YesWhether or not Heamasi debuts 2025 we won’t see the best of him until 2026. And he will start 2026. I think I recall reading somewhere he is still attending school 2025, finishing HSC so not sure how that affects his footy next year at the club. But I’m certain he’ll be a starter in 2026 no matter what happens.
Do you have him in the starting side from round 1 2026?
I'm pretty sure Heamasi will get a taste of 1st grade before the end of the season, it seems to be the method Benji uses to blood the kids, give them a taste for a game or two than a whole off-season to prepare for a starting role. Alot will also depend on where we are come on the ladder in the second half of the season and the injuries/form of our centers obviously.
Was looking today at this seasons junior pathways teams announcement of the organisation on the main site …you read about pathways ect but to see how many teams / players/ support staff there are is eye opening. The club certainly has a huge umbrella of personnel under there banner .
Was looking today at this seasons junior pathways teams announcement of the organisation on the main site …you read about pathways ect but to see how many teams / players/ support staff there are is eye opening. The club certainly has a huge umbrella of personnel under there banner .
the compound benefit of this over a 3-5yr horizon is going to be extraordinary. Pascoe took us away from development after the Big4 and we let these pathways rot. We lucked into a good crop and several have been pushed through to guest grade because our roster was diabolical. Imagine the pressure it’s going to apply to the NSW cup and NRL team in a few years when this pyramid is produce 2 or 3 elite juniors a year. It will only be the absolute cream (eg Makasini) that get pushed through as teenagers. We will be turning away very good 20yr olds because there is no room in our top 30 + development squads. The future is so bright.
Big day out at Campbelltown this Saturday. Who, aside from Garry and I, is going?
https://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2025/01/28/team-lists-pathways-week-1/
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@helmesy I’ll be there Joel. Good to watch the pathways & get behind the club initiative.
I went to Campbelltown today and watched the SG Ball Cup (Under 19s) and Harold Matthews Cup (Under 17s) - both games were Balmain V Wests.
I thought there were some real green shoots in the U17s especially. The Magpies dominated the game with impressive performances (in my opinion) from Zephaniah Finau (prop), Siotame Havea Jr (lock), and Thomas Goodfield (fullback). But the standout was the halfback, Curtis Lakeman (one to watch).
For Balmain, I liked the lock Harry Bickhoff and fullback Thomas Aroyan - both could go on to bigger and better.
The U19s was a different proposition with the Tigers looking more disciplined and better drilled, and not surprisingly got the win.
Winger Joseph Partch starred for Balmain, alongside centre Xavier Tauaifaiga (who significantly outshone opposite number Heamasi Makasini), and halfback Marc Tannous controlled the game well with a decent kicking game.
The Magpies had a frustrating afternoon but I thought Byronn Laupepa (second row) was very good.
Just on Makasini - he's physically a step or two above this grade, but consistently looked disinterested and needs to go looking for more work imo.
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Tend to agree with all your comments Joel but will add that the Wests Matts spine were all quite impressive imo, thought the halves got them around the paddock well and kicked well. The Wests boys look a well coached team. In Ball I thought Tigers kept it simple and played with plenty of enthusiasm. I don't think Haywood's calmness and his service at dummy half should be underestimated, no surprise he's captain, seems a smart kind of player. He didn't have many opportunities to test the opposition as it was essentially a grind and he played the patient game, quite impressive to me this kid. Also thought the Tigers fullback Logan Brooks showed a couple of glimpses in the 2nd half why he was picked up from the Cows' system. He should get better too. Makasini I think is a kid who is unselfish, a good and bad thing. He wouldn't have trained much with the SG Ball squad and in particular the combinations with the halves and fullback (who can be quite selfish) were not there as expected. He should've looked to get involved more but it was really up to those who had been training the last 3 months in the key positions to be better. There were a couple of times I thought he should've received the ball with some space but it did not get out to him mainly because the player inside took the wrong option, not unusual given first game and little time together. This was not all that uncommon last year in Matts but that team was so good it tended not to be such an issue, he ended up being player of the season despite having less opportunities than he could've and should've had. And yesterday he was targeted and rushed up on by opposition defenders so he really needs those inside him to create some space, as it was they didn't do that too well yesterday. But full credit to Balmain, they're preparation was obviously very good, you could see in the warm up they were fired up and their coaches were very vocal on the sideline.I went to Campbelltown today and watched the SG Ball Cup (Under 19s) and Harold Matthews Cup (Under 17s) - both games were Balmain V Wests.
I thought there were some real green shoots in the U17s especially. The Magpies dominated the game with impressive performances (in my opinion) from Zephaniah Finau (prop), Siotame Havea Jr (lock), and Thomas Goodfield (fullback). But the standout was the halfback, Curtis Lakeman (one to watch).
For Balmain, I liked the lock Harry Bickhoff and fullback Thomas Aroyan - both could go on to bigger and better.
The U19s was a different proposition with the Tigers looking more disciplined and better drilled, and not surprisingly got the win.
Winger Joseph Partch starred for Balmain, alongside centre Xavier Tauaifaiga (who significantly outshone opposite number Heamasi Makasini), and halfback Marc Tannous controlled the game well with a decent kicking game.
The Magpies had a frustrating afternoon but I thought Byronn Laupepa (second row) was very good.
Just on Makasini - he's physically a step or two above this grade, but consistently looked disinterested and needs to go looking for more work imo.
