I think the club has a bit of thinking to do with the direction that they take Pauli Pauli. Having just looked at some of those Nines photos, it does appear as he just keeps growing and he still looks to have considerable room to develop his physique.
He has of course played mostly second row for us in first grade, which comes despite playing most his his junior football in the front row.
Meanwhile, I've said in the past I think he's the ideal modern-day lock and I could see him playing the same role as Sam Burgess did for Souths - basically having a bit of an ad-lib role, and mixing it up to make it most difficult for defences to set-up their structures to combat him.
However, Anthony Watmough's arrival at the club probably locks up that 13 jumper for a while. Meanwhile, Ryan Matterson is looking likely to take the role of utility off the bench, where he'd likely give Watmough a break.
Meanwhile, our second row strength is now looking impressive. With Manu Ma'u, Tepai Moeroa, Ken Edwards and a bunch of other prospects and options (personally I can see Brad Taikarangi fitting in there as the season progresses), Brad Arthur is going to struggle to fit Pauli Pauli into that position. On the flipside, he can be incredibly dangerous on the fringes running at slightly smaller men and also with his ability to pop away a pass.
However, I think if you had to pick our weakest area, it's probably our props. Not that we're weak there, but one more massive body could really make a difference to our go forward.
I don't think Pauli Pauli's running style is particularly suited to the middle, he's very upright and he seems a lot easier to pick off when he runs into the middle of the defence, but that could be worked on.
Right now, it's probably fair to say that Pauli Pauli is a work-in-progress. I'm just wondering where the club sees him, if not this year which will probably be another learning year, but certainly from next year onwards when he is probably going to settle into a position.
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He's the X factor coming off the bench, I'd play him as a wide 2nd rower he will create problems out wide for other teams!
Yeah agreed Bert. In fact I think it's pretty obvious he's far from guaranteed to hang around. I'd say the club will give him plenty of opportunity to improve but we won't be matching silly offers from rival clubs.
I guess Sixties would have the best indication of where Pauli is at. I think Pauli offers the most x-factor in the team outside of Sandow and should definitely be in the side. I have no idea what BA's plans are for him but I think a lot will depend on how much his physique develops. Just by looking at him you can tell there's not much definition at all in terms of muscle tone. If he bulks up I think he's destined for the middle.
Then on the other hand if that little something inside of him clicks he could be the most destructive player in the comp, lets give the kid a chance before we start writing him off.
I don't write anyone off. I'm just saying I'll support the club if they give him the arse.
I think of all the young forwards coming through the club it is Pauli that has the most potential. There are not many guys that are his size and weight with great speed, footwork and an offload. Yeah he might be inconsistent but for Christ sake the guy is still a kid. Can you imagine what he will do to teams on the edge of the ruck once he fully matures and stops growing? This kid could be the real X factor in our forward pack that turns us from a good team into a great one. Manu and Edwards are good backrowers but this kid could be a superstar.
He's not still a kid, he's been eligible to vote for two and a half years.
He certainly doesn't need to keep growing, what he needs is to improve his fitness and attitude.
I don't think Paulii's role matters much. His defence, or lack of is what concerns me. He's not in my starting 17 with a full strength squad. However I have no doubt he can be an origin player if he can defend so a 1 year timeline on his development is too short.
In terms of his NRL career and his body he is still a kid. He is huge but doesn't have that hard fully developed physique yet so he hasn't got anywhere near his peak. Attitude can be worked on but you can't give a kid that body size and talent.
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