OFFICIAL Pathways - KOE General Discussion

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cobarcats
  • Start date Start date
I’m not sure what the story is with Starford, but aside from looking lazy and disinterested he seems to have lost the speed he once had.
He is nowhere near NRL level in what he is showing at the moment and it’s no different to what he showed in the back half of last season.
As someone else pointed out Javon Andrews again looked very classy in a struggling team.
Jack Atttard is such a good mover and he looks physically strong, not sure if he’s bulked up a bit recently?
Tino was having a really good game before being injured. His long distance speed is a bit concerning, but he’s becoming a very whole hearted player which is good to see.
The forwards were outsized by their Panthers counterparts, but a few of them had a red hot crack and I was again inpresed with Luke Jack who started off the bench and didn’t come on until we were 16 nil down. Jack is a smaller forward, but he plays with good energy, good aggression and he is always up for the contest. I think he is suited to the fast paced modern day game and would really benefit from playing alongside a big, strong and dominant forward pack. I really think he would complement our full strength NRL team coming off the bench.
Unfortunately Logan Brookes had a shocker. Not sure wing suits his game, but I would not give up on him and with our clear lack of quality in the centres I would be looking to manufacture a centre and would love to see a few of our up and coming players tried as a centre in NSW Cup. I think there is every chance someone out of Javon Andrews, Jack Attard, Tino Tavana and Logan Brookes could really excel as a centre. They all have different strengths and qualities and all of them would need to really focus and work hard on their defence, but I think at least one of them could make a real go out of playing centre if given the opportunity.
Particularly Andrews and Attard, I think one or both of them are good enough to become our regular NRL right centre this season.
 
Tiger_Pete said:
The team looks poorly coached again. The only time we looked decent was when Webster was in charge.

Flegg play a much better brand of footy.
Click to expand...
When was Webster our Reserve Grade coach? I know he was a Balmain SG Ball and NRL Assistant, wasn’t aware of coaching reserves.

I know we had a good season under Gardiner
 
Vicious said:
I’m not sure what the story is with Starford, but aside from looking lazy and disinterested he seems to have lost the speed he once had.
He is nowhere near NRL level in what he is showing at the moment and it’s no different to what he showed in the back half of last season.
As someone else pointed out Javon Andrews again looked very classy in a struggling team.
Jack Atttard is such a good mover and he looks physically strong, not sure if he’s bulked up a bit recently?
Tino was having a really good game before being injured. His long distance speed is a bit concerning, but he’s becoming a very whole hearted player which is good to see.
The forwards were outsized by their Panthers counterparts, but a few of them had a red hot crack and I was again inpresed with Luke Jack who started off the bench and didn’t come on until we were 16 nil down. Jack is a smaller forward, but he plays with good energy, good aggression and he is always up for the contest. I think he is suited to the fast paced modern day game and would really benefit from playing alongside a big, strong and dominant forward pack. I really think he would complement our full strength NRL team coming off the bench.
Unfortunately Logan Brookes had a shocker. Not sure wing suits his game, but I would not give up on him and with our clear lack of quality in the centres I would be looking to manufacture a centre and would love to see a few of our up and coming players tried as a centre in NSW Cup. I think there is every chance someone out of Javon Andrews, Jack Attard, Tino Tavana and Logan Brookes could really excel as a centre. They all have different strengths and qualities and all of them would need to really focus and work hard on their defence, but I think at least one of them could make a real go out of playing centre if given the opportunity.
Particularly Andrews and Attard, I think one or both of them are good enough to become our regular NRL right centre this season.
Click to expand...
The tackle by Attard to stop the try was amazing
 
bythebeardofzeus said:
Was just about to ask the same
Click to expand...
I’ve always had hopes Mason would cone good as he runs the ball quite well and has a very strong build on him, but his defence is getting worse and he no longer has the explosive speed off the mark he had when he was younger, I can only think he lost some speed when bulking up ?
Despite his terrible defence Mason was probably one of our better players in our NRL game against the Sea Eagles today, but we need a fullback who can defend and we need someone with more upside, so I think while Bula is out we need to either throw Attard in or move Luke Laulilli to fullback.
Ideally Attard needs a bit more time playing NSW Cup, but he has speed to burn and our current NRL team is far too slow, so we probably need him playing NRL for that reason alone.
 
