Onitoni Large

[finnzo]

The Roosters got given an exemption for Joseph Sualiii to play NRL at 17 so it can be done.
As you say Onitoni Large would ideally need to start by playing NSW Cup and dominating on that grade before being considered for NRL.
My point is there is plenty of speculation we could lose, surely catapulting him into our too 30 in 2025 with the promise of playing NSW Cuo and potentially NRL if he plays well enough would help our chances of keeping of keeping him ?

Yeah definitely it Joseph was dominating NSW cup when he was approved this kid is still a long way off. Our NSW cup is decimated by injury and he hasn’t even had a look in yet and he hasn’t even played jersey flegg yet witch makes me think he is still a very long way off

And I believe he is currently injured

 

[Lestronge]

Like many others have also mentioned, get him into our top 30 ASAP and give him game time as a fullback or centre who can potentially transition back into the halves in a few years time.
Make him understand his speed, speed off the mark and dangerous ball running will be wasted in the halves early on in his career.

Or….. we could keep him on his current trajectory , play sg ball next year , transition into flegg , then cup at the end of next season . With 2 full nrl offseasons , putting him position for nrl re.2026. Which I’m pretty confident is his current pathway .
The competition isn’t even other nrl clubs with him . It’s The Waratahs and the Wallabies .
And this year in Harold Matt’s the team went better without him , once he was injured . From what I understand he had glimpses prior to his injury , but he was upstaged by other within that team , namely Makasini .
I
Think his manger is just striking whilst the iron is hot

 

[Buttface]

I guess that means we have him locked up for another 2-3 years.
Didn’t think other clubs were allowed to contact players who are under contract.
Sounds like another similar case to Galvin thinking he should be a walk up starter in the halves @18

It’s ok when it’s the Tigers.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

When was the last time the NRL truely sanctioned player managers hard… slap on the wrist here with a reminder to be a good boy

Shouldn't the NRL be sanctioning the NRL clubs that have made approaches via the manager? It is hard enough to bridge the gap between the haves and have nots but when your best juniors are approached while under contract that is not fair play. There is a dearth of talent of this kind in the NRL and the powerful clubs are competing for talent that is not legally available to them.

 

[Kaito]

Shouldn't the NRL be sanctioning the NRL clubs that have made approaches via the manager? It is hard enough to bridge the gap between the haves and have nots but when your best juniors are approached while under contract that is not fair play. There is a dearth of talent of this kind in the NRL and the powerful clubs are competing for talent that is not legally available to them.

Protecting clubs from poaching juniors blah blah
blah. It's all lip service. They're all tugging each other
under the office desk. When is the last time a club
has been fined for approaching a player on contract?

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Protecting clubs from poaching juniors blah blah
blah. It's all lip service. They're all tugging each other
under the office desk. When is the last time a club
has been fined for approaching a player on contract?

Absolutely. There is next to no chance of any action being taken when clubs are powerful and have no juniors.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

Im pretty sure he’s 17 years old he’s not even eligible to play in the nrl he’s hasn’t even played sg ball yet. He’s played half a season of Mathews cup

Under new salary cup rules this year, 17yos can be promoted to top 30 but cannot debut in NRL until 18.

This has all the hallmarks of more b…s..t agitation by a manager. I betcha the club has told Onitoni that they’d like to see him at centre given his natural assets are his ball running & speed. But manager knows money is in the halves. Tbh I haven’t seen a natural ball player in him the games I have watched. Be interesting how he performs at the schoolboy carnival in a few weeks.

 

[balmain boy]

People need to go easy on the kid, these aren't his words. Some in here are ready to cut loose potentially the best junior we've ever had because his agent says a few words in the media...

Seemingly he's under contract for another 3.5 years, that's plenty of time to see where he fits in. Also means no one can make him an offer for a while.

It would be interesting to see what his current contract status is regarding development and NRL contracts.

We have to remember he's still in school, so he can't train full time yet. He did train with us last offseason at age 16, the youngest player to ever train with our NRL squad. He's also injured so can't do anything just yet.

