NRLW Recruitment & Retention Thread

1. Bo Vette-Welsh
2. Sheridan Gallagher
3. Shanice Parker
4. Tenika Willison
5. Lilly-Ann White / Tess Staines / Keighley Simpson
6. Georgia Roche
7. Jesse Southwell
8. Tiana Davison
9. Olivia Higgins
10. Grace Kukutai
11. Evah McEwen
12. Yasmin Clydsdale (C)
13. Kayla Romaniuk

14. Evie Jones
15. Tayla Predebon
16. Simone Karpani
17. Viena Tinao / Jules Kirkpatrick / Sienna Yeo / Leilani Ah Sam

Think we'll be doing very well to make the finals.
 
I reckon we'll go pretty well. Maybe not contenders, but you want lasting success, particularly as a regional club, you develop it.

If Evah is eligible for it under the women's rules, bet your house on her getting Dally M ROTY. I think it's very likely she'll quickly be thought of as one of our top three players and maybe the best of the lot.

If we want to make finals & seriously give it a tilt, we need the form Kukutai showed in reggies to translate to the NRLW.

Tiana Davison was really good at the Chooks, expecting another step forward from her.
 
It will probably largely depend on how well those middles and Jesse go.

The Roosters and Broncos are definitely the most stacked. Cronulla should still be good, with Parra and Titans being there abouts.

I don’t think we should have any problem with the Dragons, Cowboys, Raiders, Tigers, NZ or Bulldogs.

Is it a top 6 finals system this year?

I definitely don’t see us winning the comp but I think something would need to go pretty wrong for us not to at least make the finals.
 
Decent chance the Dogs will be really good I think. Their pack is going to be very intimidating.

Broncos probably the favourites with Millie & CJG out for the year and Tamika on board. Their biggest impediment is their own capacity to bottle it.
 
Bulldogs won't go well if they mostly use those juniors they have been using for the last 2 years.
Very few of them have any skill about them. They might compete with seniors physically, but all sides will have halves who will take them to pieces in attack.
 
Yeah it’s hard to tell with new teams. Their forward pack looks strong but their spine isn’t that great.

There’s also a good chance Titans have another bad year with Mato and Pelite out.

Broncos will probably depend on whether or not Briggenshaw is able to take a back seat to Tamika.
 
Billy said:
Bulldogs won't go well if they mostly use those juniors they have been using for the last 2 years.
Very few of them have any skill about them. They might compete with seniors physically, but all sides will have halves who will take them to pieces in attack.
Click to expand...
Their starting middle will most likely be Alexis Tauaneai, Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa and Pani Hopoate. Very good chance it's the best in the comp.

More to the game than that obviously but they'll be on the front foot a lot.

I think a few of those juniors have been poached, one by us.
 
Fair I haven’t delved enough into the other teams to confidently predict who’ll finish where but it’s just a pretty depressing squad list to look at after the last few years.

Very dependant on a halfback who everyone seemed to have given up on last season. Best attacking player in the world gone and replaced by someone who's closer to being the worst fullback in the comp on recent seasons' form. Best middle forward is Davison who's decent, other than her it's question marks or worse with little variety or potential impact players in that position. 3 dependable and good outside backs but none that are really game breakers or dangerous players on their own.

The positives I see are Clydsdale/McEwen (should be close to the best second-row combo in the comp if McEwen stays on the same trajectory) and Southwell's Origin 1 performance, I guess. Going to need to be even better and more involved with more responsibility on her at club level though.
 
www.newcastleknights.com.au

Newcastle Knights extend Yasmin Clydsdale

The nib Newcastle Knights have secured a key piece of their puzzle by extending the NRLW contract of another highly regarded International and multiple NRLW Premiership winner, Yasmin Clydsdale, until at least the end of the 2027 season.
www.newcastleknights.com.au www.newcastleknights.com.au

Clydsdale re-signs through 2027. Doesn't give anything away in the release but you'd think she's a shoe-in as captain.
 
Don’t get me wrong I’m still absolutely filthy they just let Tamika walk out with nothing in return. Actually I’m still not over what they did with Ron and losing CJ.

On the plus side there, I do think CJ will be back in a couple of years.

So I am trying to be positive because despite the losses, they’re still far more likely to do better than the rabble that it is the men’s team.

Do we know who has the marquee spot now?
 
Summer Dowell, Elizabeth Montgomery and Charlie Norton have made the Country unders 19s side.
No Mariah Brown or Fane Finau or Evah McEwen - although Evah and Fane might be injured and I don't know where Mariah comes from.

I'd have picked Stella Lewis too. She was our best in the final against the Roosters. She's only 17/18, but she looks the closest to a 17 year old Yasmin Clydesdale we have I think.
 
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Newygirl said:
Don’t get me wrong I’m still absolutely filthy they just let Tamika walk out with nothing in return. Actually I’m still not over what they did with Ron and losing CJ.

On the plus side there, I do think CJ will be back in a couple of years.

So I am trying to be positive because despite the losses, they’re still far more likely to do better than the rabble that it is the men’s team.

Do we know who has the marquee spot now?
Click to expand...
Do you know something on the CJ front? Or just vibes?

I’m guessing Yas got it. Or at least it would be smart to sort out a deal which pays her out of it this season & maybe you keep it open in 2026/27. I suspect it’s going to make sense for Jesse to take that spot going forward.
 
Billy said:
Summer Dowell, Elizabeth Montgomery and Charlie Norton have made the Country unders 19s side.
No Mariah Brown or Fane Finau or Evah McEwen - although Evah and Fane might be injured and I don't know where Mariah comes from.

I'd have picked Stella Lewis too. She was our best in the final against the Roosters. She's only 17/18, but she looks the closest to a 17 year old Yasmin Clydesdale we have I think.
Click to expand...
I can't read apparently - Stella Lewis was selected.
What a under 19s forward pack we have.

8 Elizabeth Montgomery
10 Charlie Norton
11 Stella Lewis
12 Evah McEwen
13 Fane Finau

14 Summer Dowell (second row or centre)
15 Leilani Ahsam
 
Interesting that the Roosters have signed Jayde Herdegan.
Maybe Strange has become a fan of how the Knights train halfbacks after working with Jessie Southwell and has signed one of her training partners.
Jayde was behind Joeli Morris in our reserve grade halves last year, and Joeli only played halves because she was asked to - she wanted to play hooker/lock, where she thinks she has a firstgrade chance.
 
My view on recruitment is that the new generation of players turning 18/19/20 right now is the first generation to come through elite juniors development, so signing any of the senior players for 3 years, apart from the very best, is crazy right now.
 
If they’re going to play forward most of the ones turning 18/19/20 won’t really kick on for a couple years yet. Evah McEwen will be the exception, not the rule. And you still need players with a bit of experience to offer guidance. I see no issue at all with this if it’s for the minimum salary.
 
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