Starford To’a #253
- Thread starter jrtiger
- Start date
Mate - Don't get me wrong...
I'm hopeful.
But Sheens has barely even lived in Australia for the last 10 years, How would he know what Warren knows and doesn't know.
More to the point - If McDonnell has his fingers on the Juniors out there these days, Where's the evidence?
We certainly haven't seen any over the last 7-8 years...
And neither have the dogs.
Matts and Ball clubs seem to be going OK - But he'd have NOTHING to do with that...
He's only just come back.
I'll tell you who has got his hands all over the area out there - Shannon Gallant...
I'm glad he's got some role with the club.
He's been playing out there, and coaching kids out there for the last few years..
I'd be looking to him before dragging Mr Yesteryear out of Real Estate sales for the gig.
I don't know anything on the kids really, Outside what I've seen on the park...
I do find it funny / strange he's only had an attitude "Problem" since
McDonnell came back... (Who he'd have Dogs history with)
It's not like he's been here a month.
He's been around the last couple years, Under different coaches
- Never been banished into oblivion before.
I do find it funny / strange he's only had an attitude "Problem" since
McDonnell came back... (Who he'd have Dogs history with)
It's not like he's been here a month.
He's been around the last couple years, Under different coaches
- Never been banished into oblivion before.
I see a lot of comments about trying this player or that one from our nsw cup side given they are stone motherless last lost 7 out of 7 by big margins
I don't hold out much hope here . I did see young kid called Rua Ngatkaura
in the trials seems promising I hope he's being developed
I don't hold out much hope here . I did see young kid called Rua Ngatkaura
in the trials seems promising I hope he's being developed
there is some players here who will play nrl from second grade it’s hard when your sides not going well take burton and ado carr super stars last year in good sides if you only watched them. This year for the dogs you would think they are ordinary footballers
Starford is in for a big game.
Dragons will throw a lot at him.
Hopefully he performs well.
Very impressed with him so far.
I don't think he's a fullback but hopefully he dies a job.
Very under the radar signing and I believe he'll do well with us.
Dragons will throw a lot at him.
Hopefully he performs well.
Very impressed with him so far.
I don't think he's a fullback but hopefully he dies a job.
Very under the radar signing and I believe he'll do well with us.
weststigerman
Well-known member
Reminds me of Mitch Brown. Seems to do a good job filling where ever he is needed and is deceptively quick.
BlackWhiteGold
Well-known member
Here is a good little story I dug up from the archives in 2020 on Starford T'oa & AJ Kepaoa, went to school together in NZ and played same positions as Sunday in the Junior Kiwis team of 2019.
https://www.nrl.com/draw/australian-schoolboys/2019/round-1/schoolboys-v-junior-kiwis/
If Alex McKninnon’s career wasn’t tragically cut short by injury.
If Sonny Bill Williams’ Super League club didn’t withdraw from the competition amid the COVID-19 pandemic with crippling debt.
If Starford To’a didn’t move out of home aged 15 to sleep on his sister’s couch.
If Asu ‘AJ’ Kepaoa’s parents hadn’t been so thrilled to watch Latrell Mitchell play that they named their youngest son after him.
This is the extraordinary sequence of events that has led childhood friends To’a and Kepaoa to start against each other on Saturday when Newcastle host Wests Tigers.
“We started playing club footy back in New Zealand in the under-10s for a couple of years,” To’a said.
“Then we went on to win a national championship in under-15s.”
The year prior, McKinnon’s playing career was ended when his spine was damaged in a tackle against Melbourne Storm.
After rehabilitation, he began working for the Knights in recruitment.
It just happened that McKinnon was tuned into that under-15s match, and urged the Knights to sign To’a.
“I got picked up playing in the national under-15s comp by Alex,” To’a said.
At the same time, Kepaoa had signed with the Gold Coast Titans.
But the Roosters were keen on his talents, and coach Trent Robinson organised to meet with Kepaoa in Auckland in 2017 while his team was in town.
It just so happened that Mitchell was walking past. Kepaoa’s parents were thrilled: “We named our son Latrell after you,” they told him.
It was a done deal, Kepaoa would join the Roosters.
The club’s recruitment expert, Adam Hartigan, was poached by the Tigers last year.
When the Roosters urged Williams to return from Europe last month, after Toronto Wolfpack announced they would not be playing in the coming Super League season, they needed to release a player to accommodate the dual-international.
