OFFICIAL Pathways - KOE General Discussion

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Mighty_Tiger said:
Naden changed our whole formation once he moved to fullback & Mason came off, also changed the Warriors attacking kicks. It’s funny as I’m not his biggest fan at NRL level but at KOE level is just a class above anything we have.

May after a meh 1st half started to get some ball and setup Tui a few times (his pace was lacking) then decided to run direct which lead to his 3 tries. He also made a try saver which good defensive read in 2nd half.

Makasini held himself fine but didn’t get space today on the right. He did make a bad read defensively where he got caught ball watching but aside from that was fine.

No one else really stood out in the forwards.
Kit had a good 1st half but was meh in the 2nd.
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Nado is THE KING OF NSW CUP
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
Another case of the one that got away. I firmly believe we were the more dominant team for the majority of the contest & should have won this comfortably.

We just seem to produce basic errors which the opposition capitalise on & lack of footy smart moments (highlighted by Lovodua giving away a penalty when we were on the attack by not knowing the 10m dropout rules). It's endemic in our club which boils down to coaching & discipline in players & coaches.

1 Izaak Tui'tupou had a 'barry crocker' opening, dropping a kick under pressure but not in contest (poor), then made a poor read in defence (not trusting Taylan to take his man) leading to the opening try. Then did not contest a bomb (poor) which the Warriors chaser tapped back to a team mate to score. 12-0 right there. He then had a good game with his runs out of yardage. I'll put it down to a one-off as he has been great for 2 months straight. However it's moments like these that probably tell us why he hasn't seen more NRL over the past 3-4 seasons.

2 I have no doubt we could have scored another 5 or 6 tries that we missed by inches, poor last pass etc. Naden almost grounded a grubber before going dead, Tui was called in touch which looked a try, Lovodua was tackled inches short, Mapalangi almost grounded a kick-through etc etc etc.

3 I thought our best was Brent Naden especially in the 2nd half when at fullback, sparked our attack, and played the last 20-25 mins at left backrow and did look good there imo. Others will disagree but I hope we can extend Naden on a low value contract for the versatility depth he brings but nothing more than $200-$230k.

4 Taylan May (aside from one knock-on) & Heamasi Makasini were both very good. Exciting times with these two. Taylan was up against Ali Leiataua so a great match up to get NRL ready. Good to expose Big Mak to the right side but that does limit his natural tendency to fend with his right arm.

5 Other strong performers were Luke Laulilii & Elie El Zakhem. Both had an error or 2 in them but Luke was again strong with his carries& Elie very busy in both attack, defence & offloads. He does have a brain fade in him, either a poor offload or today it was a poor blindside play and tackled into touch. He did overshadow Kayliss Fatialofa who probably had one of his poorest games of the season for the Wahs. Kurt Falls his usual good rating 7/10 game.

6 No standouts in the forwards really. Murray & Rahme were both busy without being impactful, Kit had some strong carries but had a poor missed tackle & knock-on (his downfall atm).

What I'd like to see next week ...

Heath Mason into 5/8. For god's sake coaches, help his development by playing him in the front-line. He has too many weaknesses at fullback.

Luke Laulilii into fullback. This is the kid who can be our fulltime backup to Bula next season. Give him reps. He carved up last month at fullback. He has played fullback most of his career and comes naturally to him.

Heamasi Makasini to left wing. This is the position he needs to get reps in if Taylan is a success at left centre in NRL. Skelton is not a long-term answer for us.

Let's give Krystian Mapapalangi a go at left centre. Just has that class and left side is preferred. Give Tui'tupou a go on the right wing - if he can also handle that side, he could be a viable top 30 depth signing for us. Naden to right centre or backrow (instead of Jack, let's see if it works for 80 mins).

Piss Lovodua off back to Ron Massey Cup & give Bailey Hodges an opportunity at dummy-half in rotation with Murray.

A lot of changes but we need to try these for the development of our players & squad into next season.
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I agree with all of that.
Being so short on decent and 💯 fit to play NRL centres at the moment, it would be an opportune time to sit down with Naden tonight, tell him we need him in our centres at NRL for the rest of this season and if he plays close to his best we will extend him for another 12 months, as you say on a contract of around 200-230k which sure beats labouring for a job.
 
BirchgroveTigers said:
Douiehi has been solid for us at left centre but like others have said, I don't think he has the athleticism for that position to worry the defence.

I'd have him in the 14 in a heartbeat. Didn't watch the game today but glad to hear he spent some time at lock. If he can contribute some decent minutes at 13 and or 9, he quickly turns into an elite utility IMO. Not many teams have a guy that can play centre, halves and forwards on their bench. Just don't think he will ever be a top tier starter at NRL level.
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I don’t think Doueihi would last long coming on as a hooker, I agree he would make a good 14 but hasn’t got the fitness to be at dummy half.
But could cover the Half’s, Lock and Centre if required.
 
Oldman said:
I don’t think Doueihi would last long coming on as a hooker, I agree he would make a good 14 but hasn’t got the fitness to be at dummy half.
But could cover the Half’s, Lock and Centre if required.
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You don’t think he done any good as a 13 yesterday or when playing in the halves against the Roosters ?
 
Main difference between Rooster and Warriors is the wahs forwards are nearly all over 100kgs,Running in a cool breeze with no heat, and with real intention to cause mayhem. We should have mixed our kicking up and turned them around on a more consistent basis or at least kick the ball deep and in the corners.
 
Bellend said:
Main difference between Rooster and Warriors is the wahs forwards are nearly all over 100kgs,Running in a cool breeze with no heat, and with real intention to cause mayhem. We should have mixed our kicking up and turned them around on a more consistent basis or at least kick the ball deep and in the corners.
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That's coaching 101 right there, for all grades.
What's so hard?
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
https://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2025/07/15/team-list-nsw-cup-round-20-vs-panthers/

Mason to fullback, Naden to 5/8, Mapapalangi to centre.
Hunt returns. Peter Taa'teo on extended bench back from a couple of weeks suspension.
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Mason at Fullback makes zero sense.
He will never be a NRL fullback.

Really wish the coaching staff focused more on player development than what they are doing. They should have Mason at 5/8th for rest of the season and let him focus on that role which would give him and us maximum value of his skill set & development.
 
Mighty_Tiger said:
Mason at Fullback makes zero sense.
He will never be a NRL fullback.

Really wish the coaching staff focused more on player development than what they are doing. They should have Mason at 5/8th for rest of the season and let him focus on that role which would give him and us maximum value of his skill set & development.
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It won't happen but I'd put Mason in Flegg at 5/8 to start next season (as well as some dummyhalf). Let him build confidence and his touch for the position again and work on his dummy half skills. Once he dominates that level then move him back up to Cup. It's for his own long-term development. Otherwise I fear he will just fade away into obscurity by the backend of next season with more weaknesses than strengths to his game.
 
Mason to fullback, Naden to 5/8, Mapapalangi to centre.
Hunt returns. Peter Taa'teo on extended bench back from a couple of weeks suspension.
[/QUOTE]
Still can't believe Mason at fullback? But they persist. I must be missing something because I just can't see a quality fullback in him ever emerging.
Has he ever made a decisive deep run, reliably caught the contested bombs, have a 90% tackle rating?
I can't recall when he last scored a try?
 
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