2027 half back and five eigth

tigersfan

tigersfan

Well-known member
Next year slim pickings

Adam Douihie - not a half back, ok five eight
Jock Madden - fringe player has moments but not consistent
Latu Fainu - showed glimpses of talent
Javon Andrews - not a first grader yet

Anyone else? Maybe Benji can make a come back
 
If Latu isn't in the halves, I don't think he's at the club.

I think best practice would be;

6. Latu Fainu
7. Jock Madden
13. Adam Doueihi

Averillo, right centre.

However, i wouldn't be surprised to see;

6. Latu Fainu
7. Adam Doueihi

Jock Madden,
NSW cup / back up
 
I can't see the Round 1 team being anything other than Latu and AD (as long as they are both healthy and good to go).

That being said......don't sleep on Schuster! Huge pre-season could put some pressure on Benji to make some tough calls. Would love a Latu 7 Schuster 6 combo with AD at 13 (providing he cops it on the chin and actually plays)...attack would be a lot more dangerous in my opinion.

Madden should be playing cup (or the half option on the bench) and be our backup 7.

I am a masssive Javon fan, but think he is still a little too raw to start the year there.

Averillo is our best right centre option and should only be playing that position unless there is an injury crisis.
 
GNR4LIFE said:
Doueihi will be there. Simply because there is no one else.
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You could be right unfortunately. I think Benji knows that AD is not the future in the halves but we have three 5/8s and one average half in our roster. We will have to reinvent the roles and structure of how we play if we are not going to make some changes to our squad.
I can see a hybrid style where we have a first receiver on either side of the ruck with a running 5/8 player outside him and then adding in an extra link player from time to time to get them running wider. We could have them coming in waves on either side of the ruck and swapping around to make our A unpredictable.
Kicking game will be where we will need some real help.
 
Based on who we have atm the team self selects itself:

1. Bula / Attard
2. Makasini / Tavana
3. Taylan May / Sakuru
4. Averillo / Herbert
5. Turuva / Tupou
6. Douihei / Andrews
7. Lath Fainu / Jock Madden
8. Terrell May / Sione Fainu
9. Api/ Brailey / Haywood
10. Pole / Taupau-Moors
11. Sam Fainu/ Ethan Roberts
12. KPP / Seyfarth
13. Twal/ Mann

Lack of quality depth edge back row, front row. Halves either way we go are a work in progress.
 
TYGA said:
Based on who we have atm the team self selects itself:

1. Bula / Attard
2. Makasini / Tavana
3. Taylan May / Sakuru
4. Averillo / Herbert
5. Turuva / Tupou
6. Douihei / Andrews
7. Lath Fainu / Jock Madden
8. Terrell May / Sione Fainu
9. Api/ Brailey / Haywood
10. Pole / Taupau-Moors
11. Sam Fainu/ Ethan Roberts
12. KPP / Seyfarth
13. Twal/ Mann

Lack of quality depth edge back row, front row. Halves either way we go are a work in progress.
Click to expand...
If Schuster turns the corner and comes good, it means Twal to middle rotation.

I’d be hanging onto Hunt for sure.
 
TYGA said:
Based on who we have atm the team self selects itself:

1. Bula / Attard
2. Makasini / Tavana
3. Taylan May / Sakuru
4. Averillo / Herbert
5. Turuva / Tupou
6. Douihei / Andrews
7. Lath Fainu / Jock Madden
8. Terrell May / Sione Fainu
9. Api/ Brailey / Haywood
10. Pole / Taupau-Moors
11. Sam Fainu/ Ethan Roberts
12. KPP / Seyfarth
13. Twal/ Mann

Lack of quality depth edge back row, front row. Halves either way we go are a work in progress.
Click to expand...
good summary
worried about the spoon this year
 
When you are going into a new season and you as a supporter have to speculate who the halves will be, it’s not a good sign. The good clubs are settled and know. Add that to the fact, that we are extremely thin, it’s not a recipe for success.
 
