Tucker
Well-known member
If it’s obvious to everyone else, maybe it’s correct?If I had a dollar for every fan who doesn't think the coach uses his bench right - Id be rich.
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If it’s obvious to everyone else, maybe it’s correct?If I had a dollar for every fan who doesn't think the coach uses his bench right - Id be rich.
Chan Kum Tong, Lussick or Otukolo would be my preferred options, in that order.they need an upgrade from Hope and the kid ( who probably wouldn’t even be considered for the NRL in 2026)… otherwise it’s a problem…if they weren’t an upgrade to those 2 then they wouldn’t be required in the first place ..because you would just play Hope ..Am I right ? I’m trying to understand..
Lussick who you suggested could be a fit ….but I have no idea if there is interest from either party
Not just Benji - all coaches when a team loses. Maguire was criticized consistently for his use of the bench while here - got a bit more to work at the Broncos. Ciraldo has copped it for weeks from the Bulldogs fans, and some of the Sharks fans questioned Fitzgibbon's use of Nikora. It's a thing - we are are all wiser after the factIf it’s obvious to everyone else, maybe it’s correct?
LOL culture.
Calling everyone bro?
We have no leadership.
Anyway got the article about what big Stef is saying ?
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‘I did my time there’: Utoikamanu says reaching grand final vindicates decision to leave Tigers
Stefano Utoikamanu was sick of ‘winning’ wooden spoons with Wests Tigers. A year after joining the Storm, he’s 80 minutes away from a premiership.www.smh.com.au
Stefano Utoikamanu says reaching his first NRL grand final has vindicated his decision to leave Wests Tigers for the Storm this time last year, a move which had “everyone trashing me on the way out”.
Melbourne’s 22-14 win over Cronulla in Friday night’s preliminary final saw Utoikamanu become the second player to swap a wooden spoon for a place in the NRL decider within 12 months of leaving the Tigers.
Shawn Blore achieved the feat last year, and now Utoikamanu – who has been hailed as the best front-rower in the game during the past couple of months by Storm coach Craig Bellamy – has followed suit.![]()
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NRL Highlights: Storm v Sharks - Finals Week 3
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Melbourne Storm take on the Cronulla Sharks in the Finals Week 3 of the 2025 NRL Premiership at AAMI Park, Melbourne.
Utoikamanu rejected a lucrative offer to stay at the Tigers to join the Storm, having been impressed by Bellamy’s sales pitch, which led to him being booed by home fans one night at Leichhardt Oval. He told this masthead earlier this month that had he stayed in Sydney, he would have joined the Bulldogs.
The NSW representative prop produced one of his best performances in a Melbourne jersey on Friday night, laying the foundation for the Storm’s all-star playmakers to fire them into yet another grand final.
When asked if Tigers fans were entitled to wonder what might have been had Utoikamanu stayed and produced similar football for their club, he said: “I feel like I did my time there; I was there four years and played a lot of footy for them.
“I’m not saying I wasn’t a part of the problem for not winning, I was a part of that team. I feel like it’s something I have to say, that I was there, I tried my best. Us not being successful, I was also a part of the problem.![]()
Stefano Utoikamanu charges into the Cronulla defence on Friday night.CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES
“Towards the end of the year, I was a bit off it with everyone dragging me down, even though I wore my heart on my sleeve playing for that club.
“To see everyone trash me on the way out, the fans, and the media a bit, it was a shit way to go out. But it’s in the past, I’m here, and next week we get to play in a grand final.
“It’s pretty crazy. I was with ‘Blorey’ at the Tigers, we had some tough times there and it’s good to come out the other side and come to a great club like this.”
Utoikamanu admits he was “jealous” watching another finals series last year from his couch, but knew that joining perennial September specialists Melbourne would boost his chances of tasting play-off action at last.![]()
And now you are projecting. It seems you misinterpret calling you out as being overemotionalIf you are offended that’s your problem. Lashing out is not the answer.
As a boomer I take offence! LOL!You seem quite upset.
It’s funny how you attack my opinion, I argue it further, you provide nothing in reply yet comeback with this childish nonsense.
We really need a rule for when you boomers can post.
Heard about Hoffman yesterday when working on the wharfs can only be a positive move if it happens.I've heard through a close contact that Peter Sterling is touring our facilities and being considered in an attack consultation role at the club. Ryan Hoffman from the Melbourne Storm is another name that keeps getting mentioned
Sterlo? What’s he been up to lately?I've heard through a close contact that Peter Sterling is touring our facilities and being considered in an attack consultation role at the club. Ryan Hoffman from the Melbourne Storm is another name that keeps getting mentioned
Yeh, hopefully those young players will improve to a satisfactory level. The only one who gives me confidence is Makasini at this time.the team is young - i see them improving, when/ if they want to . Team only needs a few tickles to make it humm.
Benji needs all the help he can getSterlo? What’s he been up to lately?
He wasn’t in the 2005 side.
HB coach for Benji, It’s never too late.
Latu and the Doobs maybe.
Hoffo coming back home, will no one else take him? Where’s he been coaching at?
Nice to read a post from you that’s not bagging Benji or the club.
Thanks for sharing what you’ve heard.
Me too. I'll post any time I damn well want to, that is of course as long as my wife says it's OK.As a boomer I take offence! LOL!
I think I get it? If we lose a good player because he wants to improve his on field performance at a better managed club, that’s a sign of our success. By that guage the more times that happens the more successful we are. You’ve got me kinda excited about Geyer joining us now that I realise we will ship him back to Penrith a much better player.Oddly I think Stefano & Papali'i this year prove that the Tigers are getting something right.
And it's because both players had good seasons away from the club.
Let's start with both the players. No way Cleary & Bellamy taught them anything 'new'. "Be more involved & committed" isn't something you teach. It's something you buy into. It's, dare I say it, a club culture. What, if anything, it shows me is that Stefano & Papali'i are not 'leaders' as they were expected to be at the Tigers. They don't drive the standards. They follow the standards set by others. They are good players, playing in good teams, and doing well.
So why does this show me that the Tigers are doing the right thing?
Because the whole drive from Richardson & Marshall is about bringing in leadership, setting standards & having players that want to be here. How many times have we heard about Luai & building a club culture? How many times do we hear how Benji is building a culture of 'family first values' etc?
There was definitely some improvement in 2025. I would say that with Api, Luai & a few others that we are building a club culture. Now it's about having the right players, with the right attitudes, in the club.
Stefano & Papali'i have shown that talented players who need to be driven & caught up in a team culture can actually thrive. Not every player succeeds because you count on them being 'leaders'. I think the Tigers figured it out & actually invested in culture defining players. Now it's getting the rest of the squad mix right.
I'll sit down now.
I’m sceptical that sterlo would get involved with a club other than parra.Sterlo in his day was a champion player, but that was decade’s ago. We need people who have been involved in the game in far more recent times. Of course it might be a gee up to