Isaiah Papali'i has been the buy of the season regardless of how Parramatta's year ends. He went from fringe first grader at the Warriors to starting player at Parramatta.
But for me, herein lies the problem. Papali'i was brought to the club to be the bundle of energy needed when the opening exchanges were over and Junior Paulo and RCG left the field.
He filled that role expertly at the start of the season. Then, he forced his way into the starting side through his performances and an extended period of time off for Matterson.
Did Papa deserve to start? Absolutely. No question, he was the form forward in the competition.
However, should he have been starting? We're well aware of Shaun Lane's form struggles the past two season. He seemingly has the coordination of a new born deer on the edge these days and has transformed into a fairly serviceable bench middle where his considerable size is used as a battering ram.
But with Papa no longer coming off the bench, the Eels have lost the bundle of energy. That forward who can come on and help swing the momentum simply because he puts the opposition on the back foot.
Parramatta's bench is filled with hard runners in Niukore and Kaufusi alongside more utility type guys like Cartwright and Smith.
They all serve a purpose.
But neither Cartwright or Smith can really wrestle back the momentum when the opposition is on top. They're the type of players who can break a tight game open, or put the foot down.
Papa can do that, but he can also swing the momentum back Parramatta's way through his ability to make post contact metres, find offloads, keep the ball and be damaging in defence.
Maybe it's worth shifting him back to the bench and seeing if he can bring the energy around the 20 minute mark that can help lift the side.
Replies
I agree, wanted him moved back to the bench weeks ago for the same reasons you mentioned. We gave a couple of forwards out now so it could be more of a challenge to get the mix right.
Wake up, that's what BA does ,if a bloke wants to have a go and get involved Arthur will just work him to death. It covers for the bums he selects.
Next year, Niukore and Paplilii our my backrowers. I do not think a lack of punch from the bench is a problem. It is rather the utlisation of our bench. I will probabaly bring Carty on after 30min when the intensity and physicality has dropped, shifting Papli'i into the middle in his second stint. Using Niukore and Carty on the edge will help stiffin up our defence but won't solve it because the defensive system is like a written-off car. Niukore and Carty show good enthusiam, aggression and line speed as they put pressure from the inside. This helps our dum fuck compressed defence from being exposed.
You will? Something you need to tell us? You B.a's replacement? LOL
Lol. I am giving my 2 cents
Is your coaching certicate current EA ?
Never existed. I am a fraud
At least you did not pretend you won it out of a Cornflake box LOL .
This is one of the problems with BA he never rotates his forward rotation. It's the same rotation every week unless injury forces a change. Take Melbourne for example. Bellamy rotates, Nelson, Smith, Finucane, Kamikamica etc. This allows the players get used to/ learning playing different roles and increases their football intelligence. It also helps them learn to combine with different players explore different attacking combinations
Bellamy generally plays both NAS and Tui off the bench when they're both fit which is just insane forward depth, but also show he's willing to bench two damaging forwards because they can bolster the team when they come on
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