OFFICIAL Heamasi Makasini #303

[Dr_Ice]

Bula was carrying a shoulder injury, he absolutely should have passed it for Maka to take the run. Bula stuffed up by not passing it sooner, he looked like he was gonna run it then all of a sudden passed it. I was yelling, "pass it mate, protect your shoulder"...then bang...game over haha, so blame me for the loss I reckon

My son in primary school said Bula is heading left to pass it to Maka

 

[Tiger913]

Kid didn’t lose us the game, he made mistakes that cost us some points for sure ! but look at it all in the big picture, we hardly score points on repeat sets, our attack anywhere from inside the broncos 30 last night was just a mess, let the broncos walk over the line with 30 seconds to go in the first half, less structure and direction with madden out, I have no problems keeping this bloke in the team list every week, we are still building pretty well, he will learn with his mates on the field, these young fellas are what we need to build this team into a consistent group for the tigers, not just this year but seasons moving forward

 

[Fainu Brothers]

Staggs made him look like a kid

 

[You Know Who]

Bula dogged a pass? It was a sitter for makasini? What planet are some of you on?

This. It’s such a BS cop out blaming Bula. He dropped a basic pass that a 9 old would’ve caught and had little to no pressure on him.

Let’s cut the crap and call it what it was: One of the worst performances by a winger I’ve ever seen in our colours and it ultimately cost us the game.

Yes he’s a kid but he had 6 errors last night, most them very costly. And he’s been far from great this season so far. He also had defensive lapses and blew a basic try last week against the Knights when instead of making the simple pass to his winger, he tried to hero it and that led to the double movement try.

Give him a break this week then back to NSW Cup the week after, with Tavana coming back in. If he wants to sook over that, he can piss off to Yawnion.

 

[weststigerman]

We lost that game in the 5 minutes before half time when we dropped the intensity in the middle not because 1 player made a few errors.

 

[mtd#2]

This. It’s such a BS cop out blaming Bula. He dropped a basic pass that a 9 old would’ve caught and had little to no pressure on him.

Let’s cut the crap and call it what it was: One of the worst performances by a winger I’ve ever seen in our colours and it ultimately cost us the game.

Yes he’s a kid but he had 6 errors last night, most them very costly. And he’s been far from great this season so far. He also had defensive lapses and blew a basic try last week against the Knights when instead of making the simple pass to his winger, he tried to hero it and that led to the double movement try.

Give him a break this week then back to NSW Cup the week after, with Tavana coming back in. If he wants to sook over that, he can piss off to Yawnion.

And its not a matter of people picking on him, it just is what it is. He will learn and grow from the experience. But blaming bula is the biggest cop out ever, he had a blinder last night.

 

[stevied]

The kid is as tough as they come. He gets smashed every game and gets up again . Bula can learn a few things from him when he dogged that run back and passed to him. As much as I hated losing last night and you can put a lot of it on Makasini, I don’t think you can drop him. It would mentally Kill him. His upside is enormous he will be a gun for us . Short term pain for long term gain

Repectfully, I couldn't diagree more Tigerman. I know everyone's an invidual and a young player's confidence can be fragile but, but coaches have to be fair and consistent by dropping any player after repeated poor performances. Benji is a good man manager and will do it carefully but, really, the team and Maka, himself, will benefit from having a stint in Cup. There shouldn't be preferential treatment. Heamasi cost us the game last night and has made countless defensive and offensive errors in the previous games. As a parallel, Skelton was dropped after one substandard performance.

 

[innsaneink]

Yes he should be spelled. His body is saying no to the grind atm. He needs resting. Not dropping.

And when he does come back NSW cup is fine. There are better players than Masi running around that grade right now. Kayal Iro played like 3 years of NSW cup before he debuted.

And once he shows he is firing and running through contact again he goes into selection concerns.

Some common sense here

 

[Roar-y]

The question we should be asking isn't are we stronger next week without Makasini?

It's will we be stronger come finals time if Makasini has played all year and has belief in his ability when it matters.

 

[mtd#2]

The question we should be asking isn't are we stronger next week without Makasini?

