Move Heaven and Earth...

[Disco]

Nothing personal, but I’m tired of the ‘Paseka - potential’ narrative. It’s not a small sample size we are working with…he is average. It takes more than height and weight to be elite and Paseka sadly does not possess much more. I don’t think he needs to try harder, I think we just need to accept that he is not elite. Inconsistency is not a choice, it’s a sign of a limitation and for various reasons, Paseka does not have consistency. He is just a decent first grader; nothing more and nothing less. I’ll be bowled over if a switch is suddenly flicked and begins playing like a man possessed week in week out for the length of a season, let alone what’s left of his career.

Agree with you on most things but not on Paseka being nothing but an decent first grader.

He has shown gradual year on year improvement and finds himself in the top 5 for props in the league for run metres, metres per run and runs over 8 metres.

Sure he is not with the JFH, Tapine Haas, Leota and AFBs of this world but for mine he sits comfortable in the next tier.

Very good front row forward coming off a good year and at 27 just hit his prime as a prop.

 

[LeonardCohen]

Agree with you on most things but not on Paseka being nothing but an decent first grader.

He has shown gradual year on year improvement and finds himself in the top 5 for props in the league for run metres, metres per run and runs over 8 metres.

Sure he is not with the JFH, Tapine Haas, Leota and AFBs of this world but for mine he sits comfortable in the next tier.

Very good front row forward coming off a good year and at 27 just hit his prime as a prop.

Aiden Tolman was statistically the best prop in the game at one point but like Willie Mason said, he didn’t bring what’s required from a middle forward.

I agree that Paseka is in the next tier, as you suggest and I’m pointing out that I don’t believe he will be in that top tier, which makes him decent and not elite. The term average and decent are at odds with one another so I can see how the sentiments of my post can be confusing.

 

[Disco]

Aiden Tolman was statistically the best prop in the game at one point but like Willie Mason said, he didn’t bring what’s required from a middle forward.

I agree that Paseka is in the next tier, as you suggest and I’m pointing out that I don’t believe he will be in that top tier, which makes him decent and not elite. The term average and decent are at odds with one another so I can see how the sentiments of my post can be confusing.

At one point Tolman was a good to very good prop....short period though.

But okay so some differences in langauge.

I take decent as solid, Aloiai for example, Id use average more as.....maybe not poor but fringe first grade levels.


So, semantics.....carry on

 

[Mal Cochrane]

I can’t think of a club that has four players around the million dollar mark that have just gone to market and snapped up a big name.

Even the Roosters have coin to go to market at the moment.

Penrith have lost some much talent, that speaks to some integrity within the cap.

I don’t believe Manly are just dumb and haven’t woken up to some talent on the market…they obviously can’t fit it under the cap or they’d be making a play. We have a lot of established first graders like Garrick that would be 200k more than the average run-of-mill roster filler. It adds up. It’s a pretty stacked roster that just needs to find an extra edge. I can’t remember the last time a team won a comp because they recruited a 475k middle forward that’s only just broken into regular FG.

Glenn Hall somewhat fits the bill..

 

[LeonardCohen]

At one point Tolman was a good to very good prop....short period though.

But okay so some differences in langauge.

I take decent as solid, Aloiai for example, Id use average more as.....maybe not poor but fringe first grade levels.


So, semantics.....carry on

He frustrates me because he can have the odd game where he looks like a world beater (Dogs in rd.27 this year) but those performances are once in a blue moon. That leads people to suggest that he is inconsistent but there’s a paradox at play; he’s consistently a player that offers up a run of average games, followed by a big performance. There’s a pattern of consistency in how his seasons pan out and for this reason, I believe we’ve seen what he can do. He’ll always play the odd big stormer but there’s something in his physical and/or mental makeup that prevents it from happening each week. Guys like AFB and JFH turn up every week and the difference between there best and worst is a very very small margin.

