It remains to be seen who else the Tigers bring in to the squad for 2026. Richo has said depth players but Richo isn’t going to give too much away & if a player such as NAS became available I’d expect the club, and a few other clubs, to be interested. But where would the club be looking right now for depth players or players who might be on the outer? And who would help build our squad? When I look at the Storm I can’t imagine they will be able to keep all of their middles. They have extended & upgraded a number of contracts this past year, Hughes, Coates, King, Fa’alogo to name but 4. They will need to lock in Blore, Warbrick & one or 2 others as well very soon. I expect Papenhuyzen to go after 2026 or possibly before. In terms of middles they retired Welch but picked up Stefano, they also picked up Puhulu from the Titans mid season. They also have NAS, King, Kamikamica, Loiero, Vaalepu, Lisati & MacDonald who can all play in the middle. They also have at least 2 very promising middles coming through, Cooper Clarke who played NSW u19s this year & Suli Pole who is a big, powerful prop. As far as I know, Kamikamica, Vaalepu & Lisati are off contract this year although Lisati seems to be doing well & will probably remain. I’m thinking Kamikamica & Vaalepu might be allowed to look elsewhere post season.
The Sharks look to also have a number of middles on their books and a need to maybe find space in their Cap to sign others, a few of which they have this year eg Brailey, Ronaldo, Hazleton, Kaufusi etc. I’d think Hamlin-Uele is most likely to leave with the possibility of another.
So there’s a few possibilities there and time will tell if the Tigers make a play or not.
Daine Laurie apparently off to the Raiders.
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@russtutty63 Hamlin-Uelle was amongst the Sharks best tonight against the Storm. Could be worth a chat if he becomes available.
Both teams had large hard to handle forwards and athletic tall outside backs. The difference was Melbourne’s spine out played the sharks. Our spine I think is better than the sharks, we need at least 2 new forwards.
sadly Stephano looks to have improved out of sight
Yes, need a couple. Stefano is very fit this season, Bellamy isn’t a great tactical coach but he raised the bar when setting standards. That’s the Storm culture he created. He also has great people around him. And if you have the right leaders to help create & execute game plans, the better they can do that the better you’ll go. That’s why Storm spend big on spine players & can take more time developing them.Both teams had large hard to handle forwards and athletic tall outside backs. The difference was Melbourne’s spine out played the sharks. Our spine I think is better than the sharks, we need at least 2 new forwards.
sadly Stephano looks to have improved out of sight
@tigertownsfs Stefano's last 2 games have been fantastic. Bellamy has finally unlocked the beast. Stefano's a good dude; Im happy for him.
He’s a big body who probably doesn’t have a lot of minutes in him anymore but can be effective in short bursts. Fitzgibbon uses his bench forwards pretty well. Talakai would be great but I’d say he’s staying. They extended Billy Burns and McInnes this year too & if they want to keep Kennedy then I’d think they might release another forward, we’ll see what happens.@russtutty63 Hamlin-Uelle was amongst the Sharks best tonight against the Storm. Could be worth a chat if he becomes available.
Yes, I was extremely disappointed when he left but I’d met him a couple of times & he was a really good fella to chat with. It’s very much a business now & players will come & go. Whilst they’re here I love them but when they go I have no real interest in them.@tigertownsfs Stefano's last 2 games have been fantastic. Bellamy has finally unlocked the beast. Stefano's a good dude; Im happy for him.
@russtutty63 Sure, i get it if you feel that way. But, as with most Septembers, WT offer us nothing to support so I'd like to see the Storm win it for the sake of Stefano and Blore who, from my interactions with them, are both very decent guys.
I’d love to get Talakai.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers since 2018!
I’d love to get Talakai.
Second that, he's been very impressive during the finals.
Can see him as a 13
And that’s fair enough too, they are certainly good blokes. But I’m hoping Panthers win simply because I’d like to see something I doubt I’ll ever see again, a team win 5 in a row. But that’ll do, they can miss out the following 5 or 10 years.@russtutty63 Sure, i get it if you feel that way. But, as with most Septembers, WT offer us nothing to support so I'd like to see the Storm win it for the sake of Stefano and Blore who, from my interactions with them, are both very decent guys.
NRL 2025: Stefano Utoikmanau’s move from Wests Tigers to Melbourne Storm vindicated https://share.google/HBqC3m0wXQLme5Pii
Tigers are never far from the media spotlight, even in grand final week.
My only issue with Stefano is that his effort levels dropped off completely last season when he was negotiating elsewhere etc. No issue with him choosing the Storm (who wouldn't), but that doesn't excuse him downing tools. I know for a fact that it wasn't overly popular within the playing group either.
