Jacob Lillyman, Dean Whare etc.

If he takes a similar approach, I wonder if he'll target former Broncos players like he did when he was at the Warriors where he signed Brent Tate, Denan Kemp, Joel Moon and eventually Brett Seymour & Shaun Berrigan. I wonder if we'll see the likes of Benji Marshall, David Mead, Jonus Pearson, Tom Opacic, Joe Ofahengaue, Adam Blair etc. offered good money to sign with them?

 

[mitch222]

Tigers should target latrel Mitchell
He won't play fullback if Tedesco has signed so he might be persuaded to join them if he gets a full time gig at fullback

 

[Harry Sack]

Hmm, I hadn't heard nothing about Graham, but that makes sense. I couldn't imagine the transaction otherwise. Even so, Woods just seems a waste of money, and their spine is still weak even with Foran.

Dogs should have gone hard for Matulino IMO. Easily better than Woods

 

[Harry Sack]

So what did the "Big 4" want when it came to a decision regarding the coaching? Woods for Matulino is a win IMO but Tedesco is a huge hit.

 

[Morkel]

So what did the "Big 4" want when it came to a decision regarding the coaching? Woods for Matulino is a win IMO but Tedesco is a huge hit.

 

[Alec]

Roosters notable off-contract players -

Aidan Guerra
Daniel Tupou
Shaun Kenny-Dowall
Kane Evans
Michael Gordon
Blake Ferguson

You'd have to imagine that they're going to need to lose at least 4 of those players to fit Tedesco in, who will no doubt be on $1m a season or more. I think they'll let Gordon, Evans, Guerra & SKD go.

1. Tedesco
2. Tupou
3. Mitchell
4. Ferguson
5. Manu
6. Keary
7. Pearce
8. Waerea-Hargreaves
9. Friend (c)
10. Napa
11. Cordner
12. Aubusson
13. Taukeiaho

14. Watson
15. Liu
16. Tetevano
17. Matterson

Spooky team.

Journalists love to claim that we are over the cap, but they should take a look at the Roosters. If we are over the cap, then so are they.

 

[mitch222]

Tigers could actually benefit more on this if they are smart with their money. If they could snag Graham from the dogs (a true forward leader unlike that powder puff Woods), Mitchell from the Roosters to play fullback, solid second rower in McQueen (which they have already got), and grab a classy outside back in SKD or Ferguson, I reckon they will be better for it.

 

[Dexter]

That's devastating for Wests.

Since Taylor took over they've lost...

Blake Austin
Adam Blair
Nathan Brown
Robbie Farah
James Gavet
Marika Koroibete
Te Maire Martin
Mitchell Moses
Tim Simona
Curtis Sironen
Martin Taupau
Bodene Thompson

With James Tedesco and Aaron Woods apart of that squad, his reign can only be considered a disaster and one of the worst in club history.

While that list does a wonderful job of telling the story, the fact that the Tigers weren't able to promote many players from within during his time at the club adds to the narrative. Wests have one of the strongest junior nurseries in the game and it's one of the few advantages they have over other clubs, yet despite boasting so many talented prospects, none of them were able to play their best footy and most of them either had to go elsewhere or just find themselves stuck in NSW Cup purgatory. Now granted, the few who went elsewhere like Manuel-Liolevave, Woods, Funaki, Seve, Paseka, Cassel, Graham etc. haven't had much luck at other clubs, but it's these junior players that usually make all the difference.

It will be interesting to see what approach Cleary takes from here on out. If his past behaviour can be considered, he was usually good at signing depth players who had something to offer but weren't given the time or opportunity required. Notable signings include James Maloney, James Segeyaro, Jacob Lillyman, Dean Whare etc.

If he takes a similar approach, I wonder if he'll target former Broncos players like he did when he was at the Warriors where he signed Brent Tate, Denan Kemp, Joel Moon and eventually Brett Seymour & Shaun Berrigan. I wonder if we'll see the likes of Benji Marshall, David Mead, Jonus Pearson, Tom Opacic, Joe Ofahengaue, Adam Blair etc. offered good money to sign with them?

Geez Pete that is a lot to put on Taylor considering what happened to the previous 3 coaches.
Also the salary cap mess he was left with after other players left and were still being paid over $1m at some point early in Taylors tenure.

Blake Austin Left for more money a chance to play 6 and Moses was in front of him.
Adam Blair Was going like a busted before Taylor took over but yeah he didn't try and turn him around
Nathan Brown Fair Call
Robbie Farah Obviously a disruptive influence so had to go
James Gavet No Biggie
Marika Koroibete Fair Call
Te Maire Martin Had Moses in front of him
Mitchell Moses Left anyway after Taylor was punted
Tim Simona Self inflicted wounds
Curtis Sironen No Biggie IMO
Martin Taupau Fair call
Bodene Thompson Fair call

Woods and Tedesco left anyway after Taylor so money was the deciding factor., plus you get the feeling they were a part of everything happening at the club then bailed for money and a better chance at playing finals regularly.

Taylor had big problems getting on it seems but that club was in a downward spiral before he got there, no doubt though he was not the man to turn things around.

 

[Big Pete]

That's fair, the only reason I focused on Taylor is because it's such an easy way to categorise this era in Wests history where they were so obsessed with keeping their 'big' four together and let so many players walk to achieve that.

You're right in saying that the rot had already set in, but do you think Taylor helped the club at all? As much as the media ripped into Michael Potter, at least he was able to get some of his players into their career best form. Under Taylor, I can't think of anyone who has gone from a zero to becoming somebody.

