2023 Recruitment & Retention Thread

I mentioned Kade Dykes looked like a ready made first grader a couple of weeks back. Someone said he'd already signed elsewhere for next year, is that really the case?
 
1. Ponga
2. Young
3. Gagai
4. Best
5. Hunt
6. Clifford
7. Clune

13. Elliott
12. Fitzgibbon
11. Frizell
10. D Saifiti
9. Brailey
8. Klemmer

14. Mann
15. J Saifiti
16. Hetherington
17. Thompson

18. Croker
19. Hodgson
20. Johns
21. Jones
22. Randall
23. Sasagi
24. Tuala

The team usually goes into pre-season with 29 spots filled, so absent some shake-up where guys are told they’re Buckley’s of getting game time next year and they go looking for other opportunities (and personally I wouldn’t be upset to see the back of Jack Johns & Kurt Mann, with Brodie Jones also on my **** list), that’s 5 signings likely to occur before November.

Saulo, Sue, Musgrove and Crossland are the off contract players not yet signed elsewhere. Personally, I wouldn’t make an offer to any of them at the moment.

2 specialist fullbacks
5 specialist outside backs
2(!!) specialist halves
6 props
5 edge & middle back rowers
1 specialist hooker
3 utilities providing varying standards of okay-to-bad cover at fullback, centre, half, lock and hooker.

Need more cover - specialist cover - at half, hooker, outside back and prop, in my opinion.
 
It’s a bit rough looking at a squad which probably spends less on its halves than any other in the NRL, which you’d generally expect to be the price you’d pay for being too strong elsewhere… only to see that the roster also has really bad depth players and some mediocre journeymen in the starting 17…
 
6 positions to fill and a lot of money to spend.

I can't see why we wouldn't sign at least 4 top 17 players - if we can find them of course.
 
Angus Crichton is the biggest name player without a contract for 2023 and he’s of course a lot better than Fitzgibbon. But he’s not the barnstorming line runner he was even two years ago. Dunno what happened there because he’s too young for his prime to be over but w/e, you never know when a bloke is gonna hit a wall.

He’s still a workhorse who makes a lot of tackles and puts his hands up for hard runs, and also the ball doesn’t tend to die with him when he needs to promote it for an opportunity.

In conclusion he’s a former walk-up start for Origin on the back end of his physical prime showing clear signs of decline. Very surprised we haven’t overpaid for him already.

Of the other off contract names I can see:

Raymond Faitala-Mariner would also be picked over Lachie Fitz.

Keenan Palasia would walk onto our bench, as would Matt Eisenhuth.

So yeah there’s one declining Origin forward and some okay ones off contract. The list of outside backs off contract makes for queasy reading.

If you’re just getting too excited for words I don’t blame you. Sexy sexy names.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
Angus Crichton is the biggest name player without a contract for 2023 and he’s of course a lot better than Fitzgibbon. But he’s not the barnstorming line runner he was even two years ago. Dunno what happened there because he’s too young for his prime to be over but w/e, you never know when a bloke is gonna hit a wall.

He’s still a workhorse who makes a lot of tackles and puts his hands up for hard runs, and also the ball doesn’t tend to die with him when he needs to promote it for an opportunity.

In conclusion he’s a former walk-up start for Origin on the back end of his physical prime showing clear signs of decline. Very surprised we haven’t overpaid for him already.

Of the other off contract names I can see:

Raymond Faitala-Mariner would also be picked over Lachie Fitz.

Keenan Palasia would walk onto our bench, as would Matt Eisenhuth.

So yeah there’s one declining Origin forward and some okay ones off contract. The list of outside backs off contract makes for queasy reading.

If you’re just getting too excited for words I don’t blame you. Sexy sexy names.
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Better to overpay say 4 young players with potential and gamble on 1 being worth it. Better than getting fringe and declining players that will never been any good
 
Don’t know if this has been mentioned already but Toohey said on his podcast that an agreement is 100% in place with both Will Pryce and Kai Pearce-Paul for 2024-onwards. They’re trying to get both for 2023 & you’d have to assume with Milf not re-signing they will end up shelling out the transfer fee for Pryce at the very least.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
Don’t know if this has been mentioned already but Toohey said on his podcast that an agreement is 100% in place with both Will Pryce and Kai Pearce-Paul for 2024-onwards. They’re trying to get both for 2023 & you’d have to assume with Milf not re-signing they will end up shelling out the transfer fee for Pryce at the very least.
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Tricky thing for us is both Huddersfield and Wigan will be both well within a premiership/challenge cup window in 2023 so both clubs will want a compelling transfer fee to release them, Wigan in particular have been highly criticised for allowing their players to go to the NRL in recent times so may not want to release KPP at all.

Pryce I could definitely see being released for the right price, Huddersfield have a lot of depth in the halves and fullback but their squad could use some talent in other areas.

At the moment they have a first string of:
1. Lolohea 6. Pryce 7. Fages

Behind that they have:
1. Golding (signed to be their fullback but pushed aside by the emergence of Pryce, played plenty of SL), 6. Russell (Young talent who is first drop for either halves position and played in their losing CC final side), 7. Jack Cogger (our very own, got more regular starts at the Dogs than he has Huddersfield but has done an ok job when given the chance)

Lolohea floats between fullback and the halves as well when injury requires so they have plenty of capable depth to cover Pryce leaving in these positions.
 
Thanks for the insight mate. Where would you say Huddersfield need more depth? There’s definitely a couple of young forwards who haven’t performed in the NRL who might do better in England in our top 30, and I’m sure most of us on here would jump for joy if we could swap Kurt Mann for Will 😂

My understanding is that Luke Yates has done very well for Huddersfield after struggling for the Knights in the NRL so they might have an appetite for more Knights fringe forwards?
 
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