OFFICIAL Jahream Bula #269

He is a good athlete but I worry he’s not a good athlete for a rugby league fullback. He is very light framed which reduces his power and I wonder how many more kgs he can get on that frame. He is also fast over long distances but is not explosive over short distances (per the eye test only). Again, this reduces power.

Fullback is such an important position for attack these days, possibly the most important in the team given you need to be able to play both sides, do damage running the ball and be able to set up others with positioning, lines and the pass. He doesn’t seem a natural ball player to me but has time on his side (Tedesco wasn’t either).

Let’s hope he develops. An improved team would help him greatly.
 
The Chad said:
No.

But it completely messes up your previous reason as to why Bula touches the ball so often. He's either the anomoly, or your point that Bula touches it so often is only because he's no threat has to stand for Tedesco & Edwards touching it so often as well.
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No, it doesn't.

Some players rack up high stats because other teams WANT them to have the ball.

Other players rack up high stats because they can excel DESPITE the opposition wanting them to have the ball as little as possible.

Both can be true, and in this case are.

If Bula goes on a run and suddenly is making breaks left right and centre, scoring length of the field tries, then he will suddnely not receive anywhere near as many kicks as he does now.
 
Wiz said:
He is a good athlete but I worry he’s not a good athlete for a rugby league fullback. He is very light framed which reduces his power and I wonder how many more kgs he can get on that frame. He is also fast over long distances but is not explosive over short distances (per the eye test only). Again, this reduces power.

Fullback is such an important position for attack these days, possibly the most important in the team given you need to be able to play both sides, do damage running the ball and be able to set up others with positioning, lines and the pass. He doesn’t seem a natural ball player to me but has time on his side (Tedesco wasn’t either).

Let’s hope he develops. An improved team would help him greatly.
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He can be more explosive. I saw in training what he looks like when he sprinting. Yet I can barely remember a time that he's ever sprinted with the same intensity during a match. He has a graceful jog about him, but just pinning the ears back and going 100% speed isn't something he's comfortable doing.

He's currently our equal highest paid player this season. He needs to deliver more.
 
balmain boy said:
It's not to say that other players aren't also playing below their bests but the facts are still clear.

Bula has 2 line breaks and 2 try assists this season from 15 games. I challenge you to find any other fullback in the comp with stats that come close to that.

Theoretically he can do it, but he's not doing it. Second year syndrome? Lack of confidence? Poor coaching? Low quality teammates in backline. Who knows. For me it's his lack of effort which is most disheartening.

At fullback he regularly receives broken play, open for him to potentially exploit a chink in the defence, he has more opportunity to do this than any other player we have. Yet he rarely creates an attacking opportunity for us.
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If you were game planning for the Tigers and you were trying to tell your team who you need to be concerned about when they have the ball who would you mention?

Conversely, say you were up against Penrith, which threats would you be looking to neutralise?

He doesn't see space because other teams are awake to his danger and don't have to worry about anyone else, except maybe Olam when he's fit.
 
king_sirro said:
Doing that once or twice a game isn't good enough? You can't be serious. If he ever got to thw point that he did that every game it would be amazing. No fullback does it every game. You have lost the plot with your campaign against this kid.
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He is delivering his own campaign by not helping his team win more games.
Another issue is never even looks like making a line break from a kick return.
Not asking to make a line break from every second kick return, but one every couple of games is not too much to ask.
 
BAGNF05 said:
If you were game planning for the Tigers and you were trying to tell your team who you need to be concerned about when they have the ball who would you mention?

Conversely, say you were up against Penrith, which threats would you be looking to neutralise?

He doesn't see space because other teams are awake to his danger and don't have to worry about anyone else, except maybe Olam when he's fit.
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We now have Doueihi, Olam and Sam Fainu who are all line break threats.
I previously mentioned Bula looked good in the first half against the Dragons, particularly when combining with Jayden Sullivan.
I have been pleasantly surprised with the competitiveness and toughness that Aidan Sezar has produced for us this season, there is definitely a spot for him in our top 17 and I still think there is a spot for him in our top 17 next season, but maybe the lack of running, line breaking threat from our halves is a problem and maybe Jayden Sullivan is not as big of a problem that what many fans think he is ?
 
Vicious said:
He is delivering his own campaign by not helping his team win more games.
Another issue is never even looks like making a line break from a kick return.
Not asking to make a line break from every second kick return, but one every couple of games is not too much to ask.
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There's no doubt an element of truth in this, but do you think teams are concerned he's going to find a pass to Staines or Faatape, or whoever else we have doing bugger all on the wing?

