2026 recruitment & retention

[Cliffycomeback]

Jack Bird has stopped looking like a first grader for well over five years

He never recovered from those Broncos leg injuries. He is a shadow of the player he was at Cronulla.

 

[double hoops]

What other club is going to pick up Jack Bird if Manly don't?

 

[TheSoaringEagle2023]

What other club is going to pick up Jack Bird if Manly don't?

Maybe the Illawara cutters or the Gymea Gorillas

 

[TheSoaringEagle2023]

But, we need cheapies to fill out the top 30 and we can't sign anyone else because of Jake, Tom and Cherry's contracts. C'mon man get with the times and try to keep up. We are still in contention to play finals.

Apologies for my short memory, but hey...Kaeo wasn't much chop at Manly so we bring in Brooksy who has a ton of NRL experience. Look on the bright side...his missed tackles makes the others earn their money.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Jack Bird has stopped looking like a first grader for well over five years, Sharks, Broncos, Dragons and then to Tigers, having said that he seems like a perfect fit for us.

With the added bonus of an appropriate surname.

 

[double hoops]

With the added bonus of an appropriate surname.

Manly will miss out. Even the Gorillas have more $$$ than Sea Eagles apparently.

 

[Cliffycomeback]

Apologies for my short memory, but hey...Kaeo wasn't much chop at Manly so we bring in Brooksy who has a ton of NRL experience. Look on the bright side...his missed tackles makes the others earn their money.

Yeah I know. Kao was terrible except for the times he starred with Koula in the lower grades, doing then what he is doing now. Who could have possibly known he would turn out the way he has? I also remember him making a couple of brilliant attacking runs in his few games, playing out of position in firsts here.

 

[eaglebuzz]

We obviously aren't done with the player market yet. Time will tell but hopefully there are some pleasant surprises still to he had. I'm most excited by signings like Hugo Hart at the moment.

 

[Cliffycomeback]

We obviously aren't done with the player market yet. Time will tell but hopefully there are some pleasant surprises still to he had. I'm most excited by signings like Hugo Hart at the moment.

He looks very good.

 

[The Insomniac]

We obviously aren't done with the player market yet. Time will tell but hopefully there are some pleasant surprises still to he had. I'm most excited by signings like Hugo Hart at the moment.

No offence, and I wish Hugo well, but he's just a kid. If you think he's the answer to our immediate flaws,then I've got a bridge I can sell you.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

No offence, and I wish Hugo well, but he's just a kid. If you think he's the answer to our immediate flaws,then I've got a bridge I can sell you.

He may not be 19 yet , will be a gun but needs a few years experience first of all

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

Noticed this article at Yahoo Sports today:

Manly cop backlash from own NRL fans over mooted signing of two players from Bulldogs

Manly cop backlash from own fans over mooted signing of two players from Bulldogs

It hasn't gone down well with Manly supporters. Read more here.

au.news.yahoo.com

The news "sources" appear to primarily be from Twitter posts, but echo a lot of the comments already made here.

 

[Eagle 1]

Jack Bird free to leave the Tigers,here comes the “recruitment gurus” of ST’s suggesting “he’d be a good pickup,at the right price”

He reminds me of John Bateman, same style of player...no thanks.

 

[Eagle 1]

What other club is going to pick up Jack Bird if Manly don't?

PNG

 

[Disco]

Jack Bird free to leave the Tigers,here comes the “recruitment gurus” of ST’s suggesting “he’d be a good pickup,at the right price”

At this point the worry is less about the gurus here and more about our actual recruitment team.

 

[Wombat64]

I watch the clubs like the Roosters, Storm, Broncos, Bulldogs and their teams are just full of class and they recruit stars and the best juniors like shiny toys. A club like the Roosters with an already stacked teams can manage to fit in DCE and Reece Robson without really shedding anyone? Yet, little ol Manly we lose DCE and a few others and it seems that we still can't even fit within our cap a couple of mid level decent forwards (not origin level like Roosters). It seems we can't even recruit 1 .....

The NRL is a joke. What's the point of us? We're just a fluffer team making up the numbers and no one pretends like it is anything else. Season 2026 will be more of the same shxt we've seen in the past 10 years.

Sorry, this is nothing new and this post ads nothing...... just a rant. Rant over.

 

[Nordburg]

I watch the clubs like the Roosters, Storm, Broncos, Bulldogs and their teams are just full of class and they recruit stars and the best juniors like shiny toys. A club like the Roosters with an already stacked teams can manage to fit in DCE and Reece Robson without really shedding anyone? Yet, little ol Manly we lose DCE and a few others and it seems that we still can't even fit within our cap a couple of mid level decent forwards (not origin level like Roosters). It seems we can't even recruit 1 .....

The NRL is a joke. What's the point of us? We're just a fluffer team making up the numbers and no one pretends like it is anything else. Season 2026 will be more of the same shxt we've seen in the past 10 years.

Sorry, this is nothing new and this post ads nothing...... just a rant. Rant over.

Without shedding anyone?Lost a few million worth of talent at the end of last season and have basically replaced them this year with juniors

 

[Wombat64]

Without shedding anyone?Lost a few million worth of talent at the end of last season and have basically replaced them this year with juniors

Yeay, yeah heard all that .......poor Roosters Just compare their team to ours To me it doesn't past the pub test.....

 

[Wombat64]

What other club is going to pick up Jack Bird if Manly don't?

Ha, ha very funny, I thought the same thing.

 

[Brookie1973]

Yeay, yeah heard all that .......poor Roosters Just compare their team to ours To me it doesn't past the pub test.....

To be fair, there are a few roosters players this year who no one had heard of at the start of the season. Mark the winger, the centre who played SOO, the 5/8 savala, the big front rower etc.

What annoys me more is how proactive other clubs are with their roster management (eg roosters, dogs) while we just sit back and see what dregs the player managers will offer us.