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    Tookey 2.0 said:
    Tell you what, if we could fast track him in now so he couldn't play for Samoa or Tonga I'd do that right now haha
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    I've thought about that and had to see it from an Island perspective.

    It's irritating because they are so talented.

    If you look at a rugby league team line up in the national premiere competition ,70% of the names will be Island,not maori ,pakeha or anyone else.

    From my experience,islanders live pretty traditional in the home.
    There heritage is well kept.
    You dont come across many brothers who dont speak there reo.

    So when choosing heritage over the nation they live in away from the islands.
    I see why islanders are proud to represent.

    Especially myself being maori.
    If Aotearoa Maori were an eligible nation,I would choose the Aotearoa jersey .
    Just thankful its not in the equation internationally.

    It's tough for these island brothers to decide.
    Just know NZ wants to help the islands grow the game.
    Now they are nearly there.
    Thought Aussie were on the same wagon but used Origin to there advantage until now.

    It's annoying for me seeing brothers go through our pathways and not play Kiwis.

    The Kiwi's will come out worse from this.

    But because of my maori view i cant be a hypocrite so i reluctantly see there's.

    Sorry for the novel on the wrong section.
    Feel free to move it,just a follow up on a reply and something I wanted to express for a while.
     
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    And this is why we won't be able to keep them all, especially when a couple become genuine stars and command top dollar.

    Neal I think will end up at prop. Only 17, will fill out further. He's taller than AFB and around 10kgs lighter. Just can't see him being on an edge by the time he hits 19-20 which he has the potential to debut at if his head is on right. Yes he's the same size as Kikau now roughly, but I don't think he's quite as dynamic on the edge, and when you watch his highlights there's lot of him ripping through teams up the middle.

    Then there's Sikuvea and Fatialofa who will probably debut before Neal as well.

    Injuries, form, departures happen, but if everything went perfectly in 3 seasons from now we won't be able to fit all our prospects in a largely home grown team and some of them are too talented to just sit in reserves for too long before another club comes with a contract and top 30 spot.

    Hypothetically our top 30 forwards at the start of 2028 could include

    8. JFH
    10. Vaimauga/Clark
    11. Laban/EIT
    12. Leka
    13. Sikuvea

    14. Fatialofa
    15. Neal
    16. Clark/Vaimauga
    17. Some random utility that takes up a bench space

    EIT/Laban, TSS, Salilo, Laumalili, Tuipulotu Vea etc

    And I'm sure I'm missing a few more too.

    Point is - if you had to pick 4 of those guys to move on you'd be picking 4 pretty good players to move on from.

    Good luck to Crosby, but he's just the tip of the iceberg. Some of the names above won't realise their potential or just want to shift out, others will emerge or fade out due to inuries. We don't get to see which is which either, we have to make a choice and then hope hindsight doesn't bite us.

    Exciting times, but there's going to be some anxious moments about whether or not we're making the right decisions.
     
    I remember in an interview in the last year Cappy talking about as a development club the hardest part was that you're gonna lose some good players along the way. At the time he was talking about Kaawyn Paterson.

    Is Crosby good? definitely. Is someone like Paea Sikuvea or Bishop Neal going to be better? probably.
     
    Naynay said:
    Get the fear, Healy at this moment hasn’t really showed the decision making he needs to be a top hooker (ofc this will probably come with time) Egan is still a top 5 hooker, healy need more game time at 14.

    Hopefully webby gives up the TMM at 14 so healy can get some time in
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    If I am Healey, I'm feeling like I'm right where I should be. Getting an education, not getting rushed, doing a proper apprenticeship knowing a jersey will be his when he is ready.
     
    This is going to be a long off season on the forum. Our team did very well and has a Kangaroo prop coming back into the side once he recovers from injury and a high growth high potential Halfback coming back from injury who may or may not bounce back to what he was. We don't need much of an overhaul to make the top 8 next year from a recruitment perspective.
    The penny will drop for people at different stages that Gannon offers some good back row depth and opens up a lot of options. So expect to see about two or three posts a month with people being struck with bolt of lightning and feeling compelled to share what he is capable of doing for the team after they have a Gannon epiphany and everyone only skim reading the epiphany as we have all heard it already.
    We have had our debate already for three days on whether TT is too small for fullback or whether CNK is so dire we should play TT anyway. There is now nothing left to say on that debate. Lines have drawn. Swords were crossed. Both armies have withdrawn from the battlefield to different sides of the english channel while keeping a steely eye out for any brush fires that need to be dowsed.
    Khan Pereira may get signed allowing for a flurry of proposed team lists leaving Dallin in NSW cup for the year. And a few Dallin tragics such as myself sticking up for him based on his kick return hit ups and personal mana.
    For those wanting spots opened in the top 30, occasional fingers being pointed at Freddy Lussick which will be met with nodding heads and thumbs up emoticons.
    She will be a long off season. Thanks for posting with me in the 2025 season. To keep this recruitment related I hope we get Chevy Stewart.
     
    Really interesting and heartening reading on the LU forum yesterday that apparently Jett Cleary and Kayliss Fatialofa are good mates and apparently Cleary getting in Kayliss’ ear was a big factor in him staying and turning down the panthers offer. Wheeled Warrior, a poster there sees him hanging around so it’s good to see these bonds forming
     
    Playdaball said:
    Clark - why move the best 13 to 10 or 8?
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    Ok, this might be an unpopular opinion and may even be way off the mark.

    I think Clark has had a great year. I have him down as our best player of the season, so please don't take this as a slight on him or his season.

    However, I do think he has played as more like a traditional prop in the 13 jersey - and delivered great numbers doing so. I think a number of times though, he has stifled our attack taking the hit up instead of using the ball or letting the backline have the play (some of that may be down to having our halves not set up for it too)

    At the Titans he was largely utilised off the bench. I would like to see him potentially used in that role here as well. He could play the same amount of minutes as he has been and we would get the same level of output that he has done this season, while also freeing up the 13 position for a more balanced player - a player that has ball playing and the ability to get us to certain points on the field. Walker was great at doing this.

    I guess my main point is that moving him to 8 or 10 or a bench prop isnt going to significantly change how he plays or his output.

    It's worth considering.
     
    The Warrior Waka said:
    Sheesh. Ya picked a broken spine there. Turbo has 90 year old knees. Metcalf is heading that way too. Egan has pavlova shoulders. And CHT's legs have dementia, Can't find where they left its speed.

    Still, With Turbos knees gone. Hes probably still faster than CNK.
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    They’ve been talking about multiple clubs approaching Reuben Garrick in November, but Tolu Koula has a player option in 2027 meaning he can be approached in November also. I’d love for us to go for him as our fullback
     
    Tookey 2.0 said:
    Yeah huge what if scenario. In theory, Tanah's game suits Webby's game plan quite well so it wouldn't be outside of the realms of possibility that Metcalf and Tanah could be 6 and 7, however I do think after the year that Chanel has had, he's easily the front runner.

    I think Tanah next to Metcalf would be great to watch, as long as we have a few other key pieces in motion - I think you want Leka on Tanah's side, Rocco chasing those bombs and if he's got AKP on the wing there, he's got several attacking options on top of what Metcalf can do...
    Could be as good as what CHT created this year
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    If the Warriors are to be a top 4 side, Tanah Boyd should be nowhere near the first choice 17. You have a reliable defender in CHT at 6 until one of the juniors demands selection, or something good comes onto the market.

    Boyd is in that Schneider, Weaver, Volkman bracket of back up halves (albeit he has 78 NRL games against his name)
     
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