NRL Player Movements & Rumours

[Turky Murky]

The SJ & Townsend combination wasn't too bad at the Warriors, and they're both much better players now than they were in 2014-15. If Moylan can recapture any of his old Fullback form they might be a problem.

1. Moylan
2. Feki
3. Dugan
4. Morris
5. Katoa
6. Johnson
7. Townsend
8. Fifita
9. J.Brailey
10. Woods
11. Graham
12. Capewell
13. Gallen (c)

14. B.Brailey
15. Prior
16. Bukuya
17. Sorensen

Theres an article on NRL.com where Shane Flanagan said that Townsend will have to battle Flanagan Jr in the trials to pair SJ and the other will get the utility role

 

[BroncsFan]

I'm not totally convinced that knights are a genuine top 4 team (although some teams may have fallen away since last year), but what gets me about the knights is that Brown billed this team all about knights juniors, yet after collecting 3 wooden spoons they have gone out and bought the vast majority of their starting line up.

1. Watson
2. SKD
3. Ramien
4. Sione/Moga
5. Edrick
6. Ponga
7. Pearce
8. Klemmer
9. ?? Levi
10. Ese / Saifiti
11. Fitzgibbon
12. Guerra
13. Barnett

There's like 2-3 players that debuted and came through their system. Does that mean knights have no decent juniors (unlikely) or did they give up on the rebuild they promised their fans for a quick fix because they lost patience...

Not looking to get into another juniors/ development debate, just seems hypocritical to me

 

[Super Freak]

Theres an article on NRL.com where Shane Flanagan said that Townsend will have to battle Flanagan Jr in the trials to pair SJ and the other will get the utility role

After the 2018 season Townsend had, he should get first crack.

I thought Sharks would crumble without Maloney but Townsend really stepped up and was a big part of their top 4 finish.

 

[Lockysillegitimatechild]

I think teams have to spend 95% of the money in the cap. So saving the money they had set aside wasn't really an option.

That is a ridiculous rule.

The fact the sharks have bought a million dollar player the day after they just sacked 10 staff members due to financial losses year on year highlights for me the ridiculous sydney-centric thinking of the nrl. “You are about to go bankrupt but go spend your salary cap so that a poorly supported club with little fans or potential for growth can continue to win. All whilst we keep the bigger, more supported clubs down so its not unfair”.

The media are even worse. The article the other day about the broncos having all the advantages rather then pointing out the pathetic way sydney clubs are ran. They should be aiming to be the broncos, not bring them back to their shit level, and this would be easier with less sydney clubs.

The salary cap is an absolute myth for me. It rewards mediocrity and gives poorly supported clubs a leg up. “It isnt fair”- then why are they in the elite/top competition if they cant keep up? Its the same teams every year at the top anyway, why not let it be the best supported clubs (broncos, rabbitohs, warriors) rather then the teams that only have a tiny fan base that would be even smaller (or non-existent) if they were losing (storm, roosters, sharks). If these teams havent got supporter bases in 20-100+ years they will never have them! Thats not a way to grow the game. The storm may be an exception to game growth but they have had 20 years of embarrassingly onvious leg ups to get anywhere.

 

[Sproj]

I'm not totally convinced that knights are a genuine top 4 team (although some teams may have fallen away since last year), but what gets me about the knights is that Brown billed this team all about knights juniors, yet after collecting 3 wooden spoons they have gone out and bought the vast majority of their starting line up.

1. Watson
2. SKD
3. Ramien
4. Sione/Moga
5. Edrick
6. Ponga
7. Pearce
8. Klemmer
9. ?? Levi
10. Ese / Saifiti
11. Fitzgibbon
12. Guerra
13. Barnett

There's like 2-3 players that debuted and came through their system. Does that mean knights have no decent juniors (unlikely) or did they give up on the rebuild they promised their fans for a quick fix because they lost patience...

Not looking to get into another juniors/ development debate, just seems hypocritical to me

That is a decent starting 13 though. Ese will be a starter I think but having him and Saifiti swapping means their engine room is pretty good, they just need to find three other dudes that can be good on the bench, though they do have SOO prop forward Tim Glasby hehe

Ramien is a huge in for them and if they swap the 1 and 6, that is a gun side so long as Levi finally gets it together or they find a young gun to play that role. I wonder if they have thought about signing Segs, he'd be a great fit and they do not seem to have a salary cap to manage like 14 other clubs.

 

[Horseheadsup]

That is a decent starting 13 though. Ese will be a starter I think but having him and Saifiti swapping means their engine room is pretty good, they just need to find three other dudes that can be good on the bench, though they do have SOO prop forward Tim Glasby hehe

Ramien is a huge in for them and if they swap the 1 and 6, that is a gun side so long as Levi finally gets it together or they find a young gun to play that role. I wonder if they have thought about signing Segs, he'd be a great fit and they do not seem to have a salary cap to manage like 14 other clubs.

Think Saifiti had his leg broken in a fight with Boyd Cordners brother.

 

[Unbreakable]

Think Saifiti had his leg broken in a fight with Boyd Cordners brother.

The shit one broke his leg, not the good one

 

[Super Freak]

Daniel Saifiti deserves a starting spot.

He has gone up a level in the past couple of years, the 2018 season being the best of his career so far. He is wasted on the bench.

