NRL & NSW Cup Team
So for the purpose of this blog I am going to assume our full strength NRL and NSW Cup side is something like this.
Firstly, before I name the Jersey Flegg team the following players; Sam Tuivita (20), Joash Papalii (21), Richie Penisni(20) and Charlie Guymer(21) are the only 4 from these two lineups that could play in Jersey Flegg. Obviously with injuries many more players under 21 have/will be given the chance to play NSW Cup. Twiddle, Lewis, Nanva, Hunter, & Lokeni have all played a few games of cup this year already. Alamadine, Lynn, Brown, Neemia, De Stradis & Spence have played NSW Cup last year or played one game this year.
Jersey Flegg Team
The Jersey Flegg team is very hard to pick. The coaches have a key decision to make on developing vs winning the competition. The players listed beyond 18 are ordered by position and pecking order if spots become vacant in Jersey Flegg due to injuries/suspensions/promotions of first choice players. So this also gives you a good idea of players pushing to be a part of the playing 17 in their relevant position. However this was difficult to order 100% accurately as the team has been rotated around a lot due to injuries/suspension/form/giving younger players a go. I tried making the extended team list as small as possible so I refrained from adding any SG Ball players who have not made their Jersey Flegg debut.
Player Analysis
As you can see there is an influx of talent coming through the grades. Lot of these players are 21 years old so will not be eligible for Jersey Flegg next year. It is a make or break year for many of these players if they want to have a future at this club. So I hope the club has a strong focus on this development by pushing these players through the grades and giving them more chances in the NSW cup. This means players who have already reached their ceiling need to be moved on whilst having experienced heads to guide these players on their journey in becoming better players. In the current Jersey Flegg team the 21 year olds that we should persist with are Twiddle, Lewis, Nanva, Hunter, Brown, Neemia and De Stradis. Give them an NRL pre-season on train and trial contracts so they can fight for a spot in NSW Cup. Need to remember that there are 30 players on Top 30 contracts and 6 on development contracts. Thats 36 players and only 34 spots in NSW cup and NRL playing 17. Obviously injuries and suspensions happen but the main point is that there is not much space in developing players over 21 years old when there is no guarantee of them being good enough for the NRL. So it is critical that we choose the players to develop as some of the names listed above in this paragraph actually have good potential.
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One of the greatest blogs ever.
This is the only blog ever so far that I've added to my phone's home screen it's that good
Will give some impressions on some of these based on the little (compared to EA and Sonic Boom) that I've seen:
Twiddle: I think he should be NSW Cup fullback fulltime next year, with Joash in NRL. He can also put pressure on Joash as a 6 option in NRL.
Richie: Needs a season in Cup with no injuries.
Matt Hunter: intriguing player. I really think if possible he can stay as 5th choice half, with injuries and stuff he should get about 10 Cup games nexxt year, and that's if Moses stays fit. Will he want to though?
Talataina: Looks a star but I agree should be focusing on Flegg only until midway 2026.
Will Lewis: Like Hutner, he looks good, but where does he fit? We have plenty of young edge forwards now, and he needs NSW Cup game time. If he's willing to sit and rotate between centre and edge I'd keep him. These kind of players can suddenly look immense out of nowhere.
Ultimately, I'd rather keep most of these players and get rid of the guys in Cup that are just doing nothing. I see no reason to keep the likes of Keir, Matterson, Dunster, Tago, and the host of Ron Massey players when the above can all take their place. It's not that simple though I guess.
Yeah, totally agree about losing the 'deadwood' so to speak. I was thinking "here we go again" with the guys comments about players moving on due to no opportunities. No re-signing of the blokes just taking up a spot if their contract ends. Tell the guys with contracts they can leave to find better opportunities.
Unfortunately, I think we're stuck with Matterson and possibly Lane.
I think Lane will retire. Tago is on a dev deal for next year still. Dunster won't be resigned I recon, same with Keir. Probably stuck with Matto though.
I'd like to know if Lane's still on paid leave. Surely he's out of sick leave by now. Probably on compo due to work related mental health issues.
Not sure. He is working for RLPA now.
EA, Max Popo is an interesting one. He is a Lock but does he have the ball playing skills? Is he a Jazz Tevaga type as per you report that he is smaller.
Or is he a future rotational workaholic? I remember you saying you rated Popo higher than any other forward we had. Sorry if i got that wrong.
Terrific blog by the way.
Popo was our best forward in SG Ball this year. Athletic. Big motor with footwork to bust tackles and poke his head through. Makes plenty of tackles as well. Honestly, a shorter version of Tamalalou. Nuggetty forward with big limbs.
He was critical this year for SG ball. He got injured in the GF and thats when Roosters came from behind and won so he was a big missing piece. Ball playing is not his strength so he will probably end up as a prop.
Just quickly, from HM & SG ball this year:
8. Talagi (18)
9. Coinakis (19)
10. Funa-Luta (19)
11. Polley (17) - (could end up as a lock too)
12. Petrus (18)
13. Bell (16)
That is a forward pack that should definitely play NRL and genuine top talents.
Also, i wonder if the club will try to poach a few top juniors elsewhere. They tried apparently to get Finau Latu.
I think the will poach juniors for Jersey Flegg & SG ball like they normally do.
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