View Full Version : Titans sign William Zillman
BING103
07-04-08, 02:16 PM
FoxSports just announced it.
Heard it was 4 year deal.
craigyd
07-04-08, 02:19 PM
hooray,signing of the year for us,one of the most dynamic fullbacks in game.
We can then use Preston as a player who can strike from anywhere as a bench player,he will cause more headaches from the bench against tired opposition and Zillman will cause headaches every time he runs the ball back from kicks.Cant wait.
Tamwelg
07-04-08, 02:34 PM
That is awesome news, I've been waiting to hear that.
Just heard this on Fox myself. :)
Helen
Grimmace
07-04-08, 02:47 PM
I have some mixed feelings on this. dont get me wrong though it is a great siging
Is Zillman a great player yes
Do the titans need Zillman probablly not i know a couple of people on the forum have already brought this up but what about people like Nick Parfitt or Shannon Walker, i dont know it just seems like an unesscary signing imo.
Social Loafer
07-04-08, 02:47 PM
What's the point of Developing players these days....
*****
If Zillman stays fit he will play rep footy, it is as simple as that.
craigyd
07-04-08, 02:52 PM
they signed him because he is proven as a first grade fullback with massive potential.Nothing wrong with having him and Walker and preston in same team,if all in form and healthy there will be a spot for them.
Tamwelg
07-04-08, 03:00 PM
http://raiders.com.au/2008/hq/profiles/images/zillman_head.gif
http://raiders.com.au/2008/hq/profiles/headshots/Zillman,William%2008H.jpg
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PLAYER INFO
Name: William Zillman
Date of Birth: 30/07/1986
Hometown: Tamworth, NSW
Junior Club: Logan Brothers
Height: 181cm
Weight: 90kg
Position: Fullback, five/eighth, halfback
First Grade debut: Raiders v Knights (2006, Rd 2, Canberra Stadium)
Rep Honours: Junior Kangaroos (2005, 2006), Qld under 19’s (2005)
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TITAN PETE
07-04-08, 03:17 PM
http://raiders.com.au/2008/hq/profiles/images/zillman_head.gif
http://raiders.com.au/2008/hq/profiles/headshots/Zillman,William%2008H.jpg
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PLAYER INFO
Name: William Zillman
Date of Birth: 30/07/1986
Hometown: Tamworth, NSW
Junior Club: Logan Brothers
Height: 181cm
Weight: 90kg
Position: Fullback, five/eighth, halfback
Maybe Searley & Carty see him as more than a fullback & have bought him as possibly the backup for Prince or Rogers when injury strikes or rep season or even retirements :eyebrows:
I was happy for the Titans not to sign him but now that he has WOOHOO :thumbsup:
Tamwelg
07-04-08, 03:26 PM
Zillman signs with Titans
April 07, 2008
CANBERRA fullback Will Zillman has signed a four-year deal with the Gold Coast, with the 21-year-old set to join the Titans in 2009
A desire to move home was the key reason enticing the young star to the Titans, with Zillman’s family living in south east Queensland.
“I am really excited about the prospect of joining the Gold Coast Titans and I have always had a desire to come home to Queensland and play in the NRL,” Zillman said.
“My family lives in south east Queensland and being able to play in front of them every second week will be really special for my family and I," he said.
Zillman had a breakout season in 2007, where he played 19 games and scored nine tries until he injured his anterior cruciate ligament against North Queensland.
The enigmatic player had only just returned to the Canberra line-up before suffering his second season ending knee injury against Penrith in March.
Titans managing director, Michael Searle, says that the club is excited about having the young fullback despite his injury setbacks.
“William is a fantastic young man and a Queenslander who will be a great ambassador for the Titans and rugby league for many years to come,” he said.
“We have met with his family and they are all excited about the prospect of William coming home and we are pleased to have a young man of such calibre joining our Club. William is a future star in our game," he said.
Zillman made his debut for the Raiders in Round 2, 2006 and has played 24 games with the club, scoring 12 tries.
Source - www.foxsports.com.au
I have some mixed feelings on this. dont get me wrong though it is a great siging
Is Zillman a great player yes
Do the titans need Zillman probablly not i know a couple of people on the forum have already brought this up but what about people like Nick Parfitt or Shannon Walker, i dont know it just seems like an unesscary signing imo.
Agree,throw in his knee problems & you have a very risky deal.
