Kaeo Weekes

[eaglebuzz]

With regards to Weekes, we have signed Brooks, Cooper Johns and Arthur which has amounted to nothing. Had we kept Weekes , it would have cost the club nothing and we could have bought a decent Forward.

This logic simply does not work anymore.

Players know what they are worth and they will go where they can get it, even if it means stirring up s**t behind the scenes to agitate for an early release from their contract.

You may, if you are very lucky, get to keep a player on unders for a year, or two max, if they are performing at a higher level than their current pay packet.

 

[JakeyB789]

Always have loved Weekes as a player but it’s pretty obvious he beats up on the bottom teams & goes missing against the elite. Same type of player as Matt Dufty was. The good teams purposely target him because he is error prone & has bad defence but no one ever seems to mention those games on here.

The Raiders are 3 wins ahead of everyone else and have beaten the Warriors twice, Broncos, Dolphins, Roosters, and Melbourne in a game where Weekes scored the try to send it to golden point. Sure he has a mistake or two in him like every young player (see Hoppa last week) but I’d say he’s doing pretty well and seems to be improving every week for the team on top of the table.

Letting him go was one of many short sighted decisions we’ve made in recent years but I would say he might not be developing at the rate now without the coaching and patience of Ricky. Playing with a 7 that takes it to the line and frees up space for him also helps ironically. But hey we got Brooks on 700k so who’s the real winner?

 

[Nordburg]

Why is Brooks even mentioned in this topic? It’s obvious that Weekes’ best position is FB and I’m very confident that he wouldn’t be the same player at the moment if he was playing 5/8 or at Manly.He’s not in the TomT class,yet,so he was never taking his spot and Lehi has shown enough to warrant being next in line,or as the current situation suggests,incumbent.The Brooks comparison is ridiculous

 

[Rafferty]

Why is Brooks even mentioned in this topic? It’s obvious that Weekes’ best position is FB and I’m very confident that he wouldn’t be the same player at the moment if he was playing 5/8 or at Manly.He’s not in the TomT class,yet,so he was never taking his spot and Lehi has shown enough to warrant being next in line,or as the current situation suggests,incumbent.The Brooks comparison is ridiculous

I don’t think it’s about a Brooks comparison, just about the fact we popped 700k a year on Brooksie over 4 years v what it would of cost to retain Kaeo and how we could better of used the funds to build a side that included keeping Kaeo.

Further I think it’s about the club and how we manage our roster, retention and nurturing of the limited junior talent we have, or should I say had, therein lies one of the main issues, maybe that helps, maybe it doesn’t, I don’t think it’s about comparing Kaeo with Brooks to be honest.

 

[Nordburg]

I don’t think it’s about a Brooke’s comparison, just about the fact we popped 700k a year on Brooke’s over 4 years v what it would of cost to retain Kaeo and how we could better of used the funds to build a side that included keeping Kaeo.

Further I think it’s about the club and how we manage our roster, retention and nurturing of the limited junior talent we have, or should I say had, therein lies one of the main issues, maybe that helps, maybe it doesn’t, I don’t think it’s about comparing Kaeo with Brooke’s to be honest.

$700K is not a lot for a good 5/8.He hasn’t missed a game since he’s been at Manly and he’s unfairly targeted for criticism.I think he’s been a very solid contributor to the team and the poor performances are not solely on him.He wasn’t bought to be the general.Yes I agree the clubs roster retention/management has been poor,but it would of been unfair on Weekes to play him out of position and not allow him to flourish at FB at the Raiders under Ricky’s coaching.Sure as hell wasn’t going to get that confidence under the rabble Manly currently possess

 

[Ohgeez]

With regards to Weekes, we have signed Brooks, Cooper Johns and Arthur which has amounted to nothing. Had we kept Weekes , it would have cost the club nothing and we could have bought a decent Forward.

Cooper Johns & Arthur were both minimum wage guys, signing them didn’t restrict the cap at all. As for Brooks he is a way better 5/8 than Weekes will ever be. Carved up the dragons & now people are acting like we lost the next Cleary 🤣

The Raiders are 3 wins ahead of everyone else and have beaten the Warriors twice, Broncos, Dolphins, Roosters, and Melbourne in a game where Weekes scored the try to send it to golden point. Sure he has a mistake or two in him like every young player (see Hoppa last week) but I’d say he’s doing pretty well and seems to be improving every week for the team on top of the table.

Letting him go was one of many short sighted decisions we’ve made in recent years but I would say he might not be developing at the rate now without the coaching and patience of Ricky. Playing with a 7 that takes it to the line and frees up space for him also helps ironically. But hey we got Brooks on 700k so who’s the real winner?

