Arana Taumata heading to North Queensland

[Discussion_Bot]

Wests Tigers acquisition Arana Taumata will leave the club to join the North Queensland Cowboys. Whilst the mid-season transfer has yet to be officially confirmed by the club, it is understood that Taumata informed Balmain Ryde Eastwood teammates earlier this weekend.

This is yet another move for the talented rookie who was being touted as a halfback for the Wests Tigers first grade side during the offseason by many fans.

 

[Spartan117]

Cya Mate.. club #12 here comes AJ

 

[Gobbs]

Disappointed that Taumata was never given a chance to strut his stuff in 1st Grade around a higher calibre of players around him. Taumata has copped criticism for having too many errors in his game. A handful of bad games, doesn't make you a bad player. 'Form is temporary, skill is forever' Just look at Marshall. the bloke has produced more than his fair share of Barry Crockers, yet still remains one of the club's and the game's elite. Good luck Arana. I hope you get an opportunity at that you weren't given at Wests Tigers. Goodness knows you deserved one.

 

[alexaki]

Disappointed that Taumata was never given a chance to strut his stuff in 1st Grade around a higher calibre of players around him. Taumata has copped criticism for having too many errors in his game. A handful of bad games, doesn't make you a bad player. 'Form is temporary, skill is forever' Just look at Marshall. the bloke has produced more than his fair share of Barry Crockers, yet still remains one of the club's and the game's elite. Good luck Arana. I hope you get an opportunity at that you weren't given at Wests Tigers. Goodness knows you deserved one.

fair comments…pretty spot on!

 

[southerntiger]

Sheens should have given him a go by now,but his favourite kept getting in the team with less ability,hope he can get a go elsewhere,as he will prove to be another Sheens masterstroke. 😢

Who are all these Sheens masterstrokes - Matthew Head (playing for Dapto Dogs) and Shannon Gallant (playing Queensland Cup) come to mind. Who have I missed???

Playing Bronson at prop,therefore forcing him out,he is now a regular starter in the national team,Ryan Tandy,wouldn't give him a go,would rather use Bronson,Payne and Danny Galea at prop,he is now a well respected premiership winner,who the Dogs just picked up.
Head was a class above anything we had,it showed on the few occasions he was given a go,Sheens will not drop any regulars no matter how bad they perform,and guys like Davis,Pritchard,Corby,Carr,Gower and many more are continually overlooked for out of form players.
Gallant was one of the Cowboys best last night,whilst I would rather McKinnon(will wait and see if he gets a go with Tim),Shannon had far to few opportunities like a heap of other lower grade players.

Geez this is what you come up with? One player that has gone onto another club and had more success than at Wests - Tandy and even he is no world beater.

Shannon Gallant was so highly rated by other clubs that the only club that wanted him was one that bought him as a back up. Gallant is a solid fringe first grader - nothing less, nothing more.

If the boys you mention from our state cup sides were a 1/10 as good as some suggest then they would have been picked up by other clubs. This club has been happy to release players when they get other opportunities. Why hasnt this happened with the players you mention give that is clear Sheens doesnt intend to play them?

On a more general point, you guys all seem to want our team to change from week to week. I am great believer that continuity is one of the greatest assets for a football side. Who in our side (apart from Fitzy) would you drop to include these players? Who (apart from Farah and Marshall) played so poorly in our losing streak to justify being dropped? The reality with our side is that F & M fire we will rarely lose. When they dont, we do.

 

[southerntiger]

Disappointed that Taumata was never given a chance to strut his stuff in 1st Grade around a higher calibre of players around him. Taumata has copped criticism for having too many errors in his game. A handful of bad games, doesn't make you a bad player. 'Form is temporary, skill is forever' Just look at Marshall. the bloke has produced more than his fair share of Barry Crockers, yet still remains one of the club's and the game's elite. Good luck Arana. I hope you get an opportunity at that you weren't given at Wests Tigers. Goodness knows you deserved one.

God Gobbs a decent post ruined by one of the most over used cliches - albeit wrongly quoted (It should be "form is temporary, class is permanent"). What has Arana done to prove he is worthy of that quote? He is just another Tasesa Lavea from what I have seen - looks good but doesnt quite have it.

 

[alien]

Head was/maybe still is a drunk.

That was his problem,that is why he had the poorest fitness of anyone at the club and went backwards during the season and that is why he was released. On talent he was far superior to Hornby at the Dragons but could not crack it there because his problems still remained

Sheens keeps selecting players that play like they are drunk anyway so what's the difference???

 

[westTAHger]

best of luck to Arana.
never know, we might see him line up against wests-tigers very soon.

 

[Chris]

Sheens should have given him a go by now,but his favourite kept getting in the team with less ability,hope he can get a go elsewhere,as he will prove to be another Sheens masterstroke. 😢

Who are all these Sheens masterstrokes - Matthew Head (playing for Dapto Dogs) and Shannon Gallant (playing Queensland Cup) come to mind. Who have I missed???

Daine Laurie

 

[Tigersmurf]

Stuart Flanaghan, and who was that young winger that went to the Titans…...can't remember probably because he doesn't play first grade.

 

[Guest]

Stuart Flanaghan, and who was that young winger that went to the Titans…...can't remember probably because he doesn't play first grade.

Ben Jeffrey.

 

[citizen_cub]

That was delaying the inevitable.

I'm sure the he'll get a run up at NQ. Although, NQ have got some talented young halves themselves and that Michael Morgan guy scored a double the other night, so I think Taumata might have to wait a while to get a run.