I also want top add that our club is in a different position to all others as we have 2 teams in both Ball and Matts. If you could combine the very best of both Wests and Balmain into one team then you would most certainly see a very successful team. As it is we still have produced a couple of successful Wests Magpies teams the past few years. Add to this the teams we have in under 18s (Laurie Daley) and under 16s (Andrew Johns), some of whom will play in the Matts and Ball teams as the season progresses, and you have plenty of young talent coming through the system. It'll be very, very interesting to see watch over the next few months.
Tend to agree with all your comments Joel but will add that the Wests Matts spine were all quite impressive imo, thought the halves got them around the paddock well and kicked well. The Wests boys look a well coached team. In Ball I thought Tigers kept it simple and played with plenty of enthusiasm. I don't think Haywood's calmness and his service at dummy half should be underestimated, no surprise he's captain, seems a smart kind of player. He didn't have many opportunities to test the opposition as it was essentially a grind and he played the patient game, quite impressive to me this kid. Also thought the Tigers fullback Logan Brooks showed a couple of glimpses in the 2nd half why he was picked up from the Cows' system. He should get better too. Makasini I think is a kid who is unselfish, a good and bad thing. He wouldn't have trained much with the SG Ball squad and in particular the combinations with the halves and fullback (who can be quite selfish) were not there as expected. He should've looked to get involved more but it was really up to those who had been training the last 3 months in the key positions to be better. There were a couple of times I thought he should've received the ball with some space but it did not get out to him mainly because the player inside took the wrong option, not unusual given first game and little time together. This was not all that uncommon last year in Matts but that team was so good it tended not to be such an issue, he ended up being player of the season despite having less opportunities than he could've and should've had. And yesterday he was targeted and rushed up on by opposition defenders so he really needs those inside him to create some space, as it was they didn't do that too well yesterday. But full credit to Balmain, they're preparation was obviously very good, you could see in the warm up they were fired up and their coaches were very vocal on the sideline.I went to Campbelltown today and watched the SG Ball Cup (Under 19s) and Harold Matthews Cup (Under 17s) - both games were Balmain V Wests.
I thought there were some real green shoots in the U17s especially. The Magpies dominated the game with impressive performances (in my opinion) from Zephaniah Finau (prop), Siotame Havea Jr (lock), and Thomas Goodfield (fullback). But the standout was the halfback, Curtis Lakeman (one to watch).
For Balmain, I liked the lock Harry Bickhoff and fullback Thomas Aroyan - both could go on to bigger and better.
The U19s was a different proposition with the Tigers looking more disciplined and better drilled, and not surprisingly got the win.
Winger Joseph Partch starred for Balmain, alongside centre Xavier Tauaifaiga (who significantly outshone opposite number Heamasi Makasini), and halfback Marc Tannous controlled the game well with a decent kicking game.
The Magpies had a frustrating afternoon but I thought Byronn Laupepa (second row) was very good.
Just on Makasini - he's physically a step or two above this grade, but consistently looked disinterested and needs to go looking for more work imo.
Makasini was let down a few times by the players around him, each time he got the ball 2 or 3 defenders were infront him so he didn't have much room. The halves will need to do a better job of creating space for him, I think he will get that when plays NSW Cup over the coming months. I also thought he created space really well for the winger on the try the Magpies bombed in the second half.
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I also want top add that our club is in a different position to all others as we have 2 teams in both Ball and Matts. If you could combine the very best of both Wests and Balmain into one team then you would most certainly see a very successful team. As it is we still have produced a couple of successful Wests Magpies teams the past few years. Add to this the teams we have in under 18s (Laurie Daley) and under 16s (Andrew Johns), some of whom will play in the Matts and Ball teams as the season progresses, and you have plenty of young talent coming through the system. It'll be very, very interesting to see watch over the next few months.
Yes, was thinking if you combined these sides they’d pretty bloody impressive.
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I also want top add that our club is in a different position to all others as we have 2 teams in both Ball and Matts. If you could combine the very best of both Wests and Balmain into one team then you would most certainly see a very successful team. As it is we still have produced a couple of successful Wests Magpies teams the past few years. Add to this the teams we have in under 18s (Laurie Daley) and under 16s (Andrew Johns), some of whom will play in the Matts and Ball teams as the season progresses, and you have plenty of young talent coming through the system. It'll be very, very interesting to see watch over the next few months.
Yes, was thinking if you combined these sides they’d pretty bloody impressive.
I think the distance is too great with kids that young for it to be a viable option.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
Surely it’s a positive that you can provide twice as many kids with opportunities to develop with elite junior coaching etc. Balmain seems to be the squad they use to accomodate the import kids into the system which also is a great way to add quality to the system without disadvantaging the local kids. It has the potential to be the best junior system in Sydney, potentially the country.
It’s only a disadvantage in that you could probably win more games if combined into one team. In terms of development it’s an advantage in terms of the numbers we can use, a greater pool of talent as Richo often eludes to.Surely it’s a positive that you can provide twice as many kids with opportunities to develop with elite junior coaching etc. Balmain seems to be the squad they use to accomodate the import kids into the system which also is a great way to add quality to the system without disadvantaging the local kids. It has the potential to be the best junior system in Sydney, potentially the country.
Another point about the Wests SG Ball team yesterday. They have quite a few players who have been identified already by the club, Balmain had two or three as well, all with bright futures. The Wests team is made up of approximately 7 or 8 Matts players from last year but not the starting 6, 7 & 9, the Large brothers and Alex Isdale. Jhevon Lele who played half a season of Matts last year after Onitoni was injured is still playing Matts. Those guys were a big part of that team as they had spent two years playing together, one for Ashton Large. So this Wests Ball team has a spine that has not played together.