Albert Hopoate Jnr

[yokahontas]

If your good enough then your old enough .
Plenty of 18 year old's made their debut not only in the centres but also in the halves and the forwards and never looked back .
Albert is known to bench press more than veteran forward Joel Thompson. Some people must think 18 year old athletes are made like sponge cakes .

Never hold back a champion ,
Good luck son !!!
View attachment 10735

That’s not a photo of Albert, it’s Will, just quietly.

Those shirts with the Reed sponsorship are circa 2011 (and Albert looks more like John anyway).

 

[BOZO]

That’s not a photo of Albert, it’s Will, just quietly.

Those shirts with the Reed sponsorship are circa 2011 (and Albert looks more like John anyway).

Thank you for picking that up . As usual you are always keeping us fellows in line !

 

[maxta]

Hoppa will debut on the wing and has more chance of a centre position than fullback in 2019...unless TT is out.

 

[Bearfax]

There is another possibility regarding the Albert Hopoate/Tom Turbo issue. Tom will know that his chance of playing rep football at fullback is only slight given Tedesco's incumbency. Tom may consider it in his interests to play in the centres for Manly, to learn the subtle skills required in that role, and ensure his position in rep sides is assured as a centre. With that in mind he may even consider either approaching Des with the suggestion of, or being receptive to the idea of, moving from full back to centre in the Manly side, thus opening the door for AHoppa to play full back. Just a thought.

 

[maxta]

There is another possibility regarding the Albert Hopoate/Tom Turbo issue. Tom will know that his chance of playing rep football at fullback is only slight given Tedesco's incumbency. Tom may consider it in his interests to play in the centres for Manly, to learn the subtle skills required in that role, and ensure his position in rep sides is assured as a centre. With that in mind he may even consider either approaching Des with the suggestion of, or being receptive to the idea of, moving from full back to centre in the Manly side, thus opening the door for AHoppa to play full back. Just a thought.

At rep level TT has proven a great centre....could possibly be the best in that position with time....at rep level with quality service or maybe a Manly once evolved into a better attacking unit.
Thing is he only plays there at Rep level as its required, with TT a far better option than Tedesco to fill that centre role.
Playing centre at Manly would certainly do the job, but the attacking options in recent years would have iscolated the effect he has playing both sides of the ruck and on a roving commission which a centre is resigned to 1 side and location on the field, restricting his carries and the thing is, the more TT has the ball, the better for Manly.
If in time, Hoppa and Garrick types step up and become quality NRL players, it would allow far more opportunity for these changes, but Hoppa will earn his spot on the wing as he should and imo, move to centre from there or a fill in with TT on rep duty.

 

[BOZO]

If your good enough then your old enough to jump into any position in the team .
This baby cotton wool ideology of put them on the wing and a prayer is laughable as far as I am concerned

 

[lsz]

Does anyone think that as Des has gotten older he is going to be less conservative as a coach?

 

[maxta]

If your good enough then your old enough to jump into any position in the team .
This baby cotton wool ideology of put them on the wing and a prayer is laughable as far as I am concerned

Maybe he could handle it.....but most coaches will allow even quality outside backs to debut on the wing to "Taste" NRL.
I am 90% confident Des will play it this way Bozo, much as I agree with old enough is good enough, positionally the transition will start from the wing imo...we will find out soon enough.

 

[47MVEagle]

That’s not a photo of Albert, it’s Will, just quietly.

Those shirts with the Reed sponsorship are circa 2011 (and Albert looks more like John anyway).

So:

Will doesn't look like John, doesn't act like John.

Jamal looks like John & acts like John.

Albert looks like John but acts like Will.

Wonder who the next one will look & act like?

 

[Bearfax]

At rep level TT has proven a great centre....could possibly be the best in that position with time....at rep level with quality service or maybe a Manly once evolved into a better attacking unit.
Thing is he only plays there at Rep level as its required, with TT a far better option than Tedesco to fill that centre role.
Playing centre at Manly would certainly do the job, but the attacking options in recent years would have iscolated the effect he has playing both sides of the ruck and on a roving commission which a centre is resigned to 1 side and location on the field, restricting his carries and the thing is, the more TT has the ball, the better for Manly.
If in time, Hoppa and Garrick types step up and become quality NRL players, it would allow far more opportunity for these changes, but Hoppa will earn his spot on the wing as he should and imo, move to centre from there or a fill in with TT on rep duty.

I certainly wasn't identifying a time line regarding such a shift and it may be that Albert needs a year to settle into first grade. Being on the wing wont hurt him. But there is another issue here and that is, does Albert want to play full back. Look he may make an excellent centre in time but like TT he seems to thrive in the custodian position. He is only contracted to the end of this year and if he excels he'll be a target of other clubs. If they assure him of a full back posting and that's what he wants, that may swing his interest away from Manly, just as its done with Will Hopoate and Gutherson. I'm certainly not suggesting this option if TT is not interested, but its an option that may make the Manly backline even more potent, especially if Suli kicks on and we have a couple of speedy wingers like Garrick.

