OFFICIAL SG Ball Cup

Wests getting smashed by a bigger, faster, smarter and hungrier opponent. The same with us in nearly every grade, every week.

There's not enough 19 year old in our Ball squad. No decent halves for Wests in any grade.

I'll say it again, we have massive issues with the lack of quality in our juniors. Our juniors are no better then everyone else's, in fact most clubs have much better juniors than we do.
The fact our youngsters very rarely ever improve is a massive concern. The last decade has been so incompetent
 
Wests getting smashed 22-4at halftime.

Men against boys out there. Eels are undefeated this season to be fair.

But you can't win much when your spine is as crap as it is here
 
balmain boy said:
Wests getting smashed by a bigger, faster, smarter and hungrier opponent. The same with us in nearly every grade, every week.

There's not enough 19 year old in our Ball squad. No decent halves for Wests in any grade.

I'll say it again, we have massive issues with the lack of quality in our juniors. Our juniors are no better then everyone else's, in fact most clubs have much better juniors than we do.
The fact our youngsters very rarely ever improve is a massive concern. The last decade has been so incompetent
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Fairly accurate in what you are saying, but ultimately it’s about finding talent that are a fair chance of eventually becoming regular NRL players.
Despite the scoreline Christian Taupau-Moors looks the goods and one I am confident could become a regular NRL player sooner than later.
Makasini is not getting much opportunity in this team, but is clearly a physical specimen who I’m glad has been kept in our system and looks likely he will find his mojo once playing alongside better quality players.
Riley Oitmann is only small, but lightning fast in the Papenhauzen mould and one worth persisting with.
Godinet has talent, but I am concerned he might not grow enough to have enough size when moving through the grades, only time will tell.
Archie Duncombe has been a bit disappointing today, but he’s got the game to be one to persist with for a bit longer also.
Tuifua is big and aggressive, he too could be one who could progress well if he has the right attitude.
 
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Vicious said:
Fairly accurate in what you are saying, but ultimately it’s about finding talent that are a fair chance of eventually becoming regular NRL players.
Despite the scoreline Christian Taupau-Moors looks the goods and one I am confident could become a regular NRL player sooner than later.
Makasini is not getting much opportunity in this team, but is clearly a physical specimen who I’m glad has been kept in our system and looks likely he will find his mojo once playing alongside better quality players.
Riley Oitmann is only small, but lightning fast in the Papenhauzen mould and one worth persisting with.
Godinet has talent, but I am concerned he might not grow enough to have enough size when moving through the grades, only time will tell.
Archie Duncombe has been a bit disappointing today, but he’s got the game to be one to persist with for a bit longer also.
Tuifua is big and aggressive, he too could be one who could progress well if he has the right attitude.
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Yes largely agree.

Once Taupau moors puts on another 10kgs he'll be ok. Our best prospect. Tuifua has potential.

Makasini has been pretty rubbish in SG ball. Poor hands and defence. He did make about 20 hit ups today which was good, but had zero impact on the game whatsoever.

Godinet and Laupepe are small back rowers. A growth spurt would help them massively, otherwise they along with Duncombe, Havea will have huge obstacles moving up the grades.

Oitmann can pray he's more like Papenhuyzen than Mullaney.

But the thing is every other club also has at least 1-2 Taupau moors, and 1-2 players like Makasini. In every grade. We have maybe one good forward and one good back in each grade and go on about how amazing our junior pathways are.

Newsflash, almost every other club has better junior pathways than us.
 
Balmain struggling to do anything with the ball, very one out. Tannous having another shocker.
Roosters too big and fast for us to contain.
Boys against men
 
🐓 going 80m a set, meanwhile we can barely go 20. The boys haven't shown up at all. They've got Tigers junioritis
Could lose by 50
 
Boys have missed about 30 tackles in the opening 20 mins. Logan Brookes still yet to touch the ball.
Territory 80/20 chooks.
Possession 70/30.
And chooks promoted Jarrod a dozen players from this side to flegg too.
20-0 after 20
 
The biggest problem is where is our skills and development plan??

Do not see one and there are enough parents complaining about the lack of one. Everyone can complain about the Roosters, Penrith and Parramatta but they have ploughed resources and dollars into their programs, which is something we have lacked. To highlight a good example of a skills and development program have a very long look at PSV Eindhoven and AFC Ajax yes i know different sports but the same principles all their lower grades play and train like they are in the first team, there juniors' players are hunted by all the top teams of European football.

