Tuqiri to be recalled with Utai expected to be axed.

[DJZ]

Lets all pray to the Footy GODS.
AMEN

 

[you_know_who]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/lote-tuqiri-on-track-for-nrl-clash-with-eels-20110815-1ity2.html

 

[Centaur]

Let's hope he can play right through to the grand final…

 

[tigerlogic]

Smoking gun that's my point, he may have played centre back in the day but not NRL, and ya need time there anyway, sheens saved his career by putting him on the wing
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[happy_tiger]

Y do ppl keep suggesting Ryan to the centers, that's a terrible idea and will never happen, he is not a centre, it is the most specialized position as far as decision making in defense goes, regardless of whether he played centers growing up this is the NRL he cannot be in the centers, he also has no ability to put his winger away, he is fantastic at running off a centre who can beat a man eg ayshford, but leave beau on the wing, as I'm certain tim will
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Beau played all his football at centre before sheens got hold of him

x 2 As I mentioned to you last week he came from Saints as a centre

 

[2041]

Utai isn't going to be the back on the bench, and I'll tell you why. The purpose of a back on the bench is largely to make sure we have injury cover. Having Moltzen and McKinnon available does that across the back line - some of these are far from ideal but this is what happens in event of injury at each position:

Full back - McKinnon comes in.
Wing - McKinnon in to full back, Moltzen to centre, Brown to wing.
Centre: McKinnon in to full back, Moltzen to centre.
Five-eighth (oh please god don't let it happen): McKinnon in to full back, Moltzen to half, Lui to 5/8.
Half: McKinnon in to full back, Moltzen to half.

If Moltzen's playing and Utai's on the bench, it's like this:
Full back - Utai in to wing, Ryan to full back.
Wing - Utai in.
Centre - Utai in to wing, Ryan to centre.
Five-eighth - Utai in to wing, Ryan to full back, Moltzen to half, Lui to 5/8\. Or Fulton to 5/8 and get by with two forwards on the bench?
Half: Utai to wing, Ryan to full back, Moltzen to half.

It's difficult to argue that many of that second bunch look like better options than the first, surely?

 

[Peaches]

Utai has been very good off our own line. If he does lose his starting spot, he has to jag a bench spot for sure.

 

[Guest]

Lote Tuqiri on track for NRL clash with Eels
August 15, 2011 - 12:56PM

Dual international Lote Tuqiri is confident he'll make his NRL return from a quadricep injury for surging Wests Tigers against Parramatta at the Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday.

Tuqiri has been out for nearly a month and was put through his paces in a training session at Concord Oval today that included running up the stairs of NSW rugby's former showpiece stadium under the watchful eye of a Tigers conditioner.

Tigers lock Chris Heighington was impressed with Tuqiri during the session.

"I had a chat to him earlier and he reckons he is a chance of playing. He was looking pretty quick out there," Heighington said.

"He'll probably do a bit more tomorrow and we'll see after that."

The Tigers are chasing their sixth consecutive victory and line up against the Eels who have lost their past five games.

Coincidentally, the Eels last victory came against the Tigers when they beat them 22-6 in round 18.

"They are really dangerous, they've got an awesome forward pack and they've obviously got Jarryd Hayne in that team," Heighington said.

"They've been unlucky a fair few times this year, so we're going to have to be on our game on Sunday."

Heighington said the Tigers were high on confidence but weren't about to start taking teams lightly.

"We know how hard it is to win an NRL game and Parra's going to be very hard as well. They gave us a touch up a few weeks back and we'll have to be on our game," he said.

 

[Kul]

Have to agree that Utai off the bench is a good move

He is a strong runner and could add something if used properly

 

[LaT]

In another thread people were asking about a "secret weapon" for the finals, I along with a few others suggested Fifita etc, but honestly I think having Utai on the bench would be a better move at this point. Imagine a 2nd half stint with him running from dummy half or making a kick return from our within our own 20.

The more I think about it, the better it looks.

