2026 halves plan

[Disco]

Obviously this is all quite new and raw but interested to hear peoples views on our best plan for 2026.

Will Walsh be ready?

Is Arthur a stop gap?

Are you behind the Tommy 5/8 play.

Do we go to market and for who? I've attached the off contract halves but there is also the opportunity to entice someone under contract.

For me I think we are about 12months too early for Walsh. For mine I'd pick up the phone to Reynolds for a 1 year deal with an option.

May sound difficult but with Hunt and Mam and young Coby Black coming through Broncos may not fight to hard.

That would give us a Bridge to Walsh whilst keeping our 'window open' however slightly open our window may be.

**can we please keep the DCE chat to the DCE thread, interested in people future plans.

 

[Uk eagle]

Lewis Dodd may be worth a shot especially if souths are willing to chip in

 

[Dion Johnson]

I think the club should test Walsh in NSW cup in a two to three weeks time and get a feel of his defence against the bigger bodies, along with his kicking game.

Only one way to find out if Walsh is ready and that’s road test him.

Should he look like he needs more time keep an eye on the Storm situation with Hughes, it’s either Pezet or Wishart that have a clause should Hughes resign they are free to negotiate.

For me Jake Arthur is not the answer and the club knew that when they signed him, they said they signed him as a potential backrower.

 

[Uber Eagle 72]

We will work it out. DCE was always leaving so this was inevitable. Ideally one more year would have been ideal but when you play money ball you don’t always win… time to move on and get on with it. Unfortunately despite what DCE thinks the media circus will continue throughout the year and eat away to some degree at the playing group.

Hopefully young Walsh will be able partner with Brooks earlier than expected….

 

[JBW]

If there's no new signing, Lehi 1, Turbo 6, Brooks 7 for the short term.

Though the kicking game will be very light on.

 

[frank stokes]

Will Walsh be ready? No

Is Arthur a stop gap? No

Are you behind the Tommy 5/8 play. No, takes away one of his best assets which is hitting the ball at speed

Do we go to market and for who? I've attached the off contract halves but there is also the opportunity to entice someone under contract. Who are we going to get for the $750K that we apparently have to spend? Options will be extremely limited and we would be looking at a discard - Reynolds (maybe), Townsend, Dodd, Sullivan, Sexton (if Chez signs with dogs), a new pommy half?

For me I think we are about 12months too early for Walsh. Agree (If he takes that step at all - many “promising” halves never have). For mine I'd pick up the phone to Reynolds for a 1 year deal with an option. Not the worst idea but if we were concerned about Chez getting injured then Reynolds takes that next-level - he will possibly spend more time on the sideline then Tom…

 

[Dion Johnson]

Will Walsh be ready? No

Is Arthur a stop gap? No

Are you behind the Tommy 5/8 play. No, takes away one of his best assets which is hitting the ball at speed

Do we go to market and for who? I've attached the off contract halves but there is also the opportunity to entice someone under contract. Who are we going to get for the $750K that we apparently have to spend? Options will be extremely limited and we would be looking at a discard - Reynolds (maybe), Townsend, Dodd, Sullivan, Sexton (if Chez signs with dogs), a new pommy half?

For me I think we are about 12months too early for Walsh. Agree (If he takes that step at all - many “promising” halves never have). For mine I'd pick up the phone to Reynolds for a 1 year deal with an option. Not the worst idea but if we were concerned about Chez getting injured then Reynolds takes that next-level - he will possibly spend more time on the sideline then Tom…

Out of interest what basis do you determine Walsh is not ready yet or will not be ready next year?

 

[Ben]

We will work it out. DCE was always leaving so this was inevitable. Ideally one more year would have been ideal but when you play money ball you don’t always win… time to move on and get on with it. Unfortunately despite what DCE thinks the media circus will continue throughout the year and eat away to some degree at the playing group.

Hopefully young Walsh will be able partner with Brooks earlier than expected….

The problem here is they are both left side players and left foot kickers.

 

[frank stokes]

Out of interest what basis do you determine Walsh is not ready yet or will not be ready next year?

He is 18, not played a full season of first grade rugby league yet and has never played NSW Cup or an NRL game (which finds the level of MANY out)…

Happy to be proven wrong but he has a lot to learn in a short time and is currently playing many levels below the standard that we are talking about…

he may be a unicorn but players like Bud Sullivan, Latu Fainu, Phoenix Crossland, Sailor, Ash Taylor etc indicate that he will need to be… Even players like Sexton, Metcalf or even Dearden took time to develop into that organising half role…

jmo…

 

[frank stokes]

FWIW… I think Tom will be the 6 as it utilises the squad we have as best we can and allows us to bring in another edge forward (forwards are cheaper generally)

 

[Dion Johnson]

He is 18, not played a full season of first grade rugby league yet and has never played NSW Cup or an NRL game (which finds the level of MANY out)…

Happy to be proven wrong but he has a lot to learn in a short time and is currently playing many levels below the standard that we are talking about…

he may be a unicorn but players like Bud Sullivan, Latu Fainu, Phoenix Crossland, Sailor, Ash Taylor etc indicate that he will need to be… Even players like Sexton, Metcalf or even Dearden took time to develop into that organising half role…

jmo…

Most likely you are right, I have seen it written a few times the last week by posters and the media that he is not ready yet.

