Zac Cini

[westies]

I thought he wasn’t supposed to be able to tackle? Did pretty well in defence I thought.

Better game than Kepaoa had in his whole career with us. Hopefully we’ve found our left winger.

He wasn’t . **He was an arm grabber from hell** , coming through . I’d say they’ve done a great job coaching him up, and building up his confidence to engage with his shoulders . That’s a credit to himself and the coaching staff .

“An arm grabber from hell”… that played Australian schools, won an SG Ball premiership and was signed to play NRL.

You’re deluded.

 

[avocadoontoast]

Really good debut and looked at home in first grade.

 

[jadtiger]

Really good debut and looked at home in first grade.

He certainly had a great debut but the longer he plays FG the more opposition coaches will try to break down his game looking for weakness in his game.Hopefully he will continue at the high level he started

 

[Cairnstigers]

Doesn’t seem to be very quick. The only time he got in the clear, the idiot director had to pan the camera to his entourage jumping up and down in the stands.

That's because it's been a very long time that anyone has seen a wests tigers fan cheer let alone a whole section of the stand
It's a mighty rare event

 

[Guest]

Flying mullet man from Minchinbury: Cini an instant cult hero
By Michael Chammas
May 2, 2021 — 7.30pm

At the start of the year, the Wests Tigers offered Zac Cini to Penrith, where they initially found him, in the hope the Panthers would give up Daine Laurie.

It’s safe to say the Tigers didn’t see Cini playing a big part in the club’s future, but on Sunday night – in front of an entourage of close to 100 rowdy friends and family at the southern end of WIN Stadium – the No.24 may have changed a few minds.

The flying mullet man from Minchinbury, a mad Wests Tigers fan, became an instant cult hero, playing with the type of bravado that has been severely lacking from Michael Maguire’s men in 2021.

The 20-year-old scored a try on debut right in front of his posse of supporters in scenes that looked like something out of the English Premier League. It was just reward for his efforts after the bunker had denied him a four-pointer just moments before he officially crossed in the corner in the 46th minute.

“It was great to see his mates there,” Michael Maguire said. “They are always special moments for a young local kid coming through. I thought he really did a good job for us, too. To see his mates in the grandstand go up and down, then him get another one, it was great.

“He works really hard at his game. Bit of a quiet achiever. He knows his footy and grown up dreaming of playing for the club. He’s been doing a great job in the reserve-grade team.”

Heading into Sunday’s game against St George Illawarra, the Tigers had won just one of their first seven games. Cini had been a shining light in reserve grade, with an injury to James Roberts opening the door for him to make his NRL debut.

The product of St Dominic’s College in Penrith, the home of Brad Fittler and Nathan Cleary, Cini was a representative basketball player. He played alongside the likes of Stephen Crichton in Penrith’s national championship-winning side.

Penrith only offered him a $5000 deal to remain at the club in 2019. The Wests Tigers were willing to offer him a development contract worth around $60,000 – a deal that proved too good to refuse.

He is off contract at the end of this season. That may have just changed.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I remember the other day Pom saying he has 1 year extension on the table. Surely now that offer has been upped to two.

 

[Deleted member 3518]

I thought he wasn’t supposed to be able to tackle? Did pretty well in defence I thought.

Better game than Kepaoa had in his whole career with us. Hopefully we’ve found our left winger.

He wasn’t . **He was an arm grabber from hell** , coming through . I’d say they’ve done a great job coaching him up, and building up his confidence to engage with his shoulders . That’s a credit to himself and the coaching staff .


“An arm grabber from hell”… that played Australian schools, won an SG Ball premiership and was signed to play NRL.

You’re deluded.

Lol . No I’m not actually . That’s his scouting report for the last 4 years , like others have said , he did a great job developing and becoming way more comfortable using his shoulder , since COVID and probably way before .

Accolades mean nothing , we are talking about technique . Just because he played at a certain level doesn’t change anything . I’m stoked for him , and I’m really glad he’s looking like becoming the talent he should be , but make no mistake , it wasn’t a given .

 

[Speed2burn]

Funny how everyone here moaned about how 'he can't tackle'

That was my favourite one. I say he looked more promising than anything Roberts has done for us this year

 

[JC99]

I remember the other day Pom saying he has 1 year extension on the table. Surely now that offer has been upped to two.

Add in a few extra dollars too, he looks a keeper and we need good outside backs.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

I think he's worth offering a couple of years to. Continues on the same trajectory over the next 12 months, extend him again before the others come knocking.

 

[hank37w]

The guy knows how to be in the right place at the right time.

Not like that bloke on the other side of the field, hey?

Might be able to give Noffo a few pointers.

Anyway, early days yet and I'm sure it won't be too long before he cops a hiding on here.

 

[hank37w]

Great Debut for this young man… If he is not there next week we clearly have something wrong.

If he got a special exemption to play this week, doesn't mean he can't play if Jimmy is fit next week?

Why wouldn't he be able to play?

"The Tigers needed to get an exemption for Cini from the NRL as the 20 year-old is on a development contract but their outside back options are limited."

I believe those exemptions are week by week. Like how Brooks got an exemption to make his debut, but couldn't plat any further games that year.

I thought that rule only applied if both sides were mathematically out of Top 8 contention or you had no further replacements

They would have just told us to pick MCK and then shift someone to the wing

To be honest I was surprised we got the exemption for him the play this week.

