Jacob Loko the prop?

[Ralphie]

Worked out OK for Rueben Wiki!

Tony Williams......

 

[maxta]

You are a good judge of footy players and footy in general Woodsie , but seriously i would be very surprised if Tom will be in the Manly Back row at any stage of his very hopeful long Manly career .

If anything down the track, Tom would be a rangy backrower attacking the edges, but the fullback spot will be his for the entire career.

 

[Nice Beaver]

Tony Williams......

Tony Williams was never a prop.

 

[nightster]

Worked out OK for Rueben Wiki!

Terry Randall, Steve Knight, Beaver, Ron Gibbs, Noel Cleal ... etc etc

 

[Ralphie]

Tony Williams was never a prop.

Yes he did play at prop a couple of times.

 

[Freagle]

Yes he did play at prop a couple of times.

Yes, pretty sure the dogs were using him off the bench as a prop towards the end of his time there.

 

[Nice Beaver]

Yes he did play at prop a couple of times.

Fair enough. He made 4 hitups off the bench for the Dogs.

He's a prop 😉

 

[Woodsie]

Woodsie, Woodsie, Woodsie. If you think Tom will be a forward in 2 years (like you say), I'm happy to have a 5k bet with you. You keen?

In life I have found money changes too many personalities for the worst .... we will both still be here ... and bragging rights are on offer .... you will probably get me with the 2 year window ... but in the pack, end up, he will.

 

[mave]

Tommy can be one of our best ever captains too, either at fullback, prop, or even off the bench, Kurt Gidley style.

 

[manly al]

Fair enough. He made 4 hitups off the bench for the Dogs.

He's a prop 😉

What about the prop position when he played half back.

 

[TimmyQ]

Blakey, Blakey Blakey ..... Love Tom, but he is 8'11" and weighs 400lb, and at 21 is not the most agile fullback at getting to the low balls or reacting to grubbers .....

He already makes half of his runs as hit ups on the edges and middle ....

He has a couple of years to go as one of our best ever backs ... but then he will go on to glory as one of our best ever 2nd rowers ....

By 2020 he will be 9'6" and 500lb.

Yeah completely agree re his issues with ball on the ground..he's a gangly unit and it will always be his Achilles heel, lets face it. If teams start targeting that deficiency successfully a rethink as to where he's best suited will be required. Compare Tom to Tedesco and Slater who are freaks scooping the ball off the deck..literally chalk and cheese. Interesting times ahead!

 

[manly al]

Having a longer reach can also have it"s advantages for a full back in other areas also. Of course time will tell but there would definitely have to be some very convincing reasons to move Tom from full back , in the short term or long term .

 

[pjayz]

In life I have found money changes too many personalities for the worst .... we will both still be here ... and bragging rights are on offer .... you will probably get me with the 2 year window ... but in the pack, end up, he will.

If Tom transitions out of the fullback role at some point it will be to the centres. He is a very similar build to Inglis, yet Inglis never went into the forwards, and that is because he isn't suited to it defensively. I'd suggest Tom would face similar challenges in defensive if he moved into the backrow. He is a different player to his brothers in terms of mindset - very much attack oriented which comes naturally to him, I don't think he has that aggressive defensive mindset.

I'd say we are about 4years away from any move and if it does happen, I'd say the emergence of Albert Hopoate might have a lot to do with it.

 

[Woodsie]

Having a longer reach can also have it"s advantages for a full back in other areas also. Of course time will tell but there would definitely have to be some very convincing reasons to move Tom from full back , in the short term or long term .

The argument may end up being as simple as fitting someone like the new youngest Hoppa into the team somewhere ... what is best for the team ...

I know I will cop flak for this, but in my opinion Ray Brannigan was as good, if not a better fullback than Eadie .... but, where the hell else could you play Wombat, so, to the centres go Ray ....

Who knows what the future holds ... but 2 things I am certain of 1) Tom will be on the park somewhere .... and 2) It will be where it best helps the team.

