Can't fault a lot of what's being said here. Except for
mt.wellington having Manu as captain...Manu has been around longer than anyone else but looks like a deer in the headlights a lot of the time, he doesn't really look like a player who is absorbing what's going on around him and adjusting his play accordingly. He tries incredibly hard, which is good...but not a captain for me.
Interesting suggestions with some of those teams. Both Tui and Tomkins in the halves would be worth a go, though I suppose with Tui I'd feel better about it if he was doing well consistently at NSW Cup level there.
Though the real area for concern is our forwards. We've got 2 forwards who are relatively consistent and effective in Lillyman and Mannering. What the fuck are the rest of them doing? None of them ever come near anything that would be considered good meters for forwards. Matagi, Rapira, Mateo, Bukuya are a waste of space IMO. How much cap is wasted in those 4? 1 mill? All so they can run 150m between them each week.
Cappy needs to decide if Ben Matulino is a prop or backrower too...because he started out well when he was moved to the backrow, and since he's been chopped and changed between the positions his performances have fallen off massively. Doubtful that's the only reason but he too has been woeful over the back-end of the season.
Not at all convinced re TL, probably a great guy to have in the squad, good leader etc...but he just does not look like an NRL quality player. Doesn't kick well, doesn't pass well, can't remember the last time he threw any sort of worthwhile cut-out or short ball to set up a try or line-break. His defense is the only real positive I can think of.
I have NFI what the team will be, but my priorities for the pre-season would be:
- Hurrell and Laumape training in the centers all pre-season, with a definite plan to have them both fit and firing come round 1, with specific, simple instructions to both about their roles
-
Fusitua on one wing, outside a set centre, all pre-season long.
- Manu to the forwards. Obviously been debated for many a season now, but it's time. Clearly his best attribute is running hard/straight, and he's effective at it. He needs to start training in the forwards, with a view to an impact role off the bench. He is just too poor defensively on the wing.
- Havili training with the first grade squad with a view to actually play him.
- Tui somewhere in the 17, but again...a player with potential that hopefully can fill a few different positions and add in an extra dimension on attack - until he finds his niche.
- I'd like to suggest a fix for the forwards, but I can't see how it'll be achieved. Clearly none of the NSW Cup guys are pushing that hard, and we're Ok with letting guys like
Paasi and Papalii go...so I don't know what the solution here is? Hoffman won't be the answer, he's steady, but he'll be Simon Mannering 2.0