Maybe he needs to try and play some footy out of our end to highlight how little support he has back there.
 
Gheez our fans are some tough critics sometimes. You got people thinking that because an 18 year old Galvin doesn't have a 10/10 game every week he's not as good as he thinks he is & should be sent to reserve grade & now because Bula who's only played 30 games in his career isn't at the level of prime Billy Slater he's not good enough to be our fullback. I remember in 2019 Penrith fans were begging for Edwards to be dropped saying he'll never be good enough & now he's the best FB in the comp.
 
Vicious said:
We now have Doueihi, Olam and Sam Fainu who are all line break threats.
I previously mentioned Bula looked good in the first half against the Dragons, particularly when combining with Jayden Sullivan.
I have been pleasantly surprised with the competitiveness and toughness that Aidan Sezar has produced for us this season, there is definitely a spot for him in our top 17 and I still think there is a spot for him in our top 17 next season, but maybe the lack of running, line breaking threat from our halves is a problem and maybe Jayden Sullivan is not as big of a problem that what many fans think he is ?
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Teams score the majority of tries on the edges, after pulling apart the middle. We have very little threat on our edges, so teams can defend us easily.

Olam - Been good but injured too often.
AD - Carved up one game then went missing.
Sam Fainu. Great player, also needs some support out there.

It's been another season of chopping and changing halves which also stunts your attack, hopefully next year we see Galvin and Luai for the bulk of the year.
 
Somewhere in the last 50 posts the argument went from "He doesn't get involved enough to "He doesn't break the game open enough".

2 different arguments. If the argument is involvement- you're wrong. He clearly is involved, moreso than most fullbacks in the NRL.

If the argument is about tearing the opposition open more often- you're probably right.

In that argument, I'm surprised nobody suggests our best fullback option for that kind of result- Adam Doueihi.

But as has been pointed out- players like Edwards took a while to become the player he is.

Want to feel more warm & fuzzy?

Last year Bula would rarely be involved in sweeping attacking moves- more used inside around the ruck.

But now Benji has him running wider off Galvin, attacking edges. This develops his passing game. Puts him in different positions on the field.

Is he tearing it up doing that? No. But THAT is where we could argue that, well, none of the Tigers do. And I'm yet to see a team tear open the opposition with one or two singular running threats.

Instead of looking for the perceived reasons he will be a better centre (which he has shown no signs of being better at), looking for little improvements, or even working out what it is he DOES do well, to balance the argument, might be in order.

He is, far and away, our safest option under a kick. His link play has improved leaps over last season. And I don't think there is a better tackling fullback in the NRL.

His support play off the forwards COULD be better. But then, so could everyone's, as our forwards simply don't offload.

However, it was Bula as the single, lone support in that miracle pass/offload of Galvin's early in the season that resulted in a try to Bula. So maybe if he was presented with more opportunities to score..
 
We need Ricky Stuart’s famous whiteboard. Players on the left, you are part of the solution, players on the right, clean out your lockers.

Bula is on the left.
 
The Chad said:
Somewhere in the last 50 posts the argument went from "He doesn't get involved enough to "He doesn't break the game open enough".

2 different arguments. If the argument is involvement- you're wrong. He clearly is involved, moreso than most fullbacks in the NRL.

If the argument is about tearing the opposition open more often- you're probably right.

In that argument, I'm surprised nobody suggests our best fullback option for that kind of result- Adam Doueihi.

But as has been pointed out- players like Edwards took a while to become the player he is.

Want to feel more warm & fuzzy?

Last year Bula would rarely be involved in sweeping attacking moves- more used inside around the ruck.

But now Benji has him running wider off Galvin, attacking edges. This develops his passing game. Puts him in different positions on the field.

Is he tearing it up doing that? No. But THAT is where we could argue that, well, none of the Tigers do. And I'm yet to see a team tear open the opposition with one or two singular running threats.

Instead of looking for the perceived reasons he will be a better centre (which he has shown no signs of being better at), looking for little improvements, or even working out what it is he DOES do well, to balance the argument, might be in order.

He is, far and away, our safest option under a kick. His link play has improved leaps over last season. And I don't think there is a better tackling fullback in the NRL.

His support play off the forwards COULD be better. But then, so could everyone's, as our forwards simply don't offload.