Hartigan realised the Tigers could swoop on Kepaoa, and the Roosters released the 20-year-old to create space for Williams.
Two weeks later, Kepaoa will make his NRL debut on the Tigers wing, directly opposite To’a, who is playing his second match in first grade.
Even after he’d signed a deal with the Knights at 15, To’a always desired to stay in Auckland, despite bleak prospects beyond a sporting career in his rough neighbourhood.
“I look back and a lot of my friends back home never really made it out,” To’a said.
“It just motivates me to see how far I’ve come and where I could have been.”
The move out of home, and then the move to Newcastle, were two crucial factors to To’a’s development.
“I never wanted to leave my family, I never had a thought of living in Australia, I always wanted to play for the Warriors because it was the home based team,” To’a said.
“But now that I’m here, I’m happy, I’m glad I made a good decision.
“When I went to high school I was always independent, always done things on my own, it wasn’t too different.
“I lived in Glen Innes, east Auckland and school (St Paul’s) was in Ponsonby, one-and-a-half hours away. I did that travel for three years.
“It was cost as well, it was too much for my mum at the time, it was an expensive school.
“The easiest thing was to move in with my sister, she helped me.
“I moved out of home, moved in with my sister so I was away from my parents because it was easier to get to school, so I built that independence.
“Leaving home wasn’t easy, it was a sacrifice I had to make, and has made me who I am now.”
Watching on proudly from Auckland will be his family.
“My mum was a single mother, she always worked hard for me and my family, she made things possible, so I always wanted to make her proud,” To’a said.
“She was pretty excited when I told her I was playing this week.”
Kepaoa, who also came to Sydney on his own, will have a similar cheering squad back in New Zealand.
To’a said: “We have a good relationship, we’re good mates, last year we played Junior Kiwis together, so we’ve been through quite a bit, me and AJ.
“It feels good to be a part of his debut, it’s a special game for him, and it’s also special for me to play against an old mate of mine.
“We obviously knew we both wanted to achieve it, we never really talked about it but we had the same goal to play in the NRL.”
Rewind 10 years. Two boys, not saying much, but passing a footy back and forth between each other in Auckland, just wondering, ‘What if?’
https://www.nrl.com/draw/australian-schoolboys/2019/round-1/schoolboys-v-junior-kiwis/
The incredible events that have led to Auckland mates Starford To’a and Asu Kepaoa playing their first NRL game against each other
If Alex McKninnon’s career wasn’t tragically cut short by injury.
If Sonny Bill Williams’ Super League club didn’t withdraw from the competition amid the COVID-19 pandemic with crippling debt.
If Starford To’a didn’t move out of home aged 15 to sleep on his sister’s couch.
If Asu ‘AJ’ Kepaoa’s parents hadn’t been so thrilled to watch Latrell Mitchell play that they named their youngest son after him.
This is the extraordinary sequence of events that has led childhood friends To’a and Kepaoa to start against each other on Saturday when Newcastle host Wests Tigers.
“We started playing club footy back in New Zealand in the under-10s for a couple of years,” To’a said.
“Then we went on to win a national championship in under-15s.”
The year prior, McKinnon’s playing career was ended when his spine was damaged in a tackle against Melbourne Storm.
After rehabilitation, he began working for the Knights in recruitment.
It just happened that McKinnon was tuned into that under-15s match, and urged the Knights to sign To’a.
“I got picked up playing in the national under-15s comp by Alex,” To’a said.
At the same time, Kepaoa had signed with the Gold Coast Titans.
But the Roosters were keen on his talents, and coach Trent Robinson organised to meet with Kepaoa in Auckland in 2017 while his team was in town.
It just so happened that Mitchell was walking past. Kepaoa’s parents were thrilled: “We named our son Latrell after you,” they told him.
It was a done deal, Kepaoa would join the Roosters.
The club’s recruitment expert, Adam Hartigan, was poached by the Tigers last year.
When the Roosters urged Williams to return from Europe last month, after Toronto Wolfpack announced they would not be playing in the coming Super League season, they needed to release a player to accommodate the dual-international.
Hartigan realised the Tigers could swoop on Kepaoa, and the Roosters released the 20-year-old to create space for Williams.
Two weeks later, Kepaoa will make his NRL debut on the Tigers wing, directly opposite To’a, who is playing his second match in first grade.
