Official thread and signing news

Discussion on anything to do with Melbourne Storm - games, players, rumours - anything!
Scooter
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yourhero wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 9:34 am Since making his debut in 2014, Brenko has played 67 NRL games, averaging 8.3 NRL games per year, over 8 seasons.

He is the type of journeyman fringe player that we seek out, give them a simple job and see them flourish. His effort on Crichton in the GF I think really hurt his chances for this year, combined with an untimely injury and the fact we recruited better players ahead of him. So I get him moving on to play NRL games a bit more... I hope the Broncos aren't expecting to see his best football in QLD though. I suspect they are which talks to where the Broncos are at as a club.
Yourhero you are being very harsh on Lee in terms of last year's Grand Final. Are you talking about when Crichton broke his tackle to score the try? That was his only blemish.

In the first half he made four or five crucial tackles including some try savers on both Crichton and Kikau.

I don't think his Grand Final effort had any impact on his chances this year.

He got injured in pre-season, missed his return
match in Queensland Cup due to Brisbane COVID-19 outbreak. Then again got injured when he returned to Queensland Cup. If he didn't get injured in pre-season I believe he would have been starting centre in Round 1 with Reimis Smith starting on the wing.

It took Jennings a few matches to get used to Storm systems, so if Lee had come back without interruption he may have even replaced Jennings in round 5 or 6.

Agree he is type of player we give simple role to and they flourish.
Lucas
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Cheese gonna stay with us for 2022.
Bullucked
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Lucas wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 2:02 pm Cheese gonna stay with us for 2022.
Hope so, the way Hookers are falling we need everyone we can get.
Mattpoet
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I wouldn't mind holding onto Smoothy after that effort
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Yes, Tyson Smoothy can certainly play. He is a keeper. Also Bellamy liked him from the first moment he saw him so you can bet he will be given every opportunity. Pity about the PCL tear.
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yourhero
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https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/storm ... 1bad5d98cb

Storm star Nicho Hynes open to Broncos switch
Joel Gould
MAY 17, 2021

He’s impressed as an understudy for Cam Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen this season but Nicho Hynes’ future remains clouded as ever.

Off-contract Melbourne Storm fullback Nicho Hynes says he is yet to receive an offer from the Broncos and wants to make a decision on his future in the coming weeks.

The 24-year-old has been a standout as a starting fullback for the past month for Melbourne, but with Ryan Papenhuyzen and Cameron Munster both on deck next year at the Storm he will likely have to move elsewhere to be a starting player in either of his two favourite positions.

“There are not any offers on the table at the moment, just discussions with the Storm and the Broncos as well, so I can’t really make a decision,” Hynes said after starring in the Storm’s 44-18 win over the Dragons.

“I am seeing on social media that I am going (to the Broncos) but there has been no offer as yet.

“I would rather make a decision sooner rather than later so I can just focus on the rest of the year.

“The Storm have spoken to me. We were meant to have a meeting the other day but the COVID rules came again and they got a bit busy, but I am sure I will sit down with them the next couple of weeks in camp (at Twin Waters).”

The Broncos are struggling to find a fullback with the all-round game to shine in the modern NRL. The jury is out on whether Jamayne Isaako is that player and Hynes is one of the game’s most improved players this year who has clearly benefited from the Storm system.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy said Hynes was a player the club wanted to keep, while acknowledging the factors playing into his future.

“We want to hang onto him but there will be a few considerations there for us and for him – how much we can afford to pay him and what position he would prefer to play in a footy team,” Bellamy said.

“We will do everything in our power to keep him. The good thing about Nicho is that he is heavily involved and he can play a whole heap of positions.”

Hynes signed a one-year extension with the Storm last year but said his football had come a long way since then.

“It will be hard to leave this club because they gave me everything and made me the player I am but I really do want to test myself and be a starting player and a key member in a spine,” he said.

“I really love making game plans and being a leader in a team, whether it is this club or someone else.

“I will pay my respects to the Storm first and see what they have to offer me and if they want to keep me as well, but if I have to leave to have a starting role then I am probably going to have to.

“Last year when I was going through negotiations I probably wasn’t ready to be a starting player which is why I stayed here to be coached by the best and play with the best. Now I am playing more footy in the key positions I am ready to make that next step.”

Hynes had been in superb touch at fullback in Papenhuyzen’s absence and with Cameron Munster out with injury he was ready to play five-eighth against the Dragons. When Papenhuyzen was concussed early against the Dragons he went back to fullback where he was electric.

“Fortunately I grew up playing six and I was pretty excited to play there this week but Paps went down and I had to go back to fullback. Playing six or one, I enjoy both,” he said.

“I pinch myself every day to be living my dream and playing for this club. Unfortunately sometimes I have to fill in for injury and I have been pretty vocal that I want to be a starter. We’ll have to wait and see.”
blazza18
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Media has been very thirsty linking Brandon and now Nicho away from the club.
six rings
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The Sydneycentric media never post stories about how Penrith Panther's players want to leave to get more game time. They just come after Storm like we are a feeder club.
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yourhero
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Where are the “vultures circling” stories I wonder???
Shuttlesworth99
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I’d be shattered to lose Nicho and Brandon.

