It's real easy to look at how badly our team is going and focus on the negatives, I'm really struggling to avoid adding to the pile-on... trust me, but I do think it's worth calling out that there are some good signs from our juniors in their first 3 games. We've had 7 rookies debut across the first 3 games which will no doubt pay dividends towards the end of the year.
- Iongi
Going great. Still has a little work to do in his defensive positional plays and icing our scoring plays, but he's looked great so far. His effort and endurance is high, we saw that he can execute in the trials, we just need to get him into the right positions so he can nail it. I think he's being let down by his inside men personally, but it's clear this kid has a high celing. - Tuivati
He has suprised me more than anyone. He's a beast and made some real impact on Sunday in both defence and attack. He didn't get much game time, but he's definitely a first-grader and I'm loving what I see so far. - Smith
No brainer, this kid is a star in teh making. We need to figure out how to pair him and bring him on with Hands or Lussik as he's not an 80min hooker, but his service is super crisp, and defence is looking better than Mahoney's when he started. I'd be okay bringing in Starling so we can attack all the time, but I see Smith as our long-term hooker option. Probably good we didn't shell out for Brailey at the start of the year as this kid can do a job. - Kautoga
I thought he played well yesterday when replacing Ofa in the middle. Still a little raw in potential, and was lucky to avoid giving few more penalties away, but his runs were great and his defence was strong. He just needs some game time and experience behind him. - Samrani
I'm still not 100% on his ability to be completely honest with you He looks good when he has the ball in hand, is good for an error or two, and his defence isn't that great, but that's a rookie for you. The jury is still out on Samrani. - Volkman
Filled in and done a job with both Moses and Hawkins out. He's not a natural organising half, so I won't judge him on that, especially since he done a better job than Dylan in my books. Looking forward to seeing him at 5/8 so he can run without the additional responsibility of running the team. He has real potential, but it's not the best time for him to showcase his skills right now with how the team's going. Definitely a good backup half to have. - Hawkins
First game done and he looked great. He aimed up in defence and we looked a lot more organised than our prevoous 2 weeks. He was barking order on the field and getting teh plays set, even though we didn't execute them, he was getting the plyers ready. He looks like a great backup half to Moses and glad we have him on board because it's been a while since we've had a decent backup 7 on the books.
So considering all these players have played 3 or less games, i'd say we're doing okay. Are we debuting too many together, yes, in my opinion we are, but our injury toll decides this, not Ryles.
Keen to hear your thoughts and observations on how they're going.....
Replies
Dead right they've all shown something but what we need to see now is continued improvement and consistency.Bigger picture the fact we basically have to take other peoples depth and they walk into our starting side smells of a bigger problem.
Out of that lot Tuivaiti is the only Parra junior.
Remember the days when Hindy , Vella , Lyon , Burt , Inu , Hayne , Vialecki ,Ryan , PJ marsh and the many others I've failed to mention were our silver lining ? Now we have this lot , how the once mighty have fallen .
I remember when Mick Vella first came into first grade and I think it may of been his 2nd or 3rd first grade game and we played the storm and won and Mick had a blinder , walking into the sheds at full-time Dennis put his arm around Mick and told everyone " here is another one from the production line ".
We glorify the past only when the future dries up .
It's numbing we had a pipeline that's where we have to get back to because all our neighbours are if we don't guess whose losing at musical chairs.
Frankie I agree mate, we're a long way off producing the quality we had in that era...
Yep this bunch couldn't tie the shoe laces of that bunch, well they could but..
I remember our reserve grade team had marsh, hinchcliffe,Mitchell Sargent,hindy,Ryan,Michael hodgson,lyon, just to name a few before they made first grade. I reckon back then our reserve grade team would of beat some first grade teams .
In that era from 97-2001 we had the best set up we were miles ahead of the others. Where did it all go wrong?
I think the fact that we have bought in juniors shows that there were gaps in the development ranks at Parra. In the past we would have filled these spots with frings first graders, but now we are looking yo the future. Looking at our junior ranks now, there are plenty of good players coming through the system, so hopefully we'll start to see some of the successes we had through the late 90s in time.
Great blog, Clintorian.
Agree with your run down, especially on Tuivati. I know we'd heard all the wraps & EA had done a great job giving us a good idea of what to expect, but yesterday he was often leading our line speed & made some really great desperation legs tackles too for a big unit.
When he & Paulo smashed one of the Dogs backs, might have been Tracey, it was fantastic.
I hear you on Samrani, but I do feel there is a player there and honestly I see him already well ahead of Russell, but that's just opinion & yeah he has a long way to go. Like that he runs the ball back very hard though, he reminds me a little of Fergo when he runs & with his height, and some confidence in time, he might become a pretty handy offloader. He's obviously depth at this stage when we are full strength though and that's fair enough.
Like everything about Ryley Smith, another player who often leads our line speed & contact, as a good hooker should, but for a player of his experience its ultra impressive. Good service & can defend, also has a handy kick, just needs time.
Iongi definitely has work to do, as expected in a very tough position, but like you feel he has all the attributes. By all reports he has the attitude & professionalism sorted, so its probably a matter of 'when' & not 'if' for him. Has a great passing game which is such a plus.
Iongi, Tuavitu, Ryley Smith, these guys with 50/60 games under the belt will be a different beast to what we are seeing, imo, which is very positive.
Tuivita has really impressed me. More than what I expected so early in his career. Not sure if he has even turned 20. Slowly Papali, Richie, Mataele and Latu should be integrated into that NRL side.
Latu might be fast tracked at this rate, EA? Shaun Lane couldn't catch a pumpkin & Kelma probably put a line through himself for now.
Look forward to seeing Papalli used, was a big fan of him through the juniors at the Dogs.
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