Maybe your frustration warrants seeking a little vengeance Mercy Rule,but perhaps you might point the Gatling gun away from Benji and Richo for fear of going off half cocked.Maybe they deserve at least half a season before putting them back in your sights.Otherwise what or whom do you propose as an alternative?Start all over again?Well, fair enough too. I don't hang around here more than once a day usually to see what is happening with WT from a fan/member perspective. While I prefer facts, I know this is a place for opinions.Congratulations on calling out my grammar. It's a little tricky when typing on my mobile phone. Unless you are sitting in the room with the coaching staff the best we can do is guess. Not sure what you are doing hanging around this forum if you are interested in faultless grammar and hard facts.It's an Olympic year and that first sentence is contending for Gold in the "one sentence when two or more would have made more sense" category. So really you don't know what WT are trying to build and achieve; just guessing. And, I'm the same. Just guessing. And running out of hope.For better or for worse it looks like Benji and Richo are going all in on the kids, as I have said previously we could follow the path of the Dogs and load up on fringe first graders and journeymen, this may get us up the ladder, however will not deliver longer term consistent success and to be honest the dogs and dragons have improved however are only really where they are because of the abysmal performance this season of clubs like Parra, the broncos, Souths etc... the quality in the comp outside of storm/roosters/panthers has been very ordinary this year.
And, here's another of mine: Richardson is a buffoon, a relic of the past who has about 5% of the currency and credibility he thinks he does with players and managers. Whenever I see him he reminds me of Sir Les Patterson, except we knew that was a p*ss-take. Marshall is a hypocrite in demanding his players perform to standards that he never, ever maintained himself. He couldn't coach a rampant choko vine up a wire fence. The reputation of the WT club has been trashed by the history of deluded incompetence of Wests Ashfield, the HBG, Lee, Pascoe, Sheens V2.0, and now Marshall and Richardson.
See you tomorrow!
Looks like Sezer is hanging around next year.
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Interesting re: Sezer, I assumed he'd either retire or get a gig somewhere with more opportunities.
Must mean Sullivan is off.
Interesting re: Sezer, I assumed he'd either retire or get a gig somewhere with more opportunities.
Must mean Sullivan is off.
You’d think so, but that looks a tough deal to get off the books.
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If we don't sign a lock, I can Sezer filling the role pretty well. He is very physical and when he carries the ball through the middle he makes more metres than most.
If the club is hoping Latu will end up the long term lock, then Sezer at 13 for a season may be ok if Benji is looking for that link man role.
Interesting re: Sezer, I assumed he'd either retire or get a gig somewhere with more opportunities.
Must mean Sullivan is off.
You’d think so, but that looks a tough deal to get off the books.
i think re-signing Sezer puts more pressure on Sullivan and pressures him to go elsewhere. Send the message that he is 5th in line.
Interesting re: Sezer, I assumed he'd either retire or get a gig somewhere with more opportunities.
Must mean Sullivan is off.
You’d think so, but that looks a tough deal to get off the books.
i think re-signing Sezer puts more pressure on Sullivan and pressures him to go elsewhere. Send the message that he is 5th in line.
Good point 👍
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If we don't sign a lock, I can Sezer filling the role pretty well. He is very physical and when he carries the ball through the middle he makes more metres than most.
If the club is hoping Latu will end up the long term lock, then Sezer at 13 for a season may be ok if Benji is looking for that link man role.
think Latu Fainu probably plays some 13 if need be (if he can get on the field)
Well, yes, I do propose that. As a privately owned entity, free of any petty Wests and Balmain connections, with staff totally new to the club, and playing from one newly built home-ground, or relocated if necessary. Selfishly, at 65yo, I feel it's the only way for me to see any viable success for the club in my lifetime. By success I mean being a genuinely competitive NRL team and club. I know it's not going to happen, so you don't need to worry. You can keep living in hope.Otherwise what or whom do you propose as an alternative?Start all over again?
Wests Tigers have written to the NRL to ask for clarity on Melbourne’s deal to sign their rising front-row star Stefano Utoikamanu.
