2023 Recruitment & Retention Thread

The only posts I can find is a bloke who claims to be in the know (and other posters seem to believe him) saying the Knights and Manly are in discussions about Best but that Garrick hasn't been mentioned at all. Haven't strayed outside the one thread though so might have been said elsewhere.
 
I'd be open to a player swap between Best and Garrick.

Its a decision that could come back to bite us if it happens, but we need to make decisions for right now, not 5 years from now. Currently Best is a liability defencively and is injured way too much, so if he goes to Manly and can stay on the field, then good luck to him. His career is going backwards at the moment
 
We need high character, culture-driving players with footy smarts, urgently. By all reports, Garrick is that. I don’t quite get the impression Bradman is.

If you staple a bunch of immature 20 year olds together to form a team, they don’t magically learn to stand up and be leaders by age 25. What we’ve seen is that they can often make each other worse lol.
 
This is the problem when you stick with a garbage coach. AOB now needs to swap our best outside back junior prospect since Uate for a bottom 5 fullback convert to fill holes in a roster he created and lost control over.

Best is as good a junior talent as they come. If he were in a better system he'd be a world beater. Manly isn't an exceptional system but it's enough for Best to thrive. That is AOBs fault and we're paying the price, again
 
EASBay17 said:
dragons only offered hunt 700k, short of the 850k his been offered by another club, could it be us?
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That seems insane from the Dragons even if he's going to be 34 in 2024, he carries such a bad roster there they would be lost without him.

If we don't get anything better by that point I would definitely offer 850k for 2 years, probably going to be the Dolphins though.
 
MullosLefttoRight said:
That seems insane from the Dragons even if he's going to be 34 in 2024, he carries such a bad roster there they would be lost without him.

If we don't get anything better by that point I would definitely offer 850k for 2 years, probably going to be the Dolphins though.
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Mid year I saw he was off contract and thought he’d be perfect for us, then saw he was 34 and thought against it. But his form has been superb for a few years now. We’d be nuts to not go for him. He’s the leader we need. I’d certainly want him over Brooks, but we could potentially get both $$ wise. Just off load Clifford back to qld side, as much as I like him.
 
Les Misérables said:
This is the problem when you stick with a garbage coach. AOB now needs to swap our best outside back junior prospect since Uate for a bottom 5 fullback convert to fill holes in a roster he created and lost control over.
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No Garrick has been really good this year at 1. He’s been better than half the first choice #1’s in the NRL this year. It’s definitely fair enough on Reuben’s part that he wants a starting fullback gig somewhere, and he is more worthy of the $5-600K we’d be looking to send his way than Brooks is. It’s not even close.
 
Ethan said:
Since being here he has played there once when the coach tried him there and it didn't work so yes i am judging it of that because there is nothing else to judge it on.. What are people judging it on when they say he should play half they haven't seen him do it , at least not successfully.
Seems to have become a non starter anyway with Johns saying it wont happen because one he's a f/b NOT a half as Johns and Slater both said and two he has had enough concussions without tackling forwards .
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I see him do it every attacking set.
 
Seems our best answer to improving this team is signing Garrick and Hastings with Ponga moving to 5/8, spine 1 Garrick, 6 Ponga, 7 Hastings, 9 Brailey.
Res:- 1 Hodgson, 6 Clifford, 7 Clune, 9 Randall/Huth
Otherwise it will be a long long season
 
Frank McWilliams said:
Seems our best answer to improving this team is signing Garrick and Hastings with Ponga moving to 5/8, spine 1 Garrick, 6 Ponga, 7 Hastings, 9 Brailey.
Res:- 1 Hodgson, 6 Clifford, 7 Clune, 9 Randall/Huth
Otherwise it will be a long long season
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It’s not perfect but that spine would be a huge upgrade.
 
BTP said:
Mid year I saw he was off contract and thought he’d be perfect for us, then saw he was 34 and thought against it. But his form has been superb for a few years now. We’d be nuts to not go for him. He’s the leader we need. I’d certainly want him over Brooks, but we could potentially get both $$ wise. Just off load Clifford back to qld side, as much as I like him.
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As much as he would improve the side, do you think we're competing for a premiership next year? Because if not then it'd probably be a pointless signing. He's at retirement age. Better off signing someone who's going to be here for a few years.
 
Joshhh said:
As much as he would improve the side, do you think we're competing for a premiership next year? Because if not then it'd probably be a pointless signing. He's at retirement age. Better off signing someone who's going to be here for a few years.
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It's a tough one to balance, he'd be coming in 24 because the Dragons will still need him around their young halves next season. At that point he'll turn 34 during the season. So the question becomes can a 34/35yo Ben Hunt be a premiership-winning halfback in 2024/2025?

Things in his favour are that he's still a certainty for the Kangaroos at 32, putting up phenomenal performances in the Origin arena and in a poor clubside. We've also seen just how important a halfback is this season and he is a very good one at that. Unfortunately he's at nearly 300 games already and debuted in 2009, so the wear and tear of first-grade may well start to catch up with him in those years.

I'm not sure if it's pointless even if we don't win a prem, because if he can become the catalyst for catapulting us back into the 8/4 contention then we become a more attractive prospect for capable replacements from 25 onward than if we keep mulling around 10-17 over the next couple of years. Would also be valuable for developing any prospects coming through if we go the internal promotion route ala Souths to Ilias.
 
Ben hunt, a big big risk that by the time he arrives, he will have started his decline. Only so much a body can take.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
No Garrick has been really good this year at 1. He’s been better than half the first choice #1’s in the NRL this year. It’s definitely fair enough on Reuben’s part that he wants a starting fullback gig somewhere, and he is more worthy of the $5-600K we’d be looking to send his way than Brooks is. It’s not even close.
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Why must we lose Best? Hate the thought of it.
 
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