You think Weekes was ever going to extend? With Turbo being number 1 & Hoppa coming through he clearly wasn’t. Wether we released him 12 months early or not doesn’t really matter, he was always leaving when his contract expired just like Humphreys who was stuck behind DCE.

 

[Rafferty]

$700K is not a lot for a good 5/8.He hasn’t missed a game since he’s been at Manly and he’s unfairly targeted for criticism.I think he’s been a very solid contributor to the team and the poor performances are not solely on him.He wasn’t bought to be the general.Yes I agree the clubs roster retention/management has been poor,but it would of been unfair on Weekes to play him out of position and not allow him to flourish at FB at the Raiders under Ricky’s coaching.Sure as hell wasn’t going to get that confidence under the rabble Manly currently possess

I don’t disagree with any of that. I also don’t believe I’ve ever loaded up on Brook’s personally, I thought his first year with us was ok and believe I said so somewhere in another post, hoping to see his game improve rolling into his second year.

However his game hasn’t progressed this year, which might be understandable taking all things into consideration. The last half of your final sentence seems like an adequate way to sum up the situation.

 

[Phobia]

We never try to develop spine players, because the management from top down (Penn to Mestrov) have this insane delusion, that we are a premiership contender every year. Add to that, every coach has an expectation to make the finals every single year, and if not, you're gone. There is no space for rebuilding.

As a result, every single recruitment decision that has been made since ~2016 is all about short term success. Brooks for Weekes is one of the most blatant examples. We didn't give Weekes the time or space to develop, and just waited till someone who was more immediately capable in Hoppa came around.

Who knows if Hoppa has a higher ceiling than Weekes. Honestly, I think Weekes has the higher ceiling, but Hoppa has been better in FG so far. It's early days for both.

 

[Under the Sticks]

I expect us not to kill him and his confidence playing 5/8 against a red hot Panthers.

We did him a lot more harm than good, that's my point.

Where did I say I still expected him to be playing here?

Hindsight is a wonderful tool though.

I hope we don’t do this to Walsh or Large in the future but we probably will.

 

[Disco]

The one consistent on Silvertails is that if an ex player has a good game then there will be outrage.

Everyone very quiet on Humphrey's but if he sets up one try today (which would be about his 4th all year) people will blow up.

I mean people are annoyed Metcalf left and 5 years later came good....ffs

You cannot keep then all and whilst in the perfect world we could hoard talent in reserves like back in the day (aka Krilich times) the current reality is players want a pathway to firsts.

Kaeo didn't and still wouldn't have a pathway to fullback and I'm not sute about 5/8 being the best fit for him.

Can we just enjoying him doing well

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

I mean people are annoyed Metcalf left and 5 years later came good....ffs

Haha yes that says it all!
Kaeo has always been an obvious emerging first grade talent. People suggesting he would have stayed at Manly happily playing reserve grade for years on minimum wage are (in my humble opinion), very, umm... imaginative!

 

[JakeyB789]

Cooper Johns & Arthur were both minimum wage guys, signing them didn’t restrict the cap at all. As for Brooks he is a way better 5/8 than Weekes will ever be. Carved up the dragons & now people are acting like we lost the next Cleary 🤣

You think Weekes was ever going to extend? With Turbo being number 1 & Hoppa coming through he clearly wasn’t. Wether we released him 12 months early or not doesn’t really matter, he was always leaving when his contract expired just like Humphreys who was stuck behind DCE.

I don't think anyone is acting like we lost the next Cleary, it's more just a frustration that we've let another of our exciting juniors leave and they've inevitably gone onto improve and play well at another club. All while we make moves that we think will help us contend in the short term yet have ended up going backwards. He may have extended if given a fairer crack in the halves than one game against the back-to-back premiers, but I guess we'll never know.

Without delving into it further since nothing can be done about it now, I'm happy to see him doing well at a likeable club in the Raiders rather than another Sydney team, hopefully he can continue on his trajectory and have some success in the finals since we likely won't be there.

 

[Shoe1]

I watched a lot of flegg. Koula and Weekes were the dynamic duo, often working together to carve teams up. Not keeping both was a huge mistake. Whoever made that call should be fired, if they haven’t already been.

Mad Des was putting him in first grade as back up dummy half, and maybe halfback in a trial. No wonder his initial performances were underwhelming at manly in first grade.

In flegg he was an outside back or fullback.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

The one consistent on Silvertails is that if an ex player has a good game then there will be outrage.

Everyone very quiet on Humphrey's but if he sets up one try today (which would be about his 4th all year) people will blow up.

I mean people are annoyed Metcalf left and 5 years later came good....ffs

You cannot keep then all and whilst in the perfect world we could hoard talent in reserves like back in the day (aka Krilich times) the current reality is players want a pathway to firsts.