The Tigers have disclosed their offer to the governing body: five years, $4 million and a vehicle. In total, the deal was worth about $825,000 a year. But that wasn’t enough to keep Utoikamanu.
As a result, the Tigers have written to the NRL so they can learn about the Storm deal to ensure it is within the salary cap guidelines regarding offers.
The Tigers made the best offer of the three clubs chasing Utoikamanu’s signature, so it is understandable they want clarity. They want to understand how they lost him to the Storm.
There is no suggestion the Storm have done anything untoward, but the Tigers want clarity. In the background to all of this is anger and suspicion from rival clubs who can’t understand how the NRL approved Storm players investing in a company part-owned by Storm chairman Matt Tripp.
There are a number of clubs who are becoming increasingly frustrated with that situation and how the NRL approved it. The clubs believe it has helped the Storm sign Utoikamanu.
In 2022, NRL salary cap auditors approved a controversial arrangement where a number of Melbourne players were allowed to invest in start-up betting company BetR, which was part-owned by Tripp. Those players are believed to include superstar trio Harry Grant, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Jahrome Hughes.
I have been told by sources with knowledge of the situation, who did not want to be named due to the sensitive nature of the issue, that some players invested six-figure sums in the business, which at the time was part-owned by News Corp.
BetR struggled to gain traction in a tough market has since merged with BlueBet. Tripp declined to comment when contacted.
Rival clubs are asking questions about the financial arrangements.
This masthead isn’t suggesting the players were given any guarantees over their investment or that the Storm did anything wrong, but rival clubs are fuming that the NRL’s approval of the arrangement helped keep players at the Storm below market value with the lure of a healthy return on their investment in BetR. In turn, some clubs feel this gave the Storm the salary cap space to sign someone like Utoikamanu.
Several NRL club officials raised concerns with the NRL at the time of the initial investment. Allowing players to invest in a business part-owned by the chairman of a club was always asking for trouble.
SMH
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"The Tigers made the best offer of the three clubs chasing Utoikamanu’s signature, so it is understandable they want clarity. They want to understand how they lost him to the Storm."
Seriously? They don't have an idea as to why he'd leave us to go to the Storm? Says it all really.
Perhaps if they self reflected, looked in the mirror and saw that the club is a dysfunctional rabble that has an established culture of unmitigated failure ..... and then addressed the issues, they might have players like Stefano sticking around.
Maybe that is happening but last in all three major grades suggests the change hasn't got off the ground yet.
Yes. 1000% agree. But self-interest and a fear of mirrors means it will never happen.Perhaps if they self reflected, looked in the mirror and saw that the club is a dysfunctional rabble that has an established culture of unmitigated failure ..... and then addressed the issues, they might have players like Stefano sticking around.
Yes. 1000% agree. But self-interest and a fear of mirrors means it will never happen.Perhaps if they self reflected, looked in the mirror and saw that the club is a dysfunctional rabble that has an established culture of unmitigated failure ..... and then addressed the issues, they might have players like Stefano sticking around.
I agree that the tigers should self reflect. But this situation is another example of the NRL creating a competition of haves and have nots. A few years back we weren’t able to register Laurie Daley as an assistant because he was a commentator on a Sky radio program and Sky is owned by a betting company. The NRL said there was a ‘perceived’ conflict of interest. Manly got knocked back for the same reason when they tried to sign Daley as an assistant.
But there doesn’t seem to be a problem for the Storm chairman to actually own a betting company that takes bets on NRL matches, or for their players to invest in the betting company.
to be honest the dogs and dragons have improved however are only really where they are because of the abysmal performance this season of clubs like Parra, the broncos, Souths etc..
Dogs and Dragons are where they are because of great coaching. This a massive issue and one that I don’t think we will (or should?) address for at least 12 months
to be honest the dogs and dragons have improved however are only really where they are because of the abysmal performance this season of clubs like Parra, the broncos, Souths etc..
Dogs and Dragons are where they are because of great coaching. This a massive issue and one that I don’t think we will (or should?) address for at least 12 months
I think Benji needs to achieve some consistent results in 2025 or we will go in a different direction. Ridiculous that he has to learn how to be a coach while in the hot seat.
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