Player Column with Ava Seumanufagai

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Courtesy of the official Wests Tigers website:

Ava Seumanufagai
Wed 21st January, 03:14PM

Each week, Wests Tigers forward Ava Seumanufagai will give a special inside look at his life in the NRL. Since making his debut early in the 2013 season, Ava has quickly amassed 40 NRL games for the Club, and will be looking for another big year in 2015.

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First off, I guess I wanted to say hi. I’m Ava Seumanufagai. I grew up in Lower Hutt in Wellington, and I’m excited to be able to share my year ahead with you.

A lot’s been said about the 2015 season with Wests Tigers about how new everything is, and I’d have to agree. It does feel like there’s a whole lot more energy in the Club than before; it’s almost like a whole new beginning for the Club.

I think that I’ve really bought in to what the coaching staff have brought to the Club, and I think that the other boys have as well. You can see the energy has lifted at training, and there’s a great buzz around the team at the moment.

Training’s been really good so far — it’s good to have gotten this far through it already, to be honest. Pre-season is always a really tough time and it actually feels like it’s going quite slowly when you’re in it, which can make it hard.

But I guess the season starts soon and I’m really looking forward to it — it’s just over a week until the Nines is on, and then it’s and doing all you can do be there in Round 1.

For me, I think it really helps not only having a full pre-season under my belt, but also having a full year in 2014 as well to try and build off.

I didn’t miss a week last year — the only NRL game I didn’t play I played in State Cup up against Newcastle — so having that under my belt and then a full 11 weeks or so of pre-season training now has really set me up for a big year.

I learned a lot last year, I think. It was only my second year in the NRL and I think I took a lot from having those highs and lows during the year.

I’m really looking forward to trying to recapture what we had at the start of the year last year with myself, Marty [Taupau] and Jesse [Sauaso Sue] coming off the bench.

There will be someone else coming on as well this year, so it will be good to see how we all work together off the bench and trying to help each other.

We’re all big boys that come on, but we all have different things in our game — you see Marty has that explosive side in attack, Jesse is a really good defender in the middle.

And I’ve really been impressed with some of the young guys coming up into the squad this year in pre-season training — they’ll add a bit too.

Young Dallas [Graham] has such a powerful leg drive after contact too so he’s one to watch… so I guess there’s plenty of options and a nice mix across us all.

This week is a big one for us, so the body is feeling pretty sore at the moment. But the good thing is that when I recover, I’m feeling really fresh.

We’ve got a day off today, and then back into it tomorrow, so a good chance to rest up.

It’s hard to explain, but I’m just loving coming to training and being with this group. I’m feeling fitter this year than I ever have before, and I’ve lost a bit of weight too.

Not quite sure I can play the 80 yet, but we’ll see how it goes!

That’s it from me this week. I’m looking forward to seeing some of you at our Members Party on Friday — I’ll speak to the rest of you next week, where we’ll talk a little bit more about our team and the Auckland Nines.

Cheers!
 
Interesting to hear that Ava has also lost weight during the off-season. I'm not too concerned by this as I've been reliably informed everyone is enjoying the changes brought in by the new S&C team.
 
I really rate Ava. A super hard worker and a solid, stabilizing influence on the squad. Best wishes to him for a great year ahead.
 
I glad they chose Seumanufagai for this…his stints off the bench last Year were very solid he is a domestic Prop that every team needs....gets through his work in defence and often makes metres after contact...Not flash like a Woods or Lodge and doesn't get the raps he deserves but an important part of the team none the less....
 
@willow said:
Interesting to hear that Ava has also lost weight during the off-season. I'm not too concerned by this as I've been reliably informed everyone is enjoying the changes brought in by the new S&C team.
Click to expand...

It's the gluten free diet I tell ya! Will do wonders for the team this season.

Great article Ava, keep enjoying the training :smiley:
 
That Ava Guy talks… Auckland Nines

Ava Seumanufagai

Wed 28th January, 02:55PM

Each week, Wests Tigers forward Ava Seumanufagai will give a special inside look at his life in the NRL. Since making his debut early in the 2013 season, Ava has quickly amassed 40 NRL games for the Club, and will be looking for another big year in 2015.

Hi, I’m Ava Seumanufagai. This is my second column for 2015 — hopefully you liked my first one. If you missed it, you can read it by clicking here.

