Player Tom Ale

Makasene said:

Regressed this year? Not sure I agree.

He's been underused which can affect the numbers.

I would really like to see him get an extended run at some point. He, Jazz & Bunty seem to be fighting for one spot.

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Tookey 2.0 said:

Id like to see him get 5+ games of 40 minutes at some point so we can see what he's made of. He's looked good at times but he's only getting about 20 minutes a game atm.

He's at 36 career games so he's getting to that point where a decision needs to be made on what we're doing with him. Certainly in the nek 12 months or so things will become clearer whether he's in the squad long term or nah. Fingers crossed for him, I'm a big fan!

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Five&Last said:

He's definitely not being used correctly by Webby.

He's a huge motor/lower impact type player.

He's more of a Jackson Ford type player than a Marata Nuikore type player.

Give him a crack in the Jackson Ford role of high minutes and see the work he can punch out.

Hopefully he gets one game this season of 50 minutes.

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Defence said:

I was a fan- unsure if he was underutilized or just unlucky but glad to see him going to Penrith- hope he goes well there.

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wizard of Tauranga said:

Picked in the NSW cup team of the year. Think we could regret losing this one.

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Neo said:

It’s a hard one. He was thrown a start a few times in the past and really struggled. Then his bench role has been taken by Vaimauga. With other young forwards coming through it’s tricky. Definitely still young enough himself though to establish himself as an NRL player

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Tookey 2.0 said:

Started prop once for us once in 2023 and we smoked the Sharks 44 12.

2024 Ale only averaged 22 minutes a game which made it hard for him to show much at all imo.

Over his 3 years he played 30+ minutes 10 times, averaging over 100m in 35 minutes with 23 tackles 1.5 missed.
Has now made the Cup team of the year.

Someone mentioned in a different thread that we seem to have a fair few younger, and a fair few older players with not many in that 24-28 age gap which would help see in the younger bucks but not have to rely on them too heavily.

I really think Ale will be looked at as a huge missed opportunity for us. My prediction is that at some point he'll be playing 40+ minutes a game for Penny and racking up 130m a game

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Boats n Hoes said:

I dunno, i feel if he was really going to cement himself in first grade he wouldve done it.

41 games spread across 5 seasons.....19 and 15 in 23 and 24 respectively.....thats a fair whack to make yourself a first pick first grader if the performances warrant it.

I mean look at Leka and Demetric.....in just over a season they've shown their going to be first choice first graders in this team for the next 10 years probably

Just dont think u ever got that with Ale. That said he's 26.....he's coming up to the stage where props tend to hit their straps so its still not out of the realm of possibilty he kicks on......personally i think he'll just be a depth squad player for Penrith....nothing wrong with that....all squads need them. Best of luck to him.

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Boats n Hoes said:

I dunno, i feel if he was really going to cement himself in first grade he wouldve done it.

41 games spread across 5 seasons.....19 and 15 in 23 and 24 respectively.....thats a fair whack to make yourself a first pick first grader if the performances warrant it.

I mean look at Leka and Demetric.....in just over a season they've shown their going to be first choice first graders in this team for the next 10 years probably

Just dont think u ever got that with Ale. That said he's 26.....he's coming up to the stage where props tend to hit their straps so its still not out of the realm of possibilty he kicks on......personally i think he'll just be a depth squad player for Penrith....nothing wrong with that....all squads need them. Best of luck to him.

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