However, it was Bula as the single, lone support in that miracle pass/offload of Galvin's early in the season that resulted in a try to Bula. So maybe if he was presented with more opportunities to score..
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Good post The Chad and I don’t disagree with anything you have stated.
I believe to help Wests Tigers get off the bottom of the ladder the team requires a fullback who can make line breaks or at least threaten to make line breaks from kick returns, I believe we need a fullback who can assist with some playmaking and general field kicking and I believe we need a fullback who makes plenty of tackle busts each game.
Currently Bula is not that type of player and it’s unlikely he will ever become that type of player.
That is not saying he does not have talent that could potentially be used in another position for us and not saying he could not stand out much more in a different team dynamic, but hard to see it helping Wests Tigers get off the bottom of the ladder now or anytime soon.
Others may disagree and that is fine, time will tell.
 
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king_sirro said:
Your set against Bula is bordering on what seems insane, ridiculous and most definitely embarrassing. Leave the kid alone mate.
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I was at the game last week. He didn't get involved enough. When he does he looks very dangerous when he runs. For me it's a coaching issue. Coaches tried to make him a ballplayer in the off season when it wasn't needed with halves and Api. Confidence has been rocked since then. Last year he was a great defender and runner. He should go back to the basics and his best footy will come out, at FULLBACK
 
Vicious said:
Good post The Chad and I don’t disagree with anything you have stated.
I believe to help Wests Tigers get off the bottom of the ladder the team requires a fullback who can make line breaks or at least threaten to make line breaks from kick returns, I believe we need a fullback who can assist with sone playmaking and general field kicking and I believe we need a fullback who makes plenty of tackle busts each game.
Currently Bula is not that type of player and it’s unlikely he will ever become that type of player.
That is not saying he does not have talent that could potentially be used in another position for us and not saying he could not stand out much more in a different team dynamic, but hard to see it helping Wests Tigers get off the bottom of the ladder now or anytime soon.
Others may disagree and that is fine, time will tell.
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I believe he is part of the solution.

Better organisation from the halves, more progressive offloading from the forwards, and more metres made by our wingers on early tackles (which nearly all good teams get), will (imo) result in seeing the type of player Bula really is.

You put all that together (ie- you put a team on the field capable of competing), and Bula doesn't improve- then he is an option for moving. You have a BETTER option at fullback than him? Then you move him. Until that point, I'd say wingers, centres, lock, one second row & a prop, not even mentioning the bench- are higher priority upgrades.
 
The Chad said:
Somewhere in the last 50 posts the argument went from "He doesn't get involved enough to "He doesn't break the game open enough".

2 different arguments. If the argument is involvement- you're wrong. He clearly is involved, moreso than most fullbacks in the NRL.

If the argument is about tearing the opposition open more often- you're probably right.

In that argument, I'm surprised nobody suggests our best fullback option for that kind of result- Adam Doueihi.

But as has been pointed out- players like Edwards took a while to become the player he is.

Want to feel more warm & fuzzy?

Last year Bula would rarely be involved in sweeping attacking moves- more used inside around the ruck.

But now Benji has him running wider off Galvin, attacking edges. This develops his passing game. Puts him in different positions on the field.

Is he tearing it up doing that? No. But THAT is where we could argue that, well, none of the Tigers do. And I'm yet to see a team tear open the opposition with one or two singular running threats.

Instead of looking for the perceived reasons he will be a better centre (which he has shown no signs of being better at), looking for little improvements, or even working out what it is he DOES do well, to balance the argument, might be in order.

He is, far and away, our safest option under a kick. His link play has improved leaps over last season. And I don't think there is a better tackling fullback in the NRL.

His support play off the forwards COULD be better. But then, so could everyone's, as our forwards simply don't offload.

However, it was Bula as the single, lone support in that miracle pass/offload of Galvin's early in the season that resulted in a try to Bula. So maybe if he was presented with more opportunities to score..
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He is 30 games into his NRL career, playing in a position that is one of the hardest crafts to learn. I reckon if you compare him to most other fullbacks currently going around at their 30 game mark, he would stack up pretty well
 
king_sirro said:
You must not watch our games.

He does all those things at times.

He gave Tino the biggest don't argue he has ever received. Put the top 3 front rower in the game on his ass. Yea but he can't break a tackle.

You must not understand that there are different styles of footballers. There are the James Tedesco, Dylan Edwards types who bustle and hustle their way through, and there are the David Peachey, Will Kennedy, Tyrell Sloane types that finesse their way through.

Once we have established high level halves and Bula learns to inject himself better you will have a star that will do things Tedesco could only dream of
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Yes, as a roaming centre. Look at Doueihi. Only thing Bula has him covered for is speed and tackling…
 
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