2008 Toyota Cup Thread

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News

[Stats]

Stats

[Canteen Worker]

Typical Manly side. Beat all of the semi finalists but struggle to do anything against the cellar=dwellers. Should be a good side next year.

[The Wheel]

What a shame out toyota cup side isn't in the semi's.  They played some great football tonight against the titans and showed that there is some potential Fg players in the side. 

So what was the score and who played well etc

[tookey]

Manly beat the Titans 38-10.

Best for us by a mile was the the big polynesian winger called Peneha who scored 4 tries.  He has only been in the team for the past few games that I know of and I don't know where he came from but he scores at least one try most games.  Maybe scuba or darren can let us know.

He looks a potential first grader along with Hopoate and Foran who also played well last night. 

Unfortunately they only have one more game to go this year but on their day they are well worth watching and can beat any team in the competition on their day particularly playing at brookie. 

Unfortunately they just weren't consistent enough this year which probably comes down to their young age compared to the rest of the other teams. 

Of the ones that I have seen this year I would have to say that Hargraves, Foran, Edwards, Topira, Lussick, Hopoate and Penaha are the most likely to play FG in the next couple of years. 

[deetroy]

Peneha played really well again IMO his tries came off very good go forward by the forwards. Edwards and Hargreaves did not play in the game and I thought young Tiopira had a huge game.
 
His development has really shown recently - I saw the game against Wests last week and IMO he backed it up, product of Westfields High School and Cabramatta has very good potential to be incl with Edwards, Hargreaves and Lussick as second row/front row stocks for FG in the near future.

Was involved in many of the tries and is a big unit (tall and good shape), didnt realise how big him and Lussick are and along with Tapaatoutai and Bennett the hooker they set up a great platform for the backs.

My question would be - I know Edwards and Hargreaves are involved with the Top 25 would Des Hasler or FG brains consider elevating Tiopira and Lussick or othe NYC players to train with top team over summer to give them full offseason training and mentorship with FG? It would be a good move

[The Wheel]

Thanks for that - sounds promising.  Deetroy I think Des would have the 'blue chips' identified and will be very close to the NRL squad for development, training etc.

I think Peneha has just come over to us from NZ - not sure of his background though

[The Wheel]

Notice we didn't get any players into the team of the year - except ex eagle Daniel harrison & Tony Williams.


Toyota Cup Team Of The YearFullback: Lachlan Coote (Penrith Panthers)
Wing: Jharal Yow Yeh (Brisbane Broncos)
Centre: Justin Carney (Canberra Raiders)
Centre: Tony Williams (Parramatta Eels)
Wing: Kevin Gordon (Gold Coast Titans)
Five-Eighth: Ben Barba (Bulldogs)
Half-back: Chris Sandow (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Prop: Russell Packer (Warriors)
Hooker: Masada Iosefa (Penrith Panthers)
Prop: John Kite (Bulldogs)
Second Row: Joel Thompson (Canberra Raiders)
Second Row: Daniel Harrison (Bulldogs)
Lock: Shaun Fensom (Canberra Raiders)
Interchange: Ben Hunt (Brisbane Broncos), Matt Mundine (St George Illawarra Dragons), Jordan Rapana (Gold Coast Titans), Ben Matulino (Warriors)

[willstyles]

Well, more than half of those guys made it to first grade this year, whereas not a single Manly Toyota Cup player saw first grade...and our team also didn't make the finals.

No real surprise there to be honest...

[tookey]

Manly v Panthers toyota cup is being televised on Fox Sports 2 @ 3:15 pm on Saturday (Septmember 6) if anyone wants to see what the team is like.  Should be a good game and we are in with a good chance to beat the panthers. 

[Dan]

Manly v Panthers toyota cup is being televised on Fox Sports 2 @ 3:15 pm on Saturday (Septmember 6) if anyone wants to see what the team is like.  Should be a good game and we are in with a good chance to beat the panthers. 

Awesome. Leanne is in Sydney for the weekend for a friends birthday.....which means it is a weekend of footy and couch surfing for me..... w00t bachelor again for the weekend.

[deetroy]

Well, more than half of those guys made it to first grade this year, whereas not a single Manly Toyota Cup player saw first grade...and our team also didn't make the finals.

No real surprise there to be honest...

Des didnt need to promote any Manly NYC players this year, he has some good prospects who could step up when he chooses and look for 2009

[Dan]

Well, more than half of those guys made it to first grade this year, whereas not a single Manly Toyota Cup player saw first grade...and our team also didn't make the finals.

No real surprise there to be honest...

I think that is as much because we were fairly consistent across the park, we also didn't have a massive injury toll this year and were able to cover most options

[willstyles]

Des didnt need to promote any Manly NYC players this year, he has some good prospects who could step up when he chooses and look for 2009

From what I'm told, Des just flat out doesn't rate the Toyota Cup (like a lot of people in the game), and thinks it is a bad thing because it puts too much pressure on the young kids and basically kills the career of anyone who doesn't make it by the age of 21. It's why Des still uses Premier League (NSW Cup) instead of promoting kids from the TC, unlike other coaches who will go TC instead of NSW Cup.

[deetroy]

Des didnt need to promote any Manly NYC players this year, he has some good prospects who could step up when he chooses and look for 2009

From what I'm told, Des just flat out doesn't rate the Toyota Cup (like a lot of people in the game), and thinks it is a bad thing because it puts too much pressure on the young kids and basically kills the career of anyone who doesn't make it by the age of 21. It's why Des still uses Premier League (NSW Cup) instead of promoting kids from the TC, unlike other coaches who will go TC instead of NSW Cup.

