- Talagi - had an alright game, a decent one considering it was his first ever game playing fullback. You have to give him time before just giving up on the plan to move him to fullback. Had a couple of good moments. If Gutho goes down immediately, he definitely would not be the option. But still for now, he must be given time at cup for at least 10 games.
- Dunster - was alright in a couple of meterage attemps as he was able to find his front. however he dropped the ball once and another time let the ball bounce. Really torn because feel bad for him and really rated him prior his injury. I think it is come to the stage where we give him half the season in cup to show something otherwise he needs to be shown the door.
- Harper - solid game except that one error where he for some fuck reason decided to challenge.
- Simmo - neither him or harper had a stand out game to decide the starting position. I do prefer Simmo for now but he needs ot start running forward and not side ways when starting sets because its so frustrating and pointless hit-up.
- Russel - shown great pace and had a good game. Definitely got the spot round 1.
- Asi - a decentgame and showed his versatility. Defensively he still misses some tackles. In attack someone said he doesnt back himself which looks the case. He needs more intent and energy in his attack.
- Sanders - showed why I believe he should stay at the club to learn under Barret and Moses. He isnt ready to be playing half back week in and week out. Kicked a ball out on a full, dead in goal and didnt find touch on a penalty. This shocked me. Never seen him kick so bad. Its normally his best skill. I do believe he is better than what he showed in the numerous times I have watched him so do please do not over kill how unready he is for first game. He just need games against grown men in cup.
- Rodwell - was a solid. Good depth for the club.
- Hands - made an arguement that BA needs to consider him as a utlity in the 17 rather than a 4 forward bench.
- Ogden - i thought he was great like many others. Very good depth option. However with Grieg and Paulo in the team, you probably want a more mobile defender in the 17. So will be challenging Grieg bench spot all year. Maybe Ofa too.
- Lane - good hit out
- Tualagi - probably the best on field for us. Hit hard and ran well. as i said gives a 'pap season vibes' but in terms of playing style, reminds me a lot of Papa and even Olkatau and Kolomontangi. Will warrant a spot in the 17 in round 1 now.
- Matto - As wiz said he played soft in the first half. I do not think BA liked it either hence why he stayed on the field in the second half. Needs to man up and be the impact bench forward he was before the contract extension. He was the best in the comp at it.
- Moretti - a ball of energy and was good. Great depth option. Will be challenging Ofa bench spot all year I believe.
- Greig - looks fit again. Gets great PCM and provides aggression I believe the club lacks since prime N Brown. Should be a lock for the bench spot. Though I do prefer him starting and Paulo off the bench. Doubt BA does it though.
- Doorey - was alright, Will probably play the full year in cup.
- Makatoa - was alright but I believe he is slowly falling down the pecking order. Should be his last year at the club to make way for the juniors.
- MA - poor guy got knocked out first tackle. I do rate him highly but always believed its too early for him given his position and size. He will be in cup and maybe flegg all year.
- Mataele - limited minutes. Should be playing off the bench in cup as an impact forward. will be interesting to see if he develops at all.
- Lynn - wont be revelant in the nrl this year. May get a cup spot when injuries occur. Always believe he looks better than he is due to the successful junior team. Will be given the opportunity to run the flegg team and show his talents outside the shadow of Sanders, MA and others. This will test and see if he does have that NRL future.
- Guymer - I thought he was good. tackled well and tried hitting hard. Will be like Liam Martin. Will be contesting Brazel for a cup backrow spot otherwise a bench spot. Could actually end up in flegg due to his age to give and giving other players senior the chance instead.
- Keir - not nrl relevant. may not even get a cup spot.
- Pryke - youngster who will probs start in flegg (lock position). Looked alright. Prospect but not for this year IMO.
- Cini - shouldnt be top 30 contract. isnt nrl standard which is the obvious problem since Dunster isnt either yet.
- Lumelume - idm him on a nsw contract as long as he isnt stopping juniors from having a go. was alright
- Martin - he still a raw talent. I know there was a blog about him but he still needs to fill out a bit for starting sets. Hopefully gets a cup spot and continues to learn the game and develop. Maybe a prospect for next year in the NRL.
Please keep in mind this is the first time most of these juniors have played against grown men. It was a massive learning curve for them. They will improve a lot in cup so do not be too harsh. Yes, they are definitely at least year away from being NRL players weeek in week out but they are genuine talents for a few of then. Lots of people overeacting here because all they have seen is the trial and maybe these juniors play one game. I have seen them play many games and I promise Sanders, Talagi, MA, Guymer and Martin will be the real deal soon.
I think the promising thing for this trial is that the players who will actually be playing NRL performed well. I have a feeling its more of the same as last year in terms of being reliant on the top 17. Our forward pack depth is pretty good. However, our spine depth is a worry as our back ups are juniors that still need time. So Asi will have an important role and needs to fix that tackling and be instinctive in attack. Our outside back depth again is a worry as Cini, Lumelume and Dunster are not NRL standard right now and Martin is not ready. Hopefully we fill that last top 30 spot with a utility back.
Assuming BA runs with this forward pack:
8. Paulo
9. Lussick
10. RCG
11. Lane
12. Carty
13. Hopgood
The battle for the 4 bench positions is actually pretty good. You have Hands who shown he can be a good utlity of the bench and than you have 6 forwards in Matto, Ofa, Greig, Tualagi, Moretti and Ogden fighting for the forward rotation.
Replies
Ik it is only a trial game, but on the back of his decisions last year and some of his form, can anyone see BA dropping Matto for the forwards that have been really impressive. At his best Matto is a borderline origin player with the impact he was providing from the bench. But post contract extension he has not been the same.
Matto was one of our best last year and for Christ's sake forget about his suspension, viewing a trial game and pissing on Matta is disingenius.
Yea agree was being too harsh. I think I just set his standards way too high.
Standards are set at the level he played at during contract negotiations . Anything less unless injured , he's simply not playing to his potential. He's not even in the same stratosphere . It's not unfair to question his attitude given what we saw at negotiation time and his choice to start last season by chucking a few sickies .
One of our best as in top 2 ? Top 3 ? Or just in the top 50% ? Very loose throw away comment there .
Where would you rank him here
Moses
Hopgood
Gutherson
RCG
Brown
Matto
Paulo
But then again, when was the last time Matto had a great start to a year? Seems a slow burn player. Plus more likely there for younger guys and going through the motions.
When he burst out of the gates on contract year and was selected for Origin .
Even that year he started slow. He started at Lock then shifted to the bench where he started playing well.
I agree, he needs to be one of our best or up there consistently for me. Like Lane is. If he doesn't live up to it this yr I'd look at moving on when we can. Can't afford to have such guys on great coin and not being consistent. He can definitely do it but last night I think there was some poor attempts in defence.
As you say EA "If Gutho goes down immediately" is a major problem for us ...and so I hope we use next trial as an op to give Russel a go there see how he goes - thought he was a stand out today
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