I'll just say- Tigers are unlikely to win here.
Either they will pay Utoikamanu on potential- and will be get criticised for paying too much.
Or they won't pay overs & lose him- only to be criticised for losing a talent of his calibre.
I'd err on the side of overpaying on talent.
I wouldn't have moved Ice to #13.
I would have kept Bateman at #13.
I probably would have shifted Galvin out of the halves to ease the pressure on him by now.
I'd have dropped Staines.
I'd not have dropped Faatape.
But- I'm not an NRL coach, so I'm just talking out of my hat.
There is...
I was absolutely down on him but I have to say- last few weeks, there has been a significant amount of improvement, particularly in terms of effort.
I couldn't be happier to be more wrong.
There are a few names we could afford to lose before Utoikamanu.
He's not the complete package, but the market would suggest he will be worth more than most of us fans believe him to be worth.
WE have nobody set to replace him effectively. And in theory, he should be on an upward trajectory.
Faatape, Sukkar, Matamua & Feledy have all looked to have upped their game from previous seasons (Faatape obviously being a 1st year guy is an exception).
Miller & Fa'agutu need more time on the field to develop. I'm off the belief that Lualili'i could play a role off the bench in 1sts. I'd...
I've said a few times this year that Benji can't fast track the kids into the side fast enough.
Clearly adding Luai & Turuva is an aggressive step forward in recruitment. We need whatever talented players we are going to build around on the field as soon as possible to have these recruits...
His decision making is starting to get shown up. Not a critisism- what do you expect at this stage? He should be option 3 at best. He's generally option 2 at the moment.
Weirdly, having seen him play more in juniors, I think Latu Fainu is a better immediate option. He's more complete at this...
Depth is the biggest issue, particularly bench depth. We are caught between the development of players & immediate results.
Our bench is a bunch of the same player, over & over.
We require impact. Just a guy that plays 15 minutes of rampage. Someone quick that makes teams look for them on the...
Jake Simpkin- could he be used similarly to an old Steve Walters? A hooker that plays a little bit of backrow? Like that guy from Manly- Karl Lawnton.
I don't know how strong his running game is, but his defence is fantastic. If he's on the bench, covering hooker, lock or second row- I wouldn't...
I get increasingly annoyed that people see a team play one way, and therefore we all have to play the same way.
Currently the Panthers are the top team in the comp. And Yeo plays are particular style of game at #13.
That doesn't mean every team has to play the same way.
Expecting Bateman to...
There's really not a lot of quality left on the market.
Some fairly solid additions, if we are looking to upgrade either significant weakness areas or the bench, might be out there though.
Staines has definitely looked better, so I'll leave him on one wing. Semi Valemei from the Cowboys could...