I did read an article somewhere on here that was posted on Chocs thoughts of Walsh and he said the loss of DCE would be no problem for the club as he thinks Walsh and Dowell are ready.

I did read on an article of the NSW cup game against the Raiders, here is the snippet,

Manly’s hooker on debut Zaidas Muagututia had limited minutes off the bench, but proved an injection of fresh pace with serious potential as he helped speed up the ruck and subsequent attack from the Sea Eagles side.

My view is road test Walsh and find out if he is ready in NSW cup, it could be a nice surprise like Zaidas.

 

[Pete W]

Turbo to 6 is not the answer. It's got to be Walsh, even if he's still green.

Brooks will obviously be taking a bigger hand in attacking plays (which may prove to be quite beneficial), and if there is an issue with Walsh, we all know that Brooks just needs a steady game manager responsible for kicking duties. We really don't need a flashy, game-breaking half while Brooks is our 6 - a Trindall, Sexton, Humphreys type will be suffice in the interim - and there are a few around the NRL clubland. In this case though, I honestly think Arthur could fill this role capably if he could just improve on his own running game a bit. Who knows, maybe Haumole may even be better utilised.

Obviously there will be an adjustment period, but this was inevitable. Personally, I would be getting Arthur into the 7 as much as possible this season, and Walsh into Cup asap. By back end of season, Walsh should be getting game time in Grade. Just as importantly, we had better be quite aggressive in the market with DCE's salary in terms of a couple of elite forwards

 

[BOZO]

time to move on and get on with it.

Hopefully young Walsh will be able partner with Brooks earlier than expected….

The Bird has flown and it is time to move on
The Wooden spoon West tigers have moved on from Brooks to bigger and better things
Whilst we are stuck with him for a few more years
Our premiership Winning Window is well and truly closed with Brooks because he does not have the capacity to close Big Games

 

[Waz13]

Very unlikely but I wonder if another option (stop gap) might be looking at Croker back into the halves. I think it will be Tom to 6 and Brooks to 7. And if that happens our 9 (Simpson/croker) and Lehi need to start their kicking practice now.

 

[frank stokes]

Most likely you are right, I have seen it written a few times the last week by posters and the media that he is not ready yet.

I did read an article somewhere on here that was posted on Chocs thoughts of Walsh and he said the loss of DCE would be no problem for the club as he thinks Walsh and Dowell are ready.

I did read on an article of the NSW cup game against the Raiders, here is the snippet,

Manly’s hooker on debut Zaidas Muagututia had limited minutes off the bench, but proved an injection of fresh pace with serious potential as he helped speed up the ruck and subsequent attack from the Sea Eagles side.

My view is road test Walsh and find out if he is ready in NSW cup, it could be a nice surprise like Zaidas.

I have no personal knowledge of Joey Walsh’s professional development but I am gonna take any comments Choc makes on Chez with a grain of salt…

Based on past experiences with young players, I think you will see Arthurs/Matterson in the halves this year during origin and (unless we drop out of contention altogether) they will give Walsh another off season before they start introducing him…

But yesterday I never thought I would see Chez play in another team’s jersey so wtf do I know?

 

[frank stokes]

Very unlikely but I wonder if another option (stop gap) might be looking at Croker back into the halves. I think it will be Tom to 6 and Brooks to 7. And if that happens our 9 (Simpson/croker) and Lehi need to start their kicking practice now.

Croker can kick but he needs to be doing it more consistently…

 

[Carl]

Has brooks been doing more of the long kicking this year? I remember thinking about it during games and wondering if DCE was carrying an injury. Maybe more to do with 2026 preparations.

 

[master blaster]

Now that Garrick is firmly entrenched in the Wishart family, maybe he should be getting into Tyran Wisharts ear

 

[Leighbra]

Jake Arthur

Leads NSWCup with Linebreak Assists - 5
Second in line engaged - 27
Second in try assists - 6
4th in kick meters - 631
Second in All kicks 27
1st in 40/20 - 1

 

[XV-1]

Bring back Latu Fainu. He ain't playing 5/8th any time soon for the Tigers .