Tamwelg
07-04-08, 03:32 PM
CANBERRA fullback Will Zillman has signed a four-year deal with the Gold Coast, with the 21-year-old set to join the Titans in 2009
I reckon they must of had a specialist look at his knee and are confident it will be fine to sign him for 4 years. He is a talented player and will be a future star in the NRL.
yea i agree he is a fantastic player......but necesary? no........ preston has shown great improvement so far this year and gets better with each game..... and with young guns sitting and waiting in the ranks i dont think it was a must to sign him.......i would much rather seen chris walker signed for another year or two....... (yes i know he is unreliable atm with injury but he is on a special contract that doesnt take up much space under the salary cap anyways)
but only time will tell whether or not it was the right decision..... we will now have no problems at all with fullback, its the other positions that might feel the pain........
good luck to him for the rest of the year at raiders and i look forward to seeing him in the Gold Coast colours....
i guess sometimes it does'nt "suck to be from canberra!!" :p
I have some mixed feelings on this. dont get me wrong though it is a great siging
Is Zillman a great player yes
Do the titans need Zillman probablly not i know a couple of people on the forum have already brought this up but what about people like Nick Parfitt or Shannon Walker, i dont know it just seems like an unesscary signing imo.
Nick Parfitt is no longer with the Titans training squad. I believe he is looking for any club at the moment that will take him to the NRL.
Grimmace
07-04-08, 03:50 PM
Nick Parfitt is no longer with the Titans training squad. I believe he is looking for any club at the moment that will take him to the NRL.
I know that but he is still in the qld cup the point i was making is he is an effective player wouldve got the job done and probablly wouldve cost less than Zillman in his current situation.
Tamwelg
07-04-08, 03:52 PM
I know that but he is still in the qld cup the point i was making is he is an effective player wouldve got the job done and probablly wouldve cost less than Zillman in his current situation.
I have been a fan of Paritt, he has been solid at fullback in the QRL, but he doesn't have any where near the skill of Zillman IMO.
I reckon they must of had a specialist look at his knee and are confident it will be fine to sign him for 4 years. He is a talented player and will be a future star in the NRL.
He is recovering from knee surgery so I'm not sure how a specialist would be able to be confident.He has done 2 knees in 2 years so to me offering a 4 year deal was crazy.No wonder he signed.Campbell's doing a pretty good job there anyway & he's got a couple of year's left in him at least.
Grimmace
07-04-08, 04:03 PM
I have been a fan of Paritt, he has been solid at fullback in the QRL, but he doesn't have any where near the skill of Zillman IMO.
Not saying he does but this signing is an interesting one to say the least because there are lot of players off contract sure we can get rid of the likes of Kahler ( he can go back to canberra for a care) but then you also have players like friend, meyers, swain etc how are we going to fit them all under the cap
BING103
07-04-08, 04:04 PM
Dont be suprised to see Zillman go anywhere in the backline, not just fullback. Chris Walkers days are close to over, Preston Campbell is on his final years... Zillman is only 21! Hes going to be a great prospect for any team.
craigyd
07-04-08, 04:07 PM
From all reports he is as good at 5/8 as he is at fullback,Preston and Rogers are getting to the end of there careers and Zillman is only 21,he is a stand out in most games played and we can always do with someone of his calibre to fill the void of 3 positions if need be.
I agree this will be hard for Shannon Walker but the best player will be picked on the run on side so if he continues to proove himself there is no reason that he wont have the no 1 on his back sometime this year and into next year.
Massive_Weno
07-04-08, 04:46 PM
Woohoo!!! Tremendous signing by Titans management. Great to see a south east Queensland junior back up this way!
The question of whether we have too many fullbacks is valid however the signing of William is important as he is a young queenslander. Presto will be a great utility and if he continues like he is may well keep his spot. Shannon Walker will get his chance and there is always a spot on the wing for him. Its great to have added depth in not only the fullback position but in the backline in general.
Now onto resigning some players like Friendy before adding Hannant and Michaels to our roster!!!!
totally
07-04-08, 04:53 PM
Too right this is a mistake.....Shannon Walker is too old for 20s next season....he is being touted as a future star of the NRL ....what position is he being groomed for?
Zillman is a good player but I think the benifits he brings will not be enough to justify his signing.
Cant think of anything more deflating for younger players then there club throwing money at players who play there position.
Not unhappy with this signing as I am a massive fan of Zillman but to throw a 4 year deal at a 21 year old who has already had 2 season ending knee injuries doesn't make sense to me.