Vicious said:
I’m not sure what the story is with Starford, but aside from looking lazy and disinterested he seems to have lost the speed he once had.
He is nowhere near NRL level in what he is showing at the moment and it’s no different to what he showed in the back half of last season.
As someone else pointed out Javon Andrews again looked very classy in a struggling team.
Jack Atttard is such a good mover and he looks physically strong, not sure if he’s bulked up a bit recently?
Tino was having a really good game before being injured. His long distance speed is a bit concerning, but he’s becoming a very whole hearted player which is good to see.
The forwards were outsized by their Panthers counterparts, but a few of them had a red hot crack and I was again inpresed with Luke Jack who started off the bench and didn’t come on until we were 16 nil down. Jack is a smaller forward, but he plays with good energy, good aggression and he is always up for the contest. I think he is suited to the fast paced modern day game and would really benefit from playing alongside a big, strong and dominant forward pack. I really think he would complement our full strength NRL team coming off the bench.
Unfortunately Logan Brookes had a shocker. Not sure wing suits his game, but I would not give up on him and with our clear lack of quality in the centres I would be looking to manufacture a centre and would love to see a few of our up and coming players tried as a centre in NSW Cup. I think there is every chance someone out of Javon Andrews, Jack Attard, Tino Tavana and Logan Brookes could really excel as a centre. They all have different strengths and qualities and all of them would need to really focus and work hard on their defence, but I think at least one of them could make a real go out of playing centre if given the opportunity.
Particularly Andrews and Attard, I think one or both of them are good enough to become our regular NRL right centre this season.
Click to expand...
Good report V, just going to focus on a few performers now in a write up after watching the game again last night. Tend to miss a lot when I get emotionally invested in the game live lol
 
I really wanted to see who stood up against the Panthers on Saturday in NSW Cup as they are the benchmark team in this competition due to their consistently high completion rates, club systems & strong forward pack.

In the end, I was very impressed with most of our boys. yes we were down 0-16 after 17 minutes BUT this was predominantly due to ...
1) initial poor connection on our right side defence To'a, Tavana & Matai for the 1st try;
2) a basic 1-on-1 miss from Logan Brookes on the wing for their 2nd
3) overpowered on our line from a crash play, Attard & Lanyon exposed by a much bigger body.

Ok the positives ... Josese Lanyon, Jack Attard, Vaka Aho, Tino Tavana, Bailey Hodges, Javon Andrews & Luke Jack.

The negatives ... Starford To'a, Lachlan's Broederlow's defence & Logan Brookes. It was just a learning experience for Brookes on the wing. He'll be better for it learning a new position.

Lanyon gets better & better each game. Yes couldn't stop a crash play as mentioned above but his clean-up work in defence around the ruck was brilliant, saved about 3 tries with copybook legs tackles. Service was good from dummyhalf & picking his times to run the ball well.

BIG CALL: If he continues his trajectory in Cup this season, he could elevate himself to hooker deputy to Api in 2027. Lanyon's defence & contact is much better than Haywood at this point. Haywood needs time in the gym & in Cup to continue his development. He'll get there but we can't rush him. Lanyon is classy as we saw as our Flegg POY last year and is building into this season nicely and will only get bigger & stronger with a full NRL pre-season.