It’s been a wet but exciting week this week as I’m getting ready to head to Auckland with some of the boys for the Auckland Nines. It’s great to be included in the team this year.

I missed out last time; I came back from Christmas not in good form so I missed out last year, but it’s good to be involved this year and get the season underway.

It’s good to go back home and see some family as well, too.

Half of my is in Wellington and half is in Auckland, so half the family will be coming up to watch and I’ll be doing all I can to get them tickets!

I tend not to think too much about being in front of my family, but it’s always good to have them see me live. I like to keep myself accountable for how I play, but they pick up little things, I guess just knowing who I am and what I’m like.

Dad’s always got some pointers for me. He’s just being a Dad — always just pointing out a few things to work on every now and again.

But it’s great — I love playing in front of them and getting the chance to see them.

I think when you don’t play in front of them every week it makes it more special when you do, so I’m really looking forward to doing that this weekend.

It’s definitely nice to be included in the team. This is the first team that Jason Taylor has picked since he’s been here, so it’s nice to be in that squad.

It’ll be a cool experience and a lot faster than the regular game.

I watched it last year, and I thought it looked tiring but really fun.

The atmosphere was the biggest thing that stood out to me on the TV, so I’m excited to be over there and get into it firsthand. There’s thousands of people there, all dressed up, and it’s the first footy tournament of the year too, so even though it’s just the Nines, people seem to get really into it and enjoy themselves. I’ve been thinking about doing a few extra curls and tricep exercises this week too given the sleeveless jersey. Just as long as I don’t stand next to Kevin Naiqama or Salesi, I think I should be all right there!

One good thing is that there’s unlimited interchange, so you can put your hand up whenever you get tired. May put my hand up after the first set!

In terms of tactics and how we’re approaching the Nines, I think the biggest thing is just being a lot more aware of where the players are.

It’s a bigger field and you’ve got less players to defend with, so you’ve really got to watch your spacing. The biggest thing I’m looking to work on is defence, that’s all I’m focused on.

If I get a meat pie, though, I’m not going to complain at all!

It would have been good if some of the other boys were ready, but they’re not, but it’s still a really exciting and good squad we’ve got going.

The squad has a lot of energy, and these young boys certainly bring a lot to the table, so I’m sure it’ll go all right even though we haven’t done too much training for it.

Two guys you’re going to want to watch out for at the Nines are Lamar Liolevave and Salesi Funaki. They’ve both come up from the 20’s and they’re both extremely powerful runners.

I’ve watched some of their games last year in the 20’s and they’re got raw power, and they’ve been working on it this pre-season, so they’ll definitely be looking to start their year in big fashion and really impress all the coaching staff.

As far as the teams we’re playing over there, I think the Warriors are looking really strong. They’ve got a lot of internationals playing, and I’ll definitely have to watch out for those guys with quick footwork — Shaun Johnson in particular.

And in the other two teams, I think there’s some really good guys going as well.

Big Dave Taylor is coming from the Titans and he is really quick for a big man, and they’ve got James Roberts too, who is one of the quickest players I think in the game.

So there’s plenty of talent to watch out for from our point of view.

The biggest thing I think I’m trying to take out of the Nines is how to play faster.

I think when you’re under the pump in an NRL game, you’ll be confident that if you can play well in a nine-a-side, you can definitely keep up in 13-a-side.

That’s a big one for me, anyway. I’m trying to work really hard on my fitness and being much fitter this year, so we’ll see how good my pre-season has been when I’m trying to suck in the big ones sometime on Saturday afternoon!

Make sure you turn on the TV and cheer us on! See you next week.

http://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2015/01/28/that_ava_guy_talks_a.html
 
@willow said:
Interesting to hear that Ava has also lost weight during the off-season. I'm not too concerned by this as I've been reliably informed everyone is enjoying the changes brought in by the new S&C team.
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And also they are enjoying "the shorter but funner and more intense" training aswell.
 
That Ava Guy talks… Auckland Nines, trial matches and more

Ava Seumanufagai

Fri 6th February, 12:53PM
A A

Ava_playercolumn_620x350
Each week, Wests Tigers forward Ava Seumanufagai will give a special inside look at his life in the NRL. Since making his debut early in the 2013 season, Ava has quickly amassed 40 NRL games for the Club, and will be looking for another big year in 2015.

