Mid Season- how do you think WT are going

[magpies forever]

Now we're approaching mid season i reckon we can look at WT warts and all for season 2026. For the main 17 members of the NRL squad i think we're strong and doing well. Injuries and suspension have exposed our 19 to 30 members as pretty poor- either through lack of ability or lack of experience.

Our wings, centres and hooker are most vulnerable. Positions within the team are also unsettled, Doueihi at 7 or 6, Madden 7 or in interchange, small wingers, Toa hopeless and on extended contract, Hope not good enough as back up hooker, Latu uncertain as to position, Luai uncertain form.

But overall I'm happy with progress. Benji doing pretty well as coach and changes to support staff seem to have worked

 

[426Tlgerland]

Benji is doing a good job when we are full strength .
Benji needs to do something now while under a bit of pressure .
Team prior to injuries was strong and competitive, best in years .
Player growth , most have improved , KPP has been brilliant under Benji along with Sam F , Tiny May ,
Bar the injuries and suspensions hit , I’m ok with this year I just hope we can recover and get back on track for the top 8

 

[NT_Tiger]

As above, happy with progress with the top 17 but depth players not up to scratch

 

[Flippedy]

Benji is doing a good job when we are full strength .
Benji needs to do something now while under a bit of pressure .
Team prior to injuries was strong and competitive, best in years .
Player growth , most have improved , KPP has been brilliant under Benji along with Sam F , Tiny May ,
Bar the injuries and suspensions hit , I’m ok with this year I just hope we can recover and get back on track for the top 8

Yeah this. Just can’t understand why our forward pack suddenly can’t aim up like they did in the first 8 games when only Samuela is missing. It’s disappointing.

 

[Dr_Ice]

Yeah this. Just can’t understand why our forward pack suddenly can’t aim up like they did in the first 8 games when only Samuela is missing. It’s disappointing.

Terrell was also missing the game that Samuela missed, and also Api who helps lead the defensive line speed and the forwards running onto the ball (and extra space due to the markers being wary of Api)

 

[jadtiger]

Yeah this. Just can’t understand why our forward pack suddenly can’t aim up like they did in the first 8 games when only Samuela is missing. It’s disappointing.

Api leads our forwards in line speed/talk and is our most important defender imho.

 

[Joelcainenumber1fan]

As above, happy with progress with the top 17 but depth players not up to scratch

is that the problem or is it that there are too many depth players in the squad at the same time ???

 

[NT_Tiger]

is that the problem or is it that there are too many depth players in the squad at the same time ???

Thats a fair point. There are too many seconds in critical firsts positions.

 

[Joelcainenumber1fan]

Thats a fair point. There are too many seconds in critical firsts positions.

yeah i was thinking about this the other day it seems most sides are up and down cause of injuries
things are only gonna get worse too with 2 new teams taking away a lot of depth from other teams and with the nrl trying to injure players with what there doing atm

 

[NT_Tiger]

yeah i was thinking about this the other day it seems most sides are up and down cause of injuries
things are only gonna get worse too with 2 new teams taking away a lot of depth from other teams and with the nrl trying to injure players with what there doing atm

I've said it before, I think the NRL hierarchy is headed in completely the wrong direction. More teams but lower overall quality across the NRL landscape. Big money teams will more and more dominate a lopsided competition. Big score blowouts will become the norm. I think fewer teams with a better skills balance across the competition would make for a far more interesting season.

 

[Milky]

No doubt in my mind that we beat the Storm & Sharks with a full team

Unfortunately, we have been battered with injuries in key positions.

We need more quality in our backs and hooker for depth. That is where we have been let down in both games.

Dare I say, we should have dug our heels in with TDS until we had a quality back-up to replace him.

It is what it is now but the club should be gunning for depth in that position before June 30.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

Started strong with full sqaud then we get hit hard by injuries and we aren’t even putting up a fight.

Right now my view is we are a 10-12 ranked side based on how far our gap is within the squad v how other teams perform with injuries.

 

[Stevec]

Benji coaching well especially pre season getting them superfit
Squad 1- 18 strong but the rest 19-30 are weak
This week we have 5 out but not just any 5 its arguably our best 5 !
BULA ,DOUEHI , KORISAU , SAMUELA , TWAL
Other top sides can have a few out but their replacements are almost as good
Ours are not !
Seems every year we have bad luck in this area
My only criticism
Benji is stubborn and won't admit error
Eg - persisting with Makasini and Tavana when it was clear they were not ready for the top grade
Eg - refusing to use Skelton at all !
Club not recognising our depth is weak and building it up with more recruitment

 

[EllisFan]

Probably 5-5 going into our second bye. Par.

All to do in the second half of the season.

 

[boonboon]

Yeah this. Just can’t understand why our forward pack suddenly can’t aim up like they did in the first 8 games when only Samuela is missing. It’s disappointing.

How is it only Samuela missing, Api is out and May was out last week thats half the pack and this week Twal is out

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

Pretty good considering this is a thread. Usually we knew the answer by now.

 

[jadtiger]

Depends on if we can find our early season gritty efforts again,getting a few key troops back will make a massive difference in our attitude and performance.

 

[stevied]

I was very happy with our overall progress until the Sharks game. Obviously, losing several key players was a major factor in both the heavy losses but the drop in form can can't attributed to just that. I think the intensity and resilience levels both fell dramatically. Other teams have had injuries but have still found ways to, at least, be competitive. I think we've also had issues with attitude and strange selection choices/ rotation moves by Benji. So to answer the question, I think we had a great start with excellent culture amongst the players and leadership from Benji but unfortunately, our season is now teetering between continued progress and a drop back to the bad old days.......