Bring on Latu Fainu

GNR4LIFE said:
I don’t see a place for him in the starting side unless Galvin or Luai go down. I suppose he or TDS will fill a utility role. If I had to guess, I’d say TDS would get that gig. Only because as a hooker, there can be a plan in place to give Api a spell for 20-25 mins a week. Whereas playing a half on the bench, it isn’t often there is a strategic plan in place for them, they are just there to cover the halves. Unless they come on and play dummy half, in which case, we have TDS. Fainu is better off in KOE cup then wasting away on the bench every week as injury cover. Which would adversely rob TDS of first grace time.
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I reckon they’ll flick between the two. But both need 80 minutes in KOE regularly to build their game for the future. TDS needs it more in my opinion, being a upcoming hooker more so.
 
GNR4LIFE said:
I don’t see a place for him in the starting side unless Galvin or Luai go down. I suppose he or TDS will fill a utility role. If I had to guess, I’d say TDS would get that gig. Only because as a hooker, there can be a plan in place to give Api a spell for 20-25 mins a week. Whereas playing a half on the bench, it isn’t often there is a strategic plan in place for them, they are just there to cover the halves. Unless they come on and play dummy half, in which case, we have TDS. Fainu is better off in KOE cup then wasting away on the bench every week as injury cover. Which would adversely rob TDS of first grace time.
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Exactly.
I hate carrying halfs on the bench especially 7’s. I would go as far as saying that it is detrimental to carry a 7, as it erodes the confidence of the run on 7, bcoz we all know if a half gets replaced mid game it’s bcoz they are playing shite.
A 6 if he’s the next big thing maybe you can justify that. We have two, we need to pick Gal at the moment as he has the inside running due to last season, and we want to re-sign him. Unless Latu has been training all offseason in another position and killing it, then he starts at 5/8 in reggies, and the bloke we are trying to develop as the next best hooker gets the 14. I feel people seem to forget we are trying to get TDS ready for 80mins of NRL too.
Personally I think Gal is the one who needs to move. I think he could handle it better and develop quicker into another role like centre, I’m not sure he will fill out for srf, but certainly he is more likely than Latu to excel at other positions. But that would be a team move, and as a lot of your other posts have pointed out, Gal doesn’t seem like he wants to make a “team move” especially to accommodate some other gun that is his competitor for the 6 jersey and the money that comes with being a gun 6.
 
Buttface said:
Exactly.
I hate carrying halfs on the bench especially 7’s. I would go as far as saying that it is detrimental to carry a 7, as it erodes the confidence of the run on 7, bcoz we all know if a half gets replaced mid game it’s bcoz they are playing shite.
A 6 if he’s the next big thing maybe you can justify that. We have two, we need to pick Gal at the moment as he has the inside running due to last season, and we want to re-sign him. Unless Latu has been training all offseason in another position and killing it, then he starts at 5/8 in reggies, and the bloke we are trying to develop as the next best hooker gets the 14. I feel people seem to forget we are trying to get TDS ready for 80mins of NRL too.
Personally I think Gal is the one who needs to move. I think he could handle it better and develop quicker into another role like centre, I’m not sure he will fill out for srf, but certainly he is more likely than Latu to excel at other positions. But that would be a team move, and as a lot of your other posts have pointed out, Gal doesn’t seem like he wants to make a “team move” especially to accommodate some other gun that is his competitor for the 6 jersey and the money that comes with being a gun 6.
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I see it the other way. A half on the bench that also covers hooker, lock and possibly centre makes much more sense than picking a specialist hooker at 14. TDS gives us no flexibility in case of injuries.
 
Buttface said:
When we have a bloke that covers all those positions competently enough, sure. Until then….
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Lol....how many teams have the luxury of having a back up player competently cover halves, hooker lock and centre purely in case of injuries during a game? Be realistic. Give me Latu's versatility and class any day over TDS. And that's not a dig at Tallyn. I rate him big time, but he only covers one position.
 
king_sirro said:
I see it the other way. A half on the bench that also covers hooker, lock and possibly centre makes much more sense than picking a specialist hooker at 14. TDS gives us no flexibility in case of injuries.
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What about if we lose a back (1-7)
TDS comes on and API moves to the halves with Galvin to centre.
I’m guessing naming your reserves is planning around having no injuries (perfect world) and then a scenario to cover every position if an unexpected injury occurs.
I would also like to see our forwards all playing to their ability
and we could start Bird on the bench as I see he gives good coverage for Lock,2nd row & centre if we did lose an outside back during the game.
Anyway we all have different opinions which is good otherwise if we all agreed this forum would be pretty boring 🥱
 
king_sirro said:
Lol....how many teams have the luxury of having a back up player competently cover halves, hooker lock and centre purely in case of injuries during a game? Be realistic. Give me Latu's versatility and class any day over TDS. And that's not a dig at Tallyn. I rate him big time, but he only covers one position.
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Good in theory, but Latu looked very unsure and hesitant with his distribution in the few times he come on and played dummy half for us in 2024.
That is strange in itself as generally distribution from dummy half is a breeze for talented halves.
 
king_sirro said:
Lol....how many teams have the luxury of having a back up player competently cover halves, hooker lock and centre purely in case of injuries during a game? Be realistic. Give me Latu's versatility and class any day over TDS. And that's not a dig at Tallyn. I rate him big time, but he only covers one position.
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Is Latu a versatile player? From what I’ve heard he’s rarely outside 5/8 due to him being good at, with only a few exceptions in recent rep games. But if he’s as versatile as you say then sure.
 
