Season 2024 - Round 2 Team

Again, he’s the type of player that will always be a regular at a club like ours the last couple of years.
Hartigan signed him and then we re-signed him. To me that’s really poor when you’re still trying to work out where he fits. That second contract was a desperate move by a desperate administration.
 
Do you know what position Kepaoa is training in ? Surely can't be persisting with him in the centres ? Do you think they may be going 3 forwards and Kepaoa bench ?
Pretty sure he's been training strictly as a second rower judging by training photos/videos.

I think they might try to push 80 minutes out of Api.

This is my guess at the Round 2 bench anyway:

14. Twal
15. Pole
16. Sa. Fainu
17. Kepaoa
 
Pretty sure he's been training strictly as a second rower judging by training photos/videos.

I think they might try to push 80 minutes out of Api.

This is my guess at the Round 2 bench anyway:

14. Twal
15. Pole
16. Sa. Fainu
17. Kepaoa
I can see Api getting 80 mins. TDS still needs some time in the lower grades, and idk if Simpkin is good enough to take mins off him. It’s also plausible that AJ is seen as the bench utility.
 
I’ll check it out. The comments he made about Benji seeing himself in Jerome were telling in my opinion. Why over burden an X factor talent with game management? I’ve seen Luai leading the Panthers and Samoa successfully but I think his best attributes are his unpredictability at second receiver.
Watching a bunch of highlights and games from his junior days shows to me he's a hybrid 7. Not a traditional halfback, but not like Shaun Johnson either. He was paired well with guys like Tyrone May (a utility) but when paired with guys like Burton who is more of a running 5/8 he didn't excel as much as he had to kick more. In game management on the last tackle he tends to mix it up with a run down the short side on the last, to kicking the ball into touch, to just your regulation bomb in the opposition end. Goalkicking-wise, he's ok but from the sideline misses a lot. Thinking that a new junior, Sullivan or Api will kick for us in 2025
 
Watching a bunch of highlights and games from his junior days shows to me he's a hybrid 7. Not a traditional halfback, but not like Shaun Johnson either. He was paired well with guys like Tyrone May (a utility) but when paired with guys like Burton who is more of a running 5/8 he didn't excel as much as he had to kick more. In game management on the last tackle he tends to mix it up with a run down the short side on the last, to kicking the ball into touch, to just your regulation bomb in the opposition end. Goalkicking-wise, he's ok but from the sideline misses a lot. Thinking that a new junior, Sullivan or Api will kick for us in 2025
The reality is we probably get 24 rounds plus finals to assess the Luai we are getting, plus 24 rounds to assess what we already have in the halves.

Personally I wouldn’t rule out Sezer and Luai in 2025 but I tend to err on the cautious side with young talent until it is NRL talent.
 
Longest running experiment in NRL history that bloke. Work it out in Reggie’s FFS.
Ummm… Voldemort was here for 11 years while 6 coaches and 27 halves partners and 34 hookers were trialled as a way to ‘unleash” him… I do agree that Kepoa is a similar conundrum, if he is in the forwards in front of Twal, or Fainu I will be on the way to being catatonic …. 🥸
 
Ummm… Voldemort was here for 11 years while 6 coaches and 27 halves partners and 34 hookers were trialled as a way to ‘unleash” him… I do agree that Kepoa is a similar conundrum, if he is in the forwards in front of Twal, or Fainu I will be on the way to being catatonic …. 🥸
In that time we chased just about every halfback in the Southern Hemisphere and failed. Brooksy was kept because of the incompetence of the management who just got the bullet.
 
The reality is we probably get 24 rounds plus finals to assess the Luai we are getting, plus 24 rounds to assess what we already have in the halves.

Personally I wouldn’t rule out Sezer and Luai in 2025 but I tend to err on the cautious side with young talent until it is NRL talent.
It will be really interesting if Galvin kills it when he gets a crack in trials and round 2 most likely. If Galvin Luai are 6 and 7 in 2025, Sullivan and Fainu will be 1 million on the cap wasted. No way we can keep AD with this potential situation
 
It will be really interesting if Galvin kills it when he gets a crack in trials and round 2 most likely. If Galvin Luai are 6 and 7 in 2025, Sullivan and Fainu will be 1 million on the cap wasted. No way we can keep AD with this potential situation
On top of that, one of Sullivan or Fainu probably gets shopped around.
 
So based on training reports - first team looks like this????
1. Bula
2. Staines
3. To’a
4. Olam
5. Tupou
6. Sullivan
7. Sezar
8. Stefano
9. Api
10. Klemmer
11. Papalii
12. Bateman
13. Seyfarth
14. Pole
15. Twal
16. S. Fainu
17. TDS/Kapeoa/anyone else?
 
So based on training reports - first team looks like this????
1. Bula
2. Staines
3. To’a
4. Olam
5. Tupou
6. Sullivan
7. Sezar
8. Stefano
9. Api
10. Klemmer
11. Papalii
12. Bateman
13. Seyfarth
14. Pole
15. Twal
16. S. Fainu
17. TDS/Kapeoa/anyone else?
Shaping up as a good side. Need combinations and 2nd phase play and strong defence.
 

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