Fair enough if he is moving to Melbourne or New Zealand where he would be away from his family but surely if he was so keen to come home he would of signed a 2 year contract with an option for a further 2 anyway....:dizzy:
Fair enough if he is moving to Melbourne or New Zealand where he would be away from his family but surely if he was so keen to come home he would of signed a 2 year contract with an option for a further 2 anyway....:dizzy:
I don't quite understand that comment BigJ
TitansFan
07-04-08, 06:48 PM
It's good to see the Titans sign such a talented player for next year. Hopefully his recovery goes well this year and he puts his bad luck with injuries behind him.
I'm sure Searley and his people know what they're doing as far as salary cap issues go. And don't forget that a good team needs a few good players in each position to cover injuries, rep duties etc.
Titanium_BD1103
07-04-08, 07:23 PM
Great talent and fantastic signing... but I am not sure where that leaves everyone else though...
Preston is currently at Fullback, but surely Zillman will go there in 2009, so where does Preston go... on the bench.. not sure that's the best use of his talent...
Then there is Shannon Walker, he could play on the wing... but there's already Petersen, Atkins, Bowen, Jeffery and others there.. not sure he wants to be in that waiting list... he might leave and that would be a huge loss.
Something tells me some of our current players are playing for their futures for 2009... because with this sort of signing, while it's awesome.... it really squeezes the number of spots for the offering.. and all the pegs don't fit into all the holes.
Super Cronk
07-04-08, 08:20 PM
awesome buy by the titans!!!
It's quite possible Zillman will fill a bench utility role while Preston and Rogers are in good form. Wouldn't be surprised if he'd be a makeshift hooker if need be too.
I think there's more room in the backs than there seems.
Atkins and Jeffery can probably play centre, S. Walker can play wing, stick him on one and Petersen on the other, Preston at fullback, and we're looking good. With Preston and Rogers nearing retirement age, that makes some room for Walker to drop back, Bowen can come into the side if needed, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Zillman going into the 5/8 role.
RichOs69
07-04-08, 09:29 PM
Cmon Guys its all about depth...theres no point having 13 good players if theres no one with any talent to fill the injury holes.
Thats what killed us last year.
A great signing I say and will help to add to that finals winning depth that we have lacked.
TITANS FOR PREMIERS 2008 & 2009 BACK TO BACK :)
atkins was a canter but titans made him into a winger casue they couldnt put him in center
u prob see zillamn 1, peterson 2, walker 5, with preston on the bench at start of next year i rkn
Supergoose
07-04-08, 10:01 PM
Great signing and only increases competition for spots. We must have some really good deals going with some players because we seem to be able to fit a heap of players under the cap. We may have got Zillman on the cheap with the knee injury and the go home factor, which is why we might've signed him up for 4 years with some representative incentives built in to his contract. It's important that we cover ourselves across age groups so that we have succession covered off and don't get hurt by a mass of retirees etc. Zillman's signature makes sense after the loss of Sandow and he'll be an excellent replacement for Rogers when he's had enough.
I don't quite understand that comment BigJ
Sorry was at work and in a rush. What I mean is that if a player is moving away from their families to unfamiliar places then often they want the security of a long term deal.
Seeing as Zillman is in effect returning home I don't see the need to extend to him such a long term contract with his current injury woes. IMO it would have been a safer option for the titans to sign him on a 2 year deal with an option for the titans to extend for another 2 based on his form and amount of games played in those first 2 years.
Hope I cleared it up for you mate!!
Tamwelg
08-04-08, 08:25 AM
Zillman to add even more zip to Titans
Adam Gardini
08Apr08
TITANS boss Michael Searle yesterday hailed new recruit William Zillman as the `next big thing' in rugby league after signing the boom youngster on a four-year deal worth close to $1 million.
Nicknamed the `Zip Zip Man' and regarded as one of the fastest men in the NRL, the Canberra Raiders fullback will join the Titans next year until the end of the 2012 season.
The 21-year-old, who can also play in the halves, has long been on the radar as a potential star of the future, having represented the Junior Kangaroos and Queensland under-19.
But a cruel run with injury over the past eight months has halted his progress.
He scored nine tries in 19 games for the Raiders last year in his first full season in the NRL before rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against North Queensland in August.
He then returned for the opening two rounds of this season only to be struck down by the same injury again requiring his second knee reconstruction in less than a year.
But the Titans were not deterred by his recent injuries and Searle tipped Zillman to play Origin for Queensland.