If Brandon left I wouldn’t mind seeing a 1 and 13 combo that switches with Nicho and Paps. Kind of like when Paps first broke into the side type role that they alternate between but for a whole game
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Problem is Nicho's contract will come up before Brandon's contract. Nicho is available this year and Brandon has another year.
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https://www.sportingnews.com/au/league/ ... sm8vu21n78

Melbourne Storm resigned to losing breakout gun Nicho Hynes as Broncos, Cowboys circle



The Melbourne Storm are resigned to losing Nicho Hynes after the off-contract breakout back revealed his ambitions of landing a full-time starting role next season.

Hynes' stocks rose again over the weekend when he notched up five try assists in the 44-18 demolition of the Dragons, in arguably his most dominant first grade performance to date.


Hynes has filled in admirably at fullback throughout this season in Ryan Papenhuyzen's absence, but was named to start at five-eighth against the Dragons covering the injured Cameron Munster.

He was moved back into the custodian role not long after kick-off however, when Papenhuyzen was knocked out by an ugly high tackle from Tyrell Fuimaono, and was instrumental in steering the Storm to their seventh straight victory.


The 24-year-old has been vocal about his ambitions to be a starting player in light of his pursuit of a new contract however, and expressed that again after the win over St. George Illawarra.

"I pinch myself every day. I get to live my dream with this club who have given everything to me and made me the player that I am," Hynes said in Brisbane.

"It's unfortunate sometimes I have to fill in for injuries but I have been pretty vocal that I want to be a starter.

"It would be hard to leave this club, but I really do want to test myself, be a starting player and be a key member in a spine."

Speaking on SEN's Sportsday, Storm football manager Frank Ponissi reiterated Hynes remains a priority signing for the club.

However, he conceded the Storm will unlikely be able to meet Hynes' demands for a starting role.

“It’s a really tough one,” Ponissi said.

“He’s a player we really want to keep, he’s come through our feeder system here at the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

“He’s done a marvellous job, he can play a number of positions.

“But, the difficult part about it is that he plays positions where we’ve got guys like Cameron Munster, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Jahrome Hughes.

“It’s not just a salary cap point of view, but he can probably see himself being a starter. If everyone’s fit he’s competing against those players (in Melbourne).

“He’s really happy and he’s a very popular player, he’s a potential future leader, there’s no doubt about it.”

The Broncos have reportedly expressed an interest in Hynes, with the club's stance on Anthony Milford's future at Red Hill still unknown. It's understood Hynes would also have the opportunity of playing fullback at Brisbane.
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https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... 7e96d282d9

Not so much a "signing", but a player outside our Top 30, not even on a development deal, that is listed as a possible inclusion at some point.

Jordan Grant
Before you get too excited, there’s no relation to Harry Grant. But Jordan Grant is making his own mark on the Queensland Cup. The 26-year-old prop is a new face to Storm feeder club Easts Tigers this year and joined Melbourne in an NRL pre-season. He previously played for Mackay Cutters where he nailed a spot in the Intrust Super Cup’s Team of the Year in back-to-back seasons. and he also took home Mackay’s player of the year award in both of those seasons. He’s scored two tries in the four games he’s played this year, is averaging 169 running metres and two tackle busts per game. Defensively he is outstanding, having only missed a total of three tackles this season.

---

Technically I think Booth falls into this category also.
six rings
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I would love to see Jordan Grant blooded this season. He seems to have all the attributes that make a Storm player. The good news is that other than Dale's injury, our forwards have been up and about for every game.

I still think our forward pack is very under rated especially with the new rules, they all seem to have picked up the speed of their play and off loading and we are making multiple metres through the mdidle on most sets of six.
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Sounds like Dale is thinking of going back to NSW for family reasons.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/05/19/fin ... -pressure/

The Dragons, Tigers, Bulldogs and Cowboys are understood to have expressed interest in the NSW Origin lock, who turns 30 in September.

Finucane is yet to receive an extension offer from the Storm and is well aware of the roster turnover that follows successful campaigns at the club.


"I'm certainly considering all options," Finucane said leading into Saturday's trip to Canberra.

"Looking back to say our 2016 grand final side, there were five people that had to be moved on from that side purely from a salary cap perspective. So I understand the nature of the business.

"It's something I'd like to have sorted as soon as possible."

Finucane has risen to succeed Cameron Smith as a leader alongside Jesse Bromwich after joining the club from Canterbury in 2014.

He ranks as one of the game's most reliable middle forwards with an impressive six grand final appearances (for two premierships) from 10 NRL seasons.


With a two-year-old son named Freddy, he and his partner Maddie will balance "lifestyle factors" in his next career move against the success and development he's enjoyed in the Storm system.

"It's funny when I was younger, I never really considered the fact that when people say that they're doing things for their families," Finucane said.

"But I completely understand that now. There are so many different factors that come into it. Obviously money comes into it for players as well, but lifestyle factors come into it.

"The success of the club you are at. There are just so many different things you have to prioritise as a player. To keep yourself happy as a person but your family as well.

"In my case I have a bit of a younger family size, so working out and prioritising what's best for them is my most important decision when factoring decisions.

"… My preference would be to not have it linger on for too much longer. The earlier we can get it done the better."
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