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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2752319, member: 1899"] Ya snooze ya lose. Ricky Stuart had 2015 to make assurances to Tevita Pangai Jr and kept sending him mixed signals. He had been a NSW Cup player since 2014, the club supposedly had big plans for him signing him to a Top 25 deal yet they dropped him to the NYC before he entered negotiations with the Brisbane Broncos. This was a player who was already a star in the NYC when he was 17 years old. They had to have known that he was ready to be blooded in 2015 yet went with other options. Where are those options these days? How good is a FPN doing? Mitch Barnett? Mark Nicholls? Jarrad Kennedy? What grand plan were they apart of? Obviously one that involved getting Joe Tapine, a great prospect, I'm sure Bennett would agree but you can't blame Pangai Jr moving on. Especially when he was receiving mixed signals playing for the Mounties with a view of playing first grade and then being relegated to the mickey mouse league. All in all, the biggest loser here is Newcastle. Not only did they miss out on a local junior in Pangai, but they also lost Tapine because of Rick Stone and how awful he was with him last year. I must admit, Newcastle is a sore subject for me. I find their plight interesting, especially since our current coach is implicit. I like to see where he went wrong and sift through who was responsible for what. When I look at a player like Joseph Tapine, I blame the management and Rick Stone. Here was one of the few shining beacons of what was a horrific 2014 for the club. A type of player that with some quality coaching and a regular gig could make something of himself. Instead, Tapine went backwards in 2015. In and out of first grade, no real rhyme or reason while other players stunk up the joint. By the time Brown came into town it was too late and Ricky got himself one of the best buys of 2016. And for Newcastle, it isn't just Tapine, look at Mata'utia, Gagai, Roberts, Mamo and all the NYC prospects they had and look at how they ended up. I feel bad for the Knights and what they're going through but apart of their issue is their inability to develop talent. Thank god Nathan Brown is addressing that and I truly hope he can build a future on Lamb, Cogger, Mata'utia, the Saifitis, King, Levi, Denniss, Butterfield, Taunoa-Brown etc. Can you believe they signed Stockwell on 325K? Ridiculous. I'm sure that's Bennett's fault as well. Just like the Pangai Jr to Brisbane was his fault and I couldn't be more grateful. I was worried about the initial teething problems and having to work his way up to gain his footing but he's really made the most of it. He took his Round 1 NYC appearance in his stride and by Round 3 was the focal point of the attack. They pushed him up and when the opportunity arose, he came off the bench and went out there and made a genuine impact. I'm super stoked to have him on board and I think he's going to be one of the break-out players of 2017. Hell, I think he's going to have a very promising 2016. I think in 5 years time, we're going to look back at this squad and be like 'Oh wow, TPJ, Su'A, Arrow, Nikorima, Ese'ese, Ofahengaue etc. coming through? No wonder we had such a great side' and I truly believe that. [/QUOTE]

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