2023 Squad, Signings and Rumours Thread

[NZTITAN]

Verrills, Foran, now Schoupp, and to a lesser extent Stimson.. The biggest thing to take away from all these signings is that they seem very deliberate, previously the strategy seemed to be just load up on whoever was available for a quick stint on Surfer's, now the Titans have gone and got two guys in Verrills and Schoupp who were contracted and Foz who seemed to be a Sydney guy. Definitely brings me hope that the Titans are going to be more needle-like in their recruitment approach. Still missing a bigger body middle though, curious to see who we pull out of the bag.

If Schoupp ends up being a decent goal-kicker he's probably the most perfect signing we could've had out in the centres at the moment.

[Hail Sezer]

Uhh....player profiles have been updated and....

is this an error?

https://www.titans.com.au/teams/tels...alome-saukuru/

[mdrew]

Uhh....player profiles have been updated and....

is this an error?

https://www.titans.com.au/teams/tels...alome-saukuru/

Good pick-up mate, surely not an error?

[Hail Sezer]

Good pick-up mate, surely not an error?

Seems very odd but he does still appear on the Tigers website and was included in this recent article as a player upgraded to Top 30 from their Dev contracts
https://www.weststigers.com.au/news/...on-starts-now/

We'll know soon enough either way but I reckon there's a good chance someone at NRL.com may have pressed the wrong button when assigning his profile to the team starting with "Ti"

[Cowabunga]

I'm so stoked to finally have a bit of a mongrel in the team in a player like Schoupp, we've been missing it massively as a team especially in the backs. We need a guy with that kind of attitude that will rub off on other guys and give them a bit more confidence and pride. BaeJ and Tino can't lead all by themselves on performance alone.

Having someone who gets under the other teams skin who's useful is going to be wonderful to watch after having J.Wallace be that guy...

Edit: Shout out to Mdrew, your threads incredible.

[Bayside Titan]

Gold Coast snaps up young gun
The Titans have signed a promising lock from the Knights on a train-and-trial contract.
Jaron Purcell, a 21-year-old local Knights junior from the NSW Central Coast, came to terms last week and is hoping to force his way into Justin Holbrook's top 30 during the trials.
Purcell looked good in the NSW and Flegg Cups for the Knights this year but decided he had a better chance of a full-time deal with a move up the coast

https://twitter.com/9_moley/status/1...JuGl9YMN0hG_QA

- - - Updated - - -

Raiders set to make double play for Titans’ $1.25m man: NRL Transfer Whispers


Radley altercation under investigation | 02:10
Staff Writers from Fox Sports
November 15th, 2022 4:22 pm
The Canberra Raiders are set to make a play to lure Gold Coast Titans star David Fifita to the nation’s capital, with Ricky Stuart reportedly meeting with his management.

Read on for all the latest NRL Transfer Whispers.

RAIDERS IN TALKS WITH TITANS $1.25M STAR

The Canberra Raiders are set to make a play to lure Gold Coast Titans star David Fifita to the nation’s capital.


The Sydney Morning Herald reported the Raiders have started negotiations with Fifita’s management in a bid to sign the former Queensland Origin star for 2024 and beyond.

The 22-year-old is entering the final year of his record $1.25 million a season three-year deal with the Titans in 2023, but has been free to negotiate with rivals since November 1.

According to the Herald, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart met with Fifita’s management last week and while an offer is yet to be finalised, Canberra view the back-rower as a player to build their pack around.

The Titans are keen to keep Fifita on a reduced contract, but are not willing to pay anywhere near the money they lured him from the Broncos on.

Last season Fifita failed to reach the heights of his first year on the Gold Coast when he scored 17 tries as the Titans went within a pass of the semi-finals.

He scored just seven tries last season and struggled for involvement as he was shuffled to the bench at times and lost his Queensland Origin jersey.

David Fifita could be headed for Canberra in 2024.
David Fifita could be headed for Canberra in 2024.
Source: Getty Images
The Raiders are also targeting Fifita’s partner, Shaylee Bent for their NRLW side, which would emulate couple Millie Boyle and Adam Elliott signing for the Knights.

Adding Fifita to a pack already containing Joseph Tapine, Josh Papali’i, Hudson Young, Elliott Whitehead, Corey Harawira-Naera and Corey Horsburgh would make the Raiders’ one of the most formidable packs in the game.

Fifita has scored 37 tries in 84 NRL games for the Titans and Broncos since his debut in 2018 and has played five Origins for Queensland and four Tests for Tonga.

Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!

David Fifita and his partner are being courted by the Raiders.
David Fifita and his partner are being courted by the Raiders.
Source: Getty Images
Speaking on the Six Tackles with Gus Podcast in September, Phil Gould said Fifita’s ridiculous price for his Gold Coast contract had harmed the game.