Attard may have won himself a NRL debut with this performance if Bula needs another week or 2. His effort areas & marshalling (from what I could see off a screen) of the defence in the red zone was great - the stuff that Benji loves. He came from a mile back when Tavana took an intercept to be there for Tino to pass him the ball 30m out to speed away and score - a 90m effort. Showed his speed again to chase down a runaway Panther (a big outside back) over 60-70m and be able to wrestle him over & hold him up over the line. FYI, this was a due to a poor kick by To'a & To'a ended up giving up on the chase looking spent. Still concerns over Attard's strength to stop bigger bodies front-on & on-the-line.

Vaka Aho is quickly becoming our mid-season Tim Johannssen & Aitasi James but imo better quality. Just works tirelessly for a reasonably big man both in his runs & defence. Decent strength in contact & has a good offload when the time is right including a nice one when he poked through the line with Attard back up for a mini-break. Went off around 65 mins for a HIA and didn't return. About 22yo who has been in our pathways since Matts I think. Better than most props in NSW Cup atm. Just love his effort and the way he sprints back to the defensive line for the next tackle and doesn't miss many.

Tino Tavana has only showed positivity since coming back to Cup the past fortnight. It's not his run metres on the stats sheet. It's a few plays he makes due to his footy nous, class & effort that change the momentum of games. He took 3 intercepts from memory. One led to the Attard try when he showed good nous to come back inside after a long run down the wing & find Attard in support with a nice long inside pass at speed. Yes intercepts come with risk but Tino seems to have that anticipation and hands to pull them off on a regular basis. He also produced an exceptional 1-on-1 tackle on the big Panthers centre close to the line to prevent a try. He didn't pull off any aerial feats but he did contest a few and nearly knocked himself out doing so. Made one poor attempted tackle on Zak Clarke, just got himself in a bad position and was bumped off but was generally good. Was told to go off by a trainer at about 70 mins, not sure if it was HIA or just to give him a break after a few nasty collisions or to give Saukuru a crack on the wing.

Bailey Hodges, like Vaka Aho, is really coming of a age this past month, playing a dual lock/hooker role. Good leg speed, decent link play, tireless & safe defender, good service from dummyhalf. Just a footy player with high IQ who works hard & rarely misses or makes a bad mistake.

Javon Andrews didn't see a lot of ball on the left side but always looked dangerous when he did, setting up Brookes with a beautiful pass for a try. Is getting better in defence, his bigger body helps but still prone to a miss or 2. Seems to be only playing left side. Would like to see him given some reps on the right at some point to build his NRL readiness.

Luke Jack is also a momentum shifter with his defence. Comes on and instantly provides impact with his contact & line speed. Decent runs too. Nearly every game he forces an error or 2 in the opposition. Works hard. Played mainly on an edge this week but imo better suited in the middle.

Big shout out to Archie Duncombe for his 40 mins. All-effort player with his runs & defence and he contributed to our middle holding its own.

In conclusion, despite our start we were more than competitive with the Panthers, in fact, I'd say we had more chances than them in the red zone for the last 60 mins. Plenty to be positive about!
 
