weidler reporting a happy jack bird was seen leaving Concord today, perhaps he is the next signing in coming days
@russtutty63 If Hunt can not get fit at the Sharks he has no hope at the Tigers as the players are still not fit at seasons end !
@jedi-tiger Bird at least has something to offer if he can stay on the park ! That’s the variable..
@jedi-tiger Bird at least has something to offer if he can stay on the park ! That’s the variable..
not sure where we play bird, 13 or centre?
@russtutty63 If Hunt can not get fit at the Sharks he has no hope at the Tigers as the players are still not fit at seasons end !
I am a little worried about hunt and his fitness
For everyone other thinking things....
Just sit back and enjoy the Richo show - he has it under control
I'm confident anyone he brings in to the club - bring the right character we need, didn't block juniors and plays a identified role
Also confident anyone leaves, weren't up for the Croc Roll - and can be filled with someone who is
All good.
Hunt, Laui, Turuva, Skelton - possibly bird
Top 8 2023
Lock. He’ll tighten the middle, which has been an issue for us.@jedi-tiger Bird at least has something to offer if he can stay on the park ! That’s the variable..
not sure where we play bird, 13 or centre?
@momo-amp-medo When something positive is thrust upon us plenty of positivity until then just what ever ! An over weight forward that struggles for two hit ups and another likely signing that struggles to get on the paddock .. Not much positivity there maybe for you ! After 3 spoons I want something better ..
@russtutty63 If Hunt can not get fit at the Sharks he has no hope at the Tigers as the players are still not fit at seasons end !
I am a little worried about hunt and his fitness
Not concerned at all as we would have signed him an impact player not a starting FR like P Hass. The sharks use him like this has they have FR players everywhere so hard to criticise him when he is most likely just playing the team role there.
If he gives us 2 stints of 20mins that fine with me plus his not on 900k
Well, if he took a pay cut or got a longer contract than the Sharks offered him, then there might be motivation to rip in and show us his talents. But, I think neither of those are true. His manager has done a great job in getting him time and $ that he probably doesn't deserve. And, of course we lose Stefano and Ice to greener pastures. A net gain? I don't think so.Yes, that’s the concern. I wonder if we will play him any different to the Sharks. I also wonder about his impact early in the season when conditions are toughest & we need to start well. Can only hope he uses the opportunity to start afresh & get himself as fit as he’s ever been to show that he can make a mark on the competition.Im not excited by Hunt. Not enough minutes and poor fitness. For all the "if he really gets stuck into fitness in the offseason" guys.....he is 30 next year. If it hasnt happened yet, its not happening.
Might be heading our way.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Royce Hunt has inked a three-year deal with the Wests Tigers – now he hopes to be joined by one-time nemesis, and the man he famously labelled a “weak-gutted dog”, Corey Horsburgh.
The Tigers announced on Tuesday they had signed Hunt until the end of 2027 after Cronulla agreed to cut the Samoan international loose from the remaining 12 months of his deal.
Hunt will add some experience and grunt to the pack – and if things go to plan, fiery Raiders forward Horsburgh will be joining him at the joint venture next year.
The pair memorably clashed during a game in 2023, with Hunt saying at the time, “I’ve never seen a front-rower hide behind his halfback”. Horsburgh later posted a meme of him holding a baby, with Hunt’s face superimposed, and the caption: “Really happy for my little boy watching Daddy score two tries”.
Horsburgh was suspended for the return bout late last season, but Hunt told this masthead at the time: “I still have a debt to settle with him. Hopefully he doesn’t cry this time. If he wants a challenge, we’ll lock horns and see who comes out on top. I’m a bit heavier than him. He’s got that ‘dad bod’.”
Hunt was delighted to have sorted his future, and said he would love the chance to strike up an on-field combination with ‘Big Red’.
“I spoke to their recruitment guy and [the Tigers] are keen on Big Red. He’s a good guy and would be a great buy,” Hunt told this masthead. “I was actually at Canberra with him for a while. We’re two guys who won’t back down. If they get him, we can go there and ramp up their forward pack.
“I’m sure we’ll get into the wrestling room and throw down a few times. I haven’t seen him since that game in Canberra.”
The 29-year-old met with Tigers coach Benji Marshall at a local cafe in Padstow, and liked his vision. Jarome Luai, a fellow Samoan, is also bound for Concord next year and Dragons utility Jack Bird was spotted taking a tour of the Tigers’ facilities on Tuesday.
“I met Benji on Monday last week, and it moved really fast. It was pretty much done Tuesday. He was pretty cool. He said to me there were a lot of kids, and he wanted someone with experience to get to that next level.
“I told him, ‘I can help you with that’, and how at the Sharks we had built a good culture where the young boys weren’t afraid to ask for help, and they know ‘steel sharpens steel’. If they come for our spots every week, it makes the older boys better, the younger boys better, and it raises the overall standards at the club.
“He also spoke about me wanting to play more minutes, and I told him I’d earn every minute you give me.”
Hunt was given permission to test the market in June because of the abundance of middle forwards at Cronulla.
After the Sharks added Addin Fonua-Blake to a pack that already featured Braden Hamlin-Uele, Tom Hazelton, Oregon Kaufusi, Toby Rudolf, Jack Williams and Jesse Colquhoun, Hunt was resigned to continuing his career elsewhere.
South Sydney showed brief interest, but the Tigers moved quickly following the departures of middle men Stefano Utoikamanu and Isaiah Papali’i, who play their last games on Friday at a packed Campbelltown Sports Stadium before linking with Melbourne and Penrith respectively.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
It certainly seems like the targets are Horsburg, Hunt, Bird. Certainly some moneyball signings. I hope there is a little bit more class on the radar also.
