@russtutty63 We can't keep them all, but I don't understand letting our best prospects go when he had years remaining on his contract. It benefits Manly, and it benefits Large, but it has zero benefit to us. We didn't need to move him on at all. Now when Galvin inevitably leaves we'll be left with our you know what in our hands, and we'll be back in purgatory.
Kevin Walters for assistant coach?
I believe it was Addo Carr that got signed by Melbourne for a pittance while Pascoe was holidaying midseason in Hawaii.Pretty disappointing, but not overly surprising. He wants to play in the halves, and we have Luai signed up long term as well as Galvin/Fainu. Just gotta ensure that we keep at least one of the latter two.... I don't imagine we'll keep both.
This is the problem. We dont have Galvin locked up long term. He can negotiate in 12 months.
we do have latu fainu so perhaps Richo is like we have a replacement if Galvin does not sign
This does have a bit of a Papenhuyzen and Tedesco smell about it
Except Papenhuyzen was off contract (wasnt Pascoe overseas?). If this goes the same way as Paps/Teddy it will be a much worse self inflicted wound.
he was off contract, I remember chatting to his family at the time they were convinced tesdesco was staying at tigers and he had no possible pathway to first grade so he left...
Ah yes of course..Thanks Avo
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I really wish the rumours about NAS were true
Ashton is a gun but we have TDS & then Jared Haywood also looking like a very talented 9 coming through. All 3 look to be special talents but can’t keep them all & TDS has certainly got the jump as next in line to take over from Api. But I’ll be watching Haywood with great interest next year.
I figure if we lose Onitoni, perhaps we lose Ashton Large as what is his pathway to first grade if we sign De Silva, Manly don't really have a 9 coming through. All reports Ashton is a gun
IMO DaSilva has shown enough under true fire in the NRL to throw our eggs in that basket. Better prospect than Liddle and Simpkins and looks a potential genuine star 9. IMO we have our succession plan set in stone for 9.
Ashton is 15yo. There is NO NRL pathway for any 15yo. If he has any brains he will stick around for a while and learn from the best. Alternatively he can go to Manly and learn from Simpkins.
We’ve got to start levering trades of our releases of contracted players. Use abundence in certain contacted positions or contracted talented juniors with blocked paths to pinch other teams key players. You’ve got to get something out of the release.
Ashton is a gun but we have TDS & then Jared Haywood also looking like a very talented 9 coming through. All 3 look to be special talents but can’t keep them all & TDS has certainly got the jump as next in line to take over from Api. But I’ll be watching Haywood with great interest next year.
I figure if we lose Onitoni, perhaps we lose Ashton Large as what is his pathway to first grade if we sign De Silva, Manly don't really have a 9 coming through. All reports Ashton is a gun
IMO DaSilva has shown enough under true fire in the NRL to throw our eggs in that basket. Better prospect than Liddle and Simpkins and looks a potential genuine star 9. IMO we have our succession plan set in stone for 9.
Ashton is 15yo. There is NO NRL pathway for any 15yo. If he has any brains he will stick around for a while and learn from the best. Alternatively he can go to Manly and learn from Simpkins.
We’ve got to start levering trades of our releases of contracted players. Use abundence in certain contacted positions or contracted talented juniors with blocked paths to pinch other teams key players. You’ve got to get something out of the release.
True, but Richo’s been negotiating player contracts for 30 years, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.
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Large consequences
The ridiculous clauses in Stefano Utoikamanu’s Wests Tigers contract, where he could leave if they missed the top eight, have resulted in the club adopting a new approach, and that has cost them rising star Onitoni Large.
Large, who has joined Manly, wanted clauses inserted in his contract that made him a free agent if Lachlan Galvin signed a new deal to stay at the Tigers beyond 2026. The Tigers no longer want to do deals that can come back to haunt them in the future. Particularly when the intention is for Galvin to be a long-term Tiger. It would mean they would have developed Large for another season or two and then potentially lost him.
