Wests Tigers V NZ Warriors Trial *Live Thread..

[Tweed_Tiger]

Pity Reynolds tripped over CT when BJ tripped then tried the flick pass otherwise we would of been over under the posts.

 

[plantbasewhopper]

You can argue Noffa made a bad read, but he made up for that with two tries, some strong runs and some good offloads. Plus him and BJ playing together is mouth watering. Got a good taste of it today.

Noffa you know what we will get 1 bad read a game mixed with hard runs, offloads and he can finish.

Issue is his bad reads are all the same panic runs where he misses everything and is almost center a try, where if he held back and gave his defensive line time to slide we stand a better chance

Yeah. But his position in the starting team isn't in doubt.

 

[kiwitiger]

So I missed the game as I was working on my house all weekend.

The thread is a mile long and I don't have time to read through it.

Who were the standouts, and who were off the boil?

How did Walters and Reynolds go?

yup geo and the others did preety good summaries of it


another note...... **the commentators were terrible as per usual in NZ**...and the penalty count was stupid, really stupid

I see this quite often...why were they terrible? they are paid by NZ Sky for an NZ audience. Why do they have to be neutral? I actually kind of like when the bias is against my team.

 

[rustycage]

Much better attack in the second half, Brooks came good when Benji went off, don’t know what to make of that.
BJ is a weapon, we have been looking for a player like him for a while now.
Nofa got two tries, Jennings had some good carries and Cory was solid, one will miss out in round 1.
Our forwards and defence were really good, good signs for the season proper.

I so look forward to the day Marshall is out of this team. He's stifled Brooks ever since his return. Reynolds at 6 is a far better option imo. Good to see the forwards do what they did yesterday. Solid and confident. Nofos defence is never gonna improve obviously, so it wouldn't surprise me if he loses his spot it the not too distant future even given his obvious meter eating and offloading ability. Good on Lawrence for his stint. And Thommo....great work. I hope he can get first crack and make it count.

I said this in 2018, again last year that Benji does stifle Brooks game, and we should not re-sign him, I was lambasted

Certainly wont be a popular opinion but it is one i agree with

It was not meant as an attack on Benji, he has served the club well.
More the fact we have gone all in on Brooks, rightly or wrongly I am not sure, but we need to give him the best chance to succeed, and that is without Benji

I know it is not an attack on Benji but age catches up to everyone and these days most of his zip has gone.I thought at least twice Benji went the wrong way when he had the ball yesterday.That decision making could be very costly this year and is something we can ill afford

That was not aimed at you more for the ones who will come again for me.
I am glad you agree, Brooks can say what he likes, but he is deadset intimidated by Benji, and plays accordingly.
Benji is Benji, he will have a brilliant play followed by a brain fart, add to that he is 35, it is time to look at other options.
If not then we might as well try sell Brooks off and go for a halfback.

Benji has been bog average for years and years. Great guy, terrific player until the year he left us, and rubbish since. He's a club fairytale but the reality is he's not a winner on the field. His record at club level speaks volumes. He's never had a cool head. If running sideways was a measure of success, he'd be an immortal. That's not to take away from his love of the club. Nor the fact that when he was at his best, he was absolutely incredible to watch. Those highlights are extensive and will long live in all of our memories. But those highlights were all from a long time ago.

 

[JD Tiger]

Much better attack in the second half, Brooks came good when Benji went off, don’t know what to make of that.
BJ is a weapon, we have been looking for a player like him for a while now.
Nofa got two tries, Jennings had some good carries and Cory was solid, one will miss out in round 1.
Our forwards and defence were really good, good signs for the season proper.

I so look forward to the day Marshall is out of this team. He's stifled Brooks ever since his return. Reynolds at 6 is a far better option imo. Good to see the forwards do what they did yesterday. Solid and confident. Nofos defence is never gonna improve obviously, so it wouldn't surprise me if he loses his spot it the not too distant future even given his obvious meter eating and offloading ability. Good on Lawrence for his stint. And Thommo....great work. I hope he can get first crack and make it count.

I said this in 2018, again last year that Benji does stifle Brooks game, and we should not re-sign him, I was lambasted

Certainly wont be a popular opinion but it is one i agree with

It was not meant as an attack on Benji, he has served the club well.
More the fact we have gone all in on Brooks, rightly or wrongly I am not sure, but we need to give him the best chance to succeed, and that is without Benji

I know it is not an attack on Benji but age catches up to everyone and these days most of his zip has gone.I thought at least twice Benji went the wrong way when he had the ball yesterday.That decision making could be very costly this year and is something we can ill afford

That was not aimed at you more for the ones who will come again for me.
I am glad you agree, Brooks can say what he likes, but he is deadset intimidated by Benji, and plays accordingly.
Benji is Benji, he will have a brilliant play followed by a brain fart, add to that he is 35, it is time to look at other options.
If not then we might as well try sell Brooks off and go for a halfback.

