Tino Tavana #305

[Lestronge]

Yea, look I agree...

But lets be honest:
Nofo
Tupou
A bunch of no names.
Starford Toa (when he has been on the wing)

All were COMPLETELY HOPELESS in defense on the wing.
Completely Hopeless. Yes we can fault Skelton, but our Center/wing defense has improved out of sight in 2025/2026. Skelton is better then all of the above on wing defense, including To'a.

I can't express how much Turuva and Skelton have upgraded our backline. Had we had a real forward pack in 2025 and not just Terrell May we would have made the 8. I can't express how much upgrading our defense, and particularly our backline defense has helped our team and Skelton is a part of that.

That said, maybe Skelton isn't good enough.. But he is a 7/10 when we have had so many 2/10 defensive wingers.

I don’t see how bad players from a bad era have anything to do with this. The team is good . He isn’t . Others are. It’s that simple

 

[Tigerdazz2]

Tino still down as TBC on the injury list.
Maybe Toa needs to come in or bring Skelton back in for Makasini until the youngster regains his conference.

 

[Tigerdazz2]

I don’t see how bad players from a bad era have anything to do with this. The team is good . He isn’t . Others are. It’s that simple

To be fair, most wingers in the NRL aren't the greatest defenders, it's a position teams put injured players into in defence when down on troops.
Look what our edges did to the Newcastle & Warriors edge defence for example. There are very few good defensive wingers,and not all of the bigger wingers can defend well either, look at Markey Mark at the Chooks compared to say Brian To'o.

 

[lathami]

Haven’t learnt to take out a quality half in a game. They always have a blinder against us. We really need to get a player like Sam or KPP to menace their half all game. That’s where a great coach gets it, and has a plan.
We need to be better in this issue.

 

[twentyforty]

Tino Tavana confirmed to stay with the Wests Tigers through to 2029

The Wests Tigers are thrilled to confirm the extension of Tino Tavana’s contract, keeping the outside back at Concord until at least the end of 2029 NRL season.

www.weststigers.com.au

Would look good in the #1 jersey.

 

[innsaneink]

Yea, look I agree...

But lets be honest:
Nofo
Tupou
A bunch of no names.
Starford Toa (when he has been on the wing)

All were COMPLETELY HOPELESS in defense on the wing.
Completely Hopeless. Yes we can fault Skelton, but our Center/wing defense has improved out of sight in 2025/2026. Skelton is better then all of the above on wing defense, including To'a.

I can't express how much Turuva and Skelton have upgraded our backline. Had we had a real forward pack in 2025 and not just Terrell May we would have made the 8. I can't express how much upgrading our defense, and particularly our backline defense has helped our team and Skelton is a part of that.

That said, maybe Skelton isn't good enough.. But he is a 7/10 when we have had so many 2/10 defensive wingers.

People still arent realising when an edge is stripped for numbers its not solely the wingers fault

 

[Speed2burn]

People still arent realising when an edge is stripped for numbers its not solely the wingers fault

Indecision and lack of trust kills edge defence. A good defensive team everyone will be on the same page and trust their inside man

But I think our biggest issue is we never get numbers right. Attacking teams love gang tackles near the red zone because it means less defenders to worry about and a good playmaker will pick you a part 9 times out of 10. So many times I’ve seen us get burnt out wide this year because we are down a man or two from a previous tackle

 

[Dr_Ice]

People still arent realising when an edge is stripped for numbers its not solely the wingers fault

People regularly blame wingers for coming in and not staying out on their man. In the Roosters game Marky Mark turned towards the sideline to face his opponent and the Knights centre Hunt ran straight around Toia for an easy try.

If it was easy to defend we could all do it.