Junior Pauga

[BlackWhiteGold]

We don't have a single good defensive centre at the club. No matter who gets picked they'll struggle to make their tackles, that's why if Talau gets picked again I wouldn't even be mad. There's no good options

I'd like for Kiah Cooper & Reece Hoffman be given a chance as both are better defensively than TT & Pauga. Both may lack speed but Cooper has smarts, a very good step & can tackle, while Hoffman has shown good defence at centre in KOE Cup, is a good communicator & can run good lines (plus is getting stronger with size). The other I'm not discounting is Cini at centre. He can break a tackle being strong through the hips, played centre in the juniors & while some question him defensively, I think he has improved this season.

 

[barra]

Junior is light on his feet and pretty quick, so I think he has a good future and probably more upside than TT. But he needs some serious work on his defence, his arm-grabbing against Brisbane set off alarms for me.
The bigger issue is that he's also playing alongside a 2nd rower who isn't great in defence!

 

[Bula]

Pauga has been badly exposed in defence in the last 2 games. Every game he plays for the rest of the year teams will be attacking him.

I have a Madgic idea, maybe we should swap him to the other side!!

I doubt the other side would want him.

 

[Needaname]

4 most important positions defensively (3,4,11 and 12) and we rank 16th out of 16 clubs

Look at the market place ....basically no one left to sign

What at you’ll doing WT's ??????????

What is your ranking measured by?
1) Reputation
2) Statistics

If it’s the second I would mind seeing the list.

 

[Bula]

When was the last time a player in the NRL missed 14 tackles in one game? I can't remember ever.

He misses plenty for sure, but his hands look good and he's good on his feet.

Who do you drop between him and Talau?

Drop both.


 

[old_man_tiger]

I'm guessing Ogden and Tuilagi aren't in the bubble? Time to get ready for next year and cop the learning experiences (I.e. losses). We are in denial if we are seriously contemplating a tilt and wasting the time we need for development, which is clearly what Madge and Hartigan have identified as the way forward.

We have a strategy, commit to it.

I have seen nothing to in-still any confidence about a strategy ! The flip flopping around the last couple of high profile players reflects that .
If there were a strategy Re recruitment this would not have happened .. I would like to know what the strategy is as this has only been reflected by posters here not the club!
I would like to know from the club what the strategy is moving forward , as a member I have received nothing . Maybe if the club was a bit more transparent with future plans Re recruitment many of us might have some faith .. as 11 years of failure is leaving a very bad taste in ones mouth!

We have bought good juniors, many of whom were progressing and a couple who are no worse than many of the incumbents.

Maybe fair to say this element of our strategy is ok, because it is hard to argue with you regarding proven first graders where we clearly suck.

 

[jirskyr]

I would like to know from the club what the strategy is moving forward , as a member I have received nothing . Maybe if the club was a bit more transparent with future plans Re recruitment many of us might have some faith .. as 11 years of failure is leaving a very bad taste in ones mouth!

They've mentioned it from time to time - a centre and backrower, "speed" etc. You're not going to get more than that from any club in the NRL I don't think, their actual detailed recruitment strategy.

In fact if they shared it with us I would be appalled to hear them make such a thing public.

 

[Snake]

I would like to know from the club what the strategy is moving forward , as a member I have received nothing . Maybe if the club was a bit more transparent with future plans Re recruitment many of us might have some faith .. as 11 years of failure is leaving a very bad taste in ones mouth!

They've mentioned it from time to time - a centre and backrower, "speed" etc. You're not going to get more than that from any club in the NRL I don't think, their actual detailed recruitment strategy.

In fact if they shared it with us I would be appalled to hear them make such a thing public.

They make all there recruiting moves to players public while it’s happening ! There is so much wrong ..

 

[TheDaBoss]

I would like to know from the club what the strategy is moving forward , as a member I have received nothing . Maybe if the club was a bit more transparent with future plans Re recruitment many of us might have some faith .. as 11 years of failure is leaving a very bad taste in ones mouth!

They've mentioned it from time to time - a centre and backrower, "speed" etc. You're not going to get more than that from any club in the NRL I don't think, their actual detailed recruitment strategy.

In fact if they shared it with us I would be appalled to hear them make such a thing public.

They make all there recruiting moves to players public while it’s happening ! There is so much wrong ..

Idk why our signings cant be like blore...announced out of the blue no leaks

 

[Sco77y]

I would like to know from the club what the strategy is moving forward , as a member I have received nothing . Maybe if the club was a bit more transparent with future plans Re recruitment many of us might have some faith .. as 11 years of failure is leaving a very bad taste in ones mouth!

They've mentioned it from time to time - a centre and backrower, "speed" etc. You're not going to get more than that from any club in the NRL I don't think, their actual detailed recruitment strategy.