Benji has been bog average for years and years. Great guy, terrific player until the year he left us, and rubbish since. He's a club fairytale but the reality is he's not a winner on the field. His record at club level speaks volumes. He's never had a cool head. If running sideways was a measure of success, he'd be an immortal. That's not to take away from his love of the club. Nor the fact that when he was at his best, he was absolutely incredible to watch. Those highlights are extensive and will long live in all of our memories. But those highlights were all from a long time ago.

I guess like with Jason Smith at the Raiders, Benji's role has evolved. Doesn't have the speed in his legs anymore, but between the ears he has become very quick, so instead of making a break he can set them up. That's the hope anyway.

 

[yeti]

Much better attack in the second half, Brooks came good when Benji went off, don’t know what to make of that.
BJ is a weapon, we have been looking for a player like him for a while now.
Nofa got two tries, Jennings had some good carries and Cory was solid, one will miss out in round 1.
Our forwards and defence were really good, good signs for the season proper.

I so look forward to the day Marshall is out of this team. He's stifled Brooks ever since his return. Reynolds at 6 is a far better option imo. Good to see the forwards do what they did yesterday. Solid and confident. Nofos defence is never gonna improve obviously, so it wouldn't surprise me if he loses his spot it the not too distant future even given his obvious meter eating and offloading ability. Good on Lawrence for his stint. And Thommo....great work. I hope he can get first crack and make it count.

I said this in 2018, again last year that Benji does stifle Brooks game, and we should not re-sign him, I was lambasted

Certainly wont be a popular opinion but it is one i agree with

It was not meant as an attack on Benji, he has served the club well.
More the fact we have gone all in on Brooks, rightly or wrongly I am not sure, but we need to give him the best chance to succeed, and that is without Benji

I know it is not an attack on Benji but age catches up to everyone and these days most of his zip has gone.I thought at least twice Benji went the wrong way when he had the ball yesterday.That decision making could be very costly this year and is something we can ill afford

That was not aimed at you more for the ones who will come again for me.
I am glad you agree, Brooks can say what he likes, but he is deadset intimidated by Benji, and plays accordingly.
Benji is Benji, he will have a brilliant play followed by a brain fart, add to that he is 35, it is time to look at other options.
If not then we might as well try sell Brooks off and go for a halfback.

Benji has been bog average for years and years. Great guy, terrific player until the year he left us, and rubbish since. He's a club fairytale but the reality is he's not a winner on the field. His record at club level speaks volumes. He's never had a cool head. If running sideways was a measure of success, he'd be an immortal. That's not to take away from his love of the club. Nor the fact that when he was at his best, he was absolutely incredible to watch. Those highlights are extensive and will long live in all of our memories. But those highlights were all from a long time ago.

I don't agree with this. Before he left, I thought he should have been playing reggies, such was his form.
However, last year, I thought he showed he had matured as a player - usually choosing the right options and controlling the game pretty well. Far fewer brain farts and a player I was happy to see in the 6. He kept the younger fellows switched on.
I think it will be more of the same this year.

 

[Demps]

Moses expected to miss 2 to 4 weeks.
According to Fox sports.

 

[Cairnstigers]

Pity Reynolds tripped over CT when BJ tripped then tried the flick pass otherwise we would of been over under the posts.

That sounds like an Oxymoron

 

[Deleted member 3518]

Much better attack in the second half, Brooks came good when Benji went off, don’t know what to make of that.
BJ is a weapon, we have been looking for a player like him for a while now.
Nofa got two tries, Jennings had some good carries and Cory was solid, one will miss out in round 1.
Our forwards and defence were really good, good signs for the season proper.

I so look forward to the day Marshall is out of this team. He's stifled Brooks ever since his return. Reynolds at 6 is a far better option imo. Good to see the forwards do what they did yesterday. Solid and confident. Nofos defence is never gonna improve obviously, so it wouldn't surprise me if he loses his spot it the not too distant future even given his obvious meter eating and offloading ability. Good on Lawrence for his stint. And Thommo....great work. I hope he can get first crack and make it count.

