Any idea which nrl player we have been talking to? According to league express.... Hooker maybe??

Andrew Fifita?

I subscribe to LE so will be able to confirm who they say it is once the digital version comes out which is usually around 9pm

Nice one.. Who would we like within reason.. Hopefully Hooker for me. Would be big important aquasition for me.

Suppose it could be another prop. It just says highly rated forward

Gallen

Kurt Capewell. Cronulla player who can play centre or second row. I thought we had plenty of cover for those positions?

I thought it'd be a Cronulla player.

Don't think Kirmond or Batchelor will play a full season. Also not sure how long it'll take Arona to get back up to speed. Then again, Arundel has been playing more second row and obviously there's the rumour Atkins has been signed to cover there as well.

Really don’t see the point in this, if true. We are crying out for a hooker and another prop. Get those sorted, the lads who were carrying injuries last year all fit and we have a very competitive squad!

The LE article says he played 25 times for Cronulla last year and was touted for a potential Queensland call up

Obviously CC etc know better than me but tend to agree, backrow for me is where we are strongest; it's also why I'm not bothered about signing Pitts as well.

Putting that to one side he's an absolute quality player and if we can get him and still get the other players we need, awesome - he played 25 games, made 503 tackles, ran 2319 meters,average gain 8.91 meters 48 tackle breaks and only 8 penalties and 13 errors all season. The blokes just 26 and played a full season of NRL, so he's no journeyman.

A glowing report in this article , salary Cap issues is the reason he's not staying at the Sharks

rlhttps://www.nrl.com/news/2019/08/21/utility-value-for-money-sharks-concede-theyre-set-to-lose-capewell/rl

I don't think we are that strong in the SR.
He says Westerman is his 13 so he can play Arona at prop.
SR we gave Ashurst coming back from injury and Kelepi. Kirmond isn't going to play many games and Batch isn't quite ready for full season.
If Pitts comes then great but if he signs someone else with quality it can't hurt.

Clearly a quality player, but I wonder whether he's talking to us to up a salary demand somewhere like NZ Warriors. Being without a club puts him in a weak negotiating position, but not if there is interest elsewhere.

Matt Prior talks about finishing his career overseas though....

Chester said getting Westerman will allow him to play arona and kelepi as props didn’t he?

So aiming for a more mobile pack in 2020?

Arona and Kelepi surely too lightweight to play long minutes in the middle, and harder to spell players with the reduced interchanges.