Vicious said:
I’m not sure what the story is with Starford, but aside from looking lazy and disinterested he seems to have lost the speed he once had.
He is nowhere near NRL level in what he is showing at the moment and it’s no different to what he showed in the back half of last season.
As someone else pointed out Javon Andrews again looked very classy in a struggling team.
Jack Atttard is such a good mover and he looks physically strong, not sure if he’s bulked up a bit recently?
Tino was having a really good game before being injured. His long distance speed is a bit concerning, but he’s becoming a very whole hearted player which is good to see.
The forwards were outsized by their Panthers counterparts, but a few of them had a red hot crack and I was again inpresed with Luke Jack who started off the bench and didn’t come on until we were 16 nil down. Jack is a smaller forward, but he plays with good energy, good aggression and he is always up for the contest. I think he is suited to the fast paced modern day game and would really benefit from playing alongside a big, strong and dominant forward pack. I really think he would complement our full strength NRL team coming off the bench.
Unfortunately Logan Brookes had a shocker. Not sure wing suits his game, but I would not give up on him and with our clear lack of quality in the centres I would be looking to manufacture a centre and would love to see a few of our up and coming players tried as a centre in NSW Cup. I think there is every chance someone out of Javon Andrews, Jack Attard, Tino Tavana and Logan Brookes could really excel as a centre. They all have different strengths and qualities and all of them would need to really focus and work hard on their defence, but I think at least one of them could make a real go out of playing centre if given the opportunity.
Particularly Andrews and Attard, I think one or both of them are good enough to become our regular NRL right centre this season.
Click to expand...
Yes watching the KOE game on Saturday tells me that Logan is not a winger and is not yet big enough for NRL. Not sure about Jack Attard , his defence is not great but he is Sharp, again very young.Javon Andrews on the other hand is ready for NRL and it is not unusual for a five Eight to play centre. He is a big body with plenty of talent and could be worth the experiment in NRL. Was good to see a couple of the Flegg boys come on in the second half. Again in the limited time on the field Jarod Heywoods service out of dummy half speeds up the attack.
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
I really wanted to see who stood up against the Panthers on Saturday in NSW Cup as they are the benchmark team in this competition due to their consistently high completion rates, club systems & strong forward pack.

In the end, I was very impressed with most of our boys. yes we were down 0-16 after 17 minutes BUT this was predominantly due to ...
1) initial poor connection on our right side defence To'a, Tavana & Matai for the 1st try;
2) a basic 1-on-1 miss from Logan Brookes on the wing for their 2nd
3) overpowered on our line from a crash play, Attard & Lanyon exposed by a much bigger body.

Ok the positives ... Josese Lanyon, Jack Attard, Vaka Aho, Tino Tavana, Bailey Hodges, Javon Andrews & Luke Jack.

The negatives ... Starford To'a, Lachlan's Broederlow's defence & Logan Brookes. It was just a learning experience for Brookes on the wing. He'll be better for it learning a new position.

Lanyon gets better & better each game. Yes couldn't stop a crash play as mentioned above but his clean-up work in defence around the ruck was brilliant, saved about 3 tries with copybook legs tackles. Service was good from dummyhalf & picking his times to run the ball well.

BIG CALL: If he continues his trajectory in Cup this season, he could elevate himself to hooker deputy to Api in 2027. Lanyon's defence & contact is much better than Haywood at this point. Haywood needs time in the gym & in Cup to continue his development. He'll get there but we can't rush him. Lanyon is classy as we saw as our Flegg POY last year and is building into this season nicely and will only get bigger & stronger with a full NRL pre-season.

Attard may have won himself a NRL debut with this performance if Bula needs another week or 2. His effort areas & marshalling (from what I could see off a screen) of the defence in the red zone was great - the stuff that Benji loves. He came from a mile back when Tavana took an intercept to be there for Tino to pass him the ball 30m out to speed away and score - a 90m effort. Showed his speed again to chase down a runaway Panther (a big outside back) over 60-70m and be able to wrestle him over & hold him up over the line. FYI, this was a due to a poor kick by To'a & To'a ended up giving up on the chase looking spent. Still concerns over Attard's strength to stop bigger bodies front-on & on-the-line.

Vaka Aho is quickly becoming our mid-season Tim Johannssen & Aitasi James but imo better quality. Just works tirelessly for a reasonably big man both in his runs & defence. Decent strength in contact & has a good offload when the time is right including a nice one when he poked through the line with Attard back up for a mini-break. Went off around 65 mins for a HIA and didn't return. About 22yo who has been in our pathways since Matts I think. Better than most props in NSW Cup atm. Just love his effort and the way he sprints back to the defensive line for the next tackle and doesn't miss many.