A work college son played in the Roosters system until this year, would rave about the video sessions run by Cronk, and how much Pearce knowledge was passed onto players in kicking, play reading.

If West Tigers are really serious about pathway development, then they need to spend the coin. Why are the clubs best under 17's, under 19's split over two clubs. Time to move club in the right direction especially in the development side.
 
Bellend said:
The biggest problem is where is our skills and development plan??

Do not see one and there are enough parents complaining about the lack of one. Everyone can complain about the Roosters, Penrith and Parramatta but they have ploughed resources and dollars into their programs, which is something we have lacked. To highlight a good example of a skills and development program have a very long look at PSV Eindhoven and AFC Ajax yes i know different sports but the same principles all their lower grades play and train like they are in the first team, there juniors' players are hunted by all the top teams of European football.

A work college son played in the Roosters system until this year, would rave about the video sessions run by Cronk, and how much Pearce knowledge was passed onto players in kicking, play reading.

If West Tigers are really serious about pathway development, then they need to spend the coin. Why are the clubs best under 17's, under 19's split over two clubs. Time to move club in the right direction especially in the development side.
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Surely Richo knows what is required at a pathways academy level. The club can’t keep promoting how many juniors we have in out catchment if we can’t improve them. Be good to hear from the club what our long-term plans are in this area.
 
An interesting watch on Kurtis Dupond playing back row for Wests SG Ball team today.
He’s not one of the higher profile players, but I’ve noticed him being a strong runner of the ball with good speed off the mark in the few times I’ve watched him play as a centre/winger, the fact we are now starting him as a second rower could be very interesting if he can make it work.
I say this as players who are quick enough to play in the outside backs, but also big enough or aggressive enough and strong enough to play in the forwards are very valuable and not many are capable of covering both roles well.
Think Dylan Lucas currently at The Knights, he was not an overnight sensation, he had to bide his time, mature and develop in the lower grades before eventually becoming a standout NRL player, it would be great if we could internally develop someone like him.
 
Vicious said:
An interesting watch on Kurtis Dupond playing back row for Wests SG Ball team today.
He’s not one of the higher profile players, but I’ve noticed him being a strong runner of the ball with good speed off the mark in the few times I’ve watched him play as a centre/winger, the fact we are now starting him as a second rower could be very interesting if he can make it work.
I say this as players who are quick enough to play in the outside backs, but also big enough or aggressive enough and strong enough to play in the forwards are very valuable and not many are capable of covering both roles well.
Think Dylan Lucas currently at The Knights, he was not an overnight sensation, he had to bide his time, mature and develop in the lower grades before eventually becoming a standout NRL player, it would be great if we could internally develop someone like him.
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Going back in time about 50% backrowers started off in grade as centres. It’s a natural transition if you have the engine
 
supercoach said:
Going back in time about 50% backrowers started off in grade as centres. It’s a natural transition if you have the engine
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Absolutely, but not too many have the capability to do it these days.
Kurtis Dupond only had limited opportunities, had one strong ball carry, but didn’t really take his opportunity in the first 35mins, it looks like the promising Godinet replaced him late in the half, Dupond now at right centre.
It was a was a very lacklustre first half from both teams, neither of them looked overly enthusiastic which can happen late in the season for 2 teams both on the wrong end of the competition ladder.
Makasini was very strong for us, made one clean break and plenty of strong carries, he looks like a man amongst boys and if we can get him playing with a bit more enthusiasm there is a definite potential superstar in him.
I was disappointed with Taupau-Moors, all his ball carries were half hearted, he’s much better than that, hopefully we can just put it down to a bad day.
Oitmann started slowly with a few uncharacteristic errors, but his high energy style of play is impressive and he’s the type of player opposing teams find very hard to keep quiet because it it, I’m getting more and more convinced there is a very good player in him with a little bit of added size and fine tuning.
A few others showing glimpses of talent, Byron Laupepa looks to have reasonable size and never shirks his task.
Big Dane Ransom recruited from Qld looks a work in progress and Archie Duncombe appears to need to shred a.few kilos, but geez he has a similar body shape and style of play as Jake Trbojevic.
Tuifua a definite prospect as a big, strong and aggressive interchange prop.
Taupau-Moors scores from a strong carry early in the 2nd half, maybe a kick up the backside from the coach at halftime.
Right winger McMenemy is a big body for a young winger, he runs the ball strongly and looks to have promise also.
 
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The season ends for both SG Ball teams today after suffering defeats at the hands of the Raiders and the Steelers.

