”Horhay” Tafua

[lsz]

Loyal club servant who has struggled with injuries over the last couple of years...deserves a chance to show what he has been capable in the past.

When threads like this come up I am always surprised that the same posters who are upset about a lack of loyalty in the game are among the first to cut players from the club - loyalty is a two way street from the player and club

 

[mutley]

Average to say the least, poor defensive reads , slower than a wet week when turned laterally in defense, terrible under the high ball. good one on one in attack near the line, was good at taking some of the forwards hit ups deep in our end but a mistake was always near, game has changed and so has the role of a winger. lesser built wingers with speed perform that role just as well if not better aka ado carr etc

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

At his peak , what a player , sadly though in the modern game there’s little room for loyalty ( sorry to those that take offence), and in my opinion shouldn’t have been resigned last time.

Good finisher but terrible under the high ball and this is death these days by a thousand cuts.

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

F

View attachment 10523 He needs to something about his noggin- get a hair cut FFS Jorge. He spends half the game worrying about his hair and making sure his scrunchy doesn’t come off!!

No wonder his drops the pill!

FMD is that Jorge? I thought Tina Turner had been hired as an ambassador for the club to belt out 'Simply the Best' on the sidelines....

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

A lot depends on when those errors occur, Jorge dropping a bomb and giving the opposition another set on our line is far more costly than other errors and occurs far too often. That’s not to say other wingers do not also drop balls.

And that's it. Most of his errors are when we as a team least need them. A dropped ball from a high kick, poor ball security in the ruck mostly on or near our own line. Jorge while not at the top of the list for total errors would be close to a shoe in on the 'coach killer' error list.

 

[eaglebuzz]

If his error rate drops he's a devastating asset to have in the side. His runs early in the set get us on the front foot so often coming out of our own end. In the last few seasons some of our biggest losing streaks have coincided with Jorge's injuries.

 

[Lyonstomenzies]

Im just keen to see him coached by Des. I called him a reserve grader early in his career but was made to eat humble pie over the next few seasons.

Hopefully I’m right, but I think he will surprise a few this season bar injuries.

 

[40 years an eagle]

Fit and under Des and Donny i'm confident he will have a very good season.

 

[Dankseagles]

I’m expecting a pretty good season from Jorge.

He didn’t get a chance under Des as he started first grade in 2012, but I think the last two seasons his injuries have really hampered his game.

Yes he will still have trouble with the high ball and yes he will still drop the occasion pass that he’s meant to catch, but his powerful runs and hits in defence were really missed last year.

If his training photos are anything to go by then he is looking fitter than ever.

Your thoughts???

A tad too slow in my opinion. Can make his 10m coming out of defense but thats about it. But has no doubt been a good servant for Manly over the years.

 

[Stevo]

One of the realities of life is when we look for something ... we can see it everywhere .... just on Jorge's dropped balls etc .... here is a list that took 2 minutes to compile .... I did not look for the worst ... just names we all know ....

ERROR RATES:

Jorge Taufau .. 12 games .. 13 errors ... average 1.08 per game.
Corey Oates .. 23 games .. 25 errors ... average 1.09 per game
Val Holmes .. , 26 games ... 23 errors ... average 0.88 per game
Ado Carr .. 25 games ... 25 errors ... average 1.00 per game
B, French ... 18 games .. 24 errors ... average 1.33 per game
Ferguson ... 27 games ... 34 errors ... average 1.26 per game
Tupou ... 17 games ... 20 errors ... average 1.18 per game ...

It is very clear that Jorges error rate is no higher than the best and certainly better than most wingers .....

This statistic is only worthwhile if you also factor in involvement in the game which you haven't

 

[Woodsie]

This statistic is only worthwhile if you also factor in involvement in the game which you haven't

That is why I only looked up and qouted error rates from wingers .... on the basis that most of them have a similar work rate .... surprisingly, and counter intuitively positions where the involvement is greater there are generally lower error rates than fullbacks and wingers ...ie ..Tom Turbo is 1.5 per game .. DCE 1.0 per game .. Api 1.1 pergame but all others are below 1.0 ...

Would appear to indicate that whilst wingers may have less involvement .... the occasions that they do are more high risk and dangerous .... eg Bomb taking and dodgy passes close to the line .....

 

[manly al]

Jorge started last season really well and looked set for a good season until injury spoiled his season , similar to 2017 . Losing him mid season in 2017 definitely impacted unfavorably on the team then and last year [ and at an earlier stage ] certainly did not help either , , Jorge "s strengths and weaknesses are fairly obvious over time now but really can not see any particular reason why he can not produce some of his best form again if he can just avoid the injury factor. With the uncertainty of how well some of the novice outside backs may shape up next season , would be a definite bonus if Jorge can return to even somewhere close to his previous best form and relatively injury free .

 

[Woodsie]

Not all dropped balls are the same obviously... Comparing error rates is pointless unless it's broken down by when they actually took place eg attack, defence, where on the field, what tackle etc etc.

It does not surprise me that you are unable to see the point .....

 

[rosco]

I am happy for Jorge to be on one wing as he is a great finisher and carries the ball well on kick returns. I think the criticism of him under the high ball is a bit exaggerated. Having said that I would hope that he has 15 minutes taking high balls under pressure at every training session and someone teaches him how to play the ball. His action is unlike just about any other player and can lead to incorrect play the balls and penalties. Injury free he is a first grade winger.

 

[Stevo]

Lets compare Jorge and probably the 2 best wingers in the game.

Corey Oates
- Runs P/G 12.4
- Meters P/G 138.2
- Errors P/G 1.08
- M/Tackles P/G 1.17
- Tries P/G 0.78

Blake Ferguson
- Runs P/G 19.8
- Meters P/G 196.6
- Errors P/G 1.25
- M/Tackles P/G 0.66
- Tries P/G 0.66

Jorge Taufua
- Runs P/G 15.8
- Meters P/G 142.2
- Errors P/G 1.08
- M/Tackles P/G 0.75
- Tries P/G 0.16

Everyone has Jorge as an awesome finisher. 2 Tries from 12 games in 2018 says that isn't the case anymore. He's on par elsewhere but i reckon if someone was able to produce a hot spot map of where errors occur Jorges would all be within his own half and Ferguson and Oates' would be all dropped balls in the corner over the tryline.

 

[Andyvb88]

Jorge played centre and fullback in his junior years, could he be a centre option?

 

[MadMarcus]

Jorge played centre and fullback in his junior years, could he be a centre option?

Centre is one of the hardest positions to defend from. You have to be able to read the game and have anticipation. I don't think Jorge would be up to it.

 

[Chip and Chase]

Centre is one of the hardest positions to defend from. You have to be able to read the game and have anticipation. I don't think Jorge would be up to it.

Plus I've never seen anything from Horhay to suggest he has a passing game of any note, so not sure about his ability to create opportunities for his outside man. I think he is a winger and that's it. In all his years at Manly he has never been given a shot at any other position despite crippling injury tolls to outside backs on more than one occasion. One could argue that filling a wing spot with a rookie is easier than filling centre/wing, yet he has never been moved off the flank, so make of that what you will. Indicates to me that the coaching staff don't see him as any sort of backline utility.

Awesome winger in his prime though, so hoping he can have a full season injury free and really make an impact for us.

 

[Kevinward777]

I thought we really missed him last season when he was injured... major upgrade to Matt Wright and Brad Parker.

 

[manlyfan76]

I've said it before, Jorge is good at catching bombs on the run, it's when he is camped under them he has trouble.

Would Des have the centre and Taufua swap defensively when they are defending the open side on the 5th so that it is the centre who drops back with the fullback?