Season 2024 - Round 2 Team

I do feel Marshall won’t make any changes besides Bateman, but this is the way I personally would go in the wake of preseason trials.

1. Bula
2. Lobb
3. Olam
4. Naden
5. Tupou
6. Sullivan
7. Sezer
8. Utoikamanu
9. Koroisau
10. Klemmer
11. Bateman
12. Papali’i
13. Pole

14. Galvin
15. Twal
16. Sam Fainu
17. Kepaoa
 
Tigers could do worse than selecting a team of guys that know how to win more than lose.

Obviously guys that have been with the club for some time- their career record is shattered, so some consideration needs to be made there.

But..

1. Bula 22% win ratio for career- which isn't bad for a Tigers player..
2. Lobb- very successful in Dragons lower grades
3. Olam- 72% career win ratio
4. Galvin- excellent career through juniors
5. Staines- nothing below 80% while at Panthers
6. Fainu- came through the highly successful Manly juniors
7. Sezar- over 50% career win ratio
13. Fa'agutu or Lualili'i- both have great success at junior level
12. Papali'i- Success until signing with Tigers
11. Bateman- Another with great winning record
10. Klemmer- for such a long career- above 50% wins through his Knights time
9. Api- another successful player
8. Utoikamanu- the 'forgive' player for playing a career with the Tigers

14. Da Silva- proven winner at junior levels
15. Sam Fainu- like his brother, a great success rate at junior levels
16. Twal- second 'forgive' along with Utoikamanu
17. Pole- Third 'forgive'


Highly inexperienced, but at least they know what winning feels like.
 
Round two team will be what the same as what he ran out against the Dragons bar Pommy white legs. This is the team he has probably been running since Xmas in the pre season drills. Only injuries might change things, but touch wood that is unlikely considering we have no games between now and than
 
jrtiger said:
I do feel Marshall won’t make any changes besides Bateman, but this is the way I personally would go in the wake of preseason trials.

1. Bula
2. Lobb
3. Olam
4. Naden
5. Tupou
6. Sullivan
7. Sezer
8. Utoikamanu
9. Koroisau
10. Klemmer
11. Bateman
12. Papali’i
13. Pole

14. Galvin
15. Twal
16. Sam Fainu
17. Kepaoa
Click to expand...
Benji needs to keep his cards close to his chest and I agree I doubt many if any changes will occur
If he changes too many from last week to round 2 and there's no change in the quality footy.. Then what?
Change again or stick with what he has?
There's only so many changes available and imo it's best he gives his initial main team a bit of a go at redemption... They've got three weeks to work on things
But too many changes too soon is fraught with danger you soon.leave yourself with no options.
We won't see much difference by round 2 if what we saw last Sat is what they've spent all summer on... Too short a time frame to turn it around drastically
 
innsaneink said:
Benji needs to keep his cards close to his chest and I agree I doubt many if any changes will occur
If he changes too many from last week to round 2 and there's no change in the quality footy.. Then what?
Change again or stick with what he has?
There's only so many changes available and imo it's best he gives his initial main team a bit of a go at redemption... They've got three weeks to work on things
But too many changes too soon is fraught with danger you soon.leave yourself with no options.
We won't see much difference by round 2 if what we saw last Sat is what they've spent all summer on... Too short a time frame to turn it around drastically
Click to expand...

We will see what type of coach Benji is by how he reacts to things. Hopefully he stays the course & doesn’t panic during the season let alone after a trial game.

It would be sooo easy to chop and change every round if results don’t go our way rather than sticking to something for a period of time and seeing if it evolves.

We need to remember we have a new left edge with 5/8th & center, a new halfback, new lock & new bench rotations at a bare minimum. We have an extremely young squad overall with little to no experience for players we are banking on.

Combinations, Trust, speed of the game & knowing each other on the park takes time.

Add into the mix a new coaching structure and it will be important to keep things simple, trust the process, minimize changes early on & see if over a good 6-10 weeks what matures from it.

Changes of what we have seen nearly always take time - often half a season to really click.

I just hope Benji and co don’t panic too early.
 
SeanT said:
Spot on. How can the attack be so bad though?

Look at Webster at the Warriors. They play together on every play amd the attack is fluent. Thats in one year. Weve had years and the attack is still putrid.
Click to expand...
And to think we had Webster as an assistant NRL coach after doing a great job with one of the younger teams.......and we sacked him.
A brilliant decision eh?....No.
 
jrtiger said:
I do feel Marshall won’t make any changes besides Bateman, but this is the way I personally would go in the wake of preseason trials.

1. Bula
2. Lobb
3. Olam
4. Naden
5. Tupou
6. Sullivan
7. Sezer
8. Utoikamanu
9. Koroisau
10. Klemmer
11. Bateman
12. Papali’i
13. Pole

14. Galvin
15. Twal
16. Sam Fainu
17. Kepaoa
Click to expand...

1. Bula
2. Lobb
3. Olam
4. Naden
5. Tupou
6. Sullivan
7. Sezer
8. Utoikamanu
9. Koroisau
10. Klemmer
11. Bateman
12. Papali’i
13. Pole

14. Da Silva
15. Twal
16. Sam Fainu
17. Kepaoa/Faagutu/Matamua/Laulilii
 
InBenjiWeTrust said:
1. Bula
2. Lobb
3. Olam
4. Naden
5. Tupou
6. Sullivan
7. Sezer
8. Utoikamanu
9. Koroisau
10. Klemmer
11. Bateman
12. Papali’i
13. Pole

14. Da Silva
15. Twal
16. Sam Fainu
17. Kepaoa/Faagutu/Matamua/Laulilii
Click to expand...
you keeping Galvin from first grade for a little while I take it?
 
