Our forwards are light years ahead of where we were last year. We don't get momentum piled on top of momentum against us MOST games. Klemmer isn't flashy, but he's consistent & tough. And a leader. We have so many young props in this club. Utoikamanu is able to be the #2 prop & not targeted as he was in the past. The wealth of knowledge Klemmer can pass on to Utoikamanu, Pole, James & the youngsters in the youth ranks is immense.
Linebreaks was brought up earlier. They are a huge issue. Tupou is by far and away our leader & I think they have nearly all come from kick returns. Historically, this group of players are not well known for line breaks. This could be due to the halves, so it's not wrist slashing time just yet. Nofa is traditionally pretty good, but concerningly...this is a down year. Doueihi is probably, statistically, the best we have. His big angular body is tough to bring down. The 5/8 experiment looks dead, but I still see value in the centres, particularly outside Fainu. Oddly, outside of 1 season, probably one of the least effective line break merchants in the squad is Charlie Staines. Brent Naden is actually pretty good at it (similar body shape to Doueihi...hmm..)
If Staines is not retained, the club will need another option out wide. Nofa, Tupou, Kepaoa look likely to still be here. If we need that speed player, maybe Keio Weekes comes back into consideration. I wouldn't mind looking at Isaac Lumelume for that big, athletic body. I also think a centre able to create for his outside man would help this club SO much. I still believe that player is Alamoti from the Bulldogs.
I've not forgotten To'a. He has the individual skills in him. That said, he needs to lose the arm waving, penalty begging mentality & focus on less errors. It's the inconsistency out wide that kills us so often.
Give me 2 wingers good at kick return/dummy half running that DO NOT cost us points in defence. Couple that with the forwards & Bula, we are moving in the right direction.