It's will we be stronger come finals time if Makasini has played all year and has belief in his ability when it matters.

We are stronger with Tavana on the wing next weekend than we are Makasini.

Doesnt mean Makasini cant be ready by finals, but he isnt the best option next week.

 

[hank37w]

Nothing gained playing Maka in NSW cup. He’s too far ahead of that level to get anything out of it. His upside is huge Id guess Benji persists unless he’s impacted on a personal level. He’s going to have these games as a kid have to live with it.

Well, what's wrong with letting him dominate in Cup and letting him get his mojo back after making a couple of bad errors that have most likely shaken his confidence a little.

 

[king_sirro]

Nothing gained playing Maka in NSW cup. He’s too far ahead of that level to get anything out of it. His upside is huge Id guess Benji persists unless he’s impacted on a personal level. He’s going to have these games as a kid have to live with it.

Totally disagree. There is a lot to gain playing him in a lower grade and a lot to lose by making him get hammered every week as a kid in the NRL. Dropping back down and taking some heat off him is part of the process.

 

[mtd#2]

We have made this mistake before.

A player needs to earn the right to wear that jersey every week.

Makasini lost that right as a result of his last few performances. It doesnt mean he is a bad player. There isnt anything mean behind it, but he isnt the best to play wing next weekend. Tavana is the next man up. Its quite simple.

Makasini's saving grace might be if Bula is ruled out and we need to push Turuva to fullback.

Otherwise a few weeks in NSW is good for his DEVELOPMENT.

 

[tig_prmz]

He has a big future ahead but needs a few weeks at Cup level. Tavana has been quite good and deserves to be there over Maka for now.

 

[hammertime]

Skelton lost his Jersey from a brain fart. Needs to be consistent.

 

[rihannafan1]

Tavana is injured. Hamstring, due back TBC.

Luke L would be next up imo

 

[hank37w]

Nothing gained playing Maka in NSW cup. He’s too far ahead of that level to get anything out of it. His upside is huge Id guess Benji persists unless he’s impacted on a personal level. He’s going to have these games as a kid have to live with it.

How can you say he's too far ahead of that level, he's only ever played 4 or 5 games at that level.

Yeah, I'm impressed that he can stand up to the physicality of playing against men at 18 years of age but the week to week grind has to take it's toll eventually.

Really needs to drop back a grade or two to give him a breather and a chance to reflect and get any lost confidence back.

 

[Papacito]

I'm not a footy coach and never will be, but why would you drop the bloke back to reserves?

To work on a few unlucky mistakes?

He has had his fair share of embarrassing moments so far, but also his fair share of good things that don't stick in your memory quite so much.

For mine, the odd dropped ball and brain explosion under fatigue and pressure are the short-term cost you pay for putting a young fella in who is barely out of school but has a lot of upside.

It's different to someone like Skelton who is nearly 28 years old and should have brain-farts mostly ironed out of his game.

 

[Tom Shines]

In hindsight he has been brought into the team to soon, and now they have a tough call whatever they choose ..

If he keeps his spot … the opposition will target him .. so they need to be confident he can handle it … a poor performance from one player can literally mean the difference between a win and a loss … we have seen it here many times

 

[Oldman]

His biggest problem is that he does not know how to beat a player without physical dominance. He has grown up his whole life being the most impressive athlete on the field and has become reliant on winning initial contact. He has been physically matched or beaten consistently this season and he doesn’t have the other feathers to his bow ie catch/pass, footwork, aerial skills and defensive structure that are at first grade standard right now.

I think he really needs to go to reserve grade and develop these attributes. He is physically ready for first grade, I don’t think his skills are at first grade level. Tavana and Laulilii are better all around players right now.

Agree 💯
What I don’t see is any mongrel in him, people saying give him a couple of games in reserve grade to build his confidence and bring him back,
He has to earn a position by performing at a better level than others in the same position.
Decide what position they want him to play in the NRL and play him in that position in ressies.
Not centre in ressies and wing in 1st grade, hopefully he has the right attitude and will be back,
Not all Kid superstars progress as expected when they come up against the big boys.
Only time will tell.