TYGA said:
Based on who we have atm the team self selects itself:

1. Bula / Attard
2. Makasini / Tavana
3. Taylan May / Sakuru
4. Averillo / Herbert
5. Turuva / Tupou
6. Douihei / Andrews
7. Lath Fainu / Jock Madden
8. Terrell May / Sione Fainu
9. Api/ Brailey / Haywood
10. Pole / Taupau-Moors
11. Sam Fainu/ Ethan Roberts
12. KPP / Seyfarth
13. Twal/ Mann

Lack of quality depth edge back row, front row. Halves either way we go are a work in progress.
Click to expand...
If we finalise Frizell and Schiller, I’d start with Friz and May, and the bench could be Brailey, Pole, Hunt, Mann, Seyfarth and Schiller.
 
OK, I get the sentiment about AD, but where is the moral courage? This is the real rot that we have been facing at the club over the last 15 years and AD at 6 is just an extension of that rot.

True leadership and moral courage mean doing the right thing when it’s hard, sacrificing personal vanity for the collective good, and standing by your teammates when the pressure is on. When Benji told Adam "I'm a Leader" Doueihi to put his ego aside and pull on the No. 13 jersey to steady a bleeding team, he showed exactly what he was made of. He didn’t dig in. He walked out.

Refusing to play against Canberra because the position didn't fit his self-proclaimed vision of being a "dominant half" is the absolute definition of a failure of character. It screams that personal brand matters more than the club.

Now, we are heading into 2027, and the whisper camp is already building the narrative that he should just slide back into the No. 6 jersey because of his "experience."

Handing him the reins at five-eighth isn't just a selection error it would be a moral failure by both Benji and the club. What kind of message does that send to Javon Andrews, a young bloke who has absolutely bided his time, ripped in at Cup Level winning Playyers Player at the club and being named the KoE 5/8th of the year. What does it say to Josh Schuster, who showed grit to swallow his pride, take a lower-tier lifeline, and drop 33kg to prove he wants to be a first-grader?

If we want to prove that the "Sleeping Giant" myth isn't just a corporate shield for mediocrity, they need the moral courage to draw a line in the sand.

Ego doesn't earn the 6. Entitlement doesn't earn the 6. You don't get to abandon the ship when it's sinking and then demand to steer it when the weather clears. If Doueihi wants back in first grade, he can face the music, buy into the defensive grind at 13, or watch the next generation leave him behind from the reserve grade bench.

Does this club finally have the backbone to demand accountability, or are we going to let player entitlement dictate our future yet again?

Doueihi to 6 is a joke!
 
Jolls said:
OK, I get the sentiment about AD, but where is the moral courage? This is the real rot that we have been facing at the club over the last 15 years and AD at 6 is just an extension of that rot.

True leadership and moral courage mean doing the right thing when it’s hard, sacrificing personal vanity for the collective good, and standing by your teammates when the pressure is on. When Benji told Adam "I'm a Leader" Doueihi to put his ego aside and pull on the No. 13 jersey to steady a bleeding team, he showed exactly what he was made of. He didn’t dig in. He walked out.

Refusing to play against Canberra because the position didn't fit his self-proclaimed vision of being a "dominant half" is the absolute definition of a failure of character. It screams that personal brand matters more than the club.

Now, we are heading into 2027, and the whisper camp is already building the narrative that he should just slide back into the No. 6 jersey because of his "experience."

Handing him the reins at five-eighth isn't just a selection error it would be a moral failure by both Benji and the club. What kind of message does that send to Javon Andrews, a young bloke who has absolutely bided his time, ripped in at Cup Level winning Playyers Player at the club and being named the KoE 5/8th of the year. What does it say to Josh Schuster, who showed grit to swallow his pride, take a lower-tier lifeline, and drop 33kg to prove he wants to be a first-grader?

If we want to prove that the "Sleeping Giant" myth isn't just a corporate shield for mediocrity, they need the moral courage to draw a line in the sand.

Ego doesn't earn the 6. Entitlement doesn't earn the 6. You don't get to abandon the ship when it's sinking and then demand to steer it when the weather clears. If Doueihi wants back in first grade, he can face the music, buy into the defensive grind at 13, or watch the next generation leave him behind from the reserve grade bench.

Does this club finally have the backbone to demand accountability, or are we going to let player entitlement dictate our future yet again?

Doueihi to 6 is a joke!
Click to expand...
After hearing Terrell on his podcast admit to locking himself away for a couple of weeks and how he let Benji down, it may have fed into AD's frustration with the club not upholding standards. While there is no place for it, there has to be something more to AD's walkout.

Lets hope the lads this year have shaken those behaviours out of their system and hit it up hard. We can't win a premiership if our leaders are not leading.
 
