The guy showed last night that he belongs in the 17 , I have advocated the same all pre season . Marshal has to put it to the kid that the halves are out of the question but there is a spot if you want and that is 13 ! I have been saying this for months at present Twal is 13 please are we serious ! The guy is a good defender has the passing and kick attributes of a half plays direct and has speed I do not really think this is to way off the mark . I suppose the coach has to put this in play and Latu has to realise this short term fix gets him on the field ….we all do things we do not like much to get ahead !
I really want him in the team but can he play 13 from the start?? His ball playing is brilliant but the hard stuff that is required by a middle might be too much. The only way I could see it working is if he takes over Birds role on the bench to start.
I wonder if the solution is that we start with the pack as
lock: twal
2RF1: sam fainu
2RF2: Seyfarth
prop 1: may
hooker: api
prop 2: pole
bench: bird, Latu, hunt, Sione
after 25/30min:
bring on TDs to hooker, latu to 13, Bird to 2RF (and stay here for rest of game) and hunt to prop.
this leave you with Seyfarth, twal (both can play big minutes) as well as Sione on the bench. To come back on in the second half as needed.
TDS just doing his regular thing giving api a break and Latu in the middle playing that hybrid first receiver role that gives us nice shape. This really gives us a lot of strike in attack whilst preserving plenty of size on the bench so that we don’t need to play May and pole for such long minutes
@tigertownsfs Bottom line for me is Latu has to be in the 17 somewhere ..when it comes to playing the top sides attack is the option not trying to defend against these sides with huge forwards . The roster is shot the forwards are not going to be able to compete all season ,May will be shot by mid season and the depth is appalling.
I don't know if TDS needs to be on the bench for every game, Api is not doing as much work as he did last season, the other forwards, esp May are really picking up the load and the wingers are getting us into good field position....we really struggled in that department without Skelton, they kept kicking to Faataape and he ended up with 80 running meters, Skelton would have had 180 running meters, makes a massive difference against a team the size of the Warriors in a close game.
What if Latu and TDS are in the 14 jersey, depending on who we are playing and how busted the side is?
eg if Api has had a few big weeks, then have TDS in the 14.
@tigertownsfs TDS Would have to be in the 17 just saying 👍
sorry yes TDs in Sione out and we use Seyfarth in the prop rotation in H2
Looks like Luai out for the Broncos game so we get to see Latu at 7.
I agree that he should be in or around the team every week, but he or Galvin can't play 13 other than fits and spurts. Asking guys that size to make 40+ tackles in the middle is not gonna work.
Sione is struggling a bit so no issue with dropping him from the bench, but there's going to be some imperfect solutions to the selections for the medium term.
So, what happens when Latu is fit and available for selection?
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
I guess that's when we find out what Galvin meant when he said he only wants to play footy. See how he responds to possibly playing out of position, centre or lock maybe. Wherever the need is. Team first.
I guess that's when we find out what Galvin meant when he said he only wants to play footy. See how he responds to possibly playing out of position, centre or lock maybe. Wherever the need is. Team first.
why should Galvin play out of position if he is the best 6 ?
Latu's time may well be 2026 right now you don't move Galvin to accommodate Latu unless Galvin is playing poorly
if / when Latu is fit what happens to bench
14. Da Silva
15. Royce Hunt
16. Jack Bird
17. Sione Fainu
who misses out ? would think Galvin retains 6
Sione Fainu covers front row second row
Jack Bird covers entire backline and forwards
Da Silva only covers 9
Royce Hunt only front row
I would say no spot for Latu Fainu while we are playing well
Whilst I'm not entirely sold on Galvin playing 6 for the remainder of the season, the way I would handle it is bring Latu back through reserve grade playing 7, give him a clear understanding of the type of role he needs to play. Sooner or later we will lose Api, Lachy or Jerome to injury, suspension or SOO, bring Latu in to cover and if he performs, he cements his position moving forward. We are all assuming Galvin is the best 6 we have, I would argue Jerome is the best 6 we have and Latu is the best 7. The key point is not to force the matter as it may agitate the whole early release discussion where it may work against us getting something in return. Let it happen naturally.I guess that's when we find out what Galvin meant when he said he only wants to play footy. See how he responds to possibly playing out of position, centre or lock maybe. Wherever the need is. Team first.
why should Galvin play out of position if he is the best 6 ?
Latu's time may well be 2026 right now you don't move Galvin to accommodate Latu unless Galvin is playing poorly
if / when Latu is fit what happens to bench
14. Da Silva
15. Royce Hunt
16. Jack Bird
17. Sione Fainu
who misses out ? would think Galvin retains 6
Sione Fainu covers front row second row
Jack Bird covers entire backline and forwards
Da Silva only covers 9
Royce Hunt only front row
I would say no spot for Latu Fainu while we are playing well
@lorenzo totally agree. This is not a dead season. I think team first at the moment means playing with the team that has won us games and that remains Luai Galvin for now. I am also starting to think that maybe Api won’t get extended beyond 2026. I was watching Billy Moore on 360 and he noted that Api played for the Bears as a junior/rep. He was saying he would want some Bears DNA in the 27 squad. I could imagine a 2 year deal for Api to finish that would be too good to refuse. TDS will be ready by 27 to play 80 so I don’t see any to drop him from the bench. He is at present our long term 9 and he is performing well when he comes off the bench. I wouldn’t touch our bench at the moment unless it’s forced via injury or suspension.