I'm not sure what Suaaliis schooling was like but the kid would need to drop out of year 12 in order to take on an NRL or development deal with us. Or we workout some special situation for him but must training takes place while he's at school. No responsible club will ask a player to quit school early, especially a prestigious school like Scots. He'd also be kissing his rugby career goodbye if he burnt all those bridges.

Ideally he'd be on a development deal next year and training as often as he can at least with our Flegg squad who usually train later to allow for Tafe/uni/work commitments.

For me he's the jewel in our juniors crown. Someone who runs the 100m in under 11 seconds as a kid, but with size and skill. Makasini is all Power, but he's not very fast, at least not yet. Having someone like Large at fullback would change our attack forever. I think he would listen to someone like Benji, who was in the same shoes as him. If Benji says I think you're best at fullback, or centre, because of A,B, C.... Then I think he takes that on board.

His family and agent are the ones who want him in the halves. But fullbacks can make elite money too.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

Maybe we should send Lachie Galvin around to see Onitoni (just jokes)

 

[finnzo]

Under new salary cup rules this year, 17yos can be promoted to top 30 but cannot debut in NRL until 18.

This has all the hallmarks of more b…s..t agitation by a manager. I betcha the club has told Onitoni that they’d like to see him at centre given his natural assets are his ball running & speed. But manager knows money is in the halves. Tbh I haven’t seen a natural ball player in him the games I have watched. Be interesting how he performs at the schoolboy carnival in a few weeks.

Yeah but our top 30 is filled with players who arnt contributing to first grade no pint in adding another 1 when he is already signed up long term

 

[Vicious]

People need to go easy on the kid, these aren't his words. Some in here are ready to cut loose potentially the best junior ever had because his agent says a few words in the media...

Seemingly he's under contract for another 3.5 years, that's plenty of time to see where he fits in. Also means no one can make him an offer for a while.

It would be interesting to see what his current contract status is regarding development and NRL contracts.

We have to remember he's still in school, so he can't train full time yet. He did train with us last offseason at age 16, the youngest player to ever train with our NRL squad. He's also injured so can't do anything just yet.

I'm not sure what Suaaliis schooling was like but the kid would need to drop out of year 12 in order to take on an NRL or development deal with us. Or we workout some special situation for him but must training takes place while he's at school. No responsible club will ask a player to quit school early, especially a prestigious school like Scots. He'd also be kissing his rugby career goodbye if he burnt all those bridges.

Ideally he'd be on a development deal next year and training as often as he can at least with our Flegg squad who usually train later to allow for Tafe/uni/work commitments.

For me he's the jewel in our juniors crown. Someone who runs the 100m in under 10.5 seconds, but with size and skill. Makasini is all Power, but he's not very fast, at least not yet. Having someone like Large at fullback would change our attack forever. I think he would listen to someone like Benji, who was in the same shoes as him. If Benji says I think you're best at fullback, or centre, because of A,B, C.... Then I think he takes that on board.

His family and agent are the ones who want him in the halves. But fullbacks can make elite money too.

Fullbacks should be the best attacking player in your team, hence why the good ones are all worth 1 million dollars plus per season.

 

[hammertime]

People need to go easy on the kid, these aren't his words. Some in here are ready to cut loose potentially the best junior ever had because his agent says a few words in the media...

Seemingly he's under contract for another 3.5 years, that's plenty of time to see where he fits in. Also means no one can make him an offer for a while.

It would be interesting to see what his current contract status is regarding development and NRL contracts.

We have to remember he's still in school, so he can't train full time yet. He did train with us last offseason at age 16, the youngest player to ever train with our NRL squad. He's also injured so can't do anything just yet.

I'm not sure what Suaaliis schooling was like but the kid would need to drop out of year 12 in order to take on an NRL or development deal with us. Or we workout some special situation for him but must training takes place while he's at school. No responsible club will ask a player to quit school early, especially a prestigious school like Scots. He'd also be kissing his rugby career goodbye if he burnt all those bridges.

Ideally he'd be on a development deal next year and training as often as he can at least with our Flegg squad who usually train later to allow for Tafe/uni/work commitments.

