Juniors - Pathways General Discussion

[weststigerman]

Such a dominant player Galvin.

Not sure how his skill set will translate to other positions at NRL. I don’t see why he can’t be a very good 7. Good kicking game and always on the ball making things happen.

 

[balmain boy]

He is one of ours? What position does he play? thanks for the news.

Most of the Westfields boys are ours. 13/19 in fact. Only a centre, halfback, prop and a few benchies not with us.

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

Hope it works out. Who was the latest from that school that worked out?

 

[dribble1963]

Most of the Westfields boys are ours. 13/19 in fact. Only a centre, halfback, prop and a few benchies not with us.

He signed with the Dogs.

 

[dribble1963]

I believe the coach Troy Weeden who has them playing a great brand of footy also has a job at Wests Tigers as an assistant recruitment coordinator.

He quit when Fulton was appointed. Not a fan apparently.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

He quit when Fulton was appointed. Not a fan apparently.

He signed with the Dogs.

You’ve mentioned some at Westfields have started to sign with other clubs. Who are you referring to?

 

[dribble1963]

You’ve mentioned some at Westfields have started to sign with other clubs. Who are you referring to?

I was told Finau had signed with the Dogs.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

I was told Finau had signed with the Dogs.

I guess we can’t keep them all but he looks a good edge prospect who has a good combination with Galvin.

 

[boonboon]

I was told Finau had signed with the Dogs.

I mean your never going to keep everyone from a undefeated schoolboys champion side especially in an area surrounded by nrl clubs. We can only hope we keep the top 3 or 4 or even just 1 or 2 exceptional ones

 

[Tucker]

Most of the Westfields boys are ours. 13/19 in fact. Only a centre, halfback, prop and a few benchies not with us.

They’re the ones we need

 

[balmain boy]

I was told Finau had signed with the Dogs.

He was under contract for next year, not sure if/why we'd release him. We need second rowers. Very few prospects at the club

 

[jojo]

Real talent.
To be scorching teams at that level at 16 years of age is something very special.
If you watch the Crichton and Murray highlights they looked very similar, although played a very different way.
But I have absolutely no idea where he should be playing for WT. I know he's playing 6 at the moment, but I think centre or Fullback would suit his running style as well. Unsure what his defence is like but if he's playing 12 for Scots you would think he's reasonable defender, but I wonder if he could hold his own at centre?

If you watch his highlights from the schoolboys the year earlier you can see the ball playing and kicking skills at six and the strong defence. Its scary how good he could be, elite all round skills

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

Great season continues for 17yo winger/fullback Riley Oitmann. Just won the Macarthur U18 premiership yesterday with the Camden Rams. Made the Junior Blues camp in the pre-season (along with Heath Mason, Samuela Fainu, Josh Feledy & Alex Conti). Scored 2 tries for our CUBS U17 team against Canterbury on the Tamworth tour. I'm sure he has been identified as one to secure long-term.

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

Pencil him in. Things looking good. Any other contenders? In any of the other 16 clubs?

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

Lord knows - they follow the dream.

 

[Tigers_Wests]

Good to see plenty of those names talked about in this age bracket re-appear and remain in our system!

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

View attachment 6764

Good to see plenty of those names talked about in this age bracket re-appear and remain in our system!

Great work to Wests Tigers Pathways for maintaining our top crop of 15-16yos at Wests.

The only one missing from this season who represented at a high level is fullback/winger Paul Johnson who was in our Andrew Johns Cup team & made Country U16s. @KingRobbie or others, do you know what's happened with Paul? Unless he's be shifted over to Balmain.

 

[KingRobbie]

Great work to Wests Tigers Pathways for maintaining our top crop of 15-16yos at Wests.

The only one missing from this season who represented at a high level is fullback/winger Paul Johnson who was in our Andrew Johns Cup team & made Country U16s. @KingRobbie or others, do you know what's happened with Paul? Unless he's be shifted over to Balmain.

@Eternal Tiger mentioned a few weeks ago that he'd heard Johnson is going to the Dogs.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

@Eternal Tiger mentioned a few weeks ago that he'd heard Johnson is going to the Dogs.

Thanks KR, we’ve done well to lose so few & maintain such promising talent. Look forward to the Balmain HM squad & SG Ball squads over the next few days.

What is evident is the family/brother element throughout our pathways - Saukuru, Laulilii, Isdale, Galvin, Large, Keppie & now Fainu.

We really should reposition our brand as the family club!

 

[jrtiger]

View attachment 6764

Good to see plenty of those names talked about in this age bracket re-appear and remain in our system!

will be a really good next few months for these boys before things ramp up for HM. Karnib should move to the back, with Glassie and Makasini in the centres and Onitoni at 5/8. Godinet, Taai and Havea should be the back row, with Milford and Ashton Large fighting it out for the hooking role.

unsure who will be on the wing at the minute, depends on a few things in regards to whether the coaching staff opts to move players around like they did with Galvin (back row) and Craig, Waqa and Colquhoun, who were all fullbacks who got moved to the OBs in 2022.

where it does get a little interesting is at halfback. Alex Isdale has the inside running, but has some players to ward off in Jhevon Lele, Jonas Peni and Sterling Faumui. absolutely outstanding depth in the halves.

where this team fell off last year was size in the forwards. I believe Christian Moors (related to Junior) has been brought in to counteract these issues. PJ French is another skyscraper who will do well. Isaiah Sheck has huge raps on him already and will likely play a pretty sizeable role. have heard good things about young Henare Reti as well.

we'll definitely know more about the fortunes of this side a few weeks into the HM season, but I anticipate they will go deep into the competition. very very exciting times in the pathways.