@tiger5150 Yep I think he would have signed already if he was staying. I hope i'm wrong.
There was some talk that new player signings for 2025 are on hold until player departures are announced? Maybe Sione is a victim of this?
You’d expect we know who’s departing before this last game??
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
I hope not, I think Sione has shown he's worth a contract. I think it would be a mistake not to re-sign him.@tiger5150 Yep I think he would have signed already if he was staying. I hope i'm wrong.
There was some talk that new player signings for 2025 are on hold until player departures are announced? Maybe Sione is a victim of this?
I hope not, I think Sione has shown he's worth a contract. I think it would be a mistake not to re-sign him.@tiger5150 Yep I think he would have signed already if he was staying. I hope i'm wrong.
There was some talk that new player signings for 2025 are on hold until player departures are announced? Maybe Sione is a victim of this?
Agreed. There’s improvement still in him imo.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Wests Tigers boss Shane Richardson has revealed the rationale behind the club’s recruitment drive as he braces for an answer from Canberra and Queensland forward Corey Horsburgh as early as Friday.
Richardson has been working hard to upgrade the club’s roster for next season as he looks to provide coach Benji Marshall and star recruit Jarome Luai with the artillery to take the side up the ladder.
The Tigers have announced the signing of Cronulla forward Royce Hunt and St George Illawarra utility Jack Bird was seen touring Tigers headquarters this week, having been offered a two-year-deal for next season.
Horsburgh has also toured the club and been sold the vision by Marshall and Richardson.
“What we’ve talked about is really targeting three players,” Richardson said.
“We really didn’t go to the marketplace until we lost Stefano (Utoikamanu) because we didn’t know what we really wanted - Stefano made a big difference to how much money we had to spend and the quality of player you will replace them with.
“Once Stefano left, then we sat down and said what do we need and what do we require going forward. We felt we needed a couple of forwards, which we can get for the same price as Stefano.
“If you look at where we sit on the ladder getting out of our red zone, we’re 17th. Some people have been critical of Benji, that we move the ball too early and we make some mistakes.
The bottom line is, we were never going to get out of our 10m or 20m (zone) if we didn’t use the ball. We didn’t have the size.
“We really focused on getting that right for next year with (Sunia) Turuva and (Jared) Skelton from the Bulldogs.
“And then what you don’t want to do is you don’t want to block off the opportunities for the young kids. We have some young backs.
“So what we need is somebody who can play multiple positions. Jack Bird fits that because he is able to play multiple positions and he’s good for the side.
“Again we’re not blocking the opportunity for a young guy. So it’s been a plan from the start of the year, not something we just come up with now. We don’t need a lot.
“We got one. So we need two more.”
Daily Tele
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Wests Tigers boss Shane Richardson has revealed the rationale behind the club’s recruitment drive as he braces for an answer from Canberra and Queensland forward Corey Horsburgh as early as Friday.
Richardson has been working hard to upgrade the club’s roster for next season as he looks to provide coach Benji Marshall and star recruit Jarome Luai with the artillery to take the side up the ladder.
The Tigers have announced the signing of Cronulla forward Royce Hunt and St George Illawarra utility Jack Bird was seen touring Tigers headquarters this week, having been offered a two-year-deal for next season.
Horsburgh has also toured the club and been sold the vision by Marshall and Richardson.
“What we’ve talked about is really targeting three players,” Richardson said.
“We really didn’t go to the marketplace until we lost Stefano (Utoikamanu) because we didn’t know what we really wanted - Stefano made a big difference to how much money we had to spend and the quality of player you will replace them with.
“Once Stefano left, then we sat down and said what do we need and what do we require going forward. We felt we needed a couple of forwards, which we can get for the same price as Stefano.
“If you look at where we sit on the ladder getting out of our red zone, we’re 17th. Some people have been critical of Benji, that we move the ball too early and we make some mistakes.
The bottom line is, we were never going to get out of our 10m or 20m (zone) if we didn’t use the ball. We didn’t have the size.
“We really focused on getting that right for next year with (Sunia) Turuva and (Jared) Skelton from the Bulldogs.
“And then what you don’t want to do is you don’t want to block off the opportunities for the young kids. We have some young backs.
“So what we need is somebody who can play multiple positions. Jack Bird fits that because he is able to play multiple positions and he’s good for the side.
“Again we’re not blocking the opportunity for a young guy. So it’s been a plan from the start of the year, not something we just come up with now. We don’t need a lot.
“We got one. So we need two more.”
Daily Tele
Given Richo said we’d only know about deals after they’re made I’d say Corey and Jack are Wests Tigers 🐯
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Given Richo said we’d only know about deals after they’re made I’d say Corey and Jack are Wests Tigers 🐯
You would think so.
Chammas apparently reporting Jack Bird has signed a two year deal with the Tigers
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
With quite a few young guys coming through who could play centre and/or wing I think Bird makes a lot of sense. And he can play a number of positions. Some risk at this stage of his career but for what they’ll probably pay for him it isn’t too great a risk. It might be $400,000 but I wouldn’t be surprised if a little lower. We do have Feledy, Sakuru, Large & Makasini, all teenagers who could continue to improve especially outside the halves we’ll have next season. Large & Makasini will improve a helluva lot next season or two and are the most likely ones to step up over that time.
If it is to be only the 3 signings, 2 forwards & a back/utility then I’m thinking there could be a fair bit left for upgrades.
I thought as a club we would have learned from signings such as Bird. He was a very good player in his day but his body is no longer up to it. Matt Ballin and Josh Reynolds come to mind.
I think this is a little more low risk than those. Reynolds was signed on huge money for 4 years as a panic signing. Ballin was completely broken when we got him. Bird is only a 2 year deal, and if it's $400k and he plays say 15 games in a season, that's a win. IF he stays injury free, it's a complete bargain. We've factored his injuries into the price. Bird is better than a $400k player (Simpkin was reportedly on $400k).I thought as a club we would have learned from signings such as Bird. He was a very good player in his day but his body is no longer up to it. Matt Ballin and Josh Reynolds come to mind.
I'm usually the first to put the boot in but this deal actually is pretty smart. Low risk, potentially high reward. Covers centre, lock and back row, even halves if desperate.
I think this is a little more low risk than those. Reynolds was signed on huge money for 4 years as a panic signing. Ballin was completely broken when we got him. Bird is only a 2 year deal, and if it's $400k and he plays say 15 games in a season, that's a win. IF he stays injury free, it's a complete bargain. We've factored his injuries into the price. Bird is better than a $400k player (Simpkin was reportedly on $400k).I thought as a club we would have learned from signings such as Bird. He was a very good player in his day but his body is no longer up to it. Matt Ballin and Josh Reynolds come to mind.
I'm usually the first to put the boot in but this deal actually is pretty smart. Low risk, potentially high reward. Covers centre, lock and back row, even halves if desperate.
I do hope you are right.
There hasn't been much around extending TDS unless I am missing something isn't he able to go to market in November?