 

[MuzztheEagle]

There is another possibility regarding the Albert Hopoate/Tom Turbo issue. Tom will know that his chance of playing rep football at fullback is only slight given Tedesco's incumbency. Tom may consider it in his interests to play in the centres for Manly, to learn the subtle skills required in that role, and ensure his position in rep sides is assured as a centre. With that in mind he may even consider either approaching Des with the suggestion of, or being receptive to the idea of, moving from full back to centre in the Manly side, thus opening the door for AHoppa to play full back. Just a thought.

If A Hoppa really is as good as expected and without really seeing him play....
One big advantage he has over Tom is his build. Although Tom is a weapon in attack; his height (and lanky arms) have caused him some problems in defense and there have been plenty of times I've wished we had a more nimble/agile defender at the back.

 

[maxta]

I certainly wasn't identifying a time line regarding such a shift and it may be that Albert needs a year to settle into first grade. Being on the wing wont hurt him. But there is another issue here and that is, does Albert want to play full back. Look he may make an excellent centre in time but like TT he seems to thrive in the custodian position. He is only contracted to the end of this year and if he excels he'll be a target of other clubs. If they assure him of a full back posting and that's what he wants, that may swing his interest away from Manly, just as its done with Will Hopoate and Gutherson. I'm certainly not suggesting this option if TT is not interested, but its an option that may make the Manly backline even more potent, especially if Suli kicks on and we have a couple of speedy wingers like Garrick.

Nice post mate - once you clarify the time line I agree 100% with the rest.....in fact, in TT and an unproven Hoppa, I think we have 2 of the brightest long term backline stars in the game.

 

[Adz]

If your good enough then your old enough to jump into any position in the team .
This baby cotton wool ideology of put them on the wing and a prayer is laughable as far as I am concerned

Lucky for all of us as feathered friends that Des probably is not too concerned about your concerns....

 

[Adz]

Des is FAR better placed to be choosing the right players in the right positions from the squad we have than we are.
I'm confident he will do it right, right from the get go, with respect for the future.

Barrett was probably far better placed to make those decisions than all of us including you,but everyone was happy to think that they were more more informed....a game has yet to be played,why are you so confident in a guy who got the bumrush from a joke of a club like the Bulldogs?

 

[BOZO]

Lucky for all of us as feathered friends that Des probably is not too concerned about your concerns....

Thank you for your feed back and adding to our forum . Keep up the great work feathered friend !!!

 

[BOZO]

Barrett was probably far better placed to make those decisions than all of us including you,but everyone was happy to think that they were more more informed....a game has yet to be played,why are you so confident in a guy who got the bumrush from a joke of a club like the Bulldogs?

You sound like a Barrett fan . Enjoy his illustrious head coaching career feathered friend

 

[eaglebuzz]

You sound like a Barrett fan . Enjoy his illustrious head coaching career feathered friend

I think he IS Barrett...

 

[Kevinward777]

Barrett was probably far better placed to make those decisions than all of us including you,but everyone was happy to think that they were more more informed....a game has yet to be played,why are you so confident in a guy who got the bumrush from a joke of a club like the Bulldogs?

Because he is a five time grand finalist as a coach... two of those were at the Bulldogs... Trent on the other hand. Still, Trent is a much better coach/player than I will ever be, and I hope he finds himself something to do in three months. I’m just really grateful that it isn’t going to be at our great club.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

You sound like a Barrett fan . Enjoy his illustrious head coaching career feathered friend

Barrett was probably far better placed to make those decisions than all of us including you,but everyone was happy to think that they were more more informed....a game has yet to be played,why are you so confident in a guy who got the bumrush from a joke of a club like the Bulldogs?

Not withstanding being in a better position to make decisions Barrett made many bad ones and killed off two promising careers in 2018 that of Hastings and Tom Wright. He gets no allocates from me and I am one of of those who considered his decision making, comments to the media, tactics and selections inept. It appears that no other NRL club rates him enough to sign him up in any coaching capacity notwithstanding his availability and the NRL coaching vacancies that existed this year. Strangely no interest from Gould.?

 

[40 years an eagle]

It appears that no other NRL club rates him enough to sign him up in any coaching capacity notwithstanding his availability and the NRL coaching vacancies that existed this year. Strangely no interest from Gould.?

Maybe Barrett WANTS to sit out his 600k/year contract and his manager is shielding any offers that are lower.

It does appear nobody wants him as a FG head coach. 600k is too big for an assistant or reggies gig so maybe he plans on taking up one of those for less money after he finishes sucking every last cent he can from us.

Just a possibility and I agree with everything you said..