Although disappointing for both sides, there are players worth persisting with and this is what is the most important step. As many of us junior pathways followers know, we had an undefeated Jersey Flegg team about 4 years ago (albeit in a Covid affected season) and the amount of those players who are currently in the NRL equates to 0. Winning these lower grades does not guarantee stars. How we develop those players coming through our system right now is what we need to get right. Time to put faith in Richo to sort it out and get these young fellas to progress through the grades beneficially.

For Wests this season, I saw plenty to like from the following players:

1) Riley Oitmann - 2 horse race for Wests player of the year between him and Duncombe. Riley brought speed, athelticism and a developing ability to do some ball playing. Certainly one to watch moving forward.

2) Archie Duncombe - Tough as nails. Plenty of work. Skilful with a good offload. Should be in Flegg in the coming weeks.

3) Pheonix Godinet - Strong and powerful with a good offload. Had no quality half to put him in better positions. Most of his work had to come off the back of his own power game.

4) Heamasi Makasini - totally underused and the side didn't really work out the best way to get him into the game. Started to get there towards the end of the season. But not enough. He is an elite talent, but I don't expect him to come in and light up NRL yet. Dont want the club to rush him. Let him come in and play some Flegg into Cup in 2025.

5) ChristianTaupau-Moors - Very quiet start to the season, but seemed to look better each week. Hard runner but still seems quite agile on his feet. Excited to see him move through the grades over the next couple of years.

6) Byron Laupepa - Surprised me this year and I thought he was consistently one of our better players. Showcased some ball playing ability, mixed in with some aggression in attack and defence.

Overall I feel like Wests lacked real quality in their 6, 7 and 9 to do any damage in this competition. Losing Isdale and Large certainly did not help. Short in a few other positions too. Shame we didn't get to see much of Peter Taai too.

For Balmain this season,
These players stood out to me:

1) Logan Deininger/Brookes - Although injured for half the season, he showed how explosive a talent he can be. Someone we need to work with closely to develop his game. Would be a player who I would giving an NRL pre season to at the end of this year. Learn some specialist training from Hodgo and be around some quality.

2) Xavier Tauaifaiga - This kid has developed a long way in 12 months and was the most consistent player in our team. I would select him as the player of the year for Balmain. Missed the last 2 games, so I hope it is only a minor injury and he can have a crack at Flegg in the not too distant future.

3) Marc Tannous - Showed that he can manage a game in a close contest. Not going to be the star to break a game wide open with his speed and power, but he still has a lot of class in his passing and kicking game.

4) Jared Haywood - When the side was doing well with ball in hand, Jared was a big part of it. Going to take him time to develop into his hooker role and deal with defensive workload as he starts to come up against men in the senior grades. An exciting one to watch and should be playing some minutes in Flegg soon.

5) Joseph Partch - Good finisher. Showed speed and aggression at times. I liked his output.

6 and 7) William Stone and Cohen Benson - Couple of players that I thought stepped up most weeks. Benson delivered when Tannous and Haywood were on NRL Trial duty. Stone was good to watch in the 2nd row. Seemed to compete and good on both sides of the ball.

Balmain should be playing finals, no doubt about it. When they were on, they were up there and could match any team in the comp. Unfortunately when they were cold, they were absolutely freezing and got pumped in the games they lost. Hard to pinpoint why, but certainly feel like they missed a trick and should be back out there again next weekend.
 
Tigers_Wests said:
The season ends for both SG Ball teams today after suffering defeats at the hands of the Raiders and the Steelers.

Although disappointing for both sides, there are players worth persisting with and this is what is the most important step. As many of us junior pathways followers know, we had an undefeated Jersey Flegg team about 4 years ago (albeit in a Covid affected season) and the amount of those players who are currently in the NRL equates to 0. Winning these lower grades does not guarantee stars. How we develop those players coming through our system right now is what we need to get right. Time to put faith in Richo to sort it out and get these young fellas to progress through the grades beneficially.

For Wests this season, I saw plenty to like from the following players:

1) Riley Oitmann - 2 horse race for Wests player of the year between him and Duncombe. Riley brought speed, athelticism and a developing ability to do some ball playing. Certainly one to watch moving forward.

2) Archie Duncombe - Tough as nails. Plenty of work. Skilful with a good offload. Should be in Flegg in the coming weeks.

3) Pheonix Godinet - Strong and powerful with a good offload. Had no quality half to put him in better positions. Most of his work had to come off the back of his own power game.

