Tiger Thompson trumps Lolohea for fullback spot

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@ said:
Im a fan of Lolohea and REALLY want him to make good this year…..BUT.....

Last year he was flat out fat. No other word for it. We heard a lot from him that he wanted to cement a first grade position, reach his potential etc etc etc. Cheap easy words. For mine the first test for Lolohea was to me how he presented himself fitness wise for these trials. Whilst he isnt as fat as last year, he is still not in good condition and for a first grade footballer and professional athlete, that is simply not good enough, ESPECIALLY when you are trying to cement a position in first grade blah blah blah. His fitness screams much louder than his words.

Im really disappointed but he has had it in his own hands.
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If he ain't as fat as last year then he is by definition fitter…
 
Cleary might be thinking of Thompson and Tui sharinf the fullback position like Mini and RTS did a few years ago.
I though Tui looked our most dangerous player late last year, esp in the opposition 20\. I'd hate to see him in reserve grade,
 
@ said:
Cleary might be thinking of Thompson and Tui sharing the fullback position like Mini and RTS did a few years ago.
I though Tui looked our most dangerous player late last year, esp in the opposition 20\. I'd hate to see him in reserve grade,
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Tui i think is our strike weapon, he is the guy who can add a little spark, even if he was a little fat the some of the tries he set up were abnormal but we need that. I would like to see Thompson on the wing and Tui at fullback they can rotate when attacking/defending.
 
@ said:
@ said:
Cleary might be thinking of Thompson and Tui sharing the fullback position like Mini and RTS did a few years ago.
I though Tui looked our most dangerous player late last year, esp in the opposition 20\. I'd hate to see him in reserve grade,

Tui i think is our strike weapon, he is the guy who can add a little spark, even if he was a little fat the some of the tries he set up were abnormal but we need that. I would like to see Thompson on the wing and Tui at fullback they can rotate when attacking/defending.
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Click to expand...

Gives us a goalkicker aswell.
 
@ said:
@ said:
Im a fan of Lolohea and REALLY want him to make good this year…..BUT.....

Last year he was flat out fat. No other word for it. We heard a lot from him that he wanted to cement a first grade position, reach his potential etc etc etc. Cheap easy words. For mine the first test for Lolohea was to me how he presented himself fitness wise for these trials. Whilst he isnt as fat as last year, he is still not in good condition and for a first grade footballer and professional athlete, that is simply not good enough, ESPECIALLY when you are trying to cement a position in first grade blah blah blah. His fitness screams much louder than his words.

Im really disappointed but he has had it in his own hands.

If he ain't as fat as last year then he is by definition fitter…
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Possibly, but still not fit. He is still overweight which to me (and it seems Ivan as well) says that he hasnt put the time in and to me as a massive Tui fan, is very disappointing. Could be a bit like Suli going to Bulldogs, dogs fans are excited but Tigers fans know why he isnt still here, Warriors fans have been saying the same things about Tui.

I really hope he can find the discipline required to not only become a regular first grader but to realise the potential he clearly has.
 
@ said:
@ said:
Cleary might be thinking of Thompson and Tui sharing the fullback position like Mini and RTS did a few years ago.
I though Tui looked our most dangerous player late last year, esp in the opposition 20\. I'd hate to see him in reserve grade,

Tui i think is our strike weapon, he is the guy who can add a little spark, even if he was a little fat the some of the tries he set up were abnormal but we need that. I would like to see Thompson on the wing and Tui at fullback they can rotate when attacking/defending.
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I think this could be the answer
 
This is a problem for the coach .. he now has to put Thompson to fullback which leaves the edges thin on defence , Tui has caused this problem and needs to get the finger out and get fit , I do not see the Tigers beating anyone with the centres and wing that was there on Saturday night.,… it will be try time every time the opposition passes 3 off the ruck this is a real problem
 
How do we know it's his fitness? No one at the club had said that.
If its insider knowledge then how come the insider knowledge didnt have previous knowledge of him being dropped?
 
@ said:
How do we know it's his fitness? No one at the club had said that.
If its insider knowledge then how come the insider knowledge didnt have previous knowledge of him being dropped?
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I dont…just going by what everyone else is saying...dont know what else it could be.
Discipline?
Doubt it.
 
@ said:
@ said:
How do we know it's his fitness? No one at the club had said that.
If its insider knowledge then how come the insider knowledge didnt have previous knowledge of him being dropped?

I dont…just going by what everyone else is saying...dont know what else it could be.
Discipline?
Doubt it.
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Click to expand...

Or maybe it was a deliberate act by Ivan to get Tui to work on the things he wants him too,while checking out Thompson and others in the fg side,just a guess….
 
Wasn't Tui one of the last to come to preseason training because of the world cup, maybe his discipline wasn't that great during those big Tongan parties
 
Isn't very trim, but surely could still be aerobically fit enough and strong enough with his current body shape?

I'm with happy I just assumed it was positional play and decision making, combined with the fact that another guy is ticking all the boxes.

I hope Tui and Thomson are both there and wouldn't mind seeing them switching.
 
From NRL.com

**Tui hasn't shed enough kilos**

The Wests Tigers had every intention of starting the season with Tuimoala Lolohea at fullback, however the Tongan international struggled to meet one of the club's key demands.

Coach Ivan Cleary wanted Lolohea to drop a certain amount of kilograms before the start of the Telstra Premiership, however he's been unable to shed enough weight to meet those requirements and it's expected Corey Thompson will wear the No.1 jersey against the Sydney Roosters in round one next Saturday at ANZ Stadium.

When Lolohea arrived at the club midway through last year he admitted he was carrying far too much weight and started to show glimpses of brilliance towards the end of the season when he had trimmed down somewhat.

The problem for the Tigers, and a host of other clubs for that matter, is that many players ballooned during the World Cup.

Clubs were very frustrated, particularly with Tonga and Samoa, when their players returned to pre-season training way out of shape.

It's a problem Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart had to confront when Joey Leilua, Junior Paulo and Josh Papalii returned from World Cup duties with Samoa looking like they'd been holidaying on a beach for six weeks.

The Rugby League Players Association is well aware of the clubs' frustrations and the impact it is having on players.

The RLPA is looking at ways to work with the second-tier nations to ensure they appease the teams now concerned about releasing players on international duty.

The rugby league workload and balance committee – which features NRL head of football Brian Canavan and RLPA general manager of player relations Clint Newtown – has been discussing ways to mitigate some of the issues that arose during the World Cup.

Lolohea isn't out of favour at the Wests Tigers but Cleary has a set of standards and won't let them drop, even if it weakens his team.
 
@ said:
Wasn't Tui one of the last to come to preseason training because of the world cup, maybe his discipline wasn't that great during those big Tongan parties
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He was the first one of our rep players to come back to training. He came back just before Christmas while everyone else came back after Christmas.
 
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