I have seen more from the WT Toyota cup team

[Tiger_heart]

than I have for the first grade the whole year in so far as talent goes. I know it's a big step but gee the young guys deserved a shot at first grade a long time ago. Hopefully we'll see some of them sooner than later - in the meantime, bad luck boys but you did us proud! :sign:

 

[king_sirro]

than I have for the first grade the whole year in so far as talent goes. I know it's a big step but gee the young guys deserved a shot at first grade a long time ago. Hopefully we'll see some of them sooner than later - in the meantime, bad luck boys but you did us proud! :sign:

Geo will testify im a huge supporter of youth, but seriously, who do u think in the 20's would be ready for first grade?

I dont see a single player. I see a few with first grade futures, but not yet. Mullaney is at last 2 years off. Lui is too relaxed, Dwyer is the goods and should see some NRL next year, Shirnack is good also but needs a little more size and Fafita needs some development before he's promoted.

 

[Geo]

You are….

I'd be going this way.......Dwyer. Mataka, Fafita.,,,,all the others can still play 20's next year ...........Sheens won't use more than 1 Rookie forward at a time ......Dwyer gets first crack IMO

 

[innsaneink]

Im so sick of people ignorant of the fact there is a grade between 20's and NRL, and even from that mystery grade everyones forgotten about, the step up to NRL is a huge one.

 

[Geo]

Yes Ink…............... i would think Sirro and I do know about State Cup.....unfortunatley it's not only the media that are starting to see it this way.......I don't know how many times channel 9 refered to the Toyota Cup as the rung below first grade today.....it irks me to.....

We are not calling for 4 or 5 youngsters to play first grade at the same time.......some other clubs are going down that path......

1 or 2 young players can step up......Dwyer could do it......how old was Brad Clyde, Mark Geyer, or Sirro himself when they debuted in first grade 19 or 20......

 

[innsaneink]

My post was aimed at the original poster, Im not saying you CANT go from 20's to NRL, i think those we did see are about all that are ready and even then some imo are not.

Yes …channell nine and Vossy in particular annoyed me, talking about the ''State cup players being on TV for the first time'' or something similar...the ignorance was astounding

 

[king_sirro]

Yes Ink…............... i would think Sirro and I do know about State Cup.....unfortunatley it's not only the media that are starting to see it this way.......I don't know how many times channel 9 refered to the Toyota Cup as the rung below first grade today.....it irks me to.....

We are not calling for 4 or 5 youngsters to play first grade at the same time.......some other clubs are going down that path......

1 or 2 young players can step up......Dwyer could do it......how old was Brad Clyde, Mark Geyer, or Sirro himself when they debuted in first grade 19 or 20......

I dont think Innks comments were aimed at us mate.

I think i'd like to see a genuine reserve grade come back. I miss the old David Baysarri, Matt Parish and Ian McCann days. We need to see a progression where these young guys play against hardened men.

 

[king_sirro]

lol, u got in before me Innk

 

[Danos]

How old is Sama Sauvao? Went to Westfield didn't he. Real goer IMO. Get him training with the first grade squad over the off season and follow Ayshford's path through state cup. Future first grader IMO.

 

[Torbizlo]

i am sorry, but robert lui should be kept well away from 1st grade next season.
i was so disappointed with his pathetic effort today.
he was non-existent in defence all game.
the amount of times he watched melb players run past him and all he did was stick a lazy arm out was making me sick.
i felt sorry for the rest of the team who busted their guts out there today.
Lui was the weakest link.
in 1st grade he was picked off in defence and in u20s they carved him up as well.
he has been so highly spoken about and the games i have watched him play, i can not see what the fuss is all about.
he has not set the world on fire.
we got rid of john morris and this guy is a similar player to him. the ball and attack will die with him on to many occasions.
i am so disappointed for the tigers u20s. they thoroughly deserved a win and if lui decided to use his size n muscle up, they probably would have won it today.

 

[king_sirro]

How old is Sama Sauvao? Went to Westfield didn't he. Real goer IMO. Get him training with the first grade squad over the off season and follow Ayshford's path through state cup. Future first grader IMO.

Yeh i think he looks good too. Very good footwork. He's a bit like Tellyappa from Cronulla but better footwork.

 

[Tiger_heart]

Im so sick of people ignorant of the fact there is a grade between 20's and NRL, and even from that mystery grade everyones forgotten about, the step up to NRL is a huge one.