 

[LARDS]

Heard an interesting tidbit about Utai last night on Talkinsport.
A caller who said he knows Utai said he was fasting which could explain his drop in form of late.
I assume that means he's muslim and fasting for ramadam or something.

 

[Guest]

Tuqiri wants some good luck this time after an injury-riddled season
Chris Barrett
August 16, 2011

Full steam ahead … Lote Tuqiri has battled injury all season. Yesterday, he took on the stairs in a Concord Oval grandstand in a race to be ready for Wests Tigers. The side has won five on the trot, and face Parramatta on Sunday. Photo: Steven Siewert

''
DOCTORS don't ordinarily defer to a higher power in their assessments but in Lote Tuqiri's case there has become little option. ''He has to hope that the lap of the gods is with him,'' Wests Tigers doctor Donald Kuah said.

What the man in the white coat - or in reality, the black and gold polo shirt - is referring to is Tuqiri's return from injury, which is expected to take place against Parramatta on Sunday.

Kuah is not throwing out the textbooks and years of training and experience, but he conceded the veteran winger was in desperate need of some old-fashioned good luck.

The reason? On Tuqiri's previous two forays back into the NRL during an injury-riddled season, he has picked up fresh and unrelated concerns in his very first game back.

First, there was his comeback from an early-season broken arm, which he made against Newcastle at Leichhardt Oval in June. Six minutes into that match he fell awkwardly and picked up an ankle injury that put him out for another month.

Then, after finally shrugging off that fitness drama to make his way back against the Sydney Roosters in Round 20, he broke down again, this time with a torn quad.

It is yet to be determined if Tuqiri has wandered under a ladder or walked on too many cracks this year. But in terms of a medical analysis, he may as well have. ''I think he's just unlucky,'' Kuah said. ''It's not like a groin [injury] into a quad or into a hamstring on the same side. One was an arm, another was an ankle, this one was a quad. They're not closely linked together. They are separate injuries.''

If, as they say, you make your own luck, then it was little wonder Tuqiri was leaving nothing in the bank as he tore across the Concord Oval field and tested out the quad on the steps of the grandstand at the Tigers' training ground yesterday.

He is expected to join the rest of the Tigers squad in training this week and if, as is increasingly likely, he is chosen to return against the Eels at the Sydney Football Stadium, the dual international's presence will be another boost for Tim Sheens's side.

The Tigers have won five games in a row and are gaining traction in their late bid for a top-four spot. Their last loss came on July 8, at the hands of the Eels, their opponents on Sunday. ''I had a chat to him earlier, and he reckons he is a chance of playing. He was looking pretty quick out there,'' Tigers lock Chris Heighington said. ''He'll probably do a bit more tomorrow and we'll see after that.''

If he does return on Sunday, Tuqiri would have every reason to feel uneasy about the prospect of such an unfortunate trend striking him yet again. But he has been around too long, and played at too high a level, to be anxious about such twists of fate, according to Kuah.

''You have to remember that someone like Lote is a seasoned dual international,'' said the Tigers doctor, noting also that centre Chris Lawrence remained on track to return from a hamstring tear in week one of the semi-finals.

''If you were to say this about a rookie or a 21-year-old then I think that would be more of an issue. But as a seasoned dual international I think he'll have that in check. His mind is very strong. I don't think it will play much on Lote's mind at all.

 

[Duffy_P]

In another thread people were asking about a "secret weapon" for the finals, I along with a few others suggested Fifita etc, but honestly I think having Utai on the bench would be a better move at this point. Imagine a 2nd half stint with him running from dummy half or making a kick return from our within our own 20.

The more I think about it, the better it looks.

Until the bombs start raining when we are in defense then he costs us the game. Leave him out, please.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Heard an interesting tidbit about Utai last night on Talkinsport.
A caller who said he knows Utai said he was fasting which could explain his drop in form of late.
I assume that means he's muslim and fasting for ramadam or something.

I'm pretty sure someone mentioned that he was a Muslim when he signed with us.