I think Galvin plays in 14. I am deeply concerned about him physically, despite his age, but I was taken aback with his poise on the weekend. I think he is every chance of a spot.

This goes directly against my stance several weeks ago saying he is no chance. I'll concede that. As much as it is impressive for him to put his best foot forward at this stage of his fledgling career, it's equally as much an indictment on the makeup of the squad and the complete lack of depth and experience across the 30.

This is highlighted by the fact that not one, but two, development players are (at least) in the discussion for starting spots, even if they're not favourites for Round 2, in Faataape and Lobb.

Add to that, we have -

Doueihi - injured
Naden - without a preseason game
Saukuru (yet to debut) - injured/unsighted
Latu (yet to debut) - returning from injury/ without a game
Alaimalo (yet to debut) - No league experience
Faagutu (yet to debut) - barely sighted/ not ready
Tumeth - unsighted/ without a game
Matamua- unsighted/ without a game
Miller (yet to debut)- unsighted/ not ready
Laulili'i - barely sighted / not ready
Sukkar (yet to debut) - jury's out on readiness.

That is 11 players out of the 36 players available for Round 2 who are either injured, underprepared or not ready.

A HUGE concern. Moreso than I realised.

That list also does not include the likes of Da Silva, Feledy and Samuela, who, whilst have debuted, have barely 10 games between them and are varying levels of 'ready', along with Sione Fainu, who is also yet to debut and Bateman, who is also without a preseason game for the second year in a row.
 
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Kelce68 said:
I think Galvin plays in 14. I am deeply concerned about him physically, despite his age, but I was taken aback with his poise on the weekend. I think he is every chance of a spot.

This goes directly against my stance several weeks ago saying he is no chance. I'll concede that. As much as it is impressive for him to put his best foot forward at this stage of his fledgling career, it's equally as much an indictment on the makeup of the squad and the complete lack of depth and experience across the 30.

This is highlighted by the fact that not one, but two, development players are (at least) in the discussion for starting spots, even if they're not favourites for Round 2, in Faataape and Lobb.

Add to that, we have (in the Top 30) -

Doueihi - injured
Naden - without a preseason game
Saukuru (yet to debut) - injured/unsighted
Latu (yet to debut) - returning from injury/ without a game
Alaimalo (yet to debut) - No league experience
Faagutu (yet to debut) - barely sighted/ not ready
Tumeth - unsighted/ without a game
Matamua- unsighted/ without a game
Miller (yet to debut)- unsighted/ not ready
Laulili'i - barely sighted / not ready
Sukkar (yet to debut) - jury's out on readiness.

That is 11 players out of the Top 30 who are either injured, underprepared or not ready.

A HUGE concern. Moreso than I realised...
Click to expand...
Saukuru, Faagutu, Laulilii and Sukkar aren’t in the 30.

All of them are on Development contracts for this year and move into the top 30 in 2025.
 
KingRobbie said:
Saukuru, Faagutu, Laulilii and Sukkar aren’t in the 30.

All of them are on Development contracts for this year and move into the top 30 in 2025.
Click to expand...
Ah, of course. That's correct.

That's an oversight on my behalf.

Still, they're eligible for Round 2 selection, so our, essentially 36, players available whittles down rather quickly.

I've adjusted my original post accordingly.
 
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Didn't Latu train with the firsts all pre-season with Bud training with the reserves? Can anyone confirm or deny this? If so and if fit surely he (Latu) starts at 6.

Galvin could be an option at 14 if there are concerns over Olam and his niggling injuries. Could slot into centre if Olam goes down. If not, Latu could slot into 9 to give Api a break and Galvin into the halves.
 
I have Galvin at 14 for a couple of reasons- firstly Benji tested him in 4 different positions in the trial which obviously highlights his versatility and Benji’s thought process.
Secondly Latu has had no game time and I can’t see Benji throwing him straight in without a few cup games at least.
Finally Simpkin offers very little cover other than exchange for Api and I don’t think taking up a bench spot for that purpose alone is a luxury we can afford. Api needs to play 80 at this point in our squad’s development.
I see the bench as:-
- 1 x utility at 14 (Galvin)
- 2 x props rotation (Klemmer and Sam Fainu - with Uto and Twal starting just to balance out the impact of the second stint in the front row)
- 4th spot to Kepaoa probably over Seyfarth as they have the experience in this early part of the season. AJ has a little more ability to cover positions but certainly needs a rocket up his clacker if he expects to hold down a spot.
Finally our outside backs for the round 2 game will be Staines, Toa, Olam and Tupou, bar injuries. Other serious options like Lobb, Naden and Faataape will have to play their way onto the team.
 
The debate about who should be our halves just shows the problems we have.

It was the same with the debates about our best fullback and halves last year and with hooker before Api arrived.

The better teams have their teams sorted all pre season (maybe a bench spot up for grabs).

No coincidence that us, Dragons and the Dogs have had unsettled spines the past few years.
 
Really interesting nothing at all has been said about Latu during the offseason or him not playing cup/trial. Hopefully the injury isn’t bad.
 
Topchook said:
Didn't Latu train with the firsts all pre-season with Bud training with the reserves? Can anyone confirm or deny this? If so and if fit surely he (Latu) starts at 6.

Galvin could be an option at 14 if there are concerns over Olam and his niggling injuries. Could slot into centre if Olam goes down. If not, Latu could slot into 9 to give Api a break and Galvin into the halves.
Click to expand...
they all rotated throughout the preseason. Sullivan got the bulk of the final training bloc before trials.
 
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