4) Heamasi Makasini - totally underused and the side didn't really work out the best way to get him into the game. Started to get there towards the end of the season. But not enough. He is an elite talent, but I don't expect him to come in and light up NRL yet. Dont want the club to rush him. Let him come in and play some Flegg into Cup in 2025.

5) ChristianTaupau-Moors - Very quiet start to the season, but seemed to look better each week. Hard runner but still seems quite agile on his feet. Excited to see him move through the grades over the next couple of years.

6) Byron Laupepa - Surprised me this year and I thought he was consistently one of our better players. Showcased some ball playing ability, mixed in with some aggression in attack and defence.

Overall I feel like Wests lacked real quality in their 6, 7 and 9 to do any damage in this competition. Losing Isdale and Large certainly did not help. Short in a few other positions too. Shame we didn't get to see much of Peter Taai too.

For Balmain this season,
These players stood out to me:

1) Logan Deininger/Brookes - Although injured for half the season, he showed how explosive a talent he can be. Someone we need to work with closely to develop his game. Would be a player who I would giving an NRL pre season to at the end of this year. Learn some specialist training from Hodgo and be around some quality.

2) Xavier Tauaifaiga - This kid has developed a long way in 12 months and was the most consistent player in our team. I would select him as the player of the year for Balmain. Missed the last 2 games, so I hope it is only a minor injury and he can have a crack at Flegg in the not too distant future.

3) Marc Tannous - Showed that he can manage a game in a close contest. Not going to be the star to break a game wide open with his speed and power, but he still has a lot of class in his passing and kicking game.

4) Jared Haywood - When the side was doing well with ball in hand, Jared was a big part of it. Going to take him time to develop into his hooker role and deal with defensive workload as he starts to come up against men in the senior grades. An exciting one to watch and should be playing some minutes in Flegg soon.

5) Joseph Partch - Good finisher. Showed speed and aggression at times. I liked his output.

6 and 7) William Stone and Cohen Benson - Couple of players that I thought stepped up most weeks. Benson delivered when Tannous and Haywood were on NRL Trial duty. Stone was good to watch in the 2nd row. Seemed to compete and good on both sides of the ball.

Balmain should be playing finals, no doubt about it. When they were on, they were up there and could match any team in the comp. Unfortunately when they were cold, they were absolutely freezing and got pumped in the games they lost. Hard to pinpoint why, but certainly feel like they missed a trick and should be back out there again next weekend.
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Great wrap up TW!

I'll post my POY points for SG Ball through the week, just have to watch the replays of last week's games on Bar TV which I missed.

Very disappointing end to the season when both teams had so much to play for. I watched the Magpies game and jeezus their defence to poor up the middle & from marker. Every player was almost guilty of a poor dropped ball too & attitude seemed to drop right off after 10-15 mins.

Thought it was Godinet's poorest game of the season in defence (disclaimer not having watched last week) & Duncombe seemed a shadow of his form a month ago and they were far from the worst.

Best were the wingers McMenemy & Fuatimau, hooker Lorima Cosgrave and Sonny Edwards-Moeke was rocks'n diamonds. Makasini & Glassie had some good carries.

Just watched the 10-min highlights package of the Balmain defeat. Their defence seemed a shadow of the intent and team effort they were showing over the first 6-7 weeks. The only positive I could take from that package was Logan Brookes' effort in cover defence multiple times.
 
Ok I've caught up with watching last week's Tigers & Magpies games on Bar TV. Here are my Player Of Year points for both weeks (note: points are 5 down to 1 for a losing team, 7 down to 1 for a winning team).

Round 8

Wests Magpies
7 Makasini
6 Edwards-Moeke
5 Schaufhausen-Mino
4 Taupau-Moors
3 Oitmann
2 McMenemy
1 Tuifua

Balmain Tigers
5 Van Drie
4 Brookes
3 Haywood
2 Vaivela
1 Tannous

Round 9

Wests Magpies
5 McMenemy
4 Fuatimau
3 Cosgrave
2 Glassie
1 Edwards-Moeke

Balmain Tigers
5 Haywood
4 Huahulu
3 Stone
2 Tannous
1 Brookes

I'll post the final leaderboards later today with some notes on the ones I feel may get a run in Jersey Flegg this season.
 