Jolls said:
OK, I get the sentiment about AD, but where is the moral courage? This is the real rot that we have been facing at the club over the last 15 years and AD at 6 is just an extension of that rot.

True leadership and moral courage mean doing the right thing when it’s hard, sacrificing personal vanity for the collective good, and standing by your teammates when the pressure is on. When Benji told Adam "I'm a Leader" Doueihi to put his ego aside and pull on the No. 13 jersey to steady a bleeding team, he showed exactly what he was made of. He didn’t dig in. He walked out.

Refusing to play against Canberra because the position didn't fit his self-proclaimed vision of being a "dominant half" is the absolute definition of a failure of character. It screams that personal brand matters more than the club.

Now, we are heading into 2027, and the whisper camp is already building the narrative that he should just slide back into the No. 6 jersey because of his "experience."

Handing him the reins at five-eighth isn't just a selection error it would be a moral failure by both Benji and the club. What kind of message does that send to Javon Andrews, a young bloke who has absolutely bided his time, ripped in at Cup Level winning Playyers Player at the club and being named the KoE 5/8th of the year. What does it say to Josh Schuster, who showed grit to swallow his pride, take a lower-tier lifeline, and drop 33kg to prove he wants to be a first-grader?

If we want to prove that the "Sleeping Giant" myth isn't just a corporate shield for mediocrity, they need the moral courage to draw a line in the sand.

Ego doesn't earn the 6. Entitlement doesn't earn the 6. You don't get to abandon the ship when it's sinking and then demand to steer it when the weather clears. If Doueihi wants back in first grade, he can face the music, buy into the defensive grind at 13, or watch the next generation leave him behind from the reserve grade bench.

Does this club finally have the backbone to demand accountability, or are we going to let player entitlement dictate our future yet again?

Doueihi to 6 is a joke!
Click to expand...
If it was just about individuals 💯 agree but then you have to contend with all the relationships within the squad and sometimes off the field as well. It's never as simple as the coach dropping a player for another without considering consequences - especially when losing is entrenched already - and the action may not improve the situation.
Its the reason why the coach is always the fall guy for teams poor performances because it is very easy for more than one person to turn on the coach and clubs to replace them, than it is to replace a number of disgruntled players who think they know better.
We know that all clubs back the coach until the players don't and then it's curtains for the coach. Not sure how much influence Douehi has on and off the field with people within the club but we will find out.
 
hammertime said:
After hearing Terrell on his podcast admit to locking himself away for a couple of weeks and how he let Benji down, it may have fed into AD's frustration with the club not upholding standards. While there is no place for it, there has to be something more to AD's walkout.

Lets hope the lads this year have shaken those behaviours out of their system and hit it up hard. We can't win a premiership if our leaders are not leading.
Click to expand...
I suspect that there is plenty behind the walkout; but he turned his back on his mates. That is the ultimate betrayal. AD is definitely not a leader; he talks himself up. We don't hear it from elsewhere except from Benji.

AD has us in a bind as I doubt any club will touch him at the price he wants after his walkout. We have signed him until 2029 so he needs to make it work to build his own profile (ego) and we need to make him work for us. Can he come back from his betrayal? Potentially, but he needs to work for it - we shouldn't be allowing him to play 6 based on "experience".

Javon and Josh have every right to expect that they have as much of a chance of playing 6 in 27 as AD. The position is there to be earned - and AD has not earned anything based on his lack of morals and his performance (likely injury hindered) in the second half of the season.

Andrews has, he has shown he has mastered cup level.
Schuster has, he has swallowed both pride and pay to come and play in cup. He also has 50 games of NRL experience and should be hitting his prime at 26. A dark horse yes - but shouldn't be ruled out before we have had a trial.

You are on the moner - we can't win a premiership if our leaders aren't leading. This was exactly the point I was making. If we want to build culture you have to do it from the ground up. Buying it in doesn't work - it may kick start something but culture comes from leadership and the club has lacked it, from the top down, for a decade or more.

AD is not the answer at 6 unless he beats out Javon Andrews and Josh Schuster on merit and performance; that is only after he had had a crack at playing where Benji needs him most. Once the recruitment has finished we may have a better feel for it; but right now he shoudl be at the back of the pack for any shot at the 6.
 
