Fonua in the centres

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Much better suited in the centres. Doesn’t have to worry about the high ball.

Yes, and he's a better blocker/defender for his winger under those bombs and can be ready for the 2nd or 3rd hit up
 
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Defensive and laterally movement? I hear that alot on this forum. Mostly from the same posters. I think most of those posters would have never played the game and use such words to try and make everyone think that they are the Gus Goulds of the Rugby League world. Pick up a football and run. It's not as easy as it seems sitting on the sideline or on a couch.

Or he actually has played and has made an important observation. Lateral movement is definitely an issue for players that are bulkier and have come back from a injury. Greg inglis is a great example of a player who struggled until recently of moving laterally hence he got beaten a few times. There a lot of forwards who struggle too.

Rather than trying to guess what experience people do or do not have, I can tell you what I saw.

We sat behind the goal posts and Fonua was good enough when Cowboys shifted. And they shifted wide often enough, usually using Taumololo to drag defenders in.

Neither Morgan nor Hampton could really get on the outside of Fonua or Brooks, and both those guys slid quite well when the plays did come. Morgan and Hampton obviously favour speed over power, but neither of them really got close to beating Fonua on the outside.

Putting it another way, lateral speed in defence is all about sufficient speed over short distances. You don't have to be a field-length speed machine to cover blokes trying to beat you on the outside, you only have to match them for about 10m max. You need to have feet fast enough not to be caught flat-footed by a jink, goose, step etc. Look at how Marsters set up Nofo, just a little jink made O'Neill hesitate and get just beaten enough draw the winger in. Fonua on the other hand shepherded Hampton all night, who himself is pretty quick - so that will do me.

The whole left side defence was pretty good, even the half-break that Feldt made, Brooks still covered him on the inside. Now no doubting Morgan was out of sorts, but our right side defence only had to deal with O'Neill and Winterstein, the former who made at least 4 knock-ons and the latter who runs like a lame duck, makes Nofo look like Michael Johnson.
 
The team looks more balanced with him in it, he was good however the right side defence was exceptional. I think the mistakes from O'Neill & Winternstein were more from pressure & frustration(something the Tigers never seem to get credit for).
 
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Better in the centres, he and Marsters are a handful, and combined with Rowdy on the left edge, we looked great.

Tonight wasn't a good game to judge him defensively , especially under pressure , when he has attackers at different angles and decisions need to be made

Ben Hampton disagrees….

Hampton has been attacking well at centre too, scored some good tries and made some breaks where he had plenty of work to do. I've been surprised at how well he's gone there. He's a bit like Kurt Mann, suffers from his utility…
 
I prefer fonua in the centre position over Kevin, I think fonua can offer more than Kevin

I think the back line we had against the cows was the best we have named this year

So much speed, offload and tackle break ability in the whole back line, could score a try from anywhere on the field
 
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Defensive and laterally movement? I hear that alot on this forum. Mostly from the same posters. I think most of those posters would have never played the game and use such words to try and make everyone think that they are the Gus Goulds of the Rugby League world. Pick up a football and run. It's not as easy as it seems sitting on the sideline or on a couch.

Or he actually has played and has made an important observation. Lateral movement is definitely an issue for players that are bulkier and have come back from a injury. Greg inglis is a great example of a player who struggled until recently of moving laterally hence he got beaten a few times. There a lot of forwards who struggle too.

Rather than trying to guess what experience people do or do not have, I can tell you what I saw.

We sat behind the goal posts and Fonua was good enough when Cowboys shifted. And they shifted wide often enough, usually using Taumololo to drag defenders in.

Neither Morgan nor Hampton could really get on the outside of Fonua or Brooks, and both those guys slid quite well when the plays did come. Morgan and Hampton obviously favour speed over power, but neither of them really got close to beating Fonua on the outside.

Putting it another way, lateral speed in defence is all about sufficient speed over short distances. You don't have to be a field-length speed machine to cover blokes trying to beat you on the outside, you only have to match them for about 10m max. You need to have feet fast enough not to be caught flat-footed by a jink, goose, step etc. Look at how Marsters set up Nofo, just a little jink made O'Neill hesitate and get just beaten enough draw the winger in. Fonua on the other hand shepherded Hampton all night, who himself is pretty quick - so that will do me.

