Naiqama > St Helens Confirmed.2019

[happy_tiger]

If we are letting Kev go to St Helens, we have to get someone to make up for his loss. Possibly Ben Barba? Or maybe even Curtis Rona?

Ma'a Nonu

Imagine Fonua and Nonu :astonished:

We signed Nonu once before under Sheens Royce signed him up at Auckland airport only for Rugby NZ to step in and offer him more so dont think it would work again

What happened with Takarangi still takes the cake though :blush:

 

[The_Queen]

Ma'a Nonu

Imagine Fonua and Nonu :astonished:

We signed Nonu once before under Sheens Royce signed him up at Auckland airport only for Rugby NZ to step in and offer him more so dont think it would work again

What happened with Takarangi still takes the cake though :blush:

Yes Brad at least we got to pay him out of our cap for three years so thoses tackles and trys he scored we can share them with the eel supporters

 

[JD Tiger]

Imagine Fonua and Nonu :astonished:

We signed Nonu once before under Sheens Royce signed him up at Auckland airport only for Rugby NZ to step in and offer him more so dont think it would work again

What happened with Takarangi still takes the cake though :blush:

Yes Brad at least we got to pay him out of our cap for three years so thoses tackles and trys he scored we can share them with the eel supporters

For any relatively new joiners to the forum like me, here is a link to what these forumers are talking about. For one I hadn't heard of our mess-up here, but am not surprised at it in hindsight.

http://www.weststigersforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=23367

 

[innsaneink]

We signed Nonu once before under Sheens Royce signed him up at Auckland airport only for Rugby NZ to step in and offer him more so dont think it would work again

What happened with Takarangi still takes the cake though :blush:

Yes Brad at least we got to pay him out of our cap for three years so thoses tackles and trys he scored we can share them with the eel supporters

For any relatively new joiners to the forum like me, here is a link to what these forumers are talking about. For one I hadn't heard of our mess-up here, but am not surprised at it in hindsight.

http://www.weststigersforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=23367

Much ado about nothing

 

[Yossarian]

Imagine Fonua and Nonu :astonished:

Hell no, Isn't he 35 now?

It was a joke for forum veterans…

‘We thought we had him’ is probably the single most hilarious/saddest rugby league article ever written

Yeah it was pretty sad.

 

[The_Queen]

Hell no, Isn't he 35 now?

It was a joke for forum veterans…

‘We thought we had him’ is probably the single most hilarious/saddest rugby league article ever written

Yeah it was pretty sad.

Nonu and The Master of the witches hats in separate interviews have both talked about the signing of the contract

Its just a shame it did not come to fruition

 

[The_Patriot]

Reading through a thread like this it becomes apparent that most people have given up on our club ever signing a high profile player.

I refuse to have that mentality, we are every chance with every good player off contract. This is Ivan Cleary not the last bloke.

Is this the same Ivan Cleary that has us currently with

We have had no 5/8
We have had no Fullback
We have had no Hooker

and as a direct result that is losing us games…?

Lol you have a poor read on this one Geo.

Im a fan of Ivan Cleary. but in saying that -

We have had no 5/8
We have had no Fullback
We have had no Hooker

It is starting to cost us games.

I have every faith Ivan will correct the situation.

Who put the squad together with no spine? Wasn’t the last coach. You seem happy to have it both ways. Praising Cleary, yet constantly saying the playing group is a failure. Whose responsible for that?

No not me, I have never said the playing group is a failure. Not even close.

And actually I can have it both ways. It's called being measured.

Ivan has done a great job assembling this squad. BUT now is the time to address these positions.

Which as I said to Geo I have evey faith he will start doing.

 

[Snake]

Is this the same Ivan Cleary that has us currently with

We have had no 5/8
We have had no Fullback
We have had no Hooker

and as a direct result that is losing us games…?

Lol you have a poor read on this one Geo.

Im a fan of Ivan Cleary. but in saying that -

We have had no 5/8
We have had no Fullback
We have had no Hooker

It is starting to cost us games.

I have every faith Ivan will correct the situation.

Who put the squad together with no spine? Wasn’t the last coach. You seem happy to have it both ways. Praising Cleary, yet constantly saying the playing group is a failure. Whose responsible for that?

No not me, I have never said the playing group is a failure. Not even close.

And actually I can have it both ways. It's called being measured.

Ivan has done a great job assembling this squad. BUT now is the time to address these positions.

Which as I said to Geo I have evey faith he will start doing.

In 12 months I think the club has done a great job in rectifying the salary cap and bringing in some good players and staff….us supporters just have to wait a bit longer frustrating as it is .
There is money to spend ...the right coach and support staff are in place and already had some success on and off the field.Hopefully in the not to distant future some additions to the playing roster will be announced...it is better to wait IMO for the right players than just signing short fill players , Cleary has the smarts and connections we just have to be patient as frustrating as it is !