Jolls said:
OK, I get the sentiment about AD, but where is the moral courage? This is the real rot that we have been facing at the club over the last 15 years and AD at 6 is just an extension of that rot.

True leadership and moral courage mean doing the right thing when it’s hard, sacrificing personal vanity for the collective good, and standing by your teammates when the pressure is on. When Benji told Adam "I'm a Leader" Doueihi to put his ego aside and pull on the No. 13 jersey to steady a bleeding team, he showed exactly what he was made of. He didn’t dig in. He walked out.

Refusing to play against Canberra because the position didn't fit his self-proclaimed vision of being a "dominant half" is the absolute definition of a failure of character. It screams that personal brand matters more than the club.

Now, we are heading into 2027, and the whisper camp is already building the narrative that he should just slide back into the No. 6 jersey because of his "experience."

Handing him the reins at five-eighth isn't just a selection error it would be a moral failure by both Benji and the club. What kind of message does that send to Javon Andrews, a young bloke who has absolutely bided his time, ripped in at Cup Level winning Playyers Player at the club and being named the KoE 5/8th of the year. What does it say to Josh Schuster, who showed grit to swallow his pride, take a lower-tier lifeline, and drop 33kg to prove he wants to be a first-grader?

If we want to prove that the "Sleeping Giant" myth isn't just a corporate shield for mediocrity, they need the moral courage to draw a line in the sand.

Ego doesn't earn the 6. Entitlement doesn't earn the 6. You don't get to abandon the ship when it's sinking and then demand to steer it when the weather clears. If Doueihi wants back in first grade, he can face the music, buy into the defensive grind at 13, or watch the next generation leave him behind from the reserve grade bench.

Does this club finally have the backbone to demand accountability, or are we going to let player entitlement dictate our future yet again?

Doueihi to 6 is a joke!
Click to expand...
I think your hopes of Doueihi moving to lock might be sunk quicker than the Bismark Jolls, think he'll worm his way back into the 6 jersey or demand a release

Maybe he could be persuaded to play at centre but I'm starting to think it's 6, if he's going to dig his heels in then bugger off bubble head.

You reading this Benji.
 
Jolls said:
OK, I get the sentiment about AD, but where is the moral courage? This is the real rot that we have been facing at the club over the last 15 years and AD at 6 is just an extension of that rot.

True leadership and moral courage mean doing the right thing when it’s hard, sacrificing personal vanity for the collective good, and standing by your teammates when the pressure is on. When Benji told Adam "I'm a Leader" Doueihi to put his ego aside and pull on the No. 13 jersey to steady a bleeding team, he showed exactly what he was made of. He didn’t dig in. He walked out.

Refusing to play against Canberra because the position didn't fit his self-proclaimed vision of being a "dominant half" is the absolute definition of a failure of character. It screams that personal brand matters more than the club.

Now, we are heading into 2027, and the whisper camp is already building the narrative that he should just slide back into the No. 6 jersey because of his "experience."

Handing him the reins at five-eighth isn't just a selection error it would be a moral failure by both Benji and the club. What kind of message does that send to Javon Andrews, a young bloke who has absolutely bided his time, ripped in at Cup Level winning Playyers Player at the club and being named the KoE 5/8th of the year. What does it say to Josh Schuster, who showed grit to swallow his pride, take a lower-tier lifeline, and drop 33kg to prove he wants to be a first-grader?

If we want to prove that the "Sleeping Giant" myth isn't just a corporate shield for mediocrity, they need the moral courage to draw a line in the sand.

Ego doesn't earn the 6. Entitlement doesn't earn the 6. You don't get to abandon the ship when it's sinking and then demand to steer it when the weather clears. If Doueihi wants back in first grade, he can face the music, buy into the defensive grind at 13, or watch the next generation leave him behind from the reserve grade bench.

Does this club finally have the backbone to demand accountability, or are we going to let player entitlement dictate our future yet again?

Doueihi to 6 is a joke!
Click to expand...
Great post Jolls. Agree 100% and i think Benji would as well.
The only problem is how any of the alternative selections would play out. I mean the options if for instance Andrews is not ready for weekly NRL, or Latu isn’t resilient enough, and then we have Madden at 7 who is just mostly OK.
In order to take the road you’re proposing we may all have to be patient enough for the first part of the season while the young blokes get match hardened.
 
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