The whole left side defence was pretty good, even the half-break that Feldt made, Brooks still covered him on the inside. Now no doubting Morgan was out of sorts, but our right side defence only had to deal with O'Neill and Winterstein, the former who made at least 4 knock-ons and the latter who runs like a lame duck, makes Nofo look like Michael Johnson.

Great analysis from a bloke trying to pretend you know your stuff and has never played the game!! :unamused:
 
I always thought he was better suited to the centres, not overly fast to be on the wing but does big hit ups and makes good runs.
 
i wouldn't change the L side- brooks, lawrence, fonua and mwz

R side- rochow needs to do more in attack- in defense he's dependable.
marsters has kept his spot
benji vs **reynolds**
noffa vs kevin for the R wing spot for me

let's see how it goes with injuries
 
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He has to be in the team. You can't drop him just after getting MOTM.

Kev and MCK have to battle it out.

Yep. Lets see how this goes. I would also add Nofo in the mix although he had a great game.
Unsure who works best Nofo + Marsters or Kevie + Marsters.

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i wouldn't change the L side- brooks, lawrence, fonua and mwz

R side- rochow needs to do more in attack- in defense he's dependable.
marsters has kept his spot
benji vs **reynolds**
noffa vs kevin for the R wing spot for me

let's see how it goes with injuries

Benji needs a bit of reserves time. Make no mistake the guy is a true superstar, but he has to play with the team and get the role right. Lets bring Reynolds in for awhile.

Personally put Thompson back to the right wing, move Kevin to fullback ( I thought Tui was going to play Fullback this game). If we have to wait a game for Nofo to let a few tries in, so be it.
 
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Defensive and laterally movement? I hear that alot on this forum. Mostly from the same posters. I think most of those posters would have never played the game and use such words to try and make everyone think that they are the Gus Goulds of the Rugby League world. Pick up a football and run. It's not as easy as it seems sitting on the sideline or on a couch.

Or he actually has played and has made an important observation. Lateral movement is definitely an issue for players that are bulkier and have come back from a injury. Greg inglis is a great example of a player who struggled until recently of moving laterally hence he got beaten a few times. There a lot of forwards who struggle too.

Rather than trying to guess what experience people do or do not have, I can tell you what I saw.

We sat behind the goal posts and Fonua was good enough when Cowboys shifted. And they shifted wide often enough, usually using Taumololo to drag defenders in.

Neither Morgan nor Hampton could really get on the outside of Fonua or Brooks, and both those guys slid quite well when the plays did come. Morgan and Hampton obviously favour speed over power, but neither of them really got close to beating Fonua on the outside.

Putting it another way, lateral speed in defence is all about sufficient speed over short distances. You don't have to be a field-length speed machine to cover blokes trying to beat you on the outside, you only have to match them for about 10m max. You need to have feet fast enough not to be caught flat-footed by a jink, goose, step etc. Look at how Marsters set up Nofo, just a little jink made O'Neill hesitate and get just beaten enough draw the winger in. Fonua on the other hand shepherded Hampton all night, who himself is pretty quick - so that will do me.

The whole left side defence was pretty good, even the half-break that Feldt made, Brooks still covered him on the inside. Now no doubting Morgan was out of sorts, but our right side defence only had to deal with O'Neill and Winterstein, the former who made at least 4 knock-ons and the latter who runs like a lame duck, makes Nofo look like Michael Johnson.

Great analysis from a bloke trying to pretend you know your stuff and has never played the game!! :unamused:

That comment just makes you sound like a knob really.
 
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Defensive and laterally movement? I hear that alot on this forum. Mostly from the same posters. I think most of those posters would have never played the game and use such words to try and make everyone think that they are the Gus Goulds of the Rugby League world. Pick up a football and run. It's not as easy as it seems sitting on the sideline or on a couch.

