Fullback - Koula,Weekes or Garrick

[The Who]

There is another left field option...
Jake Toby.
He scored four tries from fullback a few weeks ago when playing for the Workers. He's a converted halfback, and has speed, a good kicking game and looks like he can tackle. He's built like Billy Slater, and is one of few few shining lights in our reserve grade team.

 

[Bearfax]

Koula would be outstanding at full back. Garrett has improved in that position each game he plays there. But its the team we need to look at. Move Koula from centre and what have we got to replace him. Garrett is an outstanding winger.and without him there who do we have to replace him. For that reason having Weekes at full back ensures the strongest combination for the side. Koula is our main strike centre. Garrett our main strike winger. Taking them out of their main position to fill another that can probably be effectively filled by a young player who has shown he has the talent, seems counter productive to me.

 

[madmax]

Have both Koula & Weekes regularly played fullback in the lower grades?

YES!!!!

 

[WiseyEagle]

Koula would be outstanding at full back. Garrett has improved in that position each game he plays there. But its the team we need to look at. Move Koula from centre and what have we got to replace him. Garrett is an outstanding winger.and without him there who do we have to replace him. For that reason having Weekes at full back ensures the strongest combination for the side. Koula is our main strike centre. Garrett our main strike winger. Taking them out of their main position to fill another that can probably be effectively filled by a young player who has shown he has the talent, seems counter productive to me.

Garrick - plays for Manly

Garrett - plays in a band and failed in politics

 

[Dion Johnson]

we won’t win the comp with an inexperienced 19 year who up to this point, has only played centre in FG. It’s not fair to do it to a kid and potentially shatter his confidence going forward.

It would certainly be exciting to see what Koula could offer but if coaches made decisions on what would be exciting, it wouldn’t get them very far.

There’s more Blake Taffe in Garrick than there is in Koula and Souths made it to the GF with a solid, no nonsense fullback with little errors and a high work rate. That is going to get us further than some exciting kick returns mixed in with a smattering of errors and positional miscalculations.

That’s just my two cents worth...understand where others are coming from though.

There is the flip side of it also, Rhys Walsh he grew with confidence at the Warriors last season.

I get your point with Garrick, though when Turbo went down earlier this season Koula was named in the one only not to play due to injury.

 

[mosto]

Garrick will be fullback, and deservedly so. He was more than competent only a few weeks ago. He’s no Turbo but, ‘News Flash’, no one is. I still think we make top 8, see what happens fro there.

 

[KNUCKLES]

Garrick - plays for Manly

Garrett - plays in a band and failed in politics

Someone is on the midnight oil

 

[HK_Eagle]

we won’t win the comp with an inexperienced 19 year who up to this point, has only played centre in FG. It’s not fair to do it to a kid and potentially shatter his confidence going forward.

It would certainly be exciting to see what Koula could offer but if coaches made decisions on what would be exciting, it wouldn’t get them very far.

There’s more Blake Taffe in Garrick than there is in Koula and Souths made it to the GF with a solid, no nonsense fullback with little errors and a high work rate. That is going to get us further than some exciting kick returns mixed in with a smattering of errors and positional miscalculations.

That’s just my two cents worth...understand where others are coming from though.

Yeah, nah… respect your respectful opinion, but I honestly don’t see us being any realistic chance this year so would much prefer we move ahead giving invaluable experience to young guys in their right positions.

 

[HK_Eagle]

So many are happy to just play our best team for the sake of face… really? How about playing the positions that will potentially grow and serve us in the future. Let the young kids come on and struggle/learn. Why put out players in positions to play safe just because you wanna finish 6th on the ladder instead of falling out the top 8.

 

[R3]

Weekes or Koula, I don’t mind. Weekes makes the most sense in terms of keeping the rest of our backline positions un-changed.
Gaz had his best games at FB earlier this year but, he’s still a better winger and goal kicker when he plays on the wing.

Give Weekes or Koula a chance to prove themselves.
Turbo and Snake got their first shot at Fullback due to injuries...
C’mon Des! What happened to the ‘Mad Scientist’? These days he’s the Mad Hatter

 

[IQofalimabean]

Garricks a great finisher on the wing moving him to fullback kind of stuffs up our attack.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

So many are happy to just play our best team for the sake of face… really? How about playing the positions that will potentially grow and serve us in the future. Let the young kids come on and struggle/learn. Why put out players in positions to play safe just because you wanna finish 6th on the ladder instead of falling out the top 8.

You answered your own question.
Play "the young kids" who will "potentially" grow and serve us in the future, meaning maybe they will but maybe they won't!
It's hard to make it in NRL, let alone become a top-line player. Can't believe how many people have a blind spot in their memory bank about all the promising young talent that never actually blossomed. Bainbridge? Groom? Albert Hoppa? Funa?
Play our best team every week, surely that is a no-brainer? Weekes will get a chance before long, provided our coaching staff consider he's ready. He's clearly a talent.

 

[Cliffy's Ciggy]

Until we have better options at 3 & 4, it has to be Garrick. Once Saab, Ben Turbo and Parker are back, re-assess our position on the table and then decide if Koula or Weekes are worth a punt for the rest of the year.

To be contenders in 2023; we need Koula to be a dangerous centre who fills in at fullback so well that other clubs will chase him as a fullback next contract.

 

[The Indian]

I would put Koula there or Weekes. Reuben would do a decent job no knock on him. But he's also such a good winger why move him.

My only concern with playing Koula fullback is if he plays well he starts getting offers of "fullback money" and we are under pressure to keep him ( yes I know he is contracted but the managers don't care about that and will happily agitate ).

So I reckon Des will put Garrick to fullback and keep Koula under wraps a bit longer.

 

[40 nil]

Can't believe how many people have a blind spot in their memory bank about all the promising young talent that never actually blossomed.
Bainbridge? Groom? Albert Hoppa? Funa?

I think Albert & Tevita were badly handled. Albert's NRL debut against the Storm was his first game in 2 years after returning from ACL surgery. I don't think Funa was ever selected in his best position as centre (maybe once?). He left due to lack of opportunities at Manly.

In the last few years, we've debuted four nineteen year olds who have all been successful in the NRL - Fainu, Olakau'atu, Schuster & Koula. Hopefully, Weekes is the next one to follow in their footsteps.

Edit: Weekes has been 18th man a couple of times, so he must be in Des's thinking. Let's see if he is selected tomorrow.

 

[The Indian]

You answered your own question.
Play "the young kids" who will "potentially" grow and serve us in the future, meaning maybe they will but maybe they won't!
It's hard to make it in NRL, let alone become a top-line player. Can't believe how many people have a blind spot in their memory bank about all the promising young talent that never actually blossomed. Bainbridge? Groom? Albert Hoppa? Funa?
Play our best team every week, surely that is a no-brainer? Weekes will get a chance before long, provided our coaching staff consider he's ready. He's clearly a talent.

Take your point but I've never been a believer in any sport that if you throw someone in early and they don't blitz it it somehow ruins them ( mentally) . Lots of promising juniors just never make it with the big boys that's just sport. Whether or not you treat them with kid gloves or not, that's the unknowns of sport. If the player is good enough a few early mental setbacks shouldnt scar them for life. If it does scar them then maybe they don't have "it " anyway.

Injuries however for a youngster who isn't physically up to it yet may be a different story. Especially in league for knees and shoulders etc.