SG Ball Player Of The Year Leaderboard

Riley Oitmann (Wests) – 28
Jared Haywood (Balmain) – 26
Xavier Tauiafaiga (Balmain) – 24
Logan Brookes (Balmain) – 22
Archie Duncombe (Wests) – 21
Marc Tannous (Balmain) – 20
Blake Van Drie (Balmain) – 19
Pheonix Godinet (Wests) – 16
Christian Taupau-Moors (Wests) – 16
Cohen Benson (Balmain) – 15
Byron Laupepa (Wests) – 15
Saint Fuatimau (Wests) – 15
Sonny Edwards-Moeke (Wests) – 15
Will Stone (Balmain) – 14
Haemasi Makasini (Wests) – 13
Joseph Partch (Balmain) - 13

My Team Of Year

Brookes
Oitmann (only putting him on wing to get Brookes in, did play very well on wing first few rounds)
Makasini
Tauiafaiga
Fuatimau
Benson
Tannous
Duncombe
Godinet
Laupepa
Taupau-Moors
Haywood
Lewis
-
Van Drie
Farr-McKay
Stone
Edwards-Moeke

Notes:

• The spine & backs dominated Balmain’s points showing the team’s weakness in the forwards except for the undersized workhorse Blake Van Drie & consistent backrower Will Stone.
• Glaring weakness in the quality of our halves with the exception of Marc Tannous. Cohen Benson & Sonny Edwards-Moeke had their moments and games but Wests lacked that dominant playmaker & Balmain an x-factor game-breaking 5/8 imo.

Players likely to feature in Flegg at some point this season:

Logan Brookes – absolute gamebreaker with the ball, safe hands, good cover defence, fast with a wicked step, defensive positioning needs work & needs to get more involved in attack in structured play, looks lost at times. Missed a few weeks so could have won the POY.

Riley Oitmann – superb season, good yardage games on wing before moved to fullback, explosive off the mark & huge metre eater from dummy half despite his small size (Papz like at same age), very good cover defence, great backing up, can sniff out a try, has the odd handling error in him, has skill x-factor speed.

Haemasi Makasini – better as the season went on, strong in his carries PTM & tackle-breaking, would have liked him used more in attack with more space, still think he can be more aggressive in his carries & prone to some poor defensive reads. My worry is his passiveness at times and hope he’s not a Junior Tupou mark II. Would like to see him take more advantage of his size, get in his opposition’s faces more & demand the ball more. Maybe I’m being overcritical of a 17yo.

Xavier Tauiafaiga – missed the last 2 rounds so could have won POY. Only small to medium sized but very powerful & strong in his carries and defence, rarely put a foot wrong, reasonably quick & good at finishing too. Similarity to Josh Feledy IMO.

Archie Duncombe – played at lock most of the season after starring in the backrow in LDC last year, absolute workhorse, good line speed, good with ball in hand with multiple try assists from memory, strong defence, stature of a young Tyson Frizell.

Marc Tannous – good season, tapered off a bit due to forwards being dominated in the last month of the competition, very good long kicking game, at least a couple of 40/20s, good organisation, lacks a bit of punch in his running game, strong defence for his size.

Jared Haywood – can often go unnoticed but a very hard worker, great service from dummyhalf both sides. Huge long, accurate & fast passing game which sets him apart and knows when to run from dh, good in contact but was prone to miss the odd 1-on-1 tackle.

Pheonix Godinet – as professional as they come at his age, amazing tackle-breaking ability, strong defence, skilful with ball in hand, a number of try assists with good passes putting a team mate in space, a bottom-ager this year and I’m confident he has the build to put on more size, an absolute gem in a position of need for us.

Christian Taupau-Moors – strong season as a bottom-ager middle, strong carries, good defence, some big minutes too, sometimes seemed a bit lumbering to me, would like to see him work on his leg speed to become more of a weapon as he gets older.

Honourable mentions

A few others I want to give a quick mention to are wingers Saint Fuatimau & Joseph Partch, both extremely strong in carries, reasonably quick, good finishers & great defence; and, backrowers Byron Laupepa & Will Stone both ultra consistent with upside.

Huge shout out to Blake Van Die, an undersized lock who is a workhorse, very good leg speed & line speed and continually put his body on the line despite his size. Guts personified and would not surprise if he is Balmain’s player’s player.

Huge upside for a couple of middles too, Luani Tuifua (Wests) and Ocean Vaivela (Balmain) who have the potential to become absolute weapons if they knuckle down. Both aggressive tackle-breakers and decent defence.