For me he's the jewel in our juniors crown. Someone who runs the 100m in under 10.5 seconds, but with size and skill. Makasini is all Power, but he's not very fast, at least not yet. Having someone like Large at fullback would change our attack forever. I think he would listen to someone like Benji, who was in the same shoes as him. If Benji says I think you're best at fullback, or centre, because of A,B, C.... Then I think he takes that on board.

His family and agent are the ones who want him in the halves. But fullbacks can make elite money too.

I agree. There's no need to be harsh on him - People are just looking out for the kid because he has options.

Despite him being signed to us, we need to make sure there is a pathway for him. Let him know he's in the plans. Because while he is signed to an NRL contract, there's always the possibility he heads to union.

From what I've seen, FB seems like a great fit for a runner like him and if he overtakes Bula, Bula seems like a kid who would do what is best for the team. He was playing centres before and that may be the fit.

We also have Lachie off contract when Large will be knocking on the door. It's a good position for us to be in.

 

[Sully]

The Wests Tigers are rightly celebrating the Lachlan Galvin backflip and news that the 18-year-old utility will see out the remainder of his contract.

But now they have another youngster – described as the best 16-year-old league or union player in the country – who could soon be looking to bail out.

Onitoni Large is a Scots College student, captain of the junior Wallabies and a NSW Under 16s league representative.

He is so good that former Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens signed him to a five-year contract as a 15-year-old. His younger brother Ashton, a hooker, is also signed at the Wests Tigers.

One player manager said of Onitoni, who is a halfback or five-eighth: “He’s the best 16-year-old I’ve ever seen.”

The pair are managed by Craig Baker, who admits the boys’ future is uncertain at the Wests Tigers.

“When we signed under Sheensy he said he’d be there for five years,” Baker said.

“They sold us a pathway to first grade under Tim.

“There has been a lot of significant change since then.

“They’ve made decisions to bring other halves that was not consistent with what we were told.”

The Wests Tigers have signed Aidan Sezer, Sione Fainu, Jayden Sullivan and Jarome Luai in the halves since they did the deal with Sheens. They’ve also had Galvin emerge.

Rival NRL clubs are aware of Onitoni’s rare talent.

There is a belief he will be ready to play first grade at 18, which will be late next season.

It’s why more than a dozen clubs have rung Baker with expressions of interest.

Glad he had proof read his crap as we have signed a prop from a few years ago to play Half

Sione Fainu may be a tad slow for the halves maybe use his brother when his hamstrings get better. Latu will be quicker😂

Flip a coin for the next target Buzz you drunktard

 

[Eternal Tiger]

Would love to see Onitori Large in a reserve grade side with Sukkar, Bailey Hodges, Big Herman, Tim Johansen and Zaukari Clarke. Will Clarke, Cayne Nicholas, Jordan Miller, Chris Faagutu, Kit Laulilii, Solomone Saukuru, Heamasi Makasini,

He didn't stand out in Harold Matt's this year before he got injured.

 

[Tiger Stripes]

He didn't stand out in Harold Matt's this year before he got injured.

He didn't stand out for me in the City - Country game last year at 5/8 either?
But he seems to have impressed some people here or he has a good PR manager working for him?
Interesting if he can clock under 10.5 for the 100m. Maybe better suited to be fullback as some have mentioned?

 

[balmain boy]

Here he runs the 100 in under 11 seconds as a 16 year old, into a strong headwind. No one in our top 30 would get close to that, even as a professional athlete

Watch n2f52f | Streamable

Watch this video on Streamable.

streamable.com

 

[rihannafan1]

Yeah, the athleticism and the potential he has because of that is what sets him apart.

 

[ancient_magpie]

Yeah, the athleticism and the potential he has because of that is what sets him apart.

Our flegg team is near the top are there any centre prospects in that team while Large grows up a bit.

 

[balmain boy]

Our flegg team is near the top are there any centre prospects in that team while Large grows up a bit.

There's no one fast in our flegg team. A few undersized competitors but no standouts

 

[Needaname]

How’s this for a future back 5

1. Turuva
2. Makahisi
3. Large
4. Bula
5. Saukuru

Speed, skill and power.