Tino Tavana has only showed positivity since coming back to Cup the past fortnight. It's not his run metres on the stats sheet. It's a few plays he makes due to his footy nous, class & effort that change the momentum of games. He took 3 intercepts from memory. One led to the Attard try when he showed good nous to come back inside after a long run down the wing & find Attard in support with a nice long inside pass at speed. Yes intercepts come with risk but Tino seems to have that anticipation and hands to pull them off on a regular basis. He also produced an exceptional 1-on-1 tackle on the big Panthers centre close to the line to prevent a try. He didn't pull off any aerial feats but he did contest a few and nearly knocked himself out doing so. Made one poor attempted tackle on Zak Clarke, just got himself in a bad position and was bumped off but was generally good. Was told to go off by a trainer at about 70 mins, not sure if it was HIA or just to give him a break after a few nasty collisions or to give Saukuru a crack on the wing.

Bailey Hodges, like Vaka Aho, is really coming of a age this past month, playing a dual lock/hooker role. Good leg speed, decent link play, tireless & safe defender, good service from dummyhalf. Just a footy player with high IQ who works hard & rarely misses or makes a bad mistake.

Javon Andrews didn't see a lot of ball on the left side but always looked dangerous when he did, setting up Brookes with a beautiful pass for a try. Is getting better in defence, his bigger body helps but still prone to a miss or 2. Seems to be only playing left side. Would like to see him given some reps on the right at some point to build his NRL readiness.

Luke Jack is also a momentum shifter with his defence. Comes on and instantly provides impact with his contact & line speed. Decent runs too. Nearly every game he forces an error or 2 in the opposition. Works hard. Played mainly on an edge this week but imo better suited in the middle.

Big shout out to Archie Duncombe for his 40 mins. All-effort player with his runs & defence and he contributed to our middle holding its own.

In conclusion, despite our start we were more than competitive with the Panthers, in fact, I'd say we had more chances than them in the red zone for the last 60 mins. Plenty to be positive about!
Click to expand...
Archie in time will be a very good player for West Tigers.

As with many young players, consistent game time is crucial for development. Regular involvement in the KOE Cup week in and week out would significantly aid his growth and match experience.”Hopefully Benji and his staff will not rush Attard,Andrews,Haywood.
 
Bellend said:
Archie in time will be a very good player for West Tigers.

As with many young players, consistent game time is crucial for development. Regular involvement in the KOE Cup week in and week out would significantly aid his growth and match experience.”Hopefully Benji and his staff will not rush Attard,Andrews,Haywood.
Click to expand...
He is one of my favourites in lower grades young Arch. Runs hard, tackles hard, chases hard, good ball skills & leader! Ideally lands one of our structured deals T&T in '27, Dev in '28.

We will see the fruits if we can give Attard, Andrews, Haywood, Josese Lanyon, Duncombe, Godinet, Tavana, Brookes & even Glassie as much game time in Cup this season as practical.

Though I think Attard may be in NRL sooner than we'd have hoped originally.
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
He is one of my favourites in lower grades young Arch. Runs hard, tackles hard, chases hard, good ball skills & leader! Ideally lands one of our structured deals T&T in '27, Dev in '28.

We will see the fruits if we can give Attard, Andrews, Haywood, Josese Lanyon, Duncombe, Godinet, Tavana, Brookes & even Glassie as much game time in Cup this season as practical.

Though I think Attard may be in NRL sooner than we'd have hoped originally.
Click to expand...
You are correct on Attard BWG. Rushing young players is the theme at West Tigers honestly was hoping Benji would slowly move away from this, But injuries throw up opportunities that could sink some players or all them to flourish.
 
Bellend said:
You are correct on Attard BWG. Rushing young players is the theme at West Tigers honestly was hoping Benji would slowly move away from this, But injuries throw up opportunities that could sink some players or all them to flourish.
Click to expand...
Just got a feeling the effort areas Attard showed on Saturday will land him a debut if Bula isn't ready. Backing up Tavana for his long range try, the chase-down tackle, backing-up Aho's offload up the middle & his marshalling of our defence on the line (only 1st try we were done for numbers from memory).

As you say, he could sink or swim but he seems a confident kid.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 811 (members: 3, guests: 808)
Back
Top