Back 5 with Koula returning ?

[The Insomniac]

Koala looked very quick when he came on today I must stay. Admittedly against tired players but impressive non the less.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Bit harsh!
Tolu is great in space but so far at centre he hasn't consistently been able to make space himself. He's always heavily marked due to his great speed.
It hasn't helped that due to Turbo's injuries they haven't played together much, before this year. Now with Turbo back, and Brooks in form, Koula might explode to stardom at any moment!
And he's still only 21!

He might go better without the stuttering skip before hitting the defensive line.

Who knows, if he flipped the skip, he might just find a gap between the defenders and be on his way to the opposition tryline.

At this stage, he looks like the ‘Boy most likely to’ ask for a release from his contract in the next year or two. He is of course a handy player to have on our books.

However right now I don’t think he is a better option in the team ahead of either Talau or Hopoate.

 

[XV-1]

They will rest Talau next match with his slight pec strain.
Koula will play the full match at his normal centre position

 

[Hibyemama]

Bit harsh!
Tolu is great in space but so far at centre he hasn't consistently been able to make space himself. He's always heavily marked due to his great speed.
It hasn't helped that due to Turbo's injuries they haven't played together much, before this year. Now with Turbo back, and Brooks in form, Koula might explode to stardom at any moment!
And he's still only 21!

i guess a bit harsh, but apart from speed, he has very average skills. and a good player needs to create space. i feel Lehi makes more ground (bend the line) against tacklers. Lehi is strong for his size. Every time koula plays fullback, i just pray he dosn't drop the ball from opposition bombs.sure , in open space, he could represent in the Paris olympics. but for us to go anywhere in the semis in september, koula must be left out. he is a weakness.

 

[BirdMan4ever]

Koula on the bench, burbo to Blacktown where he belongs.

 

[DieHardManlyFan]

i guess a bit harsh, but apart from speed, he has very average skills. and a good player needs to create space. i feel Lehi makes more ground (bend the line) against tacklers. Lehi is strong for his size. Every time koula plays fullback, i just pray he dosn't drop the ball from opposition bombs.sure , in open space, he could represent in the Paris olympics. but for us to go anywhere in the semis in september, koula must be left out. he is a weakness.

Tolu does a lot of work off the ball. Our defensive issues stem from DCE’s indecisions. Obviously apart from Jamie, Tolu has been one of the first centres to close out the space. Id say he is one of our best defensive backs. Agree he isn’t our best FB option but he needs to be in the team. Regardless it’s a good issue to have, big change from the likes of Morgan Harper. Go manly

 

[Hibyemama]

Tolu does a lot of work off the ball. Our defensive issues stem from DCE’s indecisions. Obviously apart from Jamie, Tolu has been one of the first centres to close out the space. Id say he is one of our best defensive backs. Agree he isn’t our best FB option but he needs to be in the team. Regardless it’s a good issue to have, big change from the likes of Morgan Harper. Go manly

ive never seen him defend well. I never miss a manly game on kayo. his lateral defence is shocking. people compare him to papenheusen. that is a joke as papa is an elite player.koula lucky to be in 1st grade

 

[Mal Cochrane]

Ive been a little disappointed in Koula, give him open space then he looks the goods, but still recall him being ran down 2 or 3 times which surprised me.

I dont really recall seeing him making busts or getting through a gap that HE made occur via his pace. It seems if the gap is not already there for him to run through, then not much will happen.

Lehi has been a revelation!

 

[Disco]

For mine Tolu is our best centre, surprised people are down on him.

 

[frank stokes]

For mine Tolu is our best centre, surprised people are down on him.

Genuine question @Disco

Do you think he has improveed from last season? I honestly don't think he has but maybe my expectations are too high for him? There is no way I expected to find myself rating Tommy Talau in front of him at the start of the season, yet that is where I find myself...

 

[Disco]

Genuine question @Disco

Do you think he has improveed from last season? I honestly don't think he has but maybe my expectations are too high for him? There is no way I expected to find myself rating Tommy Talau in front of him at the start of the season but that is where I find myself...

No I don't think he has had the best season but I dont rate players purely on their current run of form.

That said, his form this year has been nowhere near bad, he just hasnt exploded like I'd of expected.

Of this back 5 "issue", I dont think it is one, fully fit a player may find themselves on a bench but all teams are rarely fully fit. Maybe this rears its head come 2026 but play on till then.

 

[frank stokes]

No I don't think he has had the best season but I dont rate players purely on their current run of form.

That said, his form this year has been nowhere near bad, he just hasnt exploded like I'd of expected.

Of this back 5 "issue", I dont think it is one, fully fit a player may find themselves on a bench but all teams are rarely fully fit. Maybe this rears its head come 2026 but play on till then.

Yep, totally agree...

 

[Kalvin]

The idea of lehi or tolu on the bench is actually growing on me!

14. Simpkin
15. Brown
16. Bully
17. Tolu/lehi
18. Burbo

 

[double hoops]

Koala looked very quick when he came on today I must stay. Admittedly against tired players but impressive non the less.

Tommy 2 might have actually been injured last week and Koula on the bench coming on at centre was just a no brainer then. But I was actually hoping we might see Koula coming off the bench late, and playing that double pronged speed up the middle play, like papy has played off the bench for the storm on occassion.

In a finals game. A fresh Koula with his level speed off the mark, against tired defenders. He'd becomes a super sub.

 

[rj90]

Saab.
Drop fkn Saab.