 

[gallagher]

Sheens should have given him a go by now,but his favourite kept getting in the team with less ability,hope he can get a go elsewhere,as he will prove to be another Sheens masterstroke. 😢

Who are all these Sheens masterstrokes - Matthew Head (playing for Dapto Dogs) and Shannon Gallant (playing Queensland Cup) come to mind. Who have I missed???

Daine Laurie

Rangi Chase

 

[Balmain_Bug]

Not Happy Jan.

 

[Geo]

One of the main reasons for Balmain's good run of late is the combination of Nichols & Lazarus in the halves . They genuinely enjoy playing together , and work very hard at training, trying to always improve.

McDonnell made a mistake giving **Darren's spot promised to him by Sheens before he went to England , to Corby.**
Nichols is becoming the a very good super sub, who can quite easily fill in at hooker , 5/8 & halfback for first grade over the next year or so.

IMO , there are 6 players in the Tigers reserve grade team that deserved a start in first grade over the next season or so before Arana …..Meaney , Farlow , Gower, Matty Ryan , Nichols & Lazarus, and I am hoping that we can keep them long enough that Sheens gives them a go in our WT team

Sheens promised Nichols the hooker job for the Magpies…. 😕

I agree with everything else you said..... you can add Nu Akeripa, Josh Davis, Rhys Pritchard and Andrew Pearn to the list of players worthy of a shot on form.....their is some talent in front of them though...

 

[southerntiger]

Not Happy Jan.

I can understand why. Obviously NQ dont intend to use Bowen at 6\. Where does that leave your mate?

 

[cnx_tigers]

It's not just a matter of "we could use Tamatau"…......it's a matter also of a young bloke trying to turn his life around and a better opportunity coming up. I.e. he's screwed up his career. He should be a NRL player / Kiwi test regular by now.

Instead, he's on tiny $$ playing for Balmain Ryde.

If the Cowboys have said "we like the way you're maturing, he's an $80 000 a year plus incentives contract to come up here" (note: i don't know how much $$ is involved)...........then the club can't really say "you can't go" unless we really see him in the NRL side with us. (Which doesn't appear to be the case)

In summary, you can't really deny ANY state cup player a chance if an NRL team comes in. If a team came in tomorrow and wanted David Gower, we'd have to let him go also as blokes are completely wasted down there if they have ANY ambition at all to play NRL.

I'm sure it was mentioned initially when the Tigers signed him that Taumata was on 200k over 2 years. Not exactly peanuts.

Not true mate. With incentives (i.e. play a dozen NRL games etc) maybe….........but playing all year in the state cup doesn't equate to much. I have a mate who is very closely connected with that team (thus how I knew about him leaving) and he's told me Meaney is on the most down there and it's not a high figure.

Basic reality is that ANYONE in that comp. who another team really wants / is prepared to pay is available.

The Cowboys have been playing a rookie 5/8 most of the season who is garbage and made multiple errors when they were hammered a couple of weeks back.........thus they saw Arana as an upgrade.

If a team wanted a prop or half back and seriously could offer Gower or Lazo a spot in their NRL team.........we'd not be able to stand in their way either.

Blokes aren't on much $$ down there. I don't know how many of you go to watch Balmain -Ryde, but there's normally 500 people there.........half are in for free, most pay $5 to get in. I.e. the team runs at a loss.

Players not in the NRL squad aren't on much at all / they all work 9-5.

 

[Mystery]

The bloke is still a lunatic on the drink and too unreliable to become a regular first grader… Some ppl just dont learn

 

[Guest]

Cowboys go on buying spree
Karl deKroo From: The Daily Telegraph June 15, 2010 12:00AM
\
\
NORTH Queensland's bid to bolster their backline ranks has already netted Broncos flyer Antonio Winterstein for the next three seasons, and former Origin flyer Brent Tate could join him by the end of the week.

Shattered by their slow start and the high error count in the outside backs, the Cowboys swooped on Winterstein, who has proved a revelation since being given an opportunity by the Broncos.

Tate is also deep in negotiations with the Cowboys and is tipped to leave the Warriors at season's end.

"It is an area we were looking to strengthen and we are really happy to get Antonio on board," Cowboys CEO Peter Parr said. "He is a quality young player. He has an eight-month-old daughter, a young family, so he was looking for some security and we're excited by what he can bring to our club."

The Cowboys have also been linked to Eels winger Eric Grothe but Tate is their priority target, believing his addition alongside Queensland stars Willie Tonga, Matt Bowen and Johnathan Thurston would leave the club with one of the most potent backlines in the NRL.

"We are looking to get an answer there within a week or so," Parr said. "We have a few other irons in the fire but we'd love to get a positive response from Brent."

The Cowboys are in the midst of trying to re-sign Luke O'Donnell and Anthony Watts, and are also likely to offer in-form back-rower Willie Mason a significantly upgraded deal in an effort to keep him in Townsville.

The success of those negotiations is likely to dictate whether the Cowboys look to further bolster their ranks from outside and also whether some other off-contract players are offered fresh deals.

**The Cowboys will also decide today whether to offer serial bad boy Arana Taumata the chance to join his sixth club. Wests Tigers are prepared to release Taumata for the rest of this season and 2011\. Taumata has had no off-field problems at Concord but has been unable to crack a first-grade start.\
\
While he has a chequered past, having previously played at Brisbane, Canterbury, Melbourne and the Roosters, the Cowboys believe he could provide some cover in both their halves and backline.**

 

[Glennb]

Not Happy Jan.

You dont strike me as a happy kinda bloke