Not if he is paired with Wakeham as the only recognised half.
Essentially let's teams target Wakeham who quickly goes to water.
Need another half with Wakeham - opened to giving Laurie another crack - or else make Joffas top 30 spot count and parachute in a half
Laurie isn't a half and Smith isn't first grade standard in any position.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
@jedi-tiger brooks looked our most dangerous before his injury . Every time we got momentum we lost the ball, and I’m not being funny but usually it was Talau or wakeham . They were both horrendous tonight .
@jedi-tiger brooks looked our most dangerous before his injury . Every time we got momentum we lost the ball, and I’m not being funny but usually it was Talau or wakeham . They were both horrendous tonight .
Thought Brooks and Bula were our best last night.
Ropable.....I am so angry with that performance. Just when we were building.
When things got tough, Wakeham really stood up and stamped his authority......as a rank average reserve grade halfback. I'd be very happy to never see Tommy Talau or Shaun Blore ever play for Wests Tigers again. Would rather Seyfarth.. Forwards went missing for the first time this year with the exception of Bateman.
Thought Brooks was good before he got hurt. Bula went well, Noffa made errors in defence but put in a massive effort as did Tupou. Toa tried.
We went away from what has worked for us all year. We just stopped going up the middle in attack and on Tino's try Simpkin was the only defender in the middle. Papalii was sucking in seagulls early and never got in position in defence.
I am filthy with Sheens. We are not going well enough to start fiddling with what was very slowly starting to work. Moving Bateman from the edge, swapping Papalii left to right.
What happened to Api & Brooks is unbelieveably unlucky and we are going to seriously struggle without them but stupidity had set in before that. Cant put my feelings into words.
I think I felt the opposite re sheens. Most of us (and I am certainly guilty) have been screaming for blore over seyfarth and wondering what sheens was thinking. Last night showed why most of us were wrong.
I assume the ipap switch was to cater for blores inclusion and he’ll go back next week. I’m willing to go with Bateman at lock for another week though.
They spent too much time at the beach and having a mini holiday. WT soft underbelly again exposed - Titans started with more hunger and energy, got on top and we capitulated. Rinse and repeat season after season.
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I think I felt the opposite re sheens. Most of us (and I am certainly guilty) have been screaming for blore over seyfarth and wondering what sheens was thinking. Last night showed why most of us were wrong.
you are of course 100% correct and I was one screaming for Blore over Seyfarth.....damn Sheens for doing what I wanted! Hopefully he saw what we all saw last night. I dont want Blore anywhere near first grade. Would rather Seyfarth who is severely limited and doesnt have Blores natural athleticism but he at least has a go and is prepared to get dirty. Personally I'd like to see what James can do, in a simple replacement prop role. I thought we looked lost when Klem & Stef went off and Pole is great but doesnt have the experience to carry it by himself yet.
Really depressing stuff, and that's before we consider the injuries, which will cripple us for a couple of months.
The attitude was terrible from the opening tackle, and the usual issues keep coming back week after week.
We have some good players, but the roster in general is very poorly put together.
Really depressing stuff, and that's before we consider the injuries, which will cripple us for a couple of months.
The attitude was terrible from the opening tackle, and the usual issues keep coming back week after week.
We have some good players, but the roster in general is very poorly put together.
I disagree to a large extent (leaving aside the injuries). This team has been consistent, even in the games we have lost this year. Particularly our pack has been dominant pretty much all year. IMO this side has been gelling really well and building on each little success. That team that pumped NQ and then fought back hard against a tough and well drilled Raiders team is OUR team and the team we build from. That is why I am so dirty on Sheens mixing up Blore, Paps, bateman etc because IMO we were consistent and building but I knew we would be fragile and you need to build that toughness and resilience in slowly and there was always a step back coming.
Last night sucked. Was never going to be our night. There was a sense from the kick off we were off. Api and Brooks being out means our season is 100% over, will be lucky to win any games from here.
Some thoughts from last night.
Bula and Brooks were both very good. Brooks was trying to get the team going but they weren't responding. Bula is a total superstar.
Bateman is a lot more valuable to us on an edge than in the middle.
Wakeham makes Jackson Hastings look like Usain Bolt. Never seen anyone move slower. Also one of the worst games i've seen from a player. Replays of the game should be after 10pm so kids don't have to watch.
Talau is awful. How he was there over Naden beggars belief. He should have been hooked and Kepaoa should have been brought on.
I hope Da Silva is good because Simpkin is not.
Blore is and never will be a first grader. He's got absolutely nothing. If anyone will take him get rid of him.
I was in favour of Joffa going but in hindsight it was disastrous. Seyfarth is bad, Blore is worse. We have weakened our pack and it appears there was never a plan to replace him.
I was in favour of Joffa going but in hindsight it was disastrous. Seyfarth is bad, Blore is worse. We have weakened our pack and it appears there was never a plan to replace him.
I’m in this boat as well. I assumed we had something lined up to replace him (I was even guessing a half. But no we just move players on for no reason. This club is ridiculous, rudderless on and off the field
Really depressing stuff, and that's before we consider the injuries, which will cripple us for a couple of months.
The attitude was terrible from the opening tackle, and the usual issues keep coming back week after week.
We have some good players, but the roster in general is very poorly put together.
I disagree to a large extent (leaving aside the injuries). This team has been consistent, even in the games we have lost this year. Particularly our pack has been dominant pretty much all year. IMO this side has been gelling really well and building on each little success. That team that pumped NQ and then fought back hard against a tough and well drilled Raiders team is OUR team and the team we build from. That is why I am so dirty on Sheens mixing up Blore, Paps, bateman etc because IMO we were consistent and building but I knew we would be fragile and you need to build that toughness and resilience in slowly and there was always a step back coming.
I don't think we're too far apart on this tbh.
The issues I was referring to were the weak kicking game and lack of organisation in the halves, and not defending our errors. We have definitely improved over the last 5 weeks or so, but those issues have remained even in the better performances.
You're right though, the team has been consistent in certain aspects all season, and especially over the last 5 weeks.
But last night the attitude/mentality was off for whatever reason, so everything was exacerbated further. Throw in the spine injuries, and we've gone from a little bit of optimism to wistfully wondering when the next win will come from.