Kaeo didn't and still wouldn't have a pathway to fullback and I'm not sute about 5/8 being the best fit for him.

Can we just enjoying him doing well

^ This is 110%

It’s hilarious , every time one of the juniors we couldn’t keep has a great game , on they come , blah blah blah blah !!

Kids today will go anywhere for a regular first grade slot , they don’t want to sit behind say Fullback 1 , and backup Fullback 2 , they want to be Fullback ( I’m just using this position as an example ), so after not being able to secure that spot with us ( any team is the same) off they go.

And then a few years later they turn into great players and bingo , we are the worst ever because we didn’t keep them.

Let me give you a hint , this will be common to EVERY NRL SIDE.

In our current side Ethan Bullemor is a great example , unwanted in Brisbane , comes down here & now one of our best forwards.

I bet the Donkeys fans are spewing ( the same as we do ).

Get a grip folks , it’s the way it just plays out

 

[Nordburg]

We never try to develop spine players, because the management from top down (Penn to Mestrov) have this insane delusion, that we are a premiership contender every year. Add to that, every coach has an expectation to make the finals every single year, and if not, you're gone. There is no space for rebuilding.

As a result, every single recruitment decision that has been made since ~2016 is all about short term success. Brooks for Weekes is one of the most blatant examples. We didn't give Weekes the time or space to develop, and just waited till someone who was more immediately capable in Hoppa came around.

Who knows if Hoppa has a higher ceiling than Weekes. Honestly, I think Weekes has the higher ceiling, but Hoppa has been better in FG so far. It's early days for both.

So you start off comparing Weekes to Brooks,a 5/8,then finish off with a Weekes /Hopoate comparison.Which is it?Weekes was not released for Brooks,he was released because he was not in the same ballpark as TomT.Weekes is not a 5/8 as proven in Canberra

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

So you start off comparing Weekes to Brooks,a 5/8,then finish off with a Weekes /Hopoate comparison.Which is it?Weekes was not released for Brooks,he was released because he was not in the same ballpark as TomT.Weekes is not a 5/8 as proven in Canberra

Yep he started there , and failed.

Clearly fullback is his spot & he’s going pretty well

So for those saying he should have been kept, which of Turbo or Hoppa are you discarding to fit him in ??

 

[Damien2812]

We never try to develop spine players, because the management from top down (Penn to Mestrov) have this insane delusion, that we are a premiership contender every year. Add to that, every coach has an expectation to make the finals every single year, and if not, you're gone. There is no space for rebuilding.

As a result, every single recruitment decision that has been made since ~2016 is all about short term success. Brooks for Weekes is one of the most blatant examples. We didn't give Weekes the time or space to develop, and just waited till someone who was more immediately capable in Hoppa came around.

Who knows if Hoppa has a higher ceiling than Weekes. Honestly, I think Weekes has the higher ceiling, but Hoppa has been better in FG so far. It's early days for both.

I think with a 7 that takes on the line on and forwards that go forward, will bring the best out of Lehi.

 

[manly al]

Kaeo actually still had one more year on his contract when Manly released him .
Probably not that much more money on offer for him at the Raiders and most likely just a mutual agreement to improve his i st grade prospects elsewhere and free up a bit of cap money from Manly "s perspective.
Shame that he did make his Manly i st grade debut at 6 in that horror first half Manly effort against the Panthers a few seasons ago but really did not do all that well either when given an opportunity for a couple of games a bit latter at full back as well .
Pretty much accepted that Turbo , Garrick and Koula were rated ahead of him as full backs when he did leave and that did not include Lehi who was starting to show some serious promise in the juniors at the time also

 

[Phobia]

So you start off comparing Weekes to Brooks,a 5/8,then finish off with a Weekes /Hopoate comparison.Which is it?Weekes was not released for Brooks,he was released because he was not in the same ballpark as TomT.Weekes is not a 5/8 as proven in Canberra

Weekes was always a 5/8 or Fullback, and it wasn't really set in stone which it was, until Fogarty returned last year. That pushed him to fullback, and he's been there ever since.

Even in juniors he was a bit of a hybrid. The loose comparison is because even the club didn't know for a long period.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

I watched a lot of flegg. Koula and Weekes were the dynamic duo, often working together to carve teams up. Not keeping both was a huge mistake. Whoever made that call should be fired, if they haven’t already been.

Mad Des was putting him in first grade as back up dummy half, and maybe halfback in a trial. No wonder his initial performances were underwhelming at manly in first grade.

In flegg he was an outside back or fullback.

Shame that he did make his Manly i st grade debut at 6 in that horror first half Manly effort against the Panthers a few seasons ago but really did not do all that well either when given an opportunity for a