Cherry_Warrior wrote:
So as we all know, we will be severely depleted next year and a major overhaul is required. What realistic signings would you like to see.
Here are mine
Personally i don't think we are strong enough at either centre but Sarginson is the one i would lose if i had to pick. I have been saying this for about 3 years but Bill Topou would be the most ideal centre around we could possibly go for. Problem is though, his stock has risen so much would he come? Sounds daft really but Wakefield are a bit more professional and 'homely' that we are at the moment. Do we still have the 'draw' factor?
Loose forward. Lockers i shouldn't imagine will go around again and we keep trying different combinations to plug the gap but there is a player in SL who flies under the radar of everybody who could make the position his own for the next 10 years. An absolute work horse who can get over the line and does a huge amount of work. That man is George Lawler.
Props. We need 2 (at least) but where are there 2 props with enough grunt to give us the extra edge over what we already have. We missed one in the off season. Kopczak would have been ideal for a couple of years but where do we find 2 new ones? Francis Tualau of the Bulldogs is off contract at the end of 2019 is is unlikely to have NRL clubs lining up for him. 24 years old, absolute monster of a man. Would be happy to take a risk on him. Wouldn't cost a lot of money either. The second is the more obvious one. David Fifita is off contract i think at the end of the season. I don't need to explain that one.
Hooker. Tricky one. Kurt Baptiste has signed for the Cowboys this year for a season. Never gets a regular run in the NRL but always seems to sign for the top clubs. He came over and played 1 game for Leigh before being released for personal and family reasons a few years ago. Maybe with the impending thought of him having no club next season might change his mind. Left field suggestion. Brad Dwyer is off contract at the end of 2019. He can unlock any defence and is very underrated.
Second row. Kenny Edwards is off contract at the end of the season. Any club worth their salt would be in for him. Would possibly demand high wages though but a class act nether the less.
Half Back. Maloney has all but said he will be at the Panthers until 2020 and in 2021 he will be 35. Not for me at that age for the wages. Robert Lui is out of contract and is, as we know a powerhouse half who can kick, score try's and tackle.
My two pennies worth. We will have a lot of cap space at the end of the year. Maybe we could fit them all in.
I agree with all of the positions that you have highlighted but I see a couple of issues with the people you have suggested.
Firstly the team is completely lobsided, the centre and second row we need both have to have a preference for playing down the right hand side, sadly Tupou and Edwards are both left sided players.
Secondly there is no chance of replacing Lockers like for like so we are going to have to change our style to allow for his absence.
Third we vdefinitely need 2 half backs, possibly Harry Smith as one he controls games well and we would need a top class experienced half to play alongside him.
Lastly we need 2 huge possibly nasty props to go with Flower and Bullock, and a creative hooker.
Not to much to hope for eh.
