Malakai Watene-Zelezniak

[underdog]

MWZ Gave it a red hot crack against Uate - Uate is a specimen though.

Nofo may well have been tackling air on both occasions.

Will be interesting with big Mahe Fonua coming into the squad though - he reminds me of Tuiaki.

 

[kh_canada]

Seems like a good guy and yes, he tries really hard - BUT his brother is definitely a class above him. Furthermore a quality winger is ever so important - just look at the really good teams and the wingers they have - look at guys who can make a try out of nothing or finish with no space at all. Radradra, Vunivalu, Mansour, Rona, Valentine Holmes, JAC, French, Corey Oates etc. These guys can be the difference between winning and losing games.
The wing position is not what it used to be - it has become one of the key positions in a team. As mean as it sounds - if we are serious about a premiership then we need a better winger than MWZ.

I actually have to disagree, whilst wingers are important they are not key positions in the team. Before the winger scores you need to get up the field through hard work and perseverance from the forwards. Then a quality play out wide, which starts from dummy half, hits the halves/second rower/centre etc. Wingers these days are expected to be sprinters and perform gymnastics in the way they score. If they can catch the ball on the run and get over the try line then we're laughing. This is just my opinion but they don't need to be classy or fast to perform well, even though that is definitely preferred. Unfortunately Nofo was outpaced easily on the weekend but he still scores great tries. I dare say very little people would rate him as a top-class winger in comparison to some freaks like JAC, Holmes, Mansour etc.
I just think the halves and the props are key positions in this modern era of football. We can win a premiership with MWZ.

Yep kh, all true. When I said "one of the key positions in a team" I didn't mean more important than the halves or other members of the spine for that matter. And for sure, winning in NRL is certainly dependent on a strong mobile pack. My point was only that in the top teams there are wingers that are capable of winning games with freakish ability - and it happens regularly not just now and then also often without all the lead up work you mention. Thus it makes these guys a key ingredient to a winning team. I believe to have more chance at a premiership, it would help the WTs a lot to have some of that speed and freakish try scoring ability.

On Fitzhenry and the 2005 win - I'd say there was a bit more magic about the 2005 team than there is currently!! (No reflection at all on the magic shown in beating Manly on the weekend).

You're right, the better teams in the NRL have the wingers with that freakish flare. Luckily for them they have the whole package - looking at Rooster's line-up this weekend, I can't really see a weak spot (maybe their fullback, but next year they'll have one of the best in the game)
It would be nice to bag a winger, maybe like Rona. But I still have confidence in Cleary with next year's roster that we'll be competitive.

 

[stryker]

I disagree somewhat. You are correct that a game is built on the backs of the pack and steered by the halves and fullback, however the modern day winger is more often than not the difference between a win and a loss. It pains me to say that bit it is true. Take last Sunday's game as an example. In the first half Uate scored two tries when fully covered in defence. In the second, Noffo took 2 intercepts that didnt result in tries directly but they could have easily been Manly tries as he had a double overlap on him on both occasions.

Our wingers are strong runners, but are deficient in areas the wingers from the top sides excell in. They need improvement.

 

[earl]

I think wingers are so important in the modern game. Sometimes they are the player who breaks the game open. You do need a good team but wingers can add some class.

I'm not going to knock our wingers now though. Nofo and MWZ have been really good and I think next year we will have more options.

 

[Harvey]

Looking at the forum, I think our whingers are better than most clubs

 

[Doc_Tiger]

MWZ is going really well imo. His second effort on Uate was great. Very few would have stopped him in that moment.
Malakais ball running has been great.