In fact if they shared it with us I would be appalled to hear them make such a thing public.

They make all there recruiting moves to players public while it’s happening ! There is so much wrong ..

Idk why our signings cant be like blore...announced out of the blue no leaks

They're the only ones that seem to actually work out. I can't ever remember being linked to a player for weeks and months and then they're finally signed.

 

[F.O.S 0]

What about Edene Gebbie? did he travel up with the team? He has speed, runs hard could be our Justin Olam.

 

[iofthetigers]

Pauga, Cini and other eligible youngsters should be given the rest of the season to prove themselves among men in the NRL. They will get to understand the level needed to succeed at this level, both mental toughness & physical.

While his defence wasn’t great there were excuses with Brooks & Joe inside of him due to losing 2 players. I would love to see Ogden join the bubble & given a crack before the end of the year.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

What about Edene Gebbie? did he travel up with the team? He has speed, runs hard could be our Justin Olam.

I think we have given up on him as he came back from PNG in not the best condition. He couldn’t even crack a start in reserve grade. Would be a mile off NRL level.

 

[JC99]

What about Edene Gebbie? did he travel up with the team? He has speed, runs hard could be our Justin Olam.

I think we have given up on him as he came back from PNG in not the best condition. He couldn’t even crack a start in reserve grade. Would be a mile off NRL level.

Don't think they've given up on him. He'll get next pre season to prove himself I think. Covid has not made any of his move easy

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

What about Edene Gebbie? did he travel up with the team? He has speed, runs hard could be our Justin Olam.

I think we have given up on him as he came back from PNG in not the best condition. He couldn’t even crack a start in reserve grade. Would be a mile off NRL level.

Don't think they've given up on him. He'll get next pre season to prove himself I think. Covid has not made any of his move easy

Would be surprised. He isn’t in the squad and would have missed another 6mths. He was just like JTJ, BJ etc we took a punt and sooner we move on the better we will be. Invest the money in a kid.

 

[JC99]

What about Edene Gebbie? did he travel up with the team? He has speed, runs hard could be our Justin Olam.

I think we have given up on him as he came back from PNG in not the best condition. He couldn’t even crack a start in reserve grade. Would be a mile off NRL level.

Don't think they've given up on him. He'll get next pre season to prove himself I think. Covid has not made any of his move easy

Would be surprised. He isn’t in the squad and would have missed another 6mths. He was just like JTJ, BJ etc we took a punt and sooner we move on the better we will be. Invest the money in a kid.

There's no real negative of having him on a train and trial deal. Wouldn't be surprised if he chose to go home either

 

[Blake]

Pauga's defence has not been great, but in theory you can teach defence. You can't teach speed, aggression, toughness etc.
Koribete was not good in defence either, but the Storm helped him improve that and so did the Wallabies.
You can't win with 17 attacking players or 17 defensive players, you need to balance both and help players improve where they can.

 

[AdelaideTiger]

Roberts would be safer than Pauga next to Mamaulo, but Madge seems to only use him on the right next to Nofa, which is a self defeating madness that shouldn't have been repeated since the cowboys game.
I think Pauga has some potential and the grit required to improve, but he's not going to solve his defensive issues overnight and we can't hide him with the backrowers we have at the moment.
You can tell Talau is a confidence player, once we start winning games he will start coming up with some X factor plays, but theres a few people on here that forget the bloke only just turned 21, give him a minute...
AJ comes back next year and will be competing for a starting centre spot too.
We don't need to go out and spend $1m on Joey Manu, we need to give the blokes we have the confidence that they are not in the NRL by accident and can be as good as their opposition number if they just get their heads straight.

 

[TopTiger]

Pauga's defence has not been great, but in theory you can teach defence. You can't teach speed, aggression, toughness etc.
Koribete was not good in defence either, but the Storm helped him improve that and so did the Wallabies.
You can't win with 17 attacking players or 17 defensive players, you need to balance both and help players improve where they can.

I agree you can teach defence but given he is playing at the Tigers that will take some doing. I am bewildered that we are coming up to Round 20 of the season and our defensive deficiencies are no closer to being fixed across the park (particularly on the edges). No line speed in defence and no pressure on the opposition kickers are just 2 aspects that need attention but each week I see little to no improvement in these areas. Lets see how the Tigers fare this week in regards to those 2 aspects of the game.

 

[Love_the_WestsTigers]

I get a feeling we’ll see Douehi in the centres again soon. Especially if the MBye deal doesn’t go ahead.


I think it's more likely MBye to centre and leave AD at 6.

I’d rather see Mbye at the Dragons effective immediately - he’s simply heartless!

He certainly appears that way
Looks disinterested since being given the utility role.
If he was playing for a contract we might have seen more effort