Before I get into this one, I just want to say thank you for the comments so far. The agreements and the disagreements have actually helped me to shape my own viewpoint on re-reading my piece, and it just goes to show what a supportive community this site has created. Really happy to be on board!
Backs:
At the beginning of the year I was fortunate enough to be visiting Sydney whilst the trial match between the Eels and the Sea Eagles was on. I really enjoyed getting to see the players up close as they sat on a sideline bench and warmed up right in front of where I was sitting. What surprised me though, was that our initial backline did not include Ken Sio but rather Vai Toutai for the first 2 rounds (correct me there).
Ken Sio has been a favourite of mine since seeing him make his debut in flying form and consistently being reliable on his wing throughout his career. He isn’t the most awe-inspiring winger going around, which I feel could be a good thing for us because he will be less likely to get poached from other hungry clubs. His game isn’t without weakness though, and perhaps Brad Arthur made the right call in relegating him to Wentworthville early in the season, because it has paid dividends up until now. What I love about Kenny is that he will be the first player to run the ball back as hard and fast as he can for the 20m restart, this really gives a good depiction of what type of player he is for our club. The guy tries his heart out and has reaped the rewards so far having scored 10 tries in only 9 games this season. Not only that, he has been pretty good under the contested high ball, rock solid under the uncontested high ball and has covered well defending outside Will Hopoate. I honestly think that Ken Sio is a player we should continue to foster because I see him as being one of our quiet achievers. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery from a shoulder injury and we see him back in action after the bye week.
The hype that surrounded Will Hopoate peaked and troughed in the 2 years that he spent devoting some of his prime years as an athlete to a cause he believes in. For this, he has my immense respect. It doesn’t matter what that cause was (religion, passion, family); it was important enough to warrant sacrificing that much. I think it can be seen as a true testament of Hoppa’s character. And I am just so proud that he is playing for us. Already this season, he has earned himself 2 representative honours and delivered on both occasions. As a Country supporter and an Eels supporter, I was absolutely baffled on how to feel when Hoppa managed to slice away victory and draw the game for the trailing City team. I was equally happy for him yet devastated that the rural boys had been unable to close out. He played through what seemed like a great deal of pain in Origin II. To his credit and and our club’s detriment, he did a fantastic job in keeping the Cane Toads try-less during the match, holding down the wing up against some dangerous attacking raids.
Fuelling the fire for the Origin scheduling debate, I must say that although we have not had as much of an involvement as some clubs have, it doesn’t seem fair that teams be under strength and have to come up against opposition who had no involvement at all (i.e. Penrith Panthers). This may be contentious, but I would go so far as to say that part of the reason why the Panthers have been so successful this season is that they have not had any players selected for Origin. Barring injury, they have not been disrupted in their preparation nor have they had the player fatigue concerns that the Cowboys or the Storm have been forced to deal with.
With this aside, we are lucky to have Will Hopoate, and I hope that we see him at the club beyond his current contract because he is a great player, an excellent role model and from all that I can determine, a genuine bloke.
Our combination of Semi Radradra and Willie Tonga has been very potent so far. Tonga seems to cop a lot of criticism and backlash and I feel that some of this warranted. A good player to compare Tonga to is Jamie Lyon, both have passed their prime representative era but they definitely still have a lot to offer their clubs. The difference that I would criticise Tonga for, is that he doesn’t have the same influence on a game. He is a quality player, a smart defender and his role in guiding Semi, helping him to become the talent that he is, has been exceptional. He deserves to be in the side although I just wish that he would go looking for more opportunities to stamp his mark on a game. I see Willie Tonga as an opportunist, not an activist. If I was Brad Arthur, I would be asking Willie to use the experience he has and try to get more involved. With this said, his role has been integral this year and I think that he deserved the call into the Queensland extended camp.
Finally, the revelation that is Semi! What a talent this bloke is. I can’t believe he is only 22 years old. He has a massive future ahead of him. I enjoyed reading about his backstory and his family back home in Fiji. What a relief it was the day that we re-signed him. He is an excitement machine, the games that I was lucky enough to see this year, I sat on the sideline and for the half that Semi was on that same side, people were just going nuts in the crowd around me. I couldn’t help but join in. He seems to be really enjoying his football and I admire the rise that he has had. This season he has proven to be just as effective at running the ball out of our own end and taking the tough hit ups, as finding the line at the other end. Currently he sits on 15 tries this season, 3 tries clear of the next best. What a reward for a hard working, honest toiler of a winger.
Perhaps the most exciting games that I saw Semi in were the Auckland Nines, he was causing absolute chaos and was truly one of the players that you just “get the ball to”. I wish this guy all the best in the future and same goes for his family; he said in an interview that securing a $1million, 4 year contract (correct me there) meant that he would be able to build housing for his family back home on the kava farm. An inspirational story for mine.
In summary, our backs are dangerous, reliable and have earned some humbling honours so far this season. It has been exciting to watch these guys lay on the points and scramble defensively, this is a backline that we can carry into the future.
Still to come -
Forwards:
Our Depth:
Replies
Good analysis, some paragraphs might help though.
Was covered in the spine piece.
Great piece and I like the added colour of your personal responses. Just one thing which annoys me year in year out.Origin experience brings untold value to a club for a finals campaign and following seasons. Clubs should pay a price and that price is the risk of losing games during Origin. If you had stand-alone Origin that would be unfair to reams not represented as they get no benefits at all from Origin.
So, what you're saying is that these outside backs are good blokes who try hard and some have cool back stories?
I eagerly await the advertised (see blog title) REPORT on the backs.
Can we not argue semantics on this Daz? I think he's done a pretty good job. These articles are what supporters sites are about.
I think Sio and Hoppa are huge losses for us and we would have won quite comfortably against the Knights and gone close against Melbourne with them in the team
Throw Manu and Peatsy in there and you tend to think that we could easily be sitting pretty with the panfers if not for injury.
Against Newcastle, we would have beaten them with Hoppa in the side. He just has the level of class where he would've drawn both the centre and the winger and put Toutai away down the touch-line.
Telling me not to argue semantics is like telling telling Tony Abbott not to tell lies. I might agree for some reason unrelated to your request but I don't like it.
But OK.
I loved the stories!