Thought of making it a blog just so people know how our depth is going given the NRL side have been hopeless.
I watched the replay of the eels game in reserve grade and they were very impressive. Only couple momets of lapses in defence were the worry from young blokes like Lynn, Sanders and Pryke. In terms of every play summary.
- Cini - has been very good since moving to the fullback. Plays like Edwards. Just many carries and a lot of energy.
- Lumelume - was decent but he has reached his ceiling. Whenever our injuried players return, he should be the one leaving the cup side.
- Tago - was solid. Will be pushing for a top 30 or train and trial contract for next year
- Harper - was binned for a professional foul. Was solid otherwise
- Martyn - showed his finishing skills and pace. Was about to run 50m and flex his speed until he tripped over his own feet. We need to keep him in cup this year. His footwork in yardage causes trouble for his opposition. Hopefully gets a dev deal next year.
- Lynn - Had a poor miss tackle for a try but played well with Sanders. The junior connection showed. However, he will drop back to flegg when Asi comes back into cup.
- Sanders - Really controlled the team. Had a poor read in defence for the first try but otherwise was in everything in our attack.
- Grieg - was solid. Couple good offloads and runs. Still want to see a bit more.
- MA - was solid in defence. Ran a few times from DH which is something we dont have in the NRL side.
- Parker - is a great work horse who makes his tackles and runs well. Not much of a ceiling but a consistent player. Probably play cup again next year and will push for a development deal next year with hope to continue on and get a top 30 deal in 2026.
- Keir - Older player who has been a main stay in cup for a few years. On a train and trial deal this year and probs the same next year unless other clubs may want him.
- Doorey - Jeez he must feel bad that he has killed the past 2 weeks in cup but Lane keeps his spot in the NRL. He runs great lines and showed great speed for his second try. I dont see why him and Tualagi can't share an edge role in the NRL while Lane has a stint in cup.
- Guymer - was solid. His defence and runs are consistent. Cleans up many tackles exactly like the player I compare him too, Jake Trbjevic. Should get a top 30 spot next year. I would be trying to move one of our big money forwards with how well Doorey and Guymer are going.
- M Luke - was good off the bench. Little pocket rocket used to give MA a spell. Had a great TA.
- Alderton - was hoping Tuivita got a go this week since Flegg had a bye. Alderton is not that much.
- W Latu - playing up from flegg. Was a great line running and hard hitting backrower in flegg last year. Played in the middle at the start however he is suited to the edge where he looked more comfortable, espically in defence.
- Pryke - only came on at the end and had a poor defensive miss from marker.
Replies
Thanks for this EA, keep doing it if you can.
Would you consider Martin a chance at all to debut soon? I saw he took 6 runs but not many of our backs ran much to be fair, is it just how it went for us where our backs didn't have much work to do or?
Yeah our backs did not have much to do this game in yardage. When we did, it was normally Cini taking 2 hit-ups in that set as he is that D Edwards-like fullback. Martin was good in his minimal yardage carries. He showed his speed a couple of times. I cannot see a debut for him yet. He was not really tested much in the game in defence or under the high ball.
I'm at the point with the crappy 1st grade side where I'm willing to make the following changes:
MA in for Lussick
Doorey in for Lane
Guymer in for Tualagi
with the reggies winning 3 in a row, you would be picking players in form, whilst it is reggies, they would be coming into 1st grade with winning feeling.
If MA was to debut, he'd have to play in conjunction with Hands or sub on for Lussick.
Gee that winger for west (Alex Lobb) is a massive unit!
You should see their prop Jordan Miller. Only 19 and the biggest player in the NRL.
You can't expect MA to play 80. I'd have him on the bench with hands starting.
Tualagi I like but Arthur refuses to give him decent minutes even with lane bring poor
I want Tualagi to be given a proper chance starting in the backrow along side Dylan before dropping him to reggies. He has not been given a proper chance this year. He has either come on late when the game is over or at centre. The only time he came on early in backrow was against Manly where Lane was HIA and in that time he did a great job protecting Sanders from Olakatou. When Lane came back in the second half is when issues started happening.
What I have seen of MA is he is very very slow and very overated. Will end up like his brother struggling to get a spot in Reggie's. I don't see what all the fuss is about?If he's our future we are screwed.
Space, the kids got mad talent. Watch some more. He has trickery, cunning n game smarts, pretty tuff too.
I will find a few more highlights, but he looks slower than me and I'm 55.