Canadian Club
Well-known member
I still have faith in Matamua. He's definitely got the skill and is easily the best ball playing forward on our roster. He's still only 21.there's a 13 jersey with his name on it if he can have a massive preseason.
being fitter and faster should help with his carries and his linespeed, which are his two biggest deficiencies. he's far more skilful than any of the other lock prospects we have in and around first grade currently. huge year ahead for him given he's off contract.
His issue over the last two years has been his conditioning, especially defensively in the middle which has really stalled his development. We often forget he debuted at 19 and was u19 NSW representative.
Even though he was a standout in the juniors, I always thought he would take a bit longer to develop due to the fact that he was often moved between the halves and lock as a junior. Unlike other junior stars, he was constantly moved between the middle and the edge, which is why I believe he really struggled defensively in the middle early as he never got a full season of playing just lock and getting used to the position defensively. He definitely showed a big improvement in a struggling Cup team last season.