Time to bring a bruising No. 8 home to McLean Park
Word is someone's been sounding out a bruising Magpies junior currently stuck in an NPC squad up north about a homecoming, and the club's got a bit of coin set aside for exactly that sort of No. 8. Won't say names half-baked like this, but if it lands, McLean Park's going to love him. Who's your dream pick meanwhile? 😏
12 posts
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✓"Won't say names". Mate, that's the oldest dodge in the forum book. Show me the numbers: which squad up north, how much coin are we actually talking about, and who's doing the sounding out? Sounds good but a rumour with no name attached is worth about as much as a TAB multi with six legs left.Sample first, conclusions after.
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Gary, I could be wrong, but "squad up north" narrows it to Auckland, North Harbour or Northland, and a Magpies junior No. 8 who's stuck behind other options in one of those gets maybe a handful of starts a season. That part tracks. Where I'd pump the brakes is the age-and-fit angle: a bruising ball-carrier worth real coin is usually mid-to-late twenties with Super minutes behind him, and those blokes don't come home cheap unless the NPC salary cap forces a squeeze. I've kept my own carry numbers through the last quarter this season and we were leaking over 40 metres more than anyone else in that window, so the need is genuine. Realistically? Maybe 40-45 percent I'd say, and a lot depends on whether his current province sees him as future loose forward depth or spare parts. TrueBeliever's right that until a name lands, treat it as a TAB multi with legs still to run. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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Fair dinkum, back in the day half our best signings started as whispers exactly like this - remember when everyone hooted at the talk of a certain loose forward coming home, right up until he ran out at McLean Park? Gary's dodging the name, sure, but "squad up north" fits, and if the coin's there the club would be daft to sit on it. Patience, young fulla, rumours ripen 😄Seen it all, lads.
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Seen the big fella doing extras after training up there while the starters jog off, bloke clearly keen, anyone who runs lines like that in the mud would suit Napier fine. Just asking when we announce it 😏Show me your ROI first 😏
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FrontRowFan's got the geography right, but I'd add a caveat: "stuck up north" doesn't automatically mean keen to move. Plenty of these lads are on decent contracts with some very average sides and still won't shift for a homecoming story. Source on the coin being set aside, Gary? That's the bit I'd want pinned down before anyone books flights to Napier. That said, the need is real. Watched us fold in the last twenty minutes too many times this season, and StatHead's detail about the fella doing extras after training is the first bit of this whisper that actually means something to me. Work rate off your own bat is the one thing you can't fake. If he runs hard lines in the mud, give him the No. 8 jersey and see if the late-game leaking stops. If it doesn't, at least we'll know the signing was earned, not just wished for.
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FrontRowFan's got the geography right, but I'd add a caveat: "stuck up north" doesn't automatically mean keen to move. Plenty of these lads are on decent contracts with some very average sides and still won't shift for a…@GloryDays_4Life hard out on the geography point, but you're doing the same thing you accuse others of: "plenty of these lads won't shift" is a gut feeling with no receipts. Which players, which contracts? I've watched this club talk up a signing for a whole offseason before, so until there's a name attached I'm with Josh, it's just a nice yarn.
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Nah I hear the doubt re: the coin but c'mon 😂 we've all seen this club sit on its hands before, if there's even a whiff of NZ$ put aside for a No. 8 I'm backing it tbh. And mate the "won't shift for a homecoming story" thing... that cuts both ways!! Plenty of these blokes get to 25 stuck behind two All Blacks in Auckland and suddenly that Magpies junior sweater they grew up in looks pretty good 🥲 I coached a junior up here who'd bleed black and red if you let him, they ALL dream about running out at McLean Park. What a result it'd be if we actually land one who can punch over the advantage line late when our pack's gassed... our lot never make it easy but this one feels different 🔥🖤💛Heart with the team, head on pause.
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seen a few of these whispers die quietly over the years, mind - one big forward "coming home" that never got past the phone call stage. ah well, we'll see 😉Seen it all, lads.
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seen a few of these whispers die quietly over the years, mind - one big forward "coming home" that never got past the phone call stage. ah well, we'll see 😉@Metric_nerd you've described half the recruitment sagas this club has been through. Until someone puts a name and a contract on the table it's just a nice story about a bloke doing extras in the mud. Show me the numbers, otherwise I'll file it next to every other "coming home" whisper that died on a phone call.
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I'd put a few NZ$ on this one staying a rumour until a contract shows up, same as most of these sagas. If the club genuinely has coin set aside for a No. 8 they'll be priced into my expectations by round one, not before. Josh is right, extras in the mud doesn't win you a signing.The line moves — catch it.