 

[underdog]

Heard an interesting tidbit about Utai last night on Talkinsport.
A caller who said he knows Utai said he was fasting which could explain his drop in form of late.
I assume that means he's muslim and fasting for ramadam or something.

I'm pretty sure someone mentioned that he was a Muslim when he signed with us.

With the intensity he plays with, no wonder he's been more flat than usual.

He's one tough bugger, thats for sure.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

From the Terrorgraph this morning:

**Lote Tuqiri to sit Eels clash out**

WESTS Tigers coach Tim Sheens is likely to hold injured winger Lote Tuqiri back one more week before he is re-introduced to the club's blistering finals' charge.

Lote Tuqiri looked sharp as he completed a field session at Concord Oval yesterday and did not look impeded by the quadriceps injury which has kept him out since round 20.

And while his teammates seem convinced Tuqiri will be back on deck for Sunday's clash against Parramatta, Sheens last night said he was likely to adopt a more conservative approach with his dual international.

"I've ordered another scan to see where his leg is at, but he's unlikely," Sheens said.

"He's run really well but chances are I'll leave it another week. It was a fairly significant tear, and unless he's 100 per cent, I don't want to risk him tearing it again."

Other than Chris Lawrence and Tuqiri, the Tigers have few casualties as they shoot for a sixth straight victory in the run home to the finals.

Scheduled to play Parramatta, Gold Coast and Cronulla - three teams in a fight for the wooden spoon - there is a real belief the Tigers could sneak into the top four and secure a home final.

But Sheens said three weeks was a long time in the NRL, and he was only focused on the Parramatta clash.

"Had you asked anyone three weeks ago it would have been hard to say how we've gone, and you wouldn't have thought the Dragons have gone how they've gone. Three weeks is a long time in the NRL," Sheens said.

Tuqiri has had a frustrating season with a broken arm in round three and an ankle injury in his round 13 comeback game against Newcastle. But his experience will be a welcome boost out wide for the Tigers when he returns.

Workhorse Chris Heighington said it would be great to have Tuqiri back on the paddock, and "The Great One" lifted confidence levels among his teammates.

Heighington said the one scenario clubs did not want to find themselves in was finishing eighth and travelling to Melbourne to play the Storm.

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I'm happy for him to be rested a further week if it means he will come back at 100%. I cannot fathom how teams rush players back at 75% and then end up losing them for extended periods.

 

[Centaur]

Based on his injury record this year, definitely want to be waiting until he is 100%.

 

[LaT]

In another thread people were asking about a "secret weapon" for the finals, I along with a few others suggested Fifita etc, but honestly I think having Utai on the bench would be a better move at this point. Imagine a 2nd half stint with him running from dummy half or making a kick return from our within our own 20.

The more I think about it, the better it looks.

Until the bombs start raining when we are in defense then he costs us the game. Leave him out, please.

That was a massive concern at first, but he hasn't really been tested or found out under the high ball with any sort of consistency since we signed him.

I think Sheens has covered him well in this regard. I don't see much reason to leave him out of the side based on this reasoning when its something we have managed well over the majority of the season.

 

[Centaur]

In another thread people were asking about a "secret weapon" for the finals, I along with a few others suggested Fifita etc, but honestly I think having Utai on the bench would be a better move at this point. Imagine a 2nd half stint with him running from dummy half or making a kick return from our within our own 20.

The more I think about it, the better it looks.

Until the bombs start raining when we are in defense then he costs us the game. Leave him out, please.

That was a massive concern at first, but he hasn't really been tested or found out under the high ball with any sort of consistency since we signed him.

I think Sheens has covered him well in this regard. I don't see much reason to leave him out of the side based on this reasoning when its something we have managed well over the majority of the season.

He got a decent pepparing from the Panthers. We were lucky he only conceded one try from memory.

Earlier in the year the centre seemed to be dropping back instead to defend the kicks. A similar ploy should continue, because I still think Utai's hit-ups and kick returns are very valuable to the side.

 

[Sabre]

Tuqiri and Lawrence's combination is vital to our team, once we have them both out there our left side will be extremely dangerous in attack