Or he actually has played and has made an important observation. Lateral movement is definitely an issue for players that are bulkier and have come back from a injury. Greg inglis is a great example of a player who struggled until recently of moving laterally hence he got beaten a few times. There a lot of forwards who struggle too.

Rather than trying to guess what experience people do or do not have, I can tell you what I saw.

We sat behind the goal posts and Fonua was good enough when Cowboys shifted. And they shifted wide often enough, usually using Taumololo to drag defenders in.

Neither Morgan nor Hampton could really get on the outside of Fonua or Brooks, and both those guys slid quite well when the plays did come. Morgan and Hampton obviously favour speed over power, but neither of them really got close to beating Fonua on the outside.

Putting it another way, lateral speed in defence is all about sufficient speed over short distances. You don't have to be a field-length speed machine to cover blokes trying to beat you on the outside, you only have to match them for about 10m max. You need to have feet fast enough not to be caught flat-footed by a jink, goose, step etc. Look at how Marsters set up Nofo, just a little jink made O'Neill hesitate and get just beaten enough draw the winger in. Fonua on the other hand shepherded Hampton all night, who himself is pretty quick - so that will do me.

The whole left side defence was pretty good, even the half-break that Feldt made, Brooks still covered him on the inside. Now no doubting Morgan was out of sorts, but our right side defence only had to deal with O'Neill and Winterstein, the former who made at least 4 knock-ons and the latter who runs like a lame duck, makes Nofo look like Michael Johnson.

Great analysis from a bloke trying to pretend you know your stuff and has never played the game!! :unamused:

Lateral movement also is talking about how you are able to cope with a player using a change of pace to beat you on the outside

Couple of blokes I mentioned in the other thread like Dufty , Ponga and Tedesco can beat you in 2-3 steps by using a change of pace and anchoring a defender

But I have never played the game before (so I'm told )

Have to ask Dad which cupboard kid he had that had the 1986 Open State Schoolboys jersey that is framed on the wall in his room :astonished:

And why the hell he looked at me and said it was the only worthwhile thing he got from 5 years of my schooling 😕
 
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Defensive and laterally movement? I hear that alot on this forum. Mostly from the same posters. I think most of those posters would have never played the game and use such words to try and make everyone think that they are the Gus Goulds of the Rugby League world. Pick up a football and run. It's not as easy as it seems sitting on the sideline or on a couch.

Yeah whatever

Never played the game :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll

Obviously Wa Mag/Tig is unaware of the fullback who all the modern fullbacks modelled their games..the bloke who would snap raging backrowers in half in D..run through opposition teams like a hot knife through butter and torp his soaking wet leather balls 60 on the fly before 40/20's were even a thing… :laughing:

P.S Fonua made good defensive decisions yesterday...
 
I like him in the centres Lawrence, Brooks, Fonua on the same side is quite lethal.
Our centre pairing of Marsters and Fonua is powerful. Played well read the attack well and made every tackle and ran hard. Faultless performance absolutely killed them. I thought he’d struggle on quick shifts but he really defended well,
 
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Or he actually has played and has made an important observation. Lateral movement is definitely an issue for players that are bulkier and have come back from a injury. Greg inglis is a great example of a player who struggled until recently of moving laterally hence he got beaten a few times. There a lot of forwards who struggle too.

Rather than trying to guess what experience people do or do not have, I can tell you what I saw.

We sat behind the goal posts and Fonua was good enough when Cowboys shifted. And they shifted wide often enough, usually using Taumololo to drag defenders in.

Neither Morgan nor Hampton could really get on the outside of Fonua or Brooks, and both those guys slid quite well when the plays did come. Morgan and Hampton obviously favour speed over power, but neither of them really got close to beating Fonua on the outside.

Putting it another way, lateral speed in defence is all about sufficient speed over short distances. You don't have to be a field-length speed machine to cover blokes trying to beat you on the outside, you only have to match them for about 10m max. You need to have feet fast enough not to be caught flat-footed by a jink, goose, step etc. Look at how Marsters set up Nofo, just a little jink made O'Neill hesitate and get just beaten enough draw the winger in. Fonua on the other hand shepherded Hampton all night, who himself is pretty quick - so that will do me.