 

[Harvey]

We have a decent coach, but the same garbage facilities. I will believe that we have truly turned the corner when our signings are not blokes with a long history with Cleary, or players that we have paid overs for.

 

[VanillaThunder]

Reading through a thread like this it becomes apparent that most people have given up on our club ever signing a high profile player.

I refuse to have that mentality, we are every chance with every good player off contract. This is Ivan Cleary not the last bloke.

Is this the same Ivan Cleary that has us currently with

We have had no 5/8
We have had no Fullback
We have had no Hooker

and as a direct result that is losing us games…?

See this is what I don’t get when people pick at our team. We’ve got a fair chunk of our squad in the 1, 6 and 9, the quality just isn’t there.

1\. Lolohea, Thompson, throw in Naiqama
6\. Reynolds, Marshall, Gamble
9\. Liddle, McIlwrick, Godinet

Benji has regressed to the mean, Tui never really got going and Liddle is playing with paper shoulders.
Brooks’ form has been great, and Corey has exceeded expectations. If Grub was fit he’d be exactly what we need in the 6 at the moment. We’re not far removed from a good spine, but it’s the quality of the depth, not the lack of options that’s killing us.

 

[the_third]

Reading through a thread like this it becomes apparent that most people have given up on our club ever signing a high profile player.

I refuse to have that mentality, we are every chance with every good player off contract. This is Ivan Cleary not the last bloke.

Is this the same Ivan Cleary that has us currently with

We have had no 5/8
We have had no Fullback
We have had no Hooker

and as a direct result that is losing us games…?

See this is what I don’t get when people pick at our team. We’ve got a fair chunk of our squad in the 1, 6 and 9, the quality just isn’t there.

1\. Lolohea, Thompson, throw in Naiqama
6\. Reynolds, Marshall, Gamble
9\. Liddle, McIlwrick, Godinet

Benji has regressed to the mean, Tui never really got going and Liddle is playing with paper shoulders.
Brooks’ form has been great, and Corey has exceeded expectations. If Grub was fit he’d be exactly what we need in the 6 at the moment. We’re not far removed from a good spine, but it’s the quality of the depth, not the lack of options that’s killing us.

A couple of injuries to the above also didn’t help.

Still if you look at the losses, they all come from losing the ruck in the first instance. Errors come off the back of that. When we win the ruck, our spine looks pretty good. Need another prop in the rotation as Sue is a HIA risk and second rower to really compete week in week out

 

[VanillaThunder]

See this is what I don’t get when people pick at our team. We’ve got a fair chunk of our squad in the 1, 6 and 9, the quality just isn’t there.

1\. Lolohea, Thompson, throw in Naiqama
6\. Reynolds, Marshall, Gamble
9\. Liddle, McIlwrick, Godinet

Benji has regressed to the mean, Tui never really got going and Liddle is playing with paper shoulders.
Brooks’ form has been great, and Corey has exceeded expectations. If Grub was fit he’d be exactly what we need in the 6 at the moment. We’re not far removed from a good spine, but it’s the quality of the depth, not the lack of options that’s killing us.

A couple of injuries to the above also didn’t help.

Still if you look at the losses, they all come from losing the ruck in the first instance. Errors come off the back of that. When we win the ruck, our spine looks pretty good. Need another prop in the rotation as Sue is a HIA risk and second rower to really compete week in week out

Agreed on the prop front, as nice as Eisenhuth and Twal are defensively, we just miss that extra impetus across the board.
As much as I hate Adam Blair, I’d swap him for Rochow in a heartbeat. We haven’t had line-speed for as long as I can remember, and we saw what Harawira-Naera and Katoa** did to Brooks all game on Thursday. Rowdy has had his moments this year but every game it seems like the opposition halves have all the time in the world, while poor Luke gets mobbed one off the ruck. Another reason to get Tui back in I guess, but our pack can go a long way towards addressing it themselves.

 

[Red88_Tiger]

See this is what I don’t get when people pick at our team. We’ve got a fair chunk of our squad in the 1, 6 and 9, the quality just isn’t there.

1\. Lolohea, Thompson, throw in Naiqama
6\. Reynolds, Marshall, Gamble
9\. Liddle, McIlwrick, Godinet

Benji has regressed to the mean, Tui never really got going and Liddle is playing with paper shoulders.
Brooks’ form has been great, and Corey has exceeded expectations. If Grub was fit he’d be exactly what we need in the 6 at the moment. We’re not far removed from a good spine, but it’s the quality of the depth, not the lack of options that’s killing us.

A couple of injuries to the above also didn’t help.

Still if you look at the losses, they all come from losing the ruck in the first instance. Errors come off the back of that. When we win the ruck, our spine looks pretty good. Need another prop in the rotation as Sue is a HIA risk and second rower to really compete week in week out

Agreed on the prop front, as nice as Eisenhuth and Twal are defensively, we just miss that extra impetus across the board.
As much as I hate Adam Blair, I’d swap him for Rochow in a heartbeat. We haven’t had line-speed for as long as I can remember, and we saw what Harawira-Naera and Karla did to Brooks all game on Thursday. Rowdy has had his moments this year but every game it seems like the opposition halves have all the time in the world, while poor Luke gets mobbed one off the ruck. Another reason to get Tui back in I guess, but our pack can go a long way towards addressing it themselves.

Brooks is getting mobbed because he's the only likely threat. Liddle hasn't had many minutes and Taylor is not a hooker plus there is no ball play at fullback.

 

[Russell]

See this is what I don’t get when people pick at our team. We’ve got a fair chunk of our squad in the 1, 6 and 9, the quality just isn’t there.

1\. Lolohea, Thompson, throw in Naiqama
6\. Reynolds, Marshall, Gamble
9\. Liddle, McIlwrick, Godinet

Benji has regressed to the mean, Tui never really got going and Liddle is playing with paper shoulders.
Brooks’ form has been great, and Corey has exceeded expectations. If Grub was fit he’d be exactly what we need in the 6 at the moment. We’re not far removed from a good spine, but it’s the quality of the depth, not the lack of options that’s killing us.

A couple of injuries to the above also didn’t help.

Still if you look at the losses, they all come from losing the ruck in the first instance. Errors come off the back of that. When we win the ruck, our spine looks pretty good. Need another prop in the rotation as Sue is a HIA risk and second rower to really compete week in week out

Agreed on the prop front, as nice as Eisenhuth and Twal are defensively, we just miss that extra impetus across the board.
As much as I hate Adam Blair, I’d swap him for Rochow in a heartbeat. We haven’t had line-speed for as long as I can remember, and we saw what Harawira-Naera and Karla did to Brooks all game on Thursday. Rowdy has had his moments this year but every game it seems like the opposition halves have all the time in the world, while poor Luke gets mobbed one off the ruck. Another reason to get Tui back in I guess, but our pack can go a long way towards addressing it themselves.

Brooks is getting mobbed because he's the only likely threat. Liddle hasn't had many minutes and Taylor is not a hooker plus there is no ball play at fullback.

Well said "Red88 Tiger" - exactly on the money.

 

[The_Queen]

The problem is that the BUS works both ways if you wait and hope that another club is so poorly run that you can get one of there main player on the cheap YOU CAN MISS THE BUS then what happens same squad but lots of money to spend its a fine line you need a good poker face ask Ivan if hes any good at poker

 

[larrycorowa]

Reading through a thread like this it becomes apparent that most people have given up on our club ever signing a high profile player.

I refuse to have that mentality, we are every chance with every good player off contract. This is Ivan Cleary not the last bloke.

Is this the same Ivan Cleary that has us currently with

We have had no 5/8
We have had no Fullback
We have had no Hooker

and as a direct result that is losing us games…?

See this is what I don’t get when people pick at our team. We’ve got a fair chunk of our squad in the 1, 6 and 9, the quality just isn’t there.

1\. Lolohea, Thompson, throw in Naiqama
6\. Reynolds, Marshall, Gamble
9\. Liddle, McIlwrick, Godinet

Benji has regressed to the mean, Tui never really got going and Liddle is playing with paper shoulders.
Brooks’ form has been great, and Corey has exceeded expectations. If Grub was fit he’d be exactly what we need in the 6 at the moment. We’re not far removed from a good spine, but it’s the quality of the depth, not the lack of options that’s killing us.

You can’t have a discussion about the spine without including the 7\. On my calcs our whole spine with depth signings is on the equivalent coin as Tedesco and Cronk. So we have by no means overspent on our spine and have plenty of $$$$ left to strengthen it if need be.

 

[larrycorowa]

The problem is that the BUS works both ways if you wait and hope that another club is so poorly run that you can get one of there main player on the cheap YOU CAN MISS THE BUS then what happens same squad but lots of money to spend its a fine line you need a good poker face ask Ivan if hes any good at poker

They should know what each significant signing does to other clubs cap structure. It’s about knowing when you get the right opportunity.

 

[Tiger_Steve]

If the Naiqama rumour about leaving is not true, then where is he? I understand the family funeral one week ago but what about this last weekend? Not listed as injured and not dropped to ISP. I understand the need for confidentiality sometimes but if there’s a simple reason it would be nice for the club to post something on their website.

 

[FreddyK]

If the Naiqama rumour about leaving is not true, then where is he? I understand the family funeral one week ago but what about this last weekend? Not listed as injured and not dropped to ISP. I understand the need for confidentiality sometimes but if there’s a simple reason it would be nice for the club to post something on their website.

Wheeling and dealing going on in the background.

 

[Tim Sheens]

If the Naiqama rumour about leaving is not true, then where is he? I understand the family funeral one week ago but what about this last weekend? Not listed as injured and not dropped to ISP. I understand the need for confidentiality sometimes but if there’s a simple reason it would be nice for the club to post something on their website.

Could simply have not been in the right frame of mind to play, as someone passing affects people very differently.