After today's NYC game against Penrith I'd say Des would be crazy not to look at his NYC talent. Atleast get the young guys involved with the top squad. He will have top talent right under his nose as the NSW Cup team relocating to Sunshine Coast for Queensland Cup for 2009.

I totally enjoyed the NYC game today and congrats to the boys for toughing out a great win
 

[Scuba]

Gotta agree with you 100% deetroy. There is no need to neglect the TC, but I'd like to see some of the boys make the move into the NSW Cup at some stage next year. Toughen them up by playing them against men on a weekly basis as opposed to boys.

Manly's inaugural Toyota Cup season has come to an end. Can't say it wasn't exciting. Just about the most topsy tervey season I can remember. We beat many top teams, and lost to many of the worst teams. One thing that killed us all year: inconsistency. Fix this, and we make the 8, and who knows, maybe even contend for the title. With that being said, many many many positives to come out of this year. Here's the main couple in my opinion:

1) The forward depth. Its great when you can see such a talented player as Kenny Edwards not even making the starting lineup in Round 26. I feel we have plenty to look forward to next year in the forward pack if players like Michael Tiopira, JWH, Kenny Edwards, Illija Radan, Darcy Lussick and Jamie Buhrer all remain fit and injury free. I feel this is probably the greatest strength of our team - our forward pack. At times they were brutal, hitting hard and laying a firm foundation for the likes of Foran and Cherry-Evans to make an impact in the halves. Another point to make is that it's great to see players like Brad Bennett and James Cunningham make the step up from SG Ball and still perform very well in the 20's.

2) Our halves combination. Continued to improve as the season went on. Really started to understand each others games and were working fantastic as a halves unit. Unfortunately, with the signing of Trent Hodkinson from Parramatta, there is a possibly this combination may not continue. Here's hoping Hodkinson gets a gig in the NSW Cup so these two can continue to develop together. I think they both deserve individual praise:
* Kieran Foran - 17yr old playing many years above his age. Plays well above his weight physically and has developed a very impressive kicking game to complement this. With a good off season in the gym, I expect to see Kieran a lot bigger and a lot more mature in his second season in the Toyota Cup in 2009. Was Manly's man of the match on several occasions this year. He will play first grade at some stage in the next 2-3 years, but his development should not be rushed.
* Daly-Cherry Evans - took a little while to find his feet but really began playing well as the season went on. Big kicker of the ball, excellent goalkicker, and has many traits that make him a excellent option at half back. He's not a liability in defence either, but does need to bulk in the off season.

I feel the Toyota Cup team did us Manly fans proud. They were tipped to win the wooden spoon at the start of the year, and are likely to finish 10th, only 4pts or so outside the 8. When you remember the games we lost by less then 8 points after leading for most of the game, or the matches we lost against teams well below us on the ladder, 4pts is nothing! They put in week after week and wore the mighty maroon and white with pride. Well done boys! Can't wait to see them back in 2009.

Speaking of which, I was doing some research on the players ages before the 2008 season begun. Note: players born in 1989 and 1990 are still eligible for Toyota Cup in 2009.

Birth years:

1990 - (1) Kieran Foran.
1989 - (14) Jamie Buhrer, Daly Cherry-Evans, Kenny Edwards, Ben Gilbert, John Grey, Matt Grieve, Matt Hurd, Jai Jones-Wiegold, Darcy Lussick, Illija Radan, Michael Tiopira, Ben Uptin, Cameron Warwick, Cameron Woo
1988 - (13) Matt Beger, Zac Bowles, Lincoln Gutherson, Matt Hastie, Darrell Jang, Tim McDonald, Brooke Nickson, Pat North, Bodie O'Connell, Santana Palmer, Bryan Perry, Trent Reilly, Inoke Tapaatoutai

Not sure - Jake Lingard, Mark Page, Todd Wilson, Rhys Wolloghan.

On top of this, we have players such as Brad Bennett, James Cunningham and Mitchell Porter who all made the step up from the SG Ball to play 20's in 2008. Also, Teariki Penaha (not sure on age), began playing with us midway through the season and ended up scoring 14 tries in 9 games. We have plenty to look forward to in 2009, thats for sure.

Where we can improve?

One word: consistency.

Recruitment?

We've signed Tony Williams and Trent Hodkinson from Parramatta, but I think if we are short on anything its backs depth. The likes of William Hopoate, Matt Grieve, Teariki Penaha (not sure on age) and Mitch Porter will probably start the year, but SG Ball players from 2008 will be called upon should injuries occur. I'm sure Crusher has things sorted. Must also mentioned, we have a few players to come down from QLD which we signed during the carnivals - so can't wait to see how they go.

This thread will continue throughout the finals series - I'll update it when I can.

Hope you've enjoyed the Toyota Cup coverage in 2008. Hope to see you back in 2009, where we will also be covering the QLD Cup.

Cheers.

[Canteen Worker]

After today's NYC game against Penrith I'd say Des would be crazy not to look at his NYC talent. Atleast get the young guys involved with the top squad.

The young lads are already involved and do some training together. They travel with the top squad. All the players are close - the first graders often check out the TYC as well for a bit of the game.