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Hey everyone! Good to be back for another week and to be back from the Nines! I had an unreal time over there and was just pretty glad that I got to play.

The crowd over there was insane, and I think it goes to show how big rugby league in New Zealand can be. I grew up there and there was always the rugby boys getting more of the attention, but I think now we’re seeing more and more those league boys get some attention. I think the Nines is a good thing to continue on in New Zealand and in Auckland for that reason.

For me, it was extra special having some of my family in Auckland come to watch.

I think we had about 14 tickets in the end for all of them, so it was great to pop in and see them between games and see how much they now love rugby league and how much support they provide to me and the team.

I’m pretty sure that everyone who was there from us took something out of it.

You know, it’s a different competition and all of that, but the skills you get there about managing your sets and positioning on the field and clock management — all those things will really help us during the regular season I think.

I guess as well there was a lot of things in attack and defence that we worked on in pre-season, and while those things will be more helpful during the 13-a-side, it was still really encouraging to see some of those things come off at the Nines.

After that first day, the boys were a lot more confident about their ability.
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It was a good result for us to come first in our group and to make the quarterfinals because we didn’t make it anywhere near that stage last year.

To get two wins on the first day was exciting, and it really gave the boys that were confidence that they could hold their own against the other teams.

I think definitely Kevvy Naiqama was one of the best for us at the Nines.

We always knew he was going to be key heading into the tournament in terms of his footwork and speed, but it was great to see him play well.

He played some quality minutes as well so that was really helpful for us, and he came up with some really big tackles in defence too which saved us.

I think Joel Luani also played really well too. You know, he played in the halves alongside Josh there pretty much all tournament with Manaia more at hooker, so I think he did really well out of position and getting through every game.

Those two for me were standouts from the tournament.

But it’s time to look forward now, and I’ll be cheering on our NYC and NSW Cup boys tonight in their first trial of the year against Parramatta I think.

No trial for me this week, but I’m looking forward to getting up there at Alice Springs and ripping in for the first time this year. I think we’re up there for four days and it’ll be good to go back there again — if I make the team, I guess!

We were up there last year with some of our State Cup boys, but we’re taking a bit more a top-25 squad this year so it’ll be a solid hitout I think.

I just can’t wait to have that first run of the year.

I think Kevvy said to me today it’s exactly a month until Round One, so it’s kind of getting to that stage where all the hard work in pre-season has been done and now it’s just about concentrating on getting some footy under the belt and really delivering a good first performance of the year. I’ll talk to you more about that game next week. Bye!

http://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2015/02/06/that_ava_guy_talks_a.html
 
You know, it’s a different competition and all of that, but the skills you get there about managing your sets and positioning on the field and clock management — all those things will really help us during the regular season I think.
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I guess as well there was a lot of things in attack and defence that we worked on in pre-season, and while those things will be more helpful during the 13-a-side, it was still really encouraging to see some of those things come off at the Nines.
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After that first day, the boys were a lot more confident about their ability.

Happy disagrees…He will be in shortly to give you an uppercut AVA...
 
I know I will get heckled,but I did say in another thread that it is not beyond Ava to play lock,with the right coaching this could be achievable…I think he is a great worker and will only get better
 
Ava is a good player and also has a bit of intelligence, between the ears too. Great to see.
Enjoy reading his columns :slight_smile:
 
He made an interesting point about Joel Luani playing in the halves throughout the tournament. The team did look a little pedestrian in attack for the last two matches.
 
@Geo. said:
You know, it’s a different competition and all of that, but the skills you get there about managing your sets and positioning on the field and clock management — all those things will really help us during the regular season I think.
>
I guess as well there was a lot of things in attack and defence that we worked on in pre-season, and while those things will be more helpful during the 13-a-side, it was still really encouraging to see some of those things come off at the Nines.
>
After that first day, the boys were a lot more confident about their ability.

Happy disagrees…He will be in shortly to give you an uppercut AVA...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't need an uppercut to take Ava , but an AK 47 might come in handy :laughing:

Love your stuff Ava , you don't know what your talking about , but I love your stuff
 
Your kidding Hap ,and you do know what your talking about…

Been on the xxxx since you came home mate....

Ava is a good player and is getting better,he certainly would know a lot more than us..... :smiley:
 
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