It is understood the Titans were so intent on snaring the signature of the Logan Brothers junior, they dropped out of the fight to race boom Melbourne teenager Israel Folau a fortnight ago in order to continue pursuing Zillman.
"We're over the moon, he's the next big thing," said Searle. "It's a signing for me that's up there with one of our best.
"He was in the senior leadership group at the Raiders as a 19-year-old. It's rare to have that sort of talent as a young man."
Zillman is regarded as being on par, if not faster than Titans teenage sensation Shannon Walker. During pre-season testing in his comeback from a knee reconstruction, Zillman clocked a lightning 4.4 seconds for his 40m sprint.
Walker was timed at 4.7 for the distance -- but under different conditions.
"His time was probably better but Shannon's was on grass and he was in boots," said Searle.
"You'd probably say they are of equal speed. You put those two guys in a side in two or three years' time ... I mean one thing you can't do is coach speed and genetically he's got it.
"When you look at his speed and the look we've got around him with Ben Jeffery, Jordan Atkins and Shannon Walker, it's pretty healthy."
The Titans had been interested in Zillman for some time and Searle said they had not been perturbed by his latest injury. Zillman, whose father Mark played for Valleys in the Brisbane competition during the 1980s, had knee surgery a fortnight ago and it is understood to be already off crutches and on the road to recovery.
"It's the same as we weren't concerned with Scott Prince or Luke Bailey's injury records," said Searle.
"Knee recos are just a part of the game as are shoulder recos."
Source - www.goldcoast.com.au
goldcoastitans
08-04-08, 10:37 AM
AWESOME ....i cannot wait to see him in titans colours
totally
08-04-08, 02:37 PM
Knee injuries are shockers.....Would be nice to see him in 2 or 3 yrs with Walker...BUt im tipping Zillman will be retired by then.
Darren Lockyer
09-04-08, 03:02 PM
I have some mixed feelings on this. dont get me wrong though it is a great siging
Is Zillman a great player yes
Do the titans need Zillman probablly not i know a couple of people on the forum have already brought this up but what about people like Nick Parfitt or Shannon Walker, i dont know it just seems like an unesscary signing imo.
I couldn't agree more with you.
DIEHARD
09-04-08, 06:02 PM
I think he is a fantastic player with bucketloads of potential.
It's a shame he has had another serious knee injury but I'm confident he will bounce back.
Zillman also offers us some future coverage in the halves.
Welcome back to Queensland William! :clap:
Steel Dragon
09-04-08, 06:10 PM
Some of you forget Preston won't be around for too much longer - a smart signing, even smarter if they hold on to Shannon Walker as well. Walker will no doubt start in first grade on the wing anyway, soit's up to him to prove he's better than Zillman if he wants the spot at the back.
One thing I must say about Zillman - another Blue poached by Queensland at a young age. You mongrels have definitely rigged the "first senior game" rule to suit yourselves. ;) Oh well, at least you can't claim Walker (Tweed Heads = NSW).
Jason
If they ever have a Stallwell Gift type event for NRL players the Titans are certainties to take home 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
However, i tend to agree with Grimace. I guess the thing is, we are buying him more for season 2011 & 2012 ( long term gain), but just have to spot him a few hundred-grand to get him to stick around that long.
I think he is a fantastic player with bucketloads of potential.
It's a shame he has had another serious knee injury but I'm confident he will bounce back.
Maybe he will,but why a 4 year deal? Offer him 2 with an option for a further 2.If he does his knee again he will prove to be an expensive spectator.
also rogers is getting on n will retire soon
walker 1, zillman 6. the future?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BnRLnBCXRM&feature=related
he dont look to fast in that clip lol, came last i think, cliton beat him in a foot race
Remember the Titans?
10-04-08, 10:20 AM
he's quick over 40m thats all, if he stays fit he'll be a good buy but won't play origin whilst there's bowen, hunt, slater, inglis and god knows how many others in front of him. Once rated by "supercoach" elliott as a cross between Wing & Slater. Needs to work on his defence & defensive positioning but an awesome natural attacker more suited to halves with the ball but not a front line defender. Can we carry him, preston & princey in defence?
Trent083
26-04-08, 11:11 PM
Real disappointed to see this kid leave....kinda sucks given the way he was bought through the junior system down here, but at least he didnt bull**** the club about it, good buy titans, might have to catch a few more games now rather than just the raiders games
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