Stefano Utoikamanu #241

[batboy]

He’s never played in an NRL blockbuster. Put him in an elite competitive environment and see how he goes. Much like Brooks at Manly, the environment counts.

I can swallow that…
Although I always said Woods though touted as the best prop in the game - never scared anyone…
That didn’t change with the change in clubs.
I don’t see anyone fearing stef either,
That said - Haas doesn’t exactly intimidate either…

I love my props fearless, aggressive and blood thirsty…. JFH is my kind of monster

 

[clontarfkid]

I don’t think he does…
He doesn’t have the mongrel all the top tier guys have…
A bloke like JFH loves the contest and collision… so does Collins and JWH
Stefano doesn’t have that for mine - and without it, he just won’t get top tier…

Aaron Woods 2.0

 

[tigerballs]

A front rowers job is really quite basic. Lay a platform for your stars to go to work. Ok stars, time to clock on.

But he's the one getting stars money.

 

[BAGNF05]

I can swallow that…
Although I always said Woods though touted as the best prop in the game - never scared anyone…
That didn’t change with the change in clubs.
I don’t see anyone fearing stef either,
That said - Haas doesn’t exactly intimidate either…

I love my props fearless, aggressive and blood thirsty…. JFH is my kind of monster

I think that comes with age. He’s got all the physical attributes to be a top 2-3 prop behind Haas and (imo) there’s a reason the top 4 clubs are circling.

 

[BAGNF05]

But he's the one getting stars money.

The old Brooks argument. There’s about $14 million in the cap to go around.

 

[tigerballs]

I don’t think he does…
He doesn’t have the mongrel all the top tier guys have…
A bloke like JFH loves the contest and collision… so does Collins and JWH
Stefano doesn’t have that for mine - and without it, he just won’t get top tier…

I suppose Collins didn't really start to fire until he was about 23 - 24, then improved out of sight. Maybe Stef's got a year or two to go before we really find out but you do that on apprentices wages, not craftsman's.

 

[tigerballs]

The old Brooks argument. There’s about $14 million in the cap to go around.

Same for every other club. No need to waste it.

 

[BAGNF05]

I suppose Collins didn't really start to fire until he was about 23 - 24, then improved out of sight. Maybe Stef's got a year or two to go before we really find out but you do that on apprentices wages, not craftsman's.

WT have had to pay overs to get good players and the price of that is our woeful depth.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

if we lose Stef who do we replace him with ?

If we are willing to spend 900k there would be a fair few that would jump for that.

Doubt that figure is true though.

 

[BAGNF05]

Same for every other club. No need to waste it.

Benji & Richo have a big job to repair the cap damage done by the dumb dumbs.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

If our halves and outside backs were good enough to generate tries then Stefano is coming off the back fence on the back of that momentum. There’s a term in NFL called complimentary football, meaning your defense thrives off your offense and vice versa. At the moment our backs are making our forwards look shit, and the frustration is very evident. Stef is elite. End of story.

An elite prop who has played 9 games doesn’t avg 96mtrs a game and make 100mtrs 3 games out of the 9. He had a great 3 game spurt then went quite since. You can’t blame the backs on that especially when Pole, Klemmer and others are making meters when he isn’t.

When he is on he is quality but he isn’t on more than he is off atm.

I want him to stay but people saying he is our Haas or elite right now are dreaming. He might get to that level but is far from it atm.

 

[tigerballs]

WT have had to pay overs to get good players and the price of that is our woeful depth.

I'm not sure I agree with that argument. We needed a half when everyone said the cupboard was bare and we got a good one from superleague. So did the premiers. The wooden spooners and the premiers both starting halves from Superleague. The Bunnies are getting their own. Newcastle got themselves two very good second rowers. Didn't cost them too much either and that was after they got themselves one of the best wingers in the world. We would have been cheering if we signed any of the above and they wouldn't have broken the bank. Add K Iro, K Weekes, P Alamoti, J Avarillo, reserve graders looking for a start. We'd be top 4 with money in the bank.

 

[TigerSJ]

I love how journos make “maybe up to $900k” become a “$5 million 5 year deal”. I wish my money improved in value like that!!!

 

[BZN]

if we lose Stef who do we replace him with ?

