Right, lads, who do we chase to fix that openside flanker hole
Saw the openside hole coming a mile off, and apparently so did the recruiters. Word is there's a Waikato loosie with a motor like Damian McKenzie's coming off contract, and the whisper is the bigwigs have already had a yarn with his agent. Imagine that tackler alongside Samipeni Finau at FMG Stadium Waikato. Opposing halves would be waking up in cold sweats.
Won't name names till it's半 confirmed, obviously, but if you know which family from the Tron we're talking about, you're already grinning. I've quietly put NZ$50 on it getting done before June 😏 anyone who reckons we'll sit on our hands and let another province snaffle him clearly hasn't been watching how sharp this management's been lately.
Chase him hard, lads. Laughter will be on the fanboys of other clubs if we don't 😂
11 posts
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✓Source on that, or did your mate's cousin's barber start this one? "A yarn with his agent" means nothing, receipts please.
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Imagine that motor hitting rucks for 80 every week at FMG 😱🔥 we've been crying out for a proper fetcher since the last one left, and Finau alongside him would smash it. I still reckon about that semi a few years back when we got cleaned out at the breakdown, still hurts ah well, nowt to do. Get it signed before someone snaffles him 💪🙌You don't abandon your own.
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Depends how you count it, but I'd temper the hype a bit. An off-contract Waikato loosie sounds dreamy until you remember age and position matter as much as motor. If he's mid-20s and genuinely a seven by trade, the fit is real; if he's a blindside wearing an openside label, we've been burned by that before. Cover players who can't actually fetch. On the realism side: recruitment here usually follows a pattern — contract status confirmed, NPC workload checked, then the salary squeezed into a cap already tight from McKenzie and co. Nobody "already had a yarn" publicly unless the agent leaked it, and agents leak for leverage. So I'd put this one at maybe a coin flip until a name actually surfaces. Small sample though, one rumour thread. Keep your tables ready, lads, I'll add a column for it 📊Numbers > vibes.
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Was at the Waikato game a few weeks back and that loosie was everywhere, turnovers, carries, covering kicks, the lot. Lad never came off, absolute machine. If we're genuinely in for him and he lands at FMG with Finau, I'd be stoked 😏 otherwise someone else snaffles him and we'll be whinging at the ruck all season again.Here to argue, not to nod along.
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RobbedAgainMerchant, sounds good but "I saw him at one game" isn't a recruitment policy — show me the numbers across a full NPC season, age included. That said, on condition that he's genuinely off contract and under 25, I'm keen; watched a Waikato loosie chew through our club side's breakdown last winter and it was honestly embarrassing. Mean engine on that sort of player, exactly what we've lacked.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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RobbedAgainHater318, one game?? I coach juniors with blokes who've scoped him all season, hard out, motor never drops. SIGN HIM before someone snaffles, simple 🔥💪On the terraces since I was a kid.
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Hannah88, coaching juniors who've "scoped him" doesn't move the needle much for me, I could be wrong, but half those lads cheer anyone who runs hard for 40 minutes. One full NPC sample with age and workload attached, then I'm on board. Until someone posts actual season numbers across the rounds, I'd hold off on the confetti. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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ah, this reminds me of the big name we were all certain was signing a few seasons back, everyone had him in a Chiefs jersey already, then he re-upped south and we all looked a bit silly. seen worse rumours die, mind you. the lad sounds the goods, chur, but i'll believe it when the pen hits paper. ah well, we'll seeSeen it all, lads.
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I'd want the full-season sample too before tipping any of my bankroll on the hype. Eyeball signings rarely land - same as long-odd multis, looks great till it doesn't 😭Value over a big price 💸
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One game is thin grout for a signing, but I've watched clubs overpay for a bloke who put in one big NPC fortnight then go quiet. Hannah88's point about the motor not dropping matters more to me than the highlight reel, openside is a work-rate position, you can't hide a fading engine there. Personally I treat signing hype like a long-odds leg: looks juicy until it doesn't. Learnt that lesson the hard way putting a chunk of my bankroll on the "done deal" rumours a few years back, re-upped south and all that. If he's the real deal he'll still be the real deal after two more rounds of sample. Value over a big price, every time.Value over a big price 💸