I said this in 2018, again last year that Benji does stifle Brooks game, and we should not re-sign him, I was lambasted

Certainly wont be a popular opinion but it is one i agree with

It was not meant as an attack on Benji, he has served the club well.
More the fact we have gone all in on Brooks, rightly or wrongly I am not sure, but we need to give him the best chance to succeed, and that is without Benji

Are you saying Benji over calls Brooks? Or the first reviewer block play? Because otherwise it's left and right , so they don't really link up .

 

[Madge]

Wests Tigers co-captain Moses Mbye's knee injury looks set to sideline him for round one but pave the way for teammate Josh Reynolds to nail down a bench spot.
Mbye suffered a suspected low-grade medial ligament strain to his right knee during the 20-6 trial win over the New Zealand Warriors.

Because Mbye was knocked out during the same incident, he was unaware his knee was sore until he came from the field.
"Moses is actually going for a scan tonight but he's looking very doubtful for round one,'' Maguire told the Herald. "He had a bit of a knee problem at the start of last year as well.''
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Maguire would not get drawn into the debate about who would replace Mbye at left centre, but Paul Momirovski, a left-centre specialist, looks to have the early jump on new recruit Adam Doueihi.
Because Mbye was expected to spend time at hooker while Billy Walters was given a spell, Maguire will now need to shuffle his bench, including the likely inclusion of Reynolds to play that back-up dummy-half role.

Josh Reynolds in action during the trial win over thje Warriors in Rotorua on Sunday.
Credit:
Getty Images
Doueihi could yet miss out entirely for the Dragons' clash, especially given he arrived at the club late and has spent most of his time training at fullback and five-eighth.
Speaking about Reynolds' effort against the Warriors, Maguire said: "I thought it was an improved performance from the week before, and the things I asked him to work during the week he did which was great.

Maguire added he could not fault the performances of his new recruits, including the Leilua brothers and Doueihi. He was particularly impressed with Leilua and David Nofoaluma's combination on the right edge.
While the Tigers spent the weekend in New Zealand, they also kept a close eye on their round-one opponents the Dragons, or more specifically new fullback Zac Lomax and how he fared a couple of times under the high ball.
Expect Luke Brooks and Benji Marshall to send plenty of aerial traffic to Lomax.
The Warriors are also sweating on skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Agnatius Paasi and Kodi Nikorima, who all suffered minor ankle injuries on Sunday against the Tigers.

 

[Red88_Tiger]

Firstly I like Brooks. But he doesn't have the tenacity to want the ball enough when the game is on the line.
To all those who say benji is impeding him are wrong. Before benji people said farah. He's had games without either and not pushed hard. Next it will be liddle or new 5/8 impeding him. Poor excuse imo

 

[Russell]

Looks like Mbye is injury prone - CC when he returns obviously.

 

[TheDaBoss]

Don't risk mbye

 

[JC99]

Surely you can’t not play Doueihi come round one. Obviously he came to the club late but he looked fine in the trials.

 

[Newtown]

Moses Mbye may miss first three matches of season.
By AAP
4 hours ago

Wests Tigers skipper Moses Mbye is in doubt for round one after suffering a suspected MCL injury in Sunday's trial against the Warriors in New Zealand.

The 26-year-old will go for scans on Tuesday when the team returns to Sydney, where it's expected to be confirmed he will miss up to three weeks, including the season opener against St George Illawarra.

Should Mbye be ruled out it will open the door for Paul Momirovski to slot into the centres after recovering from an ankle injury suffered in last month's NRL Nines.

 

[jadtiger]

Would rather have Momirovski there anyway he can kick goals

 

[avocadoontoast]

Would rather have Momirovski there anyway he can kick goals

Last year he kicked at a lower percentage than Mbye. Mbye’s 2018 kicking percentage was also higher.

 

[Russell]

Would rather have Momirovski there anyway he can kick goals

Last year he kicked at a lower percentage than Mbye. Mbye’s 2018 kicking percentage was also higher.

New year, new stats Avo.

 

[avocadoontoast]

Would rather have Momirovski there anyway he can kick goals

Last year he kicked at a lower percentage than Mbye. Mbye’s 2018 kicking percentage was also higher.

New year, new stats Avo.

I was just merely pointing out that since 2018 Mbye is statistically our best kicker.

 

[weststigers]

Would rather have Momirovski there anyway he can kick goals

Last year he kicked at a lower percentage than Mbye. Mbye’s 2018 kicking percentage was also higher.

New year, new stats Avo.

I was just merely pointing out that since 2018 Mbye is statistically our best kicker.

Actually, Doueihi kicked at 100% last year. He is statistically our best kicker if we are going on last years stats.