The whole left side defence was pretty good, even the half-break that Feldt made, Brooks still covered him on the inside. Now no doubting Morgan was out of sorts, but our right side defence only had to deal with O'Neill and Winterstein, the former who made at least 4 knock-ons and the latter who runs like a lame duck, makes Nofo look like Michael Johnson.

Great analysis from a bloke trying to pretend you know your stuff and has never played the game!! :unamused:

That comment just makes you sound like a knob really.

I think it was sarcasm and a crack at Wa Mag/Tig
 
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Or he actually has played and has made an important observation. Lateral movement is definitely an issue for players that are bulkier and have come back from a injury. Greg inglis is a great example of a player who struggled until recently of moving laterally hence he got beaten a few times. There a lot of forwards who struggle too.

Rather than trying to guess what experience people do or do not have, I can tell you what I saw.

We sat behind the goal posts and Fonua was good enough when Cowboys shifted. And they shifted wide often enough, usually using Taumololo to drag defenders in.

Neither Morgan nor Hampton could really get on the outside of Fonua or Brooks, and both those guys slid quite well when the plays did come. Morgan and Hampton obviously favour speed over power, but neither of them really got close to beating Fonua on the outside.

Putting it another way, lateral speed in defence is all about sufficient speed over short distances. You don't have to be a field-length speed machine to cover blokes trying to beat you on the outside, you only have to match them for about 10m max. You need to have feet fast enough not to be caught flat-footed by a jink, goose, step etc. Look at how Marsters set up Nofo, just a little jink made O'Neill hesitate and get just beaten enough draw the winger in. Fonua on the other hand shepherded Hampton all night, who himself is pretty quick - so that will do me.

The whole left side defence was pretty good, even the half-break that Feldt made, Brooks still covered him on the inside. Now no doubting Morgan was out of sorts, but our right side defence only had to deal with O'Neill and Winterstein, the former who made at least 4 knock-ons and the latter who runs like a lame duck, makes Nofo look like Michael Johnson.

Great analysis from a bloke trying to pretend you know your stuff and has never played the game!! :unamused:

That comment just makes you sound like a knob really.

Nelson, I was making reference to the comment that most posters are couch sitters. . I was being sarcastic mate. I’m saying his comment is on the money
 
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Rather than trying to guess what experience people do or do not have, I can tell you what I saw.

We sat behind the goal posts and Fonua was good enough when Cowboys shifted. And they shifted wide often enough, usually using Taumololo to drag defenders in.

Neither Morgan nor Hampton could really get on the outside of Fonua or Brooks, and both those guys slid quite well when the plays did come. Morgan and Hampton obviously favour speed over power, but neither of them really got close to beating Fonua on the outside.

Putting it another way, lateral speed in defence is all about sufficient speed over short distances. You don't have to be a field-length speed machine to cover blokes trying to beat you on the outside, you only have to match them for about 10m max. You need to have feet fast enough not to be caught flat-footed by a jink, goose, step etc. Look at how Marsters set up Nofo, just a little jink made O'Neill hesitate and get just beaten enough draw the winger in. Fonua on the other hand shepherded Hampton all night, who himself is pretty quick - so that will do me.

The whole left side defence was pretty good, even the half-break that Feldt made, Brooks still covered him on the inside. Now no doubting Morgan was out of sorts, but our right side defence only had to deal with O'Neill and Winterstein, the former who made at least 4 knock-ons and the latter who runs like a lame duck, makes Nofo look like Michael Johnson.

Great analysis from a bloke trying to pretend you know your stuff and has never played the game!! :unamused:

That comment just makes you sound like a knob really.

Nelson, I was making reference to the comment that most posters are couch sitters. . I was being sarcastic mate. I’m saying his comment is on the money

Haha sorry, I wasn't following the thread and just read it in isolation :blush:
 
Wish I could post a photo of our dog a Shiztsu /Maltese cross , she just had a hair cut today , not the usual person who does it and her hair is a spitting image of Mahe Fonua
 

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