It is Large’s agent’s job to do the best deal for his client, but the Tigers don’t want agents setting the tone for them.
It may cost them a player or two, but the feeling is they can’t be pushovers or they will never drag themselves out of the cellar. Taking a strong stance when you are running last is a brave move, but one they are comfortable with.
Danny Weidler/SMH
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None of us know exactly why we let him go, we guess or read reports which may or may not be true. All I can tell you is I saw him play 2 or 3 of the first games of the Matts season this year and he was solid, no better, no worse. I then watched the Matts team play about 6 or 7 games after he was injured and replaced by Jhevon Lele. My impression was that Lele was just as good as Onitoni. Lele is a year younger and in the Cubs program. I would've liked Onitoni to stay at the club but it wasn't to be. And I've no idea if Lele will be better than Onitoni but I'd think he has the potential to be. The club has plenty of great young prospects coming through the pathways system yet we tend to overreact, in my opinion, when we lose one because he's had media attention and trained with the NRL squad. Many others will train with the NRL squad and have raps put on them and most will stay.@russtutty63 We can't keep them all, but I don't understand letting our best prospects go when he had years remaining on his contract. It benefits Manly, and it benefits Large, but it has zero benefit to us. We didn't need to move him on at all. Now when Galvin inevitably leaves we'll be left with our you know what in our hands, and we'll be back in purgatory.
The club has plenty of great young prospects coming through the pathways system yet we tend to overreact, in my opinion, when we lose one because he's had media attention and trained with the NRL squad.
We "overreact" because this club has had a long history of losing very good juniors and other young players, only for them to go on and succeed at other clubs.
One perfect example of this exact situation will be playing in a GF next weekend, hoping to win his second Clive Churchill medal.
The explanation in Weidler's article makes sense, but only if we manage to lock up Galvin long term. As we stand today, how confident is anyone of us doing that? I'd probably put myself at 40% at best.
None of us know exactly why we let him go, we guess or read reports which may or may not be true. All I can tell you is I saw him play 2 or 3 of the first games of the Matts season this year and he was solid, no better, no worse. I then watched the Matts team play about 6 or 7 games after he was injured and replaced by Jhevon Lele. My impression was that Lele was just as good as Onitoni. Lele is a year younger and in the Cubs program. I would've liked Onitoni to stay at the club but it wasn't to be. And I've no idea if Lele will be better than Onitoni but I'd think he has the potential to be. The club has plenty of great young prospects coming through the pathways system yet we tend to overreact, in my opinion, when we lose one because he's had media attention and trained with the NRL squad. Many others will train with the NRL squad and have raps put on them and most will stay.@russtutty63 We can't keep them all, but I don't understand letting our best prospects go when he had years remaining on his contract. It benefits Manly, and it benefits Large, but it has zero benefit to us. We didn't need to move him on at all. Now when Galvin inevitably leaves we'll be left with our you know what in our hands, and we'll be back in purgatory.
The issue I have is we didn't lose him, we released him and the only reason I would be doing that is if we had Galvin re-signing completed.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
I understand the point you’ve made but that was under a different admin & recruitment team who were very poor in the area of development, talent identification and retention. Unlike most here I have a lot more faith in the current group at the Tigers therefore I won’t overreact when one young player leaves or is released, whatever the case may be. This whole development program is in its fledgling stages and we won’t really see the fruits of it for another few years although already we’re seeing good kids play NRL. Will Lachie stay? Again, no idea but I have faith the club will do everything they can to make it happen.The club has plenty of great young prospects coming through the pathways system yet we tend to overreact, in my opinion, when we lose one because he's had media attention and trained with the NRL squad.
We "overreact" because this club has had a long history of losing very good juniors and other young players, only for them to go on and succeed at other clubs.
One perfect example of this exact situation will be playing in a GF next weekend, hoping to win his second Clive Churchill medal.
The explanation in Weidler's article makes sense, but only if we manage to lock up Galvin long term. As we stand today, how confident is anyone of us doing that? I'd probably put myself at 40% at best.
