Back 5 with Koula returning ?

[HoldenV8]

Seems at this stage at least that Garrick has made a pretty decent fist at playing in the centres but then the choice between Koula and Talau for the other centre spot .
Tend to think that an opposition backline would be more concerned trying to handle Koula there, and sure that he can get back to a slightly better level in defence
Talau has obviously shown some good touches finishing and safe play on the wing . Defence seems also to rate O K there
.Then trying to accommodate Lehi , Well , there could be more difficult matters to deal with

For all the bagging that Garrick and Saab get for their defence out on our right, statistically speaking they are actually better than Koula and Talau on the left. Its just that most teams have right handed play makers who naturally go to their left, our right, in attack, which means that our right see's a lot more traffic. Yet for all the bagging they cop, our right defends better than our left.

The problem with our backline right now is we have 5 positions and 6 players. One has to miss out and that's likely to be the youngest and least experienced, which is Lehi Hopoate. But can we afford to have him, an outside back, taking up a bench spot??

 

[349]

I know this is a back 5 thread but to be fair Taula has played centre and wing and swapped between and has taken on whatever position he has been given, great that your winger will play centre the next week due to injury. Defence wise Ben Turbo is not great and puts pressure on the outside. Ben is good offensively but gets run around by opposing centres. A Liam Martin in that position and the left side would look great.

 

[broadbeachm]

1 Hoppa
2 Saab
3 Turbo
4 koula
5 Garric
Hoppa takes the bombs and has great defence.

 

[Mal Cochrane]

1 Hoppa
2 Saab
3 Turbo
4 koula
5 Garric
Hoppa takes the bombs and has great defence.

Not yet, but thats a quick back 5 to look forward to!

 

[Technical Coach]

Obviously Tom will be the 1
But who will be 2, 3, 4 and 5
Saab gets a wing
Koula, Garrick likely centres
Talau has been good as any 3/4 the entire season once he got an opportunity
Lehi will be back in 2 weeks as an option also and can see him maybe getting a 14 -17 spot, very classy player and can fill many roles.
Be interesting to see the Manly lineup if all stay healthy by round 25

Tom these days is boring at FB a straight up and down player who lacks footy speed, we have already seen the best of Tom at FB.

Now the above comment seems harsh and way off the mark laughable but it's more about looking beyond the great performances or numbers he has contributed at times and narrowing it down to the footy speed angle. Does Tom offer a point of difference to improve the attack going forward from the back or just reliability and strength.

Sure it is too late in the season for Tom to make a go of centre and obviously he is a better FB than centre, if you go by that placing him back at FB is a no brainer but it is the weak safe decision.

What should of happened is carefully thinking through the way Tom plays as a centre at the start of the season so it offers more flexibility a redefined role with more ballplaying possibilities---- backrowers slipping into line running positions when Tom gets early ball at depth, right now it just looks like a rushed decision to slip Tom into centre without any thought to extract the best out of him.

Koula is bored at centre and being fixed in position, sometimes i sense an attitude of taking the intercept in defence over wanting to put in an effort play, it's not like he can't defend or put the shoulder in either i just feel he wants to put on a big play to break up the boredom.

Watching Koula at FB always excites and adds an X factor, his fast ball carries and change of speed on top of making something out of nothing offers a point of attack Tom doesn't offer. Tom is safe and reliable and sure can add some nice push up the middle plays,attacking bomb chases and the standard link execution plays or composed fast hands but he is readable and can be controlled by the good teams more and more as he ages and slows.

Tom will offer great performances from FB but long term he is a mixed 5/8 centre role. Against teams like the Raiders or GC he will shine and make fans wonder why Manly ever contemplated the move away from FB but moving forward it is the safe option that leads to nothing special.

 

[The Insomniac]

Not yet, but thats a quick back 5 to look forward to!

Loved what Hoppa did today. He was great. Best of the Hoppa clan so far I reckon.

 

[double hoops]

Saab misses next week IMO.

 

[robbiea]

Getting sick of Garrick's constant b1tch face whining.

 

[KaZa]

Hoppa cannot be dropped. I love Koula but his form wasn't great of late before injury. May need to keep as is. Koula in 15 to cover backline.

 

[JBW]

The back 5 we had today is our best....this season.