 

[Woodsie]

If Tom transitions out of the fullback role at some point it will be to the centres. He is a very similar build to Inglis, yet Inglis never went into the forwards, and that is because he isn't suited to it defensively. I'd suggest Tom would face similar challenges in defensive if he moved into the backrow. He is a different player to his brothers in terms of mindset - very much attack oriented which comes naturally to him, I don't think he has that aggressive defensive mindset.

I'd say we are about 4years away from any move and if it does happen, I'd say the emergence of Albert Hopoate might have a lot to do with it.

Agree, centres and 2nd rowers are slowly morphing into the same body shape.

 

[manly al]

Albert Hopoate becoming a top liner in Manly colours was something that i thought could maybe alter the longer term full back situation and again of course it would come down to most suited positions for the benefit of the team . [ but for a range of reasons i would still be inclined to favour Tom ] Also the consideration of some really good back row prospects for Manly such as young Schuster , Ben Trbojevic, and Olka emerging and to ideally fit in to the top squad some time reasonably soon if they are good enough . Woodsie would have had a good insight at the time comparing Wombat Eadie with Ray Brannigan . Brannigan was considered good and versatile enough to be selected as a winger for Australia , good as a centre for Manly , more then capable of also playing full back at any level . I would just add [ and in my opinion ] that had not Eadie been Manly "s full back at the time after Bob Batty ' s retirement , then i guess that it would have been Brannigan

 

[Ben]

If Tom transitions out of the fullback role at some point it will be to the centres. He is a very similar build to Inglis, yet Inglis never went into the forwards, and that is because he isn't suited to it defensively. I'd suggest Tom would face similar challenges in defensive if he moved into the backrow. He is a different player to his brothers in terms of mindset - very much attack oriented which comes naturally to him, I don't think he has that aggressive defensive mindset.

I'd say we are about 4years away from any move and if it does happen, I'd say the emergence of Albert Hopoate might have a lot to do with it.

I see Albert a centre as he gets older. His strong running is his strength and I see it better suited on the flanks. While playing age group footy his talent would be a waste at centre as he needs the involvement to benefit the team. IMO I feel he I'll devolope into a real strike centre. All he wil need is early ball with a little space and he will have a field day.
We are talking 3 years down the track but Tommy is just too valuable to move from full back at that point. His ball playing is rapidly improving and still devolving as a player. He will be one of our greats when he retires

 

[pjayz]

I see Albert a centre as he gets older. His strong running is his strength and I see it better suited on the flanks. While playing age group footy his talent would be a waste at centre as he needs the involvement to benefit the team. IMO I feel he I'll devolope into a real strike centre. All he wil need is early ball with a little space and he will have a field day.
We are talking 3 years down the track but Tommy is just too valuable to move from full back at that point. His ball playing is rapidly improving and still devolving as a player. He will be one of our greats when he retires

I don't doubt it, my point is that if Tom does moves out of fullback it will more than likely be at centre not second row.

As for Albert, I agree he would be a great centre; however, it might be a mistake to constrain him to one spot. He moves effortlessly around the field and has better hands under the high ball, cleaning up kicks etc than Tom.

We are blessed with options provided we can hold on to them both and Joshua Schuster who I think will be the biggest star of all in the backrow (I hope Fulton doesn't keep him in the 6 as that is not his destiny).

 

[eagerbeaver]

Corey Oates is a similar build to Turbo and playing backrow this year i believe, would be interesting to see how he goes..

 

[Ben]

I don't doubt it, my point is that if Tom does moves out of fullback it will more than likely be at centre not second row.

As for Albert, I agree he would be a great centre; however, it might be a mistake to constrain him to one spot. He moves effortlessly around the field and has better hands under the high ball, cleaning up kicks etc than Tom.

We are blessed with options provided we can hold on to them both and Joshua Schuster who I think will be the biggest star of all in the backrow (I hope Fulton doesn't keep him in the 6 as that is not his destiny).

Its a great position the club is in to have such talent within. Its very exciting to see how it pans out!
I agree with Schuster at back row. This could be a little blessing in disguise here. Having him playing a pivot roll now will sharpen some skills he already has. We all know he isn't a 6 but having a back rower with ball playing ability adds another dimension in attack