Could we have said we were prepared to pay for Level 2 salary cap breach ????

It isn't really about breeching the cap as he is top 30. The rule is you need an exemption to play if you are not named on the Tuesday. Exemptions can be given but it is usually because a player is out and there is no replacement in the 21 named. We could have easily covered Roberts being out from the 21 players named. The NRL seems to be fairly lenient on this.

Another case of the NRL favouring some clubs. Like bending the rules to allow player loaning last year.
I'm getting sick of it.

Couldn't agree more.

We always seem to be getting the rub of the green.

About time there was a level playing field.

 

[hank37w]

Its off topic but was are still playing way to flat in attack, we looked much better today on the few occasions we played with a little depth.

Yep, and we need to work over defenders rather than shift it one way to shift it back the other. It’s clunky as.

We are not going through the middle enough, but when you look at the 1st 20 today we were not gaining any ground up the middle.

Tamou went off ..
The tide turned

What did he move the moon lol ......

. . . . . . . and the stars apparently.

 

[hank37w]

Awesome footage from his friends and family.
https://twitter.com/truck1984/status/1388757593493950464?s=19

Loved his mates, they're the kind of stripes I like to see instead of that other lame version.

 

[hank37w]

Really good debut and looked at home in first grade.


He certainly had a great debut but the longer he plays FG the more opposition coaches will try to break down his game looking for weakness in his game.Hopefully he will continue at the high level he started

It definitely was a great debut and actually reminded me of what it looked like when Tim Simona first got his break in first grade.

Shame about what he did to ruin his career in the end.

 

[InBenjiWeTrust]

Its off topic but was are still playing way to flat in attack, we looked much better today on the few occasions we played with a little depth.

Yep, and we need to work over defenders rather than shift it one way to shift it back the other. It’s clunky as.

We are not going through the middle enough, but when you look at the 1st 20 today we were not gaining any ground up the middle.

Tamou went off ..
The tide turned

What did he move the moon lol ......

. . . . . . . and the stars apparently.

I was blind, but now I see:blush:

 

[Thaiger]

I thought he wasn’t supposed to be able to tackle? Did pretty well in defence I thought.

Better game than Kepaoa had in his whole career with us. Hopefully we’ve found our left winger.

He wasn’t . **He was an arm grabber from hell** , coming through . I’d say they’ve done a great job coaching him up, and building up his confidence to engage with his shoulders . That’s a credit to himself and the coaching staff .


“An arm grabber from hell”… that played Australian schools, won an SG Ball premiership and was signed to play NRL.

You’re deluded.

Lol . No I’m not actually . That’s his scouting report for the last 4 years , like others have said , he did a great job developing and becoming way more comfortable using his shoulder , since COVID and probably way before .

Accolades mean nothing , we are talking about technique . Just because he played at a certain level doesn’t change anything . I’m stoked for him , and I’m really glad he’s looking like becoming the talent he should be , but make no mistake , it wasn’t a given .

I'm really pleased for Zac. His Cup stats were very good.

If he stays on the wing we might be top heavy in that department which is good if our younger players want to break through. Kei made a successful return in Flegg on Saturday and we have Fitzgibbon and Gebbie in Cup. Incentive is there for all to fight hard for the top grade next year.

 

[mike]

Great Debut for this young man... If he is not there next week we clearly have something wrong.
over 150m in your first game and could of been 2 tries is an excellent effort. Did not seem rattled and happy to put in anywhere just to win.. I still think we need to increase our 1 year extension otter to 2 year as a min as this kid could be out answer for a wing spot moving forward..

This is what gets me about recruitment and retention...we have some very good and classy young players coming up and available...yet they extend Noffa for 4 years after 1 solid outstanding year during covid...

Can you imagine how damn good he would be if he wasn't a ranga ...Turbo MK II

Did you get attacked by a Red King Parrot or something when you were a kid? Or did a red bombshell steal your heart when you where a teenager? Or did you get constantly smashed by rangas when you played?

Which aversion is it? Once identified appropriate therapy can be arranged.

 

[TrueTiger]

Its absolutely marvelous to see a young player given an opportunity to play NRL...Cini did a great job,especially that we were under enormous pressure to start winning games and the odds were against us to win in Wollongong against the Saints..
I can clearly see what Madge is trying to achieve with this squad,he constantly keeps saying that he has faith and belief in this group of players,the winning results will keep coming as long as the players produce good football for the whole 80 mins..
The mix of youth and experience is starting to gel and the older players are helping the younger ones build confidence in their game as well as support them..
Yesterdays win was a great morale booster,many people have had many times criticised some senior players over the seasons for many reasons,however their quality at this level was on display,Mbye gave good service and his defence was great,BJ stood up and we saw why he was reportedly the best centre in the NRL,Tamou ran well and the young guys replacing him played with great intensity.Everytime the young guys did something great the seniors were their to give them support and wraps for plays...
To me Cini will develop into an NRL player as he moves forward within this squad,once again congratulations Zac on a job well done on debut..
Madge is making the right moves for our club to start winning games and heading higher up the ladder,I think he has finally broken the cycle of mediocrity and putting these young guys on the path of glory in the not to distant future....

 

[facepalmer]

Doesn’t seem to be very quick. The only time he got in the clear, the idiot director had to pan the camera to his entourage jumping up and down in the stands.

No he isn't insanely fast but in fairness to him he actually got hurt early in the game and was limping around and he looked to be hobbled when he was running.