RunningRugbyRL
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Everything posted by RunningRugbyRL
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Thunder have announced their list of players leaving, including the suprise release of Craig Mullen to pursue opportunities away from the club. link - Thunder confirm departing players (thunderrugby.co.uk)
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I have counted 22. Going through announcements I have - Fullback - Craig Mullen, Alex Donaghy Wing - Jack Johnson, Gideon Boafo, Alex Clegg, Alex Young Centre - Marcus Walker Stand Off - Connor Bailey Halfback - Nikau Williams Prop - Jake Lightowler, Ted Chapelhow, Jay Chapelhow, Mitch Clark, Jake Anderson, Daniel Okoro (loan), Connor Moore (loan), Robert Tuliatu Hooker - Curtis Davies Second Row - Alex Foster, Brad Gallagher, Rhys Clarke, Nathan Clemmitt Loose Forward - Have I missed anyone?
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Lots of props announced so far, eight so far, wonder if any of them have been signed/retained to play 13, as the side have so far not announced an out and out loose forward. Squad looking good, so far...
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Really interesting interview with Chris Thorman on the Thunder youtube channel. Particularly impressed with the bits about realigning with the fans and building a top quality youth system and academy bringing players through to the first team. Saying all of the right things. Worth a listen. And good to hear a geordie voice in charge. Link -
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Announced on Thunder's twitter page, that Isaac Nokes has signed to play for Ipswich Jets in Australia for 2023. Really good opportunity for him and one you cannot blame him for taking. Good luck to the lad. Now we need to start announcing incomings ourselves, as we are currently lacking in key. We have no centres announced for next year, no stand off and no hooker. Hope Thorman and his team have the players in and are just waiting to announce them.
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Rumoured on this board. Second post down and discussed afterwards (link below), that Mitch Clark has also moved on from Thunder and signed for Baroudeurs de Pia XIII in the french elite league, for 2023. Anyone heard anything? It seems that the news of a move to Baroudeurs de Pia XIII was supposed to have broken on 24th October, but Thunder announced his retention on 2nd November, so not sure which one is correct.
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Hoping for some news on the retention of Isaac Nokes, Nathan Clemmitt and Josh McDermott this week.....be a shame if we let any of them go, considering they are all homegrown, and Nokes, especially was a stand out last season.
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I like the proposals put forward by IMG. It will be interesting to see which teams make up category A and category B, and to see where Thunder fit into these plans. I would imagine we will be category B, staying in the championship. An effective return to licensing will give clubs more time and a clear set of criteria to aim for, instead of just filling their squads with big money overseas players in order to win promotion and have to jettison said players to reach quotas, which, will surely shift the needle towards developing their own talent, which can only be good for the longevity of the game in the UK, and potentially abroad. I also like the proposals for the French sides, which will include a minimum number of domestic players per squad, which is to be determined, and can only be good for the growth of the French player pool. All in all, I see the proposals as a positive and look forward to seeing how the future unfolds.
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It has gone pretty quiet on the Thunder end as regards to plans for next season. With Josh Eaves signing for Whitehaven today and Ellis Robson signing for Keighley a few weeks ago, these are the only Thunder squad related news stories I have heard. Has anyone heard any news on incomings and outgoings for 2023? And is Chris Thorman as our new head coach true, or just a rumour?
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Could someone with a big more knowledge than me on the current Thunder academy give any insights into which players look exciting coming through and which, if any, could make the grade in the championship next season? In the last couple of seasons, Thunder have talked a good game on bringing kids through for the first team, but none of them have really gotten a look in, playing no more than a handful of games between them. Josh McDermott, Jake Anderson and Nathan Clemmitt were all promoted this season and none of them have really gotten a chance, with Betts and O'Carroll favouring bringing players in on loan from other clubs than giving these lads much of a chance. The same could be said of Alex Donaghy, who has been shifted around from fullback to wing, despite neither being his natural position. Donaghy played at stand off all throughout his youth career and represented England and Yorkshire in the 6 shirt. I would like to see him given a good run at 6 in the championship, as he has all the skills needed to flourish there, he just needs to be given that shot. Isaac Nokes is the only player of recent times that has been given a shot at the first team and has established himself as first choice centre. Granted, if Tom Minns didn't leave early and Jesse Dee wasn't injured as much, it may have been a different story, but he has taken the bull by the horns and for me, should be given the number 3 or 4 shirt next season. Going forward, I would like to see Thunder put more emphasis on bringing young players through into starting first team positions. Thunder need to start walking the walk when it comes to their youth development and give youngsters a shot to establish themselves as first team players. This would both save the club money on players and would help to forge an identity that the club has been lacking since Betts and O'Carroll came in.
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To be honest, I have not followed Workington much this season, but you do make a good point on the players I mentioned. Maybe it is just a bit of nostalgia in me.
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I was not aware of the rumours of Chris Thorman coming in until I found them on this forum. This would be a good appointment. Bringing someone with local connections into the club, will actually help tap into the Geordie tribalism that we all seem to have. I think it would also be smart to bring back players like Alex Clegg, Evan Simons, Joe Brown and Rhys Clarke, all of whom are a big part of the history of Thunder, especially Clarke and Brown who could come back in a player/coach capacity. On the helping to get behind the team topic...... The world cup will help attract new fans into league and into Thunder but the club have to capitalise on the opportunity with events and publicity closely linked into Newcastle Thunder so that new fans of league attracted by the world cup realise there is a north east club they can go and watch. Fan events throughout the summer and maybe a fan forum close to the start of the new season are a must. Also, a big must is announcing what the club will look like moving forward for the 2023 season and beyond and doing this quickly. With more transparency from the club, as to the new plan and who it will involve playing and coaching wise, so that come the world cup, Thunder can go all in to try and attract new fans and to get current fans excited about 2023 and the future of the club. Sorry for the long post, but one more thing the club could do, is to bring back "We are Thunder", the documentary series broadcast on Youtube in 2019 following the club. Even if they just do something like following the team around with cameras for pre season to introduce new players and give an insight into the goings on behind the scenes. I mention this because the we are thunder documentary is one of the big things that got me interested in rugby league and in Newcastle Thunder in 2019, so why wouldn't it work on other potential fans.
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To be honest, I think this is a good move from the club. It takes strong leadership to admit something isn't working, and I think they realise that they may have gone too big too soon. Going back to part time is the sensible thing to do. Yes, some of the players may leave if they can get full time contracts elsewhere. But to be brutally honest the playing roster needs a bit of a clear out, with the partnership with Wigan, I would guess, ending also, so the club and whoever comes in as head coach can concentrate on bringing through more of the club's academy players, supplementing them with championship experience. Long term this kind of move can only be good for the club, and the fans will see this and stick around, with maybe even more coming out of the woodwork.