Even after he’d signed a deal with the Knights at 15, To’a always desired to stay in Auckland, despite bleak prospects beyond a sporting career in his rough neighbourhood.
“I look back and a lot of my friends back home never really made it out,” To’a said.
“It just motivates me to see how far I’ve come and where I could have been.”
The move out of home, and then the move to Newcastle, were two crucial factors to To’a’s development.
“I never wanted to leave my family, I never had a thought of living in Australia, I always wanted to play for the Warriors because it was the home based team,” To’a said.
“But now that I’m here, I’m happy, I’m glad I made a good decision.
“When I went to high school I was always independent, always done things on my own, it wasn’t too different.
“I lived in Glen Innes, east Auckland and school (St Paul’s) was in Ponsonby, one-and-a-half hours away. I did that travel for three years.
“It was cost as well, it was too much for my mum at the time, it was an expensive school.
“The easiest thing was to move in with my sister, she helped me.
“I moved out of home, moved in with my sister so I was away from my parents because it was easier to get to school, so I built that independence.
“Leaving home wasn’t easy, it was a sacrifice I had to make, and has made me who I am now.”
Watching on proudly from Auckland will be his family.
“My mum was a single mother, she always worked hard for me and my family, she made things possible, so I always wanted to make her proud,” To’a said.
“She was pretty excited when I told her I was playing this week.”
Kepaoa, who also came to Sydney on his own, will have a similar cheering squad back in New Zealand.
To’a said: “We have a good relationship, we’re good mates, last year we played Junior Kiwis together, so we’ve been through quite a bit, me and AJ.
“It feels good to be a part of his debut, it’s a special game for him, and it’s also special for me to play against an old mate of mine.
“We obviously knew we both wanted to achieve it, we never really talked about it but we had the same goal to play in the NRL.”
Rewind 10 years. Two boys, not saying much, but passing a footy back and forth between each other in Auckland, just wondering, ‘What if?’
Buttface
Well-known member
So To’a was a star fullback growing up.
Thanks for posting that.
Alex Seyfarth's #1 Fan
Well-known member
Not a fullback. Let a high kick bounce in front of him - criminal for a fullback - which led to an error, then a try. Good player who should be in the team at centre or wing. Time to try someone else at the back.
426Tlgerland
Well-known member
Not sure his best spot but played good game again
Magpie_Magic
Well-known member
To 'a was disappointing for me.
Got talent but looks lazy and a player who is a poor reader of the play often out of position, makes key fullback errors.
The dropped ball off the kick off finished us off.....If the officials hadn't already done so.
Got talent but looks lazy and a player who is a poor reader of the play often out of position, makes key fullback errors.
The dropped ball off the kick off finished us off.....If the officials hadn't already done so.
He's not a fullback so considering he didn't do badly. Definately a winger or centre.
pawsandclaws1
Well-known member
I think they're both centres and will be a great pairing for WTs in the future.
Magpie_Magic
Well-known member
Got talent but someone's got to teach him the smarts of the game. Makes unusual errors.
Only needed to be in the road of that pass for the Cowboys miraculous 1st try and its a 7 tackle set.
And knowing where the sideline is.
Tough though and can take a shot
Only needed to be in the road of that pass for the Cowboys miraculous 1st try and its a 7 tackle set.
And knowing where the sideline is.
Tough though and can take a shot
Why dont some of you guys realise that Star was thrown into a position that we had bugger all depth in,,,he will make mistakes,he is young,he is inexperienced at FB and NRL level and yet tried his best...
If only some of you critics just realise how bad our depth is and what a great job this makeshift side is doing week to week for the last 8 rounds,then maybe you can understand the difficulty of making the 8 in the toughest comp in the world..
Its so easy to bag a team when their losing but forget the effort they are putting in ...
As long as you did your very best win,lose or draw..I will be proud of the guys that represent the club Iam a member of...
If only some of you critics just realise how bad our depth is and what a great job this makeshift side is doing week to week for the last 8 rounds,then maybe you can understand the difficulty of making the 8 in the toughest comp in the world..
Its so easy to bag a team when their losing but forget the effort they are putting in ...
As long as you did your very best win,lose or draw..I will be proud of the guys that represent the club Iam a member of...
tony soprano
Well-known member
Lazy ball watcher.
Thinks he has the force of something. Staring at the ball Willing it to be someone else's problem.
Thinks he has the force of something. Staring at the ball Willing it to be someone else's problem.
Starwars To'a
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