 

[silvereagle]

He frustrates me because he can have the odd game where he looks like a world beater (Dogs in rd.27 this year) but those performances are once in a blue moon. That leads people to suggest that he is inconsistent but there’s a paradox at play; he’s consistently a player that offers up a run of average games, followed by a big performance. There’s a pattern of consistency in how his seasons pan out and for this reason, I believe we’ve seen what he can do. He’ll always play the odd big stormer but there’s something in his physical and/or mental makeup that prevents it from happening each week. Guys like AFB and JFH turn up every week and the difference between there best and worst is a very very small margin.

Sadly I agree. I have posted several times on big Taniela. Love the guy but he is unfortunately not our man in the middle. He cannot carry or inspire the team when the chips are down. He is not a leader. He is at best a support act and even that is inconsistent. For example, he was MIA for the Tongans on the weekend even though I thought the Tongan pack was on fire there for a while. If you cannot lift in that incredible game, then I doubt you can lift for most other games.

We desperately need a young mobile bull ala Leo Thompson / Tyrell May type guy in 25. Taukeiaho AND Lodge could possibly fit this bill (not so much the young bit) but if they can stay fit and healthy over 27 grinding rounds then I reckon they could do the job. If we can fix this rather obvious middle issue, then I think we can be a genuine contender next year.

 

[rmd]

I agree, Nella looked really pedestrian for Tonga, which was really odd, given some of his performances during the year for Manly. He has so much potential talent and yet just isn't really showing what he has. Hopefully in 2025 he'll really stand up and be a significant leader of the Manly forward pack.

If we get Bateman, and that's a big 'IF', maybe he can stir up Nella to be the type of 'go forward' and agressive player we need, and somewhat emulate Huamole, lotd knows he has the size.

Taukeiaho, Aloiai, Brown and Huamole add some real mongrel to the pack, while, in my opinion, Jake just has to move to the front row and do what he does, with his great defence and decoy runs.

Ultimately the forwards have two jobs:
1) get our attack on the front foot to free up our backline when we have the ball
2) secure the middle and put the opposition on the back foot when they have the ball

Simple solution but harder to do if they are not playing with extra energy.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

So it looks like May has signed for the Tigers. It also looks like, if it was an auction, we didn't even put a bid in. Which is fine, I guess. But do our coaches and management really think we're going to be able to compete for a premiership with the forwards we have?

 

[Disco]

Shame its not us but we were never really in the running.

Glad its the Tigers.

With Turuva, Luai and May along with the more modest Bird, Hunt and Skelton that is solid recruitment.

Throw them in with Bula, Galvin, S Fainu, De Silva and this Makisini and they may just be on an upward trajectory.

 

[frank stokes]

Shame its not us but we were never really in the running.

Glad its the Tigers.

With Turuva, Luai and May along with the more modest Bird, Hunt and Skelton that is solid recruitment.

Throw them in with Bula, Galvin, S Fainu, De Silva and this Makisini and they may just be on an upward trajectory.

Fulton may keep his job yet...

 

[Disco]

Fulton may keep his job yet...

Isnt he long gone?

 

[ricardo]

Served his purpose and shown the door, yes

 

[LeonardCohen]

Fulton may keep his job yet...

He was punted months ago.

 

[eaglebuzz]

Shame its not us but we were never really in the running.

Glad its the Tigers.

With Turuva, Luai and May along with the more modest Bird, Hunt and Skelton that is solid recruitment.

Throw them in with Bula, Galvin, S Fainu, De Silva and this Makisini and they may just be on an upward trajectory.

Their roster has not been their biggest problem, the management of the club has been.

 

[frank stokes]

Isnt he long gone?

My bad, I missed that... thought he was just at loggerheads with Benji but did not realise they punted him back in January! Too bad, so sad...

 

[mave]

Shame its not us but we were never really in the running.

Glad its the Tigers.

With Turuva, Luai and May along with the more modest Bird, Hunt and Skelton that is solid recruitment.

Throw them in with Bula, Galvin, S Fainu, De Silva and this Makisini and they may just be on an upward trajectory.

All the way up to their preferred 9th place finish.