I'm not going to read too much into the result as we fielded a very young inexperienced side. But in saying that, a big reason for our first half failure was our right side defence and Talau has to shoulder a lot of responsibility for that! It seemed like we simply couldn't recover from such a bad start. So Talau back to State Cup for an extended period. And Seyfarth... he might be the fittest, he might make the effort plays but he is at best a benchie and we are in trouble if he ever makes our run-on side - or maybe even the 17 for that matter.
I do take some positives from it, Stef was great, Pole is living up to expectations while Matamua is going to be a good one and Bula looks a real FB prospect. We looked to have pretty good fitness and there was some good short passing attack/backing up through the middle.
Bring on the next trial.
Putting aside the bad defence, the trial was a good opportunity for the young players to gauge where their development is at. The experience will hopefully give them a good idea on the areas of their game that needs improvement. Bula, Feledy, Hill and Sukkar showed glimpses of real talent.
@barra after such a long time out the best thing for Talau would be to come back in state cup. He’s at the start of his career and not an established first grade so no need to rush and ruin his confidence
Anyone know much about Aitasi James? Everytime I see him play he looks good but doesn't seem to be on the radar. Very good leg speed.
I was impressed by Tumeth, seems to have a real future.
Wakeham is not NRL standard.
I thought Reilly looked ok in patches.
I was shopping him last week, but Kepaoa was impressive. He looks to have bulked up over the off-season and looked much more at home than Tommy T.
Staines is a better winger than fullback.
Bula is one to keep investing in, same with Faagatu and Matamua but all three need more time.
Lastly, Pole and Stefano are guys that are that we can build this club around in next five years +.
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Reilly looked like a centre forced into playing at 6
It's pretty irrelevant. When Stef was on we held our own but the other forwards aren't NRL quality (outside of Pole who belongs in the middle). As for our weakness in the halves, If AD or Brooks go down Laurie has to go there and stick Staines at 1. Wakeham isn't a first grader and never will be.
The probable lineup for round 1 is a totally different team that was out there last night.
Pretty good assessment Avo.
Youre right. Stefano was our best forward and I think he left a bit in the tank. Pole looked to have trimmed down a bit perhaps? Some strong carries from him also. He was more effective through the middle as the game progressed after starting on the edge where he didn't get much ball.
Tony Sukkar in the headgear caught my eye as well actually. He was quite effective for someone SG Ball eligible. Aitasi James looked comfortable out there and showed good footwork and a decent pass.
A player of Tumeth's size has his work cut out to make it at NRL level. There's not to many backrowers under 6'4 these days. I'd put Josh Feledy in the same undersized category.
Sione Fainu was pretty uninspiring. His ceiling is about the same as Alex Seyfarth who was definitely trying to get involved to win himself a new contract. Plenty of effort but just a bit short on talent.
I wouldn't mind seeing some of the stats from the game to verify some of these observations
