Who's that guy?

T

Toowoomba_Tiger

Well-known member
I was at the game last night and there was plenty of pre game talk from Broncos fans about their young crop of forwards and the like of Haas and Fifita were going to rip shreds off the Tigers.

One bloke even said "who do the Tigers even have in the forwards to match them?"
"They've only got has beens like Farah and Packer".

Obviously a bit of banter and cockiness from him in those words. But got me thinking how some of our blokes have been steadily improving with each game and just getting on with business. Its proving to be ideal that the media and footy fans aren't pumping them up like they do to others players and teams.

I'd heard or read about most of these guys before i had ever seen them play. The likes of:
TPG
HAAS
FIFITA
SU'A
OFAHANGAHUE

Yet a lot of fans of other teams wouldn't know the names or at least be able to put a face to the name of some of our boys, the likes of:
TWAL
ALOIAI
GARNER
MIKAELE
EISENHUTH

I obviously had the last laugh, but twice I heard the same question.
"Who that guy"?

I was tempted to leave it alone each time because I only overheard fans talking amongst themselves and its proving to be best that some of our players aren't well known. For example, the hype around those Broncos forwards has been inflated or they are at least struggling to live up to the expectations. So i was happy to keep it that way, but the loyalty and fondness I have for Tigers players and the fact some of the Broncos fans pre-game weren't exactly humble, i couldn't help myself and had to butt in and let them know exactly who the players are that they were talking about.

For the record the first was Alex Twal and the second Luke Garner.
I also threw in 1 time "so who's that guy playing prop for the Broncos that's dropped it 3 times?"

Whilst some of our young forwards might not be stars or even mentioned in potential representative discussions, some of them are on the right track to become household names amongst all NRL fans, not through hype but through proven consistency and hard work.

Twal is top of the list imo and i think there is something quietly special about Garner.
Watch this space!
 
Brisbane fans are idiots

Was at the 2006 game which we won 20-6 and Broncos members were ripping up their memberships literally around us

(for those who don't remember they still went on and won the premiership )
 
Can’t blame them really. The average fan doesn’t pay close attention to other teams squads if they are unheralded, which you acknowledged they are.
 
Twal is developing great, Garner is going ok, but he had 2 bad misses that let in 2 tries the other night, we can't afford to offer that up each week.
 
Agree. Thing about Garner though, his improvement year-on-year… if he keeps it up, this season and next could be a real breakthrough.

He has Brooks' old problem - front-on defence fine, lateral defence suspect.
 
Good story Toowoomba! And I agree, since Thursday have had mates that follow other teams mention Twal, Garner and Mikaele - basically saying they hadn't noticed them before.
 
The majority of Broncos fans are Queensladers what did you expect..lucky to know their arse from their elbow..
 
Great post TT. Two Manly supporters once asked me, “who was that guy”. It was a very young Wayne Pearce.
 
We have some genuine young forward talent coming through. Twal was exceptional against Brisbane. Aloiai has been great all year. Mikeale shows a tonne of potential and Garner has really lifted his game. We're fortunate to have a coach who is prepared to drop underperforming forwards like Taylor or have one of Packalino coming off the bench. I think we're a hooker away from a really high performance young pack.
 
I have been thinking that perhaps Mikaele is our biggest body in 2019, just in terms of pure size, because the bloke is as wide as a house. I really noticed his size coming on against Broncos who have a bunch of (comparatively) thinner blokes in the backrow.

But then I saw the footage of Mikaele and Huth side-by-side on the bench when the match winner was scored, and Huth is easily as wide as Mikaele and definitely an even more impressive physique; he's half a foot taller so I never noticed so much when he's running around on the paddock.

So first question have they put Huth on a new training regime or has he always looked like that?

Second question, can Huth ever become a real weapon, i.e. work more on his explosiveness? I've always considered him a handy footballer lacking some power - can pass a bit, good motor, tackles really well. But just noticing how much of a unit he really is, not just tall but really broad, I wonder if he can elevate his game with some late footwork, explosive running or developing his offload? Is it possible at this stage in his career, does he have another gear to go up?
 
It's not just the size. Mikaele appears to be explosive. I like the Huth though. It's just that the Huth is more of a grinder than an explosive player.
 
Totally agree with many of our young players coming through. Garner is developing well. Hopefully he will learn from those 2 misses on Thursday night and no doubt Madge is onto it. One bloke that may be a little more profiled than other players but I have picked up that many don't know much of is Matterson. I am very impressed with the grinding work he does during a game. He has already and will continue to be a good buy for us into the future.
 
@Earl said:
It’s not just the size. Mikaele appears to be explosive. I like the Huth though. It’s just that the Huth is more of a grinder than an explosive player.
Click to expand...

Mikaele can appear a lumbering, Groatesque sort of player at times, but he eats up the yards quickly when he gets going with the ball.
 
He has good footwork as well ….the more confidence he gets the better he will be

If I was Brooks or Mbye I'd be hanging around his every carry like a bad smell
 
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