Vicious said:
Good in theory, but Latu looked very unsure and hesitant with his distribution in the few times he come on and played dummy half for us in 2024.
That is strange in itself as generally distribution from dummy half is a breeze for talented halves.
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I thought the same @Vicious unless he has spent a chunk of time at dummyhalf in training, I actually think Mason & Matamua could be better options if given the time at training to develop their service.
 
Kaito said:
Luai down at training sent 4 scans schoolboy footy round 1 Latu 6. Galvin 7 Da Silva 9 lmao.. hopefuly nothing serious
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That was the kind of story people might have expected about Latu.

Hopefully Luai is okay and Latu stays injury free for the season so he can show exactly how versatile he is.
 
Vicious said:
I agree he is far too talented to be playing reserve grade, wasted playing dummy half and not ideal for him to be playing anymore than 10-20 minutes here and there as a 13, particularly if we are doing more than our fair share of defending during that time.
The million dollar question is how does Benji best utilise and get the best out of the extremely talented Latu Fainu ?
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Agreed , Latu is not a reserve grader , and Benji seems to rate him.. kid with his talent can almost play anywhere , he played test football against England in the forwards
 
I'm not overly concerned with our ability to cover of injuries on the day with TDS on the bench as we have Bird and Api capable of covering the halves/centre postitions.

Latu didn't play a lot of footy last season so I think he needs to spend some time in KOE and pushing for that spot on the bench.

TDS will obvlously be playing round 1 but after that I would really like to see TDS start and have Api as his rotation (or the other way around if we want TDS against tired legs).

If we can get the rotations right and Bird operating as a ball playing 13 we will have strike across the park. I would like to see Hodgo and GI get Bula pushing up in the middle more as I think we could own that corridor against many teams if TDS/Api can give Hunt/May room to operate and having Bird/Bula in support.

For mine, certainly in the first part of the season Latu needs to be driving the team around in KOE for 80 mins week in week out. This will allow him to develop both his fitness and game management. He will get his chances to play FG when Romey is away on SOO or there are injuries/suspensions. No need to rush him into grade. I think he will be better for it.

When was the last time we had positive dilemmas to solve?!
 
Oldman said:
Yes hopefully Latu stays injury free so I can get a look at all the talent he is reported to have,
I’m hoping those in his fan club are correct.
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Me too, but from the little I have seen of him it has given me the impression that he does have something.

Hopefully he turns out to be an absolute excitement machine.
 
maybe Latu Fainu as the 14

if someone in the halves goes down latu fainu can cover
if api goes down latu can cover however not as effective at dummy half as TDS
perhaps latu can come on and play a roving

13 link type of role and substitute bird?
 
Jedi_Tiger said:
maybe Latu Fainu as the 14

if someone in the halves goes down latu fainu can cover
if api goes down latu can cover however not as effective at dummy half as TDS
perhaps latu can come on and play a roving

13 link type of role and substitute bird?
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Latu is capable of doing that, no worries. But ideally we want both grades playing the same style of.footy. Latu behind Romey. Matamua behing Bird. Johannssen behind May and so on down the line.

For the first time in I don't know how long we have good depth almost across the park. We are little shallow in known talent at second row and with consistent talent.at centre but we certainly have enough depth to cater for short term setbacks in FG. Long term injuries in key positions will test is.

Reserve grade should be a developmental side with a mix of experience thrown in with young guns on the rise. We have a reasonable mix for.2025. This should be the time and place for Latu to develop his craft and resilience and step in for Romey/Galvin as required.

If Galvin signs elsewhere later in the year, as several predict, Latu moves into his spot as.soon as that is announced and Galvin becomes a centre/lock or whatever for the remainder of his contract.

If Latu is absolutely kicking the door down in Reggie's, and remains fit, the coaching staff can then figure out a way to have him playing FG, but that is definitely a future problem and not a now issue. His development should be our current focus and he won't get that playing 20 minutes as a utility on the bench.

If he is as good as many believe he will rise to the top and be playing regular FG by the end of the season and Galvin will be probably be playing 13 with Bird on the pine.

Latu as 6/7 in Reggie's is where he should be for the short to medium term. TDS is ready now to share the duties with Api. That will be a great addition to our FG side on both sides of the ball.

That to me is the right club decision. Benji is a little.less averse to risk than me. Given his focus on rewarding off field performance we may be in for an early surprise. I think the trials will give us an insight to his thinking.

14 and a wakey: bring it on!
 
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