And while you can poke a lot of holes in that list, the point I was getting across is that not only have the Tigers let go of some big name players, they've also lost a lot of players and seemingly replaced them with very little. I'd like to think a good coach would have recognised that a halves pairing of Moses and Brooks required more seasoning and a player the calibre of Blake Austin would have been the perfect foil to keep around. I also look at a player like Curtis Sironen as one of those players who everybody was talking up in his age group as a sure-fire NRL player when he was 16 and he got absolutely no where at Wests. Granted, he isn't going great guns at Manly either, but it's these type of juniors that the Bellamys, Bennetts, Robinsons etc tend to convert into quality NRL players. Or they recognise a lot sooner that they're not worth the effort and they move onto the next project.

It's a real shame as well because the Tigers seem to be that one club that fans by and large can stomach and you can sell as an exciting football team, similar to Penrith. Yet ever since they choked to the Warriors in that 2011 finals game, they've never been the same and they've just fallen into obscurity sinking further and further down, making decisions based solely on keeping the 4 together...only to hold onto the least desirable one.

It's almost like a greek tragedy.

Also I must admit I got greedy. Koroibete was a 2014 mid-season switch for Matt Lodge. It seemed like a fairly even trade at first, until we realised there may have been something to the Bellamy-Lodge rumour and there was more going on than writing mean things on his wrist tape.

 

[Sproj]

where they were so obsessed with keeping their 'big' four together and let so many players walk to achieve that.

So who ultimately is to blame for this? They've lost all this talent and ultimately, only succeeding in keeping easily the worst one of the mediocre four it seems. I mean, in anyone's definition, that is incompetence to the letter!

 

[Morkel]

Geez Pete that is a lot to put on Taylor considering what happened to the previous 3 coaches.
Also the salary cap mess he was left with after other players left and were still being paid over $1m at some point early in Taylors tenure.

Blake Austin Left for more money a chance to play 6 and Moses was in front of him.
Adam Blair Was going like a busted before Taylor took over but yeah he didn't try and turn him around
Nathan Brown Fair Call
Robbie Farah Obviously a disruptive influence so had to go
James Gavet No Biggie
Marika Koroibete Fair Call
Te Maire Martin Had Moses in front of him
Mitchell Moses Left anyway after Taylor was punted
Tim Simona Self inflicted wounds
Curtis Sironen No Biggie IMO
Martin Taupau Fair call
Bodene Thompson Fair call

Woods and Tedesco left anyway after Taylor so money was the deciding factor., plus you get the feeling they were a part of everything happening at the club then bailed for money and a better chance at playing finals regularly.

Taylor had big problems getting on it seems but that club was in a downward spiral before he got there, no doubt though he was not the man to turn things around.

I don't think Taylor ever really had a chance. He only really got the gig because there weren't many coaches out there with first grade experience, and maybe because it was thought that because he is a good tactician he might work well with a team with obvious skills but little in the way of direction.

If we take out the player exodus, it's interesting that the ousting of the coaches has all happened in the same way, ie, with the players undermining the coach and the club officials having no choice but to punt them. Does that mean that it wasn't just a Robbie Farah thing, was the culture at the club pretty poor towards supporting the coach from the higher levels? Or did Robbie's influence rub off on the younger players, to the point where with Robbie gone, the younger players then felt like the big shots, like the superstars, and therefore demanded a certain level of control over direction?

Another element is the "spoiled brats" appearance. Tedesco deserves at least most of his praise as he has been quite good in first grade, if a little patchy depending on the quality of the opposition. Woods has had a high workrate since Fifita left, and despite being a moron (and an egotistical one at that - Fifita Mk2?) he has been mostly deserving of his rep jerseys, even if it has been due to a decline in quality in NSW's prop stocks. But Brooks & Moses? Besides a few glimpses of opportunistic brilliance, they've shown exactly why NYC form means nothing when stepping up to NRL level. Both have been overpaid purely on potential, and similarly hyped up, to the point where they have actually started believing that they are three steps ahead of where they truly are. This unrealistic self-image has no doubt impacted their expectations on what they deserve from their playing contracts, and when the Tigers didn't fall over themselves to offer them both $1 million+ contracts, they quite clearly got a bit snotty about it. Can't help blame the media to some degree.

With all that going on, it was always going to get worse before it got better. The disappointing things is that the sacking of Taylor has all been for nothing. Of the rumoured 4 main players who wanted him gone, 3 are pretty much out the door themselves. Which overall is probably a good thing for the club, just as I believed that getting rid of Farah was always going to be the right decision, the only decision that the Tigers could make. The only thing that could have gone better for the Tigers would have been if they stood up for themselves a bit more during this latest shitfight. Instead of copping the derogatory comments from the players, and still trying to hold on to them, they would have been better off calling their bluffs and telling them to **** off, that if they don't want to be there then good luck to them.

 

[mrslong]

What it shows is that Taylor was a scapegoat for the board. They still jumped ship even though Taylor was gone. I wonder now if they even wanted him gone, and it wasn't just smoke and mirrors in the media. Either way, the Tigers are a complete shemozzle.

 

[Renegade]

It's almost like, Taylor is a really bad coach and has shown nothing, ever, despite having coached at three (3) clubs now.

 

[mrslong]

It's almost like, Taylor is a really bad coach and has shown nothing, ever, despite having coached at three (3) clubs now.

He did punch out that player that one time though.

 

[tommy]

He did punch out that player that one time though.

Nah he was the one that got punched wasn't he?

 

[Renegade]

I thought it was Fa'alongo who beat the shit out of him after a boozy mad monday.