Aloiai Gone

Many will not agree but I think we’ll miss Aloiai more than a little. He started the year on fire & each time he’s played has been one of our best props. Sad that his career ends so soon but I wish him the best in his recovery. People need to applaud him & not bag him…..remember he was injured putting in for Manly!
i think he will be missed for his off field connection with the younger samoan players.
 
Not my favourite player but I do wish him all the best.

Not sure where the $1m in cap savings comes from. I thought Josh was on about $650k so that would go into our annual cap saving. Add in Sipley moving at about $400k plus the savings on DCE to Fogarty move and there is another $600k saving. I think we can safely assume Turbo retained and extended for a few more years but cut down to about $600k - 700k...so there's another say $600k savings on annual cap. That takes our total savings for next year at about $2.2m. Now the big question is Jake. Not sure I would be retaining him in the team but absolutely keeping him in the club. I think he would be absolutely invaluable as assistant coach and / or perhaps our defensive coach. Depending on what the club does here, we could add back his entire $950k into the cap (100%) or at worst (if retained in the team) re-sign him for 3 years at say $450. So at best we add $950 back into our cap or at worst $500k. That means we would have savings of somewhere between $2.7m - $3.3m. Apologies for all the numbers.

What the above means is we could legitimately go after a Payne Haas / NAS / Fifita. Really anyone we want.
Certainly could be some significant savings approaching but [ and could be wrong ] not quite as extensive with some of these estimates .
Have heard references that D C E has been scaled back to around a mil from 1 . 3 mil now , Alioia 450k and would have thought Sips in the 275 - 300 K range
Every realistic expectation that Turbo and Jake 's future deals will come right back so that is naturally where the big savings could potentially be
Then again , the inevitable upgrades to Lehi , Burbo and Bully and who knows with the likes of Talau and Faualo
T K O may even be offered a bit more for next season .
Some savings assured but then the pertinent question on just who is out there to bolster the squad and address some deficiencies , partial or otherwise right now or going forward
 
Certainly could be some significant savings approaching but [ and could be wrong ] not quite as extensive with some of these estimates .
Have heard references that D C E has been scaled back to around a mil from 1 . 3 mil now , Alioia 450k and would have thought Sips in the 275 - 300 K range
Every realistic expectation that Turbo and Jake 's future deals will come right back so that is naturally where the big savings could potentially be
Then again , the inevitable upgrades to Lehi , Burbo and Bully and who knows with the likes of Talau and Faualo
T K O may even be offered a bit more for next season .
Some savings assured but then the pertinent question on just who is out there to bolster the squad and address some deficiencies , partial or otherwise right now or going forward
They talked about this on 360 last night, not a lot of decent forwards out there to buy anyway.
 
Credit to Aloiai for really trying to put in and being quite competitive on his few appearances this season but over the past 3 seasons or so , probably has as bad a game availability deficit as Turbo .
May have helped a little bit late last year when Manly edged into the finals and his presence may have boosted the side a bit but doubt that he would have made that much difference against the Roosters in the 2 nd semi even if was playing some better footy .
Maybe can still continue to have a bit of a mentoring role at the club and can only wish him well but such a shame that his ability to play quite strong footy for the club has been so limited and affected by persistent injuries .
 
another 50-50 player - could be a star but ain't really that interested.
Lead the league for backrowers last year in average run metres and tackle busts.

Was 2nd for line break assists, 5th for offloads, 6th for line breaks.

He is a highley effective player, he is a star.

He could be THE best backrower in the league which is where it seems peoples frustrations come in but he is very effective.
 
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The only way I'd want Fifita, is if he would be willing to play prop/lock. I think his future lies there, as he clearly doesn't have the work ethic to persist in the second row, and he makes some rubbish defensive reads there. This fits with the NRL-wide trend of second-rowers becoming the new generation middles, as the game speeds up. E.g. Curran, Koloamatangi, Arrow, and Jack Williams. I believe Fifita could do a very effective job in the middle, he has the size for it.

If his work ethic does improve, and he proves himself as a second-rower again, it could be the situation whereby Burbo may move to lock, as some people believe. Last week showed he has nowhere near the speed/acceleration required for a centre. As he develops, I'm thinking that'll be where he ends up. Just needs to develop some ball-playing ability, like Haumole.
 
Fifita? I'd have thought our priority is a couple of tough defensive dynamos, not a top dollar attacking gun who has already been criticised in the past for not getting involved.
IMO We have enough defensively minded middles in Jake, Tevaga and Navale. We need someone who can spit out 100m+ regularly.

Fifita, when in good form, could be that man in the middle we have desperately lacked. Less time to make silly defensive decisions in the middle too.

Just a rundown:
  • 186cm and 115kg, good size for a prop
  • ~130 average running metres under Holbrook
  • Played his best, and most consistent footy under Seibold
  • Doesn't like Des Hasler
Sounds like a perfect signing for Manly!

Once again, worth noting that he has been riding the coattails of his form under Seibold for the better part of his career. I'm sure he would like to return to that form.
 
Is there any official update on Josh Aloiai?
I’d expect that he and the club will exhaust all rehabilitation options before initiating any medical retirement process. Even if that path is taken, it's highly unlikely the retirement would be finalised before the June 30 deadline—meaning we probably wouldn’t be able to enter the market for a replacement in time.
 
Aloiai has been underwhelming since day 1. I doubt he has ever been fully fit the whole time he has been here. Tried hard but just an average NRL prop IMO. I’ll take a medical retirement for him if we can invest in a more dynamic middle forward to replace him. Need some younger, fitter, stronger props. Do we not have any depth in this position - what about James ?
 
Do we not have any depth in this position - what about James ?
We may be about to find out! If props keep dropping at the current rate.
TKO has gone Ok when he plays but he's now had a calf strain (so-called old man injury) so how he pulls up from that, who knows.

James, Sykes maybe next up. They tried Lodge already he didn't last long.

Other option would be Jake to prop, bring Navale onto bench.
(But if so, for heavens sake play Jake for prop minutes, not 70 bloody minutes)
 

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