2024 Pre-Season

tigerballs said:
Doesn't matter at centre anymore. As long as you can drift sideways and follow the football. And power at contact seems to be more important than speed of the mark. Not that speed wouldn't be handy.
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Not to be that guy … but to state the obvious - speed is power . I honestly think edge back row is the perfect spot for him now . He just needs to buy into the defensive side , and the big thing , which is huge IMO , realise he’s absolutely massive and can hurt some blokes .
He is NOT a small human !
 
Olam at his optimum, I’ll go so far as to say he’s one of the most enigmatic and destructive backs in the world.

I’ve read he has a tendency to panic and run out of the line, but I haven’t seen enough of him to verify that.

If he’s got positional issues, we should be able to mostly train him out of that.
 
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Tiger Karen said:
Olam at his optimum, I’ll go so far as to say he’s one of the most enigmatic and destructive backs in the world.

I’ve read he has a tendency to panic and run out of the line, but I haven’t seen enough of him to verify that.

If he’s got positional issues, we should be able to mostly train him out of that.
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I've been pretty negative on Olam and defensive positional issues is one of the big reasons. However it is well known Felise Kaufusi is not only excellent at reading defence he is absolutely brilliant at communicating with his outside men what he wants from them.
I don't believe at any stage in Olam's career has he ever looked a good defender but he was at least adequate when he had Kaufusi telling him what to do.
I think his big drop off last year was due to losing Kaufusi and to a lesser extent not having Papenhuyzen organising the defensive line.
I don't think that we have a defensive leader on the left edge or that Bula is particularly good at setting the line. So I think it is unlikely we see a marked improvement in Olam. However if we were to, perhaps it would be best achieved by upskilling those around him as much or moreso than just Olam himself.
 
gregjm87 said:
I've been pretty negative on Olam and defensive positional issues is one of the big reasons. However it is well known Felise Kaufusi is not only excellent at reading defence he is absolutely brilliant at communicating with his outside men what he wants from them.
I don't believe at any stage in Olam's career has he ever looked a good defender but he was at least adequate when he had Kaufusi telling him what to do.
I think his big drop off last year was due to losing Kaufusi and to a lesser extent not having Papenhuyzen organising the defensive line.
I don't think that we have a defensive leader on the left edge or that Bula is particularly good at setting the line. So I think it is unlikely we see a marked improvement in Olam. However if we were to, perhaps it would be best achieved by upskilling those around him as much or moreso than just Olam himself.
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I’ll raise this with Shane when or if he gets back to me. He’s pretty slow on the member turn around.

Awesome and enlightening post, approaching elite hard core, thanks.
 
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gregjm87 said:
I've been pretty negative on Olam and defensive positional issues is one of the big reasons. However it is well known Felise Kaufusi is not only excellent at reading defence he is absolutely brilliant at communicating with his outside men what he wants from them.
I don't believe at any stage in Olam's career has he ever looked a good defender but he was at least adequate when he had Kaufusi telling him what to do.
I think his big drop off last year was due to losing Kaufusi and to a lesser extent not having Papenhuyzen organising the defensive line.
I don't think that we have a defensive leader on the left edge or that Bula is particularly good at setting the line. So I think it is unlikely we see a marked improvement in Olam. However if we were to, perhaps it would be best achieved by upskilling those around him as much or moreso than just Olam himself.
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Gee Kaufusi must have an extremely loud voice being able to organise the left side defence from his right side flank.
 
gregjm87 said:
I've been pretty negative on Olam and defensive positional issues is one of the big reasons. However it is well known Felise Kaufusi is not only excellent at reading defence he is absolutely brilliant at communicating with his outside men what he wants from them.
I don't believe at any stage in Olam's career has he ever looked a good defender but he was at least adequate when he had Kaufusi telling him what to do.
I think his big drop off last year was due to losing Kaufusi and to a lesser extent not having Papenhuyzen organising the defensive line.
I don't think that we have a defensive leader on the left edge or that Bula is particularly good at setting the line. So I think it is unlikely we see a marked improvement in Olam. However if we were to, perhaps it would be best achieved by upskilling those around him as much or moreso than just Olam himself.
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You know who Olam misses the most. JAC. He was the one that organised the left side defence.
 