Look forward to others' opinions on the season 🙂
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
SG Ball Player Of The Year Leaderboard

Riley Oitmann (Wests) – 28
Jared Haywood (Balmain) – 26
Xavier Tauiafaiga (Balmain) – 24
Logan Brookes (Balmain) – 22
Archie Duncombe (Wests) – 21
Marc Tannous (Balmain) – 20
Blake Van Drie (Balmain) – 19
Pheonix Godinet (Wests) – 16
Christian Taupau-Moors (Wests) – 16
Cohen Benson (Balmain) – 15
Byron Laupepa (Wests) – 15
Saint Fuatimau (Wests) – 15
Sonny Edwards-Moeke (Wests) – 15
Will Stone (Balmain) – 14
Haemasi Makasini (Wests) – 13
Joseph Partch (Balmain) - 13

My Team Of Year

Brookes
Oitmann (only putting him on wing to get Brookes in, did play very well on wing first few rounds)
Makasini
Tauiafaiga
Fuatimau
Benson
Tannous
Duncombe
Godinet
Laupepa
Taupau-Moors
Haywood
Lewis
-
Van Drie
Farr-McKay
Stone
Edwards-Moeke

Notes:

• The spine & backs dominated Balmain’s points showing the team’s weakness in the forwards except for the undersized workhorse Blake Van Drie & consistent backrower Will Stone.
• Glaring weakness in the quality of our halves with the exception of Marc Tannous. Cohen Benson & Sonny Edwards-Moeke had their moments and games but Wests lacked that dominant playmaker & Balmain an x-factor game-breaking 5/8 imo.

Players likely to feature in Flegg at some point this season:

Logan Brookes – absolute gamebreaker with the ball, safe hands, good cover defence, fast with a wicked step, defensive positioning needs work & needs to get more involved in attack in structured play, looks lost at times. Missed a few weeks so could have won the POY.

Riley Oitmann – superb season, good yardage games on wing before moved to fullback, explosive off the mark & huge metre eater from dummy half despite his small size (Papz like at same age), very good cover defence, great backing up, can sniff out a try, has the odd handling error in him, has skill x-factor speed.

Haemasi Makasini – better as the season went on, strong in his carries PTM & tackle-breaking, would have liked him used more in attack with more space, still think he can be more aggressive in his carries & prone to some poor defensive reads. My worry is his passiveness at times and hope he’s not a Junior Tupou mark II. Would like to see him take more advantage of his size, get in his opposition’s faces more & demand the ball more. Maybe I’m being overcritical of a 17yo.

Xavier Tauiafaiga – missed the last 2 rounds so could have won POY. Only small to medium sized but very powerful & strong in his carries and defence, rarely put a foot wrong, reasonably quick & good at finishing too. Similarity to Josh Feledy IMO.

Archie Duncombe – played at lock most of the season after starring in the backrow in LDC last year, absolute workhorse, good line speed, good with ball in hand with multiple try assists from memory, strong defence, stature of a young Tyson Frizell.

Marc Tannous – good season, tapered off a bit due to forwards being dominated in the last month of the competition, very good long kicking game, at least a couple of 40/20s, good organisation, lacks a bit of punch in his running game, strong defence for his size.

Jared Haywood – can often go unnoticed but a very hard worker, great service from dummyhalf both sides. Huge long, accurate & fast passing game which sets him apart and knows when to run from dh, good in contact but was prone to miss the odd 1-on-1 tackle.

Pheonix Godinet – as professional as they come at his age, amazing tackle-breaking ability, strong defence, skilful with ball in hand, a number of try assists with good passes putting a team mate in space, a bottom-ager this year and I’m confident he has the build to put on more size, an absolute gem in a position of need for us.

Christian Taupau-Moors – strong season as a bottom-ager middle, strong carries, good defence, some big minutes too, sometimes seemed a bit lumbering to me, would like to see him work on his leg speed to become more of a weapon as he gets older.

Honourable mentions

A few others I want to give a quick mention to are wingers Saint Fuatimau & Joseph Partch, both extremely strong in carries, reasonably quick, good finishers & great defence; and, backrowers Byron Laupepa & Will Stone both ultra consistent with upside.

Huge shout out to Blake Van Die, an undersized lock who is a workhorse, very good leg speed & line speed and continually put his body on the line despite his size. Guts personified and would not surprise if he is Balmain’s player’s player.

Huge upside for a couple of middles too, Luani Tuifua (Wests) and Ocean Vaivela (Balmain) who have the potential to become absolute weapons if they knuckle down. Both aggressive tackle-breakers and decent defence.

Look forward to others' opinions on the season 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks for this as always.

Although we have two junior catchments, I wonder if we could have been contenders with a wests tigers A side at this level
 
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