“If you go back in time to when they signed him, I said it was an irresponsible signing,” Gould said.

“$1.25 million for a 20-year-old back-rower is reckless spending. It actually caused problems with the whole player market and the values in the market.

“When you get an outlier purchase like that where someone goes and pays a ridiculous amount of money for a young back-rower, then the other back-rowers, forwards, halves, five-eighths and fullbacks in the competition say, ‘Well if he’s worth that, what am I worth?’

“It created a whole false economy … It’s not his fault he’s on that money. But it was harmful to the game.”

https://twitter.com/foxnrl/status/15...JuGl9YMN0hG_QA

[Hail Sezer]

Gold Coast snaps up young gun
The Titans have signed a promising lock from the Knights on a train-and-trial contract.
Jaron Purcell, a 21-year-old local Knights junior from the NSW Central Coast, came to terms last week and is hoping to force his way into Justin Holbrook's top 30 during the trials.
Purcell looked good in the NSW and Flegg Cups for the Knights this year but decided he had a better chance of a full-time deal with a move up the coast

https://twitter.com/9_moley/status/1...JuGl9YMN0hG_QA

To clarify....he's signed with Tweed on a deal that included a Titans train and trial.

[jacksonm]

To clarify....he's signed with Tweed on a deal that included a Titans train and trial.

I think you will find he shares the same manager as Schoupp, make of it what you will.

[Titanic]

If Fifita does go to the Raiders because of his squeeze then that is reminiscent of Arrow … star struck isn’t exactly my meaning.

[Hail Sezer]

Oh boy...the latest recruitment/swap suggestion being floated in the Courier Mail is going to set off some Titans fans in a big way

Reportedly we're looking to bring Chris Randall up as hooker cover. And in turn are considering swapping.....Greg Marzhew.

Discuss

[ozynorts]

Oh boy...the latest recruitment/swap suggestion being floated in the Courier Mail is going to set off some Titans fans in a big way

Reportedly we're looking to bring Chris Randall up as hooker cover. And in turn are considering swapping.....Greg Marzhew.

Discuss

I am ok with it if it means that Clarke is no longer the backup option at hooker. GM has had more than enough time to sort out his deficiencies.

[indoallstars]

Oh boy...the latest recruitment/swap suggestion being floated in the Courier Mail is going to set off some Titans fans in a big way

Reportedly we're looking to bring Chris Randall up as hooker cover. And in turn are considering swapping.....Greg Marzhew.

Discuss

Hell no!

[5 Year Contract]

Oh boy...the latest recruitment/swap suggestion being floated in the Courier Mail is going to set off some Titans fans in a big way

Reportedly we're looking to bring Chris Randall up as hooker cover. And in turn are considering swapping.....Greg Marzhew.

Discuss

I know we need hooker cover but this would be up there with an all time bonehead move. Marzhew could be anything if he puts it all together consitently. Even with his limited game time last year he was still top 5 in tackle breaks. Give them Herbert and 2 packets of minties

[Hail Sezer]

Controversial but for me, it's a no brainer.

This pains me to say but I'm just gonna rip the bandaid off and say it - Marzhew is extremely overrated by the Titans fanbase. There is a reason Parra never debuted him, no club picked him up, and why he's still not a first choice winger here. His carries are great. His defensive decision making, positioning, execution, effort areas and communication are all issues and haven't improved after a long time. Errors under fatigue is an ongoing issue as well. Marzhew has been in NRL systems for 5 seasons - what suggests that he's ever going to get it together?

Now look, this is really a depth a winger for a depth hooker. So in terms of salary cap and overall impact it's not moving the needle too much. But, let's consider some of what this team lacked in 2022...defensive effort, work-rate under fatigue, conditioning. Chris Randall is the guy who made 71 tackles in his debut and has been descirbed by Hayden Knowles as the fittest player he's ever trained in 20 years. High work rate, consistent, tackle-bot. And we need a depth hooker who's NRL proven.

edit - I'm well aware this take is not going to be well received haha

[willhelm]

Don't know much about Randall but not fussed about losing Marzhew and agree with pretty much everything HS said above.

I think Herbert was extremely hard done by this year by having to defend between Sexton and Marzhew. Sexton is one of the slowest lateral movers in the NRL and this was no doubt playing on Herbert's mind and affecting his decision making with when/how much to slide. Then as HS said, Marzhew's defensive decision making and positioning are horrific, which I suspect is the reason Herbert was so frequently shooting out of the line to try to shut down plays.

Rewind to 2021 and I don't think anyone here would've listed Herbert as one of our main issues. In fact, I recall us praising his defense and hard carries. I think some of us even had him as one of the buys of the year. Most won't agree with me and that's fine but I'd like to see Herbert get another chance defending between Tanah (or Foran if he plays 7) and JoJo. If he can't put it together in the first few months this year then cut him.