So to sum up our recruiment for 2022-2024

2022
Darnell McIntosh - released early
Kane Evans - released early
Joe Lovodua - signed an extension for 2023 but then released
Luke Gale - not retained after a one year deal

2023
Jake Clifford - asked for a release a year early
Tex Hoy - released early
Brad Dwyer - not retained after a one year deal
Liam Sutcliffe - to be released early
Jake Trueman - still at the club, has played 20 out of 44 games

2024
Liam Tindall - only played three games
Fa'amanu Brown - left after eight games
Jayden Okunbor - only played eight games, out on loan
Herman Ese'ese - regular starter
Franklin Pele - only played eight games, released early
Jack Ashworth - regular first teamer
Morgan Smith - regular first teamer
Jack Walker - only played seven games, playing reserve grade
Damel Diakhate - left without playing for the first team

You can't argue that TS recruitment for this season has been very good
And to think he wanted more time

Morgan Smith is also not good enough for SL even for bottom feeders like us.
The scatter gun approach has only presented Ese Ese and Ashworth.

Still think Walker our best FB. Had one bad game and not been seen since where as others just get picked regardless. Maybe more behind the scenes than we know

Think the writing was on the wall for Walker after we declared our interest in the quota full back whose contract we terminated, with the emergence of Moy, and the signing of Hardaker, it’s possibly a quota fullback we will be looking at.

Smith was just making things up hoping no one would realise he was worse than useless.

I hope he gets a job somewhere else in sl and it will be one less team we have to worry about

We haven't had a great off season since 2017 (where we added Albert, Connor and Griffin to an already strong lineup) 2020 the best of a bad bunch with Mau'u, Satae and Sao (but the less said about Jones and the return if Fonua the better)

If the club now has more money some investment on scouting needed, it surely doesn't cost a fortune to pay someone down under to go watch games and at least try and weed out the absolute duffers before we sign them.

I was wondering myself the other day what sort of scouting setup the club has these days. Not much of one on this evidence. It's a very valid point.

We could see if john cartwright is interested?

Always something going on behind the scene as we have seen with Balmforth especially the fitness nonsense.
Walker is a class full back as we found when he played at Hull KR but needs to be playing in a quality team.
Hoy was poor at full back playing in a poor team and the same goes with Walker
I am not a Litten fan but to bring in another overseas full back would be a waste of a quota place when we have Walker,Moy and Litten available plus Hardaker when necessary.
Our priority has to be at centre,front row,second row and nine.
Once we produce a team that competes, defend and has an attacking structure i have no doubt Walker will shine

To be fair there’s no way TS asked the club to go out and get him the likes Okunbor, Pele and Nu Brown. It’s been apparent for a good few years (likely after the failure of big name Reynolds) that the club has been using third parties to ‘recommend’ them potential Aussie ‘gems’ from the NRL fringes and lower grades.

He did come across so laid back about recruitment and player contracts almost negligent the way he talked about if deals happen they happen etc. Hopefully Cartwright has a bit more drive about him and more importantly has his finger on the pulse over there so we don’t need those third parties.

Was Nu Brown and Okunbor fringe? think they were both in and around the first team. They just turned out to be bad signings. I'm on-the-fence regarding Hoy, but think he was in the 17 a good few times over there. I'm not an NRL connoisseur, so no doubt a mile off.

Not totally unknown but I’d still say fringe first grade players.

Had a quick google Brown joined at 29 and played around 60 NRL games. He did have a year at Fev and a bad injury early on but still in and out of first grade at all times.

Okunbor joined at 27 and played around 50 NRL games. Not a terrible record but a lot on the wing and what has to be said a poor Bulldogs side.

Hoy and Clifford had a decent record for their ages, especially Clifford at the Cowboys, but at the time they signed neither would have been in Newcastles full strength 17, and they had been performing poorly as a side. Pele had only 7 NRL games under his belt.

Compare that with Reynolds and Evans who had both over 100 first grade games each I think after those 2 someone at the club decided the way to go was ‘less established’ NRL players. Nothing wrong with that but without a dedicated DOR we were at the mercy of third parties recommending players without doing our due diligence.

Hopefully Cartwright himself will be a better judge of these players and Myler in a more dedicated role will help us pick these players better. There’s been plenty of fringe NRL players that have either ripped up SL or at least been just dependable pros. Hopefully we are better placed to find them now.

Yes would love to know what has happened to walker. Up to London game he was our best player then bad game by all and he seems to have shouldered the blame. Must be something more to it

I would like to see what walker can do behind the slightly better pack we have now. I've always thought he was quite limited but seemed to do well at rovers last year although evalds is probably an upgrade on him

Pele confirmed as left.
An extra quote spot to play with now is great.