NEWS Staggs Declares Loyalty: “I’m Going Nowhere”

[McHunt]

NRL Gestapo Chief Andrew Abdo explains why New South Welshman Kotoni Stagss must watch his words:

“We have issued him with a $10,000 fine and most importantly, he has to complete an education course and he has to meet with me personally and the head of integrity, together with the club CEO, before he is permitted to play again. We want him to understand the impact of his words on people and the responsibility that players have to the community. His language is utterly unacceptable but this is about making sure he understands the impact of that and actually changes."

“There are three components - the fine, the education course and making sure he sits down with us. Getting them to meet with me is not the silver bullet, but I want to explain to them the impact this has on their personal brand, on the club brand and on the game’s brand and then there are two ways they can go from there. This is important in relation to Kotoni which is why we want to meet with him before he returns to the field.”


Confusing rule changes

“Kotoni is an unbelievable athlete, he can be a superstar for many, many years or he can continually transgress and throw away his career. We want him to take the high road, so any opportunity we can take to help Kotoni, we want to do that. Ultimately, he has to be accountable and understand what he has done. We want him to be a superstar, but if he keeps making poor decisions, then there will be consequences for that and he would be throwing away a wonderful opportunity.”


Australia culture test

Staggs said:

“I know what I did is in the past now. I have nothing against the bloke that it happened to and it’s all aside now. I’m in the process of doing that now. The Broncos welfare officer Adam Walsh and I are doing it together so we’re just sorting out what to do there.”

McHunt

 

[Broncapz]

Assuming our cap situation is now in a much better state after letting go numerous overpaid players and no doubt saving some money on Milford after this year i would be ok with hitting up to 700k with Staggs. The next few seasons we need to start attracting some serious talent if we are to compete for the premiership, it will be players of the ilk of Munster, Grant etc. and its an easier conversation with them with a player like Staggs in the backline rather then losing him over 100k and trotting out Copley and Mead as selling points.

Someone who is willing to spruik the club to the media about not wanting to leave is also welcome and a nice change.

I just don't think 700k for a centre is moneyball, especially considering he still has defensive deficiencies. There are better centres earning less.

500k would be my max with the vision to becoming a 8-900k 5/8th over time.

 

[Finbar]

must watch his words on the notoriously flamboyant Sunshine Coast:

This incident took place in Dubbo last year.

 

[Mustafur]

We got damn unlucky last year when he got the ACL in his debut game as a 6, I'm not entirely sure if he would be ideal there long term but I definitely wanted to see how he could handle it.

If we finally end up ditching Milford I don't see massive harm in him being there, but we would want to see Dearden Develop more this season so we can have our dominant 7 the team needs badly.

He isn't worth more then 500k if he is going to be an exclusive center, plus he is a little injury prone, I think his value to us could take a dip as well if Niu has a blinder in his place too.

 

[McHunt]

This incident took place in Dubbo last year.

Indeed. Thanks for the correction.

I don't know why I had it in my head it happened in Maroochydore. Maybe because he was up here on the Coast when the story broke. Also we have this particular way of walking...

 

[McHunt]

More like this:

 

[Wolfie]

In Kevvie I trust . The kid has skill and if we pick up a smart 9 and Dearden becomes the 7 most believe he can be , then i think he has all the attributes of a 6 we would need. Can you imagine the room he would create, very Munster esk imo

Been watching him for years now and i just dont see it. I dont see any attributes in his game to make me think he will be a good 5/8. Munster at ISC level always had the elusive footwork and ball skills so you could see with a bit of development he could play 5/8. Kotoni's game is all about pace and power. I personally dont believe we would see him in the same type of space to do what he does best. I dont see any real similarities between him and Munster tbh. I could probably see him doing a similar job to Wighton possibly, but i still doubt it. I still dont think he has the game for it but it would be interesting to see if he can develop there, but not for the big money he wants.

The big thing is though is his next contract for me. If he plays 6, he isnt worth elite money as he has done nothing as a six to warrant it. He has to prove himself over a couple of years imo. If he plays center, he isnt really worth this rumoured $800k a year either. The big thing he has going for him really is the lack of decent centers on the market.

 

[Wolfie]

Easier than defending at centre I’d imagine.

Center is a really hard position to get the defence right in.

 

[McHunt]

Center is a really hard position to get the defence right in.

Speaking of which, check out who's bottom of this list:

NRL's best and worst defensive centres

We crunch the stats to take a look at who are the best and worst defensive centres in the NRL.

www.nrl.com

 

[Huge]

I'm calling it now, Staggs won't be as good at 5/8 as he can be in the centers or back row. I don't think he has the game or the smarts for it personally. And if he wants to be a 5/8 he can't be asking for anything more than 400/450k a year either until he proves he can play the position well for a couple of years. If we even contemplate paying him elite money to play in the halves right now we need our heads looking at.

Wolfie, where has all this Staggs to 5/8 come from. I've just been thinking it's a forum fan fantasy thing but has someone with real knowledge or Staggs himself saying it???

 

[Finbar]

but has someone with real knowledge or Staggs himself saying it???

1910 had this to say, replying to a post of yours funnily enough.

Kevvie wants him at 6.

 

[Huge]

1910 had this to say, replying to a post of yours funnily enough.

Oh, must have missed that. Cheers. Wonder if KWs stated that publicly? He could have I suppose and I just missed it altogether.

 

[Mustafur]

The only time we Have seen Staggs play a full game at Half from memory was when he played in the Tonga vs Australia game when Tonga won(and his kicking game was very good too).

 

[Finbar]

Wonder if KWs stated that publicly?

I've only seen Kevvie backing Milford at 5/8 so far.

 

[Wolfie]

Wolfie, where has all this Staggs to 5/8 come from. I've just been thinking it's a forum fan fantasy thing but has someone with real knowledge or Staggs himself saying it???

I think Kevvie mentioned it, and a fair few on here ( probably better judges than me! ) seem to be in favour.

 

[Huge]

I think Kevvie mentioned it, and a fair few on here ( probably better judges than me! ) seem to be in favour.

Fair enough. As a fan I've thought Isaako could handle a 5/8 role but with absolutely nothing to back that view! Well, nothing solid other than his size and footwork. I still remember his brilliant run in traffic to score a try.

 

[BroncsFan]

Speaking of which, check out who's bottom of this list:

NRL's best and worst defensive centres

We crunch the stats to take a look at who are the best and worst defensive centres in the NRL.

www.nrl.com

And who was one of the best... Kurt Mann at left centre

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Fair enough. As a fan I've thought Isaako could handle a 5/8 role but with absolutely nothing to back that view! Well, nothing solid other than his size and footwork. I still remember his brilliant run in traffic to score a try.

Well, Hook thought Josh Hoffman was a 5/8 so anything is possible.