I've no doubt that Koula has a big future with us, but this year he hasn't been his best. Not a bad guy to have as cover though.

 

[JakeyB789]

Don’t need to overthink it, the way Hopoate is playing he sticks around no matter what

Burbo offers nothing so whoever misses out takes his spot anyway. We’ve lost a back in half our games this year anyway so no harm in keeping one on the bench for safety, rather than having Ben there to spell Lawton poorly anyway. I reckon Seibold has worked this out too to his credit

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Lehi has shown in a very short time he's a star.
So either Talau or Tolu to the bench for a while! Actually Tolu's running game in the middle against tiring forwards could be absolutely devastating. He's strong and tough enough (looks as big as guys like Connor Watson and Dylan Walker anyway.)

 

[PONTIAN SEA EAGLE]

Koulas to quiet the majority of the time he should be getting more involved I wouldn’t change this line up yet.

 

[IQofalimabean]

1 trbojevic
2 Garrick
3 Talau
4 Koula
5 Hopoate
I think thats our best back 5 but not by much because saab is a good winger. Defensively should go ok.

 

[Eagle 1]

1 Hoppa
2 Saab
3 Turbo
4 koula
5 Garric
Hoppa takes the bombs and has great defence.

Tom's cemented in as FB now. It's doing my head in, backline selections, great problem to have at this time of the year. Lets talk about backline positions after the Warriors game.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Saab seems to be taking a lot more hit-ups lately. Quite effective too, unless he doesn't get low enough in which case he can still get held up and pushed backwards. Seems to be an area of his game he's really been working on.

 

[The Royal Soup]

unfortunately it appears apparent that Garrick has a clause in his contract to play center

which is a joke and a disgrace from the club

he needs to be 100% on the wing

out best back 5 would be

1. Tom
2. Saab
3. TT
4. Koula
5. Hoppa

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

If all six are available, maybe Seebs has one on the interchange, probably Hoppa or Talau. But i think his preference is four forwards especially if one is Burbo who can help in the backs in an emergency.

Injuries or even resting someone will sort this out. It is a rare NRL week where all six are available.

 

[Phobia]

I'd run with:

1. Turbo - If anyone still questions him it's ridiculous
2. Saab - Without his speed we don't score two of the tries yesterday.
3. Koula - Hopoate and Talau haven't got the long distance legs on the left. Creates some good PCM's like Hopoate that are underrated by many here. Can't break a tackle though. Need to find a way to put him in space against opposition defences marking him well.
4. Garrick - Many teams would kill for him. Half of his defensive issues are caused by DCE. He is always a running threat and when he makes a tackle he sticks. Can have off days where he gives away a penalty or two, but his goal kicking cannot be replaced by anyone else.
5. Talau - Most consistent back this year. Always makes metres, unlike what Burbo and Parker used to do. Very reliable player, and although Hoppa might have the X-factor, I think dropping Talau would be a mistake.

(Skipping a few)

15. Hopoate - The thing I'm worried about with Hoppa is his mass. He can save a try but I worry about a Brian To'o type winger running straight at him. He has the tackling ability but sometimes not even that can beat Isaac Newton, and some wingers will just carry far too much momentum with them. Get flashbacks to Fermor just shoving Talau and Hoppa with him to the line. You could say the same about Koula, but he's turned Sivo upside down before. Also, long term, I want him to be a fullback rather than a winger. He's here till 2026. He can replace Tom with 25 mins to go if we have a good lead, and get some valuable FB time in the NRL.

18. Burbo - If Talau is our most consistent Burbo is our least. Sometimes he shows great resolve in defence and great speed in attack, other times he's an absolute turnstile. Our defence on the left dropped off when he came on yesterday. He needs a good off-season, he's only 21 though. We need a backrower to fill the Lawton hole.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Early this year Seibold said something about wanting to think outside the box in order to make more use of Koula's talents. Has it worked?

Tolu has had a handful of great moments but much of the time doesn't seem in the game enough. To the point where some have been suggesting plonking him out on the wing (which admittedly hasn't done Lomax any harm).

Or maybe it's as simple as the forwards haven't always done their job?

Either way, would be great to see Tolu regularly carving up when he returns (whether at centre, wing or even some hybrid position)