Napa, Klemmer find new homes in prop swap

Agree with you JB/TB. Losing Klemmer is a huge disappointment but stuff happens and I can't begrudge a person who wants financial stability for their family. Napa is now a Bulldog and I for one will support him and all the young blokes going around for the Dogs in 2019. Go Doggies!

Exactly,even the main 3 of last years forward recruits..Guerra had a plain final season at the Roosters,but played every game in '18 picking up 2 awards at the club presentation night..he was really,really good...Slade Griffin played out of his skin and into the Kiwis Denver Test side till cruelled with injury..and Herman E.,significant increases in every stat of his game compared to his final Bronco season in 7 fewer games..not to mention the encouraging development of the 2 local forwards Fitzgibbon and Daniel S...Mitchell Barnett is still only a boy but been a great buy...enter Klem,Glasby and Gavet and youve got a rat pack..

" I can’t remember that many forwards who have excelled after moving to the knights " Mark Sargeant from the Dogs, Marc Glanville from St George Tony Butterfield from Penrith of the top of my head

That would be a seriously good addition to an already seriously good team. The kind of player that, if he remained focused, they could almost ride on the back of to a premiership . Roostersback2back.

Maybe the rumours about Martin Taupau will persist. That would be one hell of an upgrade.

I can't remember that many forwards who have excelled after moving to the knights with Ben Kennedy being a major exception but The Big K could be pretty handy. Apart form personal reasons he possibly wanted to play for a club who look like contenders over the next few years. I can't really see Napa firing up too often at the Dogs but it will be interesting when they meet the Chooks with Radley and JWH.

Whilst I'm disappointed,I can see our younger forwards covering the meters that Klemwad made & I'm warming to Napa as he will bring much needed agro & will be our hitman..all is not lost...things happen for a reason.Welcome to the mighty Doggies Dylan.

Mate...extremely disappointed. He’s one of my favourite players and has been brilliant for the Dogs since his first first grade game. Particularly over the past couple of tough seasons. But it happens. I’m not going to say it’s ok when it happens to other clubs but then blow up when it happens to me. These guys bust and belt themselves into early dementia, knee and hip replacements and who knows what else for our entertainment. I’m not going to get dirty on someone for doing the best by himself he can even if I’d prefer he did it in a better way. Klemmer’s given nine years service to the Dogs, six of that in first grade and given every ounce he has in every game. Can’t knock a bloke for that.

You took this better than I thought you would, TB.

Bugger. Knights definitely got the better end of that deal. At his best Napa can be damaging but he’s lucky to deliver that a couple of times a year. From a footy perspective I’ve never really liked the bloke either so it’s gonna be a tough off season getting my head around this one. For mine, Klemmer is easily in the top five middle forwards in the game. Possibly top three. He changed his game this year adding an effective offload and pass before the line and I think he’s going to get better. If he can add a change of direction into his running he’ll be more dangerous again. Having said that I think there are very few (if any) props worth 800K per season. I think even Taumalolo has shown that he can’t win games on his own and needs a cohesive, firing spine. Disappointing to have to let him go while still under contract but the poison someone can bring who doesn’t want to be there is not worth it. It’s exactly what the Dogs don’t need right now. Seems like he got a bee in his bonnet about his deal compared with Eastwood’s but couldn’t get his head around the fact that Eastwood was in the last year of a heavily back ended deal, while his back ended years were still to come. Short memory as well, the Dogs signed him to a record deal for a player yet to playe first grade in 2012. Anyway, players have short careers and have to make out for their families etc. I’m disappointed without being dirty and wish him success for the rest of his career. I’ve always liked the Knights so better seeing him go there than most other clubs.

I’m thinking the same thing. Napa is no great loss , but they do need to replace him. Maybe a pommy international?

Well Newcastle win this, obviously. Klemmer will add some aggression to the pack, no doubt. The Bulldogs have picked up a mobile tackle bag who doesn’t threaten in offence. And the Roosters? You bet there’s no way they’d release Napa unless they had an upgrade in mind. But who?

Good signing for Newcastle, not so good for Canterbury. Klemmer will never go down in RL history as a highly skilled forward, but has the grunt, the muscle and fire to benefit the Knights. Nathan Brown has backed himself to bring results to Newcastle and they are looking more and more a top eight contender. I just hope they ditch the idea of playing Ponga in the halves and leave him at fullback where he showed he is something special. It may have been Andrew Johns who first suggested Ponga could play 5/8 and the rest of the media jumped on it. I have no doubt he would shine at 5/8 but why move him from where he starred last season. As for Canterbury with Napa, well, I wish them all the best.

For sure,the Dogs have clearly been significantly weakened by this 'trade'..

Who'd a thunk?

Interesting move from Napa going from a premiership winning side to a club that's been plagued by issues out of their (the footy side of things that is) control and had to offload the last big name forward they hired just months into his contract. Must've been a hell of an offer.

Just another example of clubs realistically and sympathetically dealing with players on mid-tier money who get bigger/longer contract offers elsewhere. Nobody wants a disillusioned & unhappy player locked into their club, they don't perform. Same with the broncos and McGuire, you can't keep them all on mediocre money & I reckon the moves are not over yet as teams balance their squads & salary cap. Napa hasn't had that many great games over his now extensive career with the roosters while Klemmer has given great service to the dogs, who obviously couldn't match the knight's offer. Here's hoping brown can teach him to get one offload in each match at the least.

As a Dogs fan I'm disappointed. Love Klemmer. Despite his flaws (slow play the balls, lack of punish in defence and lack of an offload) he's a metre - eater and so, so consistent. Napa is the epitome of inconsistent. Only upside Napa possesses is his aggression (which needs to be checked). He's not worth big money and he's nowhere near the best middle forward at the Roosters. Would much rather take Taukeiaho or Liu. Hopefully he'll improve under Pay's tutelage.

This seems like a pretty poor deal from a Doggies point of view. Klemmer is without doubt one of the top half dozen forwards going around every week and Napa is a loose cannon who has his moments. It'll be interesting to see whether Pay has any more success turning Napa into a very good regular first grader because Robinson clearly couldn't.

Hopefully Dean Pay can teach him to use his arms and shoulders to tackle rather than just launching himself head first like a missile.