Needaname said:
You know who Olam misses the most. JAC. He was the one that organised the left side defence.
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Said that the other day.....

Facts are, Melbourne generally play you down your end
- And the Fox was quick enough to fix any hassles from overlaps or misses.
Fox is also a great talker, And knows his footy....

He also had new back rowers this year, And not all of them great...
Combined with an Injury...

I think he's a massive upgrade on anything we have in the backline,
I don't think he's near done, Though consider he may well be...
Truth is, No one knows... He might come here and go to a new level.

One thing I am sure of, He'll have a few blokes on the back foot
Both with and without the ball....

And that's more than we've been able to say about the last however many blokes in that position.
 
batboy said:
Said that the other day.....

Facts are, Melbourne generally play you down your end
- And the Fox was quick enough to fix any hassles from overlaps or misses.
Fox is also a great talker, And knows his footy....

He also had new back rowers this year, And not all of them great...
Combined with an Injury...

I think he's a massive upgrade on anything we have in the backline,
I don't think he's near done, Though consider he may well be...
Truth is, No one knows... He might come here and go to a new level.

One thing I am sure of, He'll have a few blokes on the back foot
Both with and without the ball....

And that's more than we've been able to say about the last however many blokes in that position.
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Unfortunately size is Fox’s biggest weakness.
Especially in a lower placed team like the dogs and even us. You need the backs to do a lot of the donkey work and Fox may be quick but doesn’t have the leg drive or aerial threat other wingers provide.
Lucky for dogs they have Kikau when fit and will most likely have a decent sized centre inside him for those carries.
 
Needaname said:
Unfortunately size is Fox’s biggest weakness.
Especially in a lower placed team like the dogs and even us. You need the backs to do a lot of the donkey work and Fox may be quick but doesn’t have the leg drive or aerial threat other wingers provide.
Lucky for dogs they have Kikau when fit and will most likely have a decent sized centre inside him for those carries.
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Agree by and large
- Although, I've seen the Fox bust plenty of tackles taking dirty hit ups....
To the Point it's quite Surprising really....

He's slight at the motor (Bottom End) for sure, But Quite big up top....
I'd have him here, Still a top 6 Winger for mine....
All way beyond anything we have here...

Fingers crossed that new bloke Alaimalo makes a fist of it,
He's huge - With some pace from what I've seen...
 
batboy said:
Said that the other day.....

Facts are, Melbourne generally play you down your end
- And the Fox was quick enough to fix any hassles from overlaps or misses.
Fox is also a great talker, And knows his footy....

He also had new back rowers this year, And not all of them great...
Combined with an Injury...

I think he's a massive upgrade on anything we have in the backline,
I don't think he's near done, Though consider he may well be...
Truth is, No one knows... He might come here and go to a new level.

One thing I am sure of, He'll have a few blokes on the back foot
Both with and without the ball....

And that's more than we've been able to say about the last however many blokes in that position.
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Mate agree with your assessment.But geez i wish he was around 24years old ,not the other side of 30. Time will tell.
 
the enforcer. said:
Mate agree with your assessment.But geez i wish he was around 24years old ,not the other side of 30. Time will tell.
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The Only Upside of his age, Is he's a late Bloomer and hasn't played as much Footy....
And he's Melanesians - They more robust and last a bit longer than the Anglos for mine...
The Downside is, The Footy he has played - Has been HARD Footy....
On the back of what I'm sure was a hard upbringing....

Hopefully the above evens each other out a bit.
 
Demps said:
AD showed some improved defence in the world cup then came back and showed nothing in the club games.

Strange as....

He's looking solid in the training images but as everyone is saying, he's surplus.

Perfect world - he's a decent #14, with the ability to play anywhere 1 to 7, backrow, 9 and 13... like a more well rounded MCK.

Realistically though, as you said... too slow for the backs and too standoffish for the pack.

Very interested to see how the club manages this.
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I would be pretty shocked to find that his money hasn't already been assigned to Luai's contract in 2025, or that there's room for Doueihi on anything more than a minimum deal by that stage. It's brutal to say it but I suspect the club expects nothing from him in 2024.
 
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