 

[theshed]

Sam Burgess in the presser today was asked about about losing experienced players and he listed Angus Crichton and accidnelty almost said Damien Cook.

Cook has been linked to Newcastle recently. Though a swap with Macca would be interesting.

 

[Big Pete]

I'm not totally convinced that knights are a genuine top 4 team (although some teams may have fallen away since last year), but what gets me about the knights is that Brown billed this team all about knights juniors, yet after collecting 3 wooden spoons they have gone out and bought the vast majority of their starting line up.

1. Watson
2. SKD
3. Ramien
4. Sione/Moga
5. Edrick
6. Ponga
7. Pearce
8. Klemmer
9. ?? Levi
10. Ese / Saifiti
11. Fitzgibbon
12. Guerra
13. Barnett

There's like 2-3 players that debuted and came through their system. Does that mean knights have no decent juniors (unlikely) or did they give up on the rebuild they promised their fans for a quick fix because they lost patience...

Not looking to get into another juniors/ development debate, just seems hypocritical to me

With the exception of Sydney, the top 4 is wide open. Newcastle have the nucleus of a premiership winning side and ought to set their sights higher.

As it stands, I can see the Knights barely qualifying for the 8, everybody treating it as a victory only for it to become their ceiling. Brown won't get the team anywhere near a premiership, but the narrative will remain positive regardless.

 

[Battler]

Sam Burgess in the presser today was asked about about losing experienced players and he listed Angus Crichton and accidnelty almost said Damien Cook.

Cook has been linked to Newcastle recently. Though a swap with Macca would be interesting.

I am still shocked that the Knights are in the hunt for anyone. Didn't they just sign Klemmer on close to a million? They've got several blokes on overs (you have to be paid well to move to Newcastle), and are still seemingly throwing around the cash Roosters style.

EDIT: who even brings jrs through these days? Us, the Warriors, Raiders, Tigers, Penrith, Eels? Not much reward there for clubs with strong pathways into the NRL, aka the clubs keeping the game alive by providing talent. There needs to be a cap incentive for club jrs otherwise this will just keep happening.

 

[Unbreakable]

 

[Broncs_Fan]

With the exception of Sydney, the top 4 is wide open. Newcastle have the nucleus of a premiership winning side and ought to set their sights higher.

As it stands, I can see the Knights barely qualifying for the 8, everybody treating it as a victory only for it to become their ceiling. Brown won't get the team anywhere near a premiership, but the narrative will remain positive regardless.

That Knights side only looks 'ok' for mine. They'll be 7-10th imo.

 

[Big Pete]

I am still shocked that the Knights are in the hunt for anyone. Didn't they just sign Klemmer on close to a million? They've got several blokes on overs (you have to be paid well to move to Newcastle), and are still seemingly throwing around the cash Roosters style.

EDIT: who even brings jrs through these days? Us, the Warriors, Raiders, Tigers, Penrith, Eels? Not much reward there for clubs with strong pathways into the NRL, aka the clubs keeping the game alive by providing talent. There needs to be a cap incentive for club jrs otherwise this will just keep happening.

Let's review.

A few parametres, I'm going to apply the Boyd Cordner rule so I'm not going to count them as your junior if they happened to be poached from another NRL system at an early age. Let's say U/18s as a precautionary rule. I'll also apply the Cameron Munster rule where if you weren't signed by 18, it defaults to the first NRL club you ended up with, ergo Munster is a Melbourne junior.

I'm also going to apply a five game limit so the players that were played out of necessity more than anything else, don't count.

Sydney: 7/19
Melbourne: 12/24
Souths: 7/22
Cronulla: 6/22
Penrith: 16/24
Brisbane: 12/22
St George Illawarra: 8/20
NZ: 15/24
--------------
Wests: 8/26
Canberra: 7/23
Newcastle: 12/24
Canterbury: 6/25
North Qld: 10/24
Gold Coast: 7/23
Manly: 6/23
Parramatta: 8/29

So Penrith, New Zealand, Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle led the way last year.

 

[Unbreakable]

16/24 for Penrith is extremely impressive, they've got more home grown talent than the Warriors, who have all of New Zealand to choose from.

 

[Super Freak]

Canterbury: 6/25

Good ol' Canterbury.

Bred, not bought.

 

[Sproj]

Go Monely, $harks and the Boughtdogs.

 

[Big Pete]

Penrith - Waqa Blake, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Nathan Cleary, Christian Crichton, Dylan Edwards, Wayde Egan, Kaide Ellis, Isaah Yeo, James Fisher-Harris, Corey Harawira-Naera, Jack Hetherington, Moses Leota, Tyrone May, Sione Katoa, Peter Wallace, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

A very impressive list.

Here's the Warriors for comparison.

Warriors - Bunty Afoa, David Fusitu'a, James Gavet, Peta Hiku, Shaun Johnson, Solomone Kata, Mason Lino, Sam Lisone, Simon Mannering, Ken Maumalo, Agnatius Paasi, Isaiah Papalii, Ligi Sao, Tevita Satae, Jazz Tevaga.

Good stuff from the Warriors. The fact four of those players got their start elsewhere highlights how impressive the Panthers effort has been (all 16 came through the Panthers pathways).