I Dunno, and I don't really give a anymore.
If we pay Stef anywhere near $900,000 it'll be a desperation move and nothing more.
His good games are too few, he's being paid on potential, and his potential may prove to be no better than what he has displayed so far.
Ou team is garbage.
At the start of the year everything seemed positive, so I subscribed to Kayo and took out a club membership.
But quite honestly, I now resent paying $$$ to watch our mob play, it's just plain depressing.
I'll be Very surprised if we win another game this year.
If we can't secure 3 top quality players for next year, Luai is going to be wasted.
Adding 1 player to our team each year, Olam this year and Luai next year, is useless.
And lastly, what happened to the magic Benji was going to bring to our team this year as so far, I haven't seen any of it.

 

[Tim Sheens]

An elite prop who has played 9 games doesn’t avg 96mtrs a game and make 100mtrs 3 games out of the 9. He had a great 3 game spurt then went quite since. You can’t blame the backs on that especially when Pole, Klemmer and others are making meters when he isn’t.

When he is on he is quality but he isn’t on more than he is off atm.

I want him to stay but people saying he is our Haas or elite right now are dreaming. He might get to that level but is far from it atm.

He frustrates me no end with his inconsistency. Crap start to the season before he got angry with the referee and went on a golden run to start demanding a SOO return, then down to only just getting past 50m in a recent match.

WT don't have many points in the backline, so we need our middle to lay a good platform to have any hope.

 

[Tim Sheens]

I Dunno, and I don't really give a anymore.
If we pay Stef anywhere near $900,000 it'll be a desperation move and nothing more.
His good games are too few, he's being paid on potential, and his potential may prove to be no better than what he has displayed so far.
Ou team is garbage.
At the start of the year everything seemed positive, so I subscribed to Kayo and took out a club membership.
But quite honestly, I now resent paying $$$ to watch our mob play, it's just plain depressing.
I'll be Very surprised if we win another game this year.
If we can't secure 3 top quality players for next year, Luai is going to be wasted.
Adding 1 player to our team each year, Olam this year and Luai next year, is useless.
And lastly, what happened to the magic Benji was going to bring to our team this year as so far, I haven't seen any of it.

I understand the frustration BZN, but chin up mate because the current near wholesale change in administration has to be given a little time, as does the new approach from Benji.

 

[BAGNF05]

An elite prop who has played 9 games doesn’t avg 96mtrs a game and make 100mtrs 3 games out of the 9. He had a great 3 game spurt then went quite since. You can’t blame the backs on that especially when Pole, Klemmer and others are making meters when he isn’t.

When he is on he is quality but he isn’t on more than he is off atm.

I want him to stay but people saying he is our Haas or elite right now are dreaming. He might get to that level but is far from it atm.

Momentum is the key. WT don’t build it. The best way to build it, score.

Stef would be a phenomenon at a strong club who know how to build momentum and sustain it.

 

[BAGNF05]

I'm not sure I agree with that argument. We needed a half when everyone said the cupboard was bare and we got a good one from superleague. So did the premiers. The wooden spooners and the premiers both starting halves from Superleague. The Bunnies are getting their own. Newcastle got themselves two very good second rowers. Didn't cost them too much either and that was after they got themselves one of the best wingers in the world. We would have been cheering if we signed any of the above and they wouldn't have broken the bank. Add K Iro, K Weekes, P Alamoti, J Avarillo, reserve graders looking for a start. We'd be top 4 with money in the bank.

We’ve convinced Api and Luai and turuva to leave Penrith. First to worst. Only one way you make that happen $$

Stefano, Jahream and Galvin are all sought after young talents. $$

Ice, AD, Staines. Naden, Bud, Fainus etc. all overpaid.

I like Bateman but he’s not worth the reported money.

We had to buy our way out of last. But it means our cap is very unbalanced and we have shit depth.

 

[TigerSJ]

We do need to keep him so I think we will have to stretch and make our absolute best offer to ward off the competition. Maybe his next contract should be slightly different from his current one - he signs for 5 years but we get to dump him if he doesn’t get us to the finals or he doesn’t play SOO!!!!

 

[stephen]

I don’t think he does…
He doesn’t have the mongrel all the top tier guys have…
A bloke like JFH loves the contest and collision… so does Collins and JWH
Stefano doesn’t have that for mine - and without it, he just won’t get top tier…

Labrador.