Ink, I did point out in the original post that the step between U21 and first grade is not a small one..
However, the original intent of the post was to highlight the quality of the players on show. Either we believe that if you are good enough you are old enough or we believe the "tested and tried" approach and bring these younger guys along 1-2 at the time - opinions are different on this.
Out of interest, and without any prejudice, how many games had Daniel Mortimer played before coming to first grade? And Benji, how much time did he spend in the lower grades?

 

[innsaneink]

Fair enough, I also agree theres quite a bit of talent there too, and hope they make it up to NRL when ready, but logic and history tells me a pretty high % wont be seen in first grade.
The two you mentioned are two outta the box

 

[steven_tiger]

Lui's defence was very ordinary today. He ran the how in attack though. Nicholls did stuff all today, and when he did do something it was usually more advantageous to the Storm than us.

 

[alexaki]

i am sorry, but robert lui should be kept well away from 1st grade next season.
i was so disappointed with his pathetic effort today.
he was non-existent in defence all game.
the amount of times he watched melb players run past him and all he did was stick a lazy arm out was making me sick.
i felt sorry for the rest of the team who busted their guts out there today.
Lui was the weakest link.
in 1st grade he was picked off in defence and in u20s they carved him up as well.
he has been so highly spoken about and the games i have watched him play, i can not see what the fuss is all about.
he has not set the world on fire.
we got rid of john morris and this guy is a similar player to him. the ball and attack will die with him on to many occasions.
i am so disappointed for the tigers u20s. they thoroughly deserved a win and if lui decided to use his size n muscle up, they probably would have won it today.

Agree!

 

[Guest]

Got a sneaky feeling that Lui's knee still wasn't right from injuring it a few weeks ago. I guess only he could answer it, but he didn't take the line on today and played a catch and pass game instead of taking the line on more in the second half when it was warranted. His defence was atrocious, he actually tackled better in FG than in the 20's IMO. Hopefully he'll have a big off-season and work hard on his fitness and defence.

As far as first grade goes, Dwyer looks like he'll get a bit more experience next season, particularly as he's likely to be a bit bigger. Schirnack played well but paled in size to the Storm's pack, who were huge in any event. Andrew Fifita has enough starch and size in him to come off the bench next season but he'll start in State Cup with his brother and I think they're both players to watch. Mullaney was dangerous but I can't see him playing first grade just yet. Same goes for Woods who at 18 shows real promise but I expect he'll be a leader in the 20's next season.

It will be interesting to see where Junior Roqica ends up next season too. He's only 18 so he can still play in the 20's. It was mentioned he will train fulltime with the FG squad though. He's got some size but lacks pace, needs to work hard on his defence though because I think he'll end up a backrower.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

IMO Mataka, Fifita and Dwyer would be ready for the step up.

 

[Tigerpete]

Lui, Dwyer and Andrew Fifita will be in the mix next season. They'll definitely be there abouts. The rest will either stay in the under 20's or go between and State Cup. There's a lot of "potential" first graders in there which is great but lets not get ahead of ourselves. Most are a long way off top grade right now.

 

[system]

There is alot of true potential in that squad.

I honestly don't know if any of them are ready for the step up next season.

You have to remember that our two most successful graduates from State cup, Moltzen and Ayshford, played a season (or part thereof) in NSW cup in 2007\. Ask either and they will tell you which is the better preparation for NRL football. Toyota Cup is a great exposure to the NRL treadmill and the media exposure and crowds.

Like Sirro and Ink I bemoan the overlooking of reserve grade in the media and by the NRL. It has been said many times that the progression is arse about now. They go from fulltime football to maybe an NRL squad birth (but little game time) or back to park football where they also have to have a job to survive. (Incidentally this is where the Bulls gained a massive advantage in State Cup as alot of their talent is still on good money and trains with the Bulldogs fulltime)

But full praise to the potential talent.

Hopefully the NRL can get their arses into gear with the new media rights and actually help fund a proper reserve grade comp

 

[westTAHger]

all the people involved with the under 20's squad should be very proud of what you have achieved this year.
.
whilst the result did not go their way, getting into the grand final alone is fantastic.

YOU PLAYED FINALS FOOTBALL and showed all your ability.

be proud of the season you had fella's, hold your heads up high. :wahoo: :sign: