Nofoaluma

[Russell]

Wingers finish trys. Teams set up plays for wingers to score trys. If a try goes in on the wing, it doesn't mean the winger is a bad defender :laughing:

Yes he has made bad decisions. No it won't keep happening. Especially with the way the team is defending now.

Nofa's good far outweighs the bad. You're absolutely nuts if you think reserve grade is where he belongs, he's there now but it sure as hell won't be for long.

Competition for spots is good - isn't it.

Should he be treated differently to anyone else - short answer is no imo.

i.e. He needs to play well and wait for someone in the NRL team to blow it.

Why does someone have to blow it? If his form demands selection then you select him. It's not healthy competition to basically say to players - "you can tear reggies apart every week but unless the bloke ahead of you stinks it up you're not getting a look in". Even the most determined players will lose their motivation after enough of that kind of rubbish. It will also create resentment amongst the players and division. Bad.

So you say to the NRL player - look your playing really well and we are winning but Irving Schwarz is ripping it up in a much inferior competition - so you are being dropped.

Yea that will keep players motivated and not resenting the situation.

 

[Nelson]

Wingers finish trys. Teams set up plays for wingers to score trys. If a try goes in on the wing, it doesn't mean the winger is a bad defender :laughing:

Yes he has made bad decisions. No it won't keep happening. Especially with the way the team is defending now.

Nofa's good far outweighs the bad. You're absolutely nuts if you think reserve grade is where he belongs, he's there now but it sure as hell won't be for long.

Competition for spots is good - isn't it.

Should he be treated differently to anyone else - short answer is no imo.

i.e. He needs to play well and wait for someone in the NRL team to blow it.

Why does someone have to blow it? If his form demands selection then you select him. It's not healthy competition to basically say to players - "you can tear reggies apart every week but unless the bloke ahead of you stinks it up you're not getting a look in". Even the most determined players will lose their motivation after enough of that kind of rubbish. It will also create resentment amongst the players and division. Bad.

So you say to the NRL player - look your playing really well and we are winning but Irving Schwarz is ripping it up in a much inferior competition - so you are being dropped.

Yea that will keep players motivated and not resenting the situation.

You say, "Mate you've done nothing wrong but the guy behind you is just in such form that we need to give him a shot." Why should players get mortgages over their positions just because the team is winning? That isn't real competition. The guys in reggies can only play what's in front of them.

 

[Russell]

Competition for spots is good - isn't it.

Should he be treated differently to anyone else - short answer is no imo.

i.e. He needs to play well and wait for someone in the NRL team to blow it.

Why does someone have to blow it? If his form demands selection then you select him. It's not healthy competition to basically say to players - "you can tear reggies apart every week but unless the bloke ahead of you stinks it up you're not getting a look in". Even the most determined players will lose their motivation after enough of that kind of rubbish. It will also create resentment amongst the players and division. Bad.

So you say to the NRL player - look your playing really well and we are winning but Irving Schwarz is ripping it up in a much inferior competition - so you are being dropped.

Yea that will keep players motivated and not resenting the situation.

You say, "Mate you've done nothing wrong but the guy behind you is just in such form that we need to give him a shot." Why should players get mortgages over their positions just because the team is winning? That isn't real competition. The guys in reggies can only play what's in front of them.

Surely you are not saying reggies form is the same as NRL form - are you?

They don't have a mortgage - but they didn't do anything to deserve being dropped.

You don't change a winning team and drop someone for the sake of dropping them.

 

[Geo]

Noffo plays on the right wing, MWZ plays on the left. Thompson has his nose in front of Noffo for the right wing spot.

I personally would love Noffo on the left wing but Ivan strikes me as a players-play-their-best-position type of coach not a fit-them-in-anywhere coach.

Nofo did another bad read yesterday in ISP that let in a try,given Nofo plays right wing, if we put him on left wing, then when he runs left he will be running to his sideline thus not allowing a hole…problem with his D solved..... :roll
Nofo needs to fix his Defensive issues before he holds down a regular NRL spot....if he doesn’t want to do that with the WT, then off he goes....

Does Corey Thompson need more height…?

Did you miss Nofoaluma snuffing out 4 or 5 Wenty scoring opportunities with good decisions and defence..?

I also suggest you look at Price's role in the TRY that was scored..

 

[851]

Why does someone have to blow it? If his form demands selection then you select him. It's not healthy competition to basically say to players - "you can tear reggies apart every week but unless the bloke ahead of you stinks it up you're not getting a look in". Even the most determined players will lose their motivation after enough of that kind of rubbish. It will also create resentment amongst the players and division. Bad.

So you say to the NRL player - look your playing really well and we are winning but Irving Schwarz is ripping it up in a much inferior competition - so you are being dropped.

Yea that will keep players motivated and not resenting the situation.

You say, "Mate you've done nothing wrong but the guy behind you is just in such form that we need to give him a shot." Why should players get mortgages over their positions just because the team is winning? That isn't real competition. The guys in reggies can only play what's in front of them.

Surely you are not saying reggies form is the same as NRL form - are you?

They don't have a mortgage - but they didn't do anything to deserve being dropped.

You don't change a winning team and drop someone for the sake of dropping them.

Just because the team is winning does not mean some blokes don't have bad games, or do stupid things, so to say you can't change a winning team is flawed

 

[Sabre]

Competition for spots is good - isn't it.

Should he be treated differently to anyone else - short answer is no imo.

i.e. He needs to play well and wait for someone in the NRL team to blow it.

Why does someone have to blow it? If his form demands selection then you select him. It's not healthy competition to basically say to players - "you can tear reggies apart every week but unless the bloke ahead of you stinks it up you're not getting a look in". Even the most determined players will lose their motivation after enough of that kind of rubbish. It will also create resentment amongst the players and division. Bad.

So you say to the NRL player - look your playing really well and we are winning but Irving Schwarz is ripping it up in a much inferior competition - so you are being dropped.

Yea that will keep players motivated and not resenting the situation.

You say, "Mate you've done nothing wrong but the guy behind you is just in such form that we need to give him a shot." Why should players get mortgages over their positions just because the team is winning? That isn't real competition. The guys in reggies can only play what's in front of them.

That's ridiculous.
So if you are Paul Green you say to Johnathan Thurston "Look mate, you've done nothing wrong but Jaelen Feeney is going great for the Townsville Blackhawks, he's taking your spot this week"?

 

[Russell]

So you say to the NRL player - look your playing really well and we are winning but Irving Schwarz is ripping it up in a much inferior competition - so you are being dropped.

Yea that will keep players motivated and not resenting the situation.

You say, "Mate you've done nothing wrong but the guy behind you is just in such form that we need to give him a shot." Why should players get mortgages over their positions just because the team is winning? That isn't real competition. The guys in reggies can only play what's in front of them.

Surely you are not saying reggies form is the same as NRL form - are you?

They don't have a mortgage - but they didn't do anything to deserve being dropped.

You don't change a winning team and **<big>drop someone for the sake of dropping them</big>**.

Just because the team is winning does not mean some blokes don't have bad games, or do stupid things, so to say you can't change a winning team is flawed

We are not talking about someone having a BAD game or doing STUPID things.

We are talking about players having a decent game and not doing anything wrong.

So therefore you would be dropping a player for the sake of dropping them.

 

[Luke]

I’m disappointed the way Nofo has been treated by the club this season.

He hasn't been mistreated at all. He is held to the same standards as everyone else. Reputation counts for nothing and players have to earn their place in the team, this is something Ivan has introduced that we have never had. It's a very good thing.

He plays with his heart on his sleeve and he loves this club. He resigned with us last year even with everything going on at the club, he showed true loyalty.

Pride, passion and loyalty only get you so far. Otherwise you or I could be playing NRL.

There was no obvious reason why he was dropped.

Yes there is, his defensive reads/positioning.

Some people will argue it was his defence that has let him down and if that is the case he should have been given a chance to prove himself first before being dropped. When he has played FG this year he hasn’t let us down.

First Grade isn't the place to prove yourself, Ivan obviously had concerns from what he saw last year and in Pre-Season. You can't pick a player in First Grade under the condition that they 'have to prove themselves before being dropped'. That can cost you games. And as for not letting us down, he almost did from a very bad read on Jack Bird last week. The try he let in yesterday in ISP by going for the intercept doesn't help his cause either.

And as for your stats, well they never paint the full picture.

For now, he isn't in our top 17\. Thompson has earnt the right to be picked ahead of him.

Ok so one question of mine that hasn't been answered was that how did Cleary know under game pressure in the first round of the competition that Thompson was going to defend better than Nofo? Why did he get the opportunity first? Thompson hasn't played at NRL level since 2015\. Was it purely because he trained better than Nofo? If this is the case when Cleary was asked by reporters why Nofo was dropped he could have made a really simple statement like "I've spoken to David and I want him to work on a few things at training better". Or if it was due to his defence "I want him to work on his defence in lower grades before he gets called back up" Why is something that simple so difficult? There are a lot of fans confused by this and a simply concise answer would fix that.

All I'm saying is that Nofo should have been given an opportunity first since he has been in our first grade squad for the past five seasons. He was re-signed on a four year contract last year - if they thought his defence was really that bad why would they re-sign him for such a long period? This was well after Cleary joined too so he agreed to this.

Yes, it has worked out that Thompson is playing great - I'm happy for that and he deserved to be re-signed today. But I never mentioned Nofo should be infront of him, he should be in front of MWZ. I don't care about the left and right argument rubbish, that's a silly reason to keep someone in FG.

 

[DonnyBrasco]

Hasn’t Fonua scored more tries and made more metres in ISP than anyone, by that logic, he should be picked ahead of Noffa.
Any payer than sulks because they don’t get picked should join Parra or the Dogs.

 

[Nelson]

Why does someone have to blow it? If his form demands selection then you select him. It's not healthy competition to basically say to players - "you can tear reggies apart every week but unless the bloke ahead of you stinks it up you're not getting a look in". Even the most determined players will lose their motivation after enough of that kind of rubbish. It will also create resentment amongst the players and division. Bad.

So you say to the NRL player - look your playing really well and we are winning but Irving Schwarz is ripping it up in a much inferior competition - so you are being dropped.

Yea that will keep players motivated and not resenting the situation.

You say, "Mate you've done nothing wrong but the guy behind you is just in such form that we need to give him a shot." Why should players get mortgages over their positions just because the team is winning? That isn't real competition. The guys in reggies can only play what's in front of them.

That's ridiculous.
So if you are Paul Green you say to Johnathan Thurston "Look mate, you've done nothing wrong but Jaelen Feeney is going great for the Townsville Blackhawks, he's taking your spot this week"?

Yeah clearly that's exactly what I was saying. Well done.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I love Noffa as much as the next guy, he’s my birthday buddy. However, I get the impression he didn’t put in as much as guys like Thompson and MWZ over the off season. Not saying he blugged, but he might have felt a little too comfortable. Reading his own press, with everyone assuming he would be the first winger chosen. It was a pretty big statement from Cleary leaving him out against the Roosters, and it serves a reminder to everyone that if they think they can coast, they are toast.

 

[Russell]

So you say to the NRL player - look your playing really well and we are winning but Irving Schwarz is ripping it up in a much inferior competition - so you are being dropped.

Yea that will keep players motivated and not resenting the situation.

You say, "Mate you've done nothing wrong but the guy behind you is just in such form that we need to give him a shot." Why should players get mortgages over their positions just because the team is winning? That isn't real competition. The guys in reggies can only play what's in front of them.

That's ridiculous.
So if you are Paul Green you say to Johnathan Thurston "Look mate, you've done nothing wrong but Jaelen Feeney is going great for the Townsville Blackhawks, he's taking your spot this week"?

Yeah clearly that's exactly what I was saying. Well done.

I bet Paul Green is glad you aren't picking the Cowboys team then.

 

[southerntiger]

IMO you pick your best 17 fullstop, irrespective of whether someone playing firsts has or has not done something wrong.

If Cleary thinks his best 7 includes MWZ and does not include Nofo then so so be it.

If Nofo can play left wing or Thompson can play there, then I would pick Nofo ahead of MWZ as I consider his positives in attack to outweigh any negatives in defense.

 

[Nelson]

Surely you are not saying reggies form is the same as NRL form - are you?

Care to quote where you inferred that from?

You don't change a winning team and drop someone for the sake of dropping them.

It's not dropping for the sake of dropping, it's looking to improve a team by bringing in someone who can offer more. I'm not saying he should necessarily drop him this week but if Nofo keeps performing and MWZ keeps being "serviceable" then yes, regardless of whether the team happens to keep winning you make the change.

 

[Geo]

I love Noffa as much as the next guy, he’s my birthday buddy. However, I get the impression he didn’t put in as much as guys like Thompson and MWZ over the off season. Not saying he blugged, but he might have felt a little too comfortable. Reading his own press, with everyone assuming he would be the first winger chosen. It was a pretty big statement from Cleary leaving him out against the Roosters, and it serves a reminder to everyone that if they think they can coast, they are toast.

Double hernia Surgery and a knee clean out tend to disrupt a Pre-season..

 

[jirskyr]

I’m disappointed the way Nofo has been treated by the club this season.

He hasn't been mistreated at all. He is held to the same standards as everyone else. Reputation counts for nothing and players have to earn their place in the team, this is something Ivan has introduced that we have never had. It's a very good thing.

He plays with his heart on his sleeve and he loves this club. He resigned with us last year even with everything going on at the club, he showed true loyalty.

Pride, passion and loyalty only get you so far. Otherwise you or I could be playing NRL.

There was no obvious reason why he was dropped.

Yes there is, his defensive reads/positioning.

Some people will argue it was his defence that has let him down and if that is the case he should have been given a chance to prove himself first before being dropped. When he has played FG this year he hasn’t let us down.

First Grade isn't the place to prove yourself, Ivan obviously had concerns from what he saw last year and in Pre-Season. You can't pick a player in First Grade under the condition that they 'have to prove themselves before being dropped'. That can cost you games. And as for not letting us down, he almost did from a very bad read on Jack Bird last week. The try he let in yesterday in ISP by going for the intercept doesn't help his cause either.

And as for your stats, well they never paint the full picture.

For now, he isn't in our top 17\. Thompson has earnt the right to be picked ahead of him.

Ok so one question of mine that hasn't been answered was that how did Cleary know under game pressure in the first round of the competition that Thompson was going to defend better than Nofo? Why did he get the opportunity first? Thompson hasn't played at NRL level since 2015\. Was it purely because he trained better than Nofo? If this is the case when Cleary was asked by reporters why Nofo was dropped he could have made a really simple statement like "I've spoken to David and I want him to work on a few things at training better". Or if it was due to his defence "I want him to work on his defence in lower grades before he gets called back up" Why is something that simple so difficult? There are a lot of fans confused by this and a simply concise answer would fix that.

All I'm saying is that Nofo should have been given an opportunity first since he has been in our first grade squad for the past five seasons. He was re-signed on a four year contract last year - if they thought his defence was really that bad why would they re-sign him for such a long period? This was well after Cleary joined too so he agreed to this.

You don't specifically call out a player's improvement targets in public, it just doesn't happen. Every coach says "I wanted him to work on a few things and he understands that". You don't say "Nofo is a bit of a liability in defence so he's been dropped for a while" because the opposition are going to run everything at Nofo, if they didn't already think to do it.

I don't know what some fans expect, Ivan is pretty forthright in his media work, he does the coaching insight video every week, but you want specific rationale of the KPIs where a dropped player has not met expectations?

Also incumbents should not necessarily be given first opportunity just because they were there before, that doesn't make any sense.

 

[happy_tiger]

i believe he is paying the price for some bad behavior in pre- season. he will be back.

This

 

[851]

Surely you are not saying reggies form is the same as NRL form - are you?

Care to quote where you inferred that from?

You don't change a winning team and drop someone for the sake of dropping them.

It's not dropping for the sake of dropping, it's looking to improve a team by bringing in someone who can offer more. I'm not saying he should necessarily drop him this week but if Nofo keeps performing and MWZ keeps being "serviceable" then yes, regardless of whether the team happens to keep winning you make the change.

Exactly the point I was making, winning teams can be changed for the better

 

[TrueTiger]

Gawd…. :brick: :brick:

Stop it GEO,you will hurt yourself….we both know that Ivan knows what he is doing and what is required ....

 

[AL The Tiger]

Why does someone have to blow it? If his form demands selection then you select him. It's not healthy competition to basically say to players - "you can tear reggies apart every week but unless the bloke ahead of you stinks it up you're not getting a look in". Even the most determined players will lose their motivation after enough of that kind of rubbish. It will also create resentment amongst the players and division. Bad.

So you say to the NRL player - look your playing really well and we are winning but Irving Schwarz is ripping it up in a much inferior competition - so you are being dropped.

Yea that will keep players motivated and not resenting the situation.

You say, "Mate you've done nothing wrong but the guy behind you is just in such form that we need to give him a shot." Why should players get mortgages over their positions just because the team is winning? That isn't real competition. The guys in reggies can only play what's in front of them.

That's ridiculous.
So if you are Paul Green you say to Johnathan Thurston "Look mate, you've done nothing wrong but Jaelen Feeney is going great for the Townsville Blackhawks, he's taking your spot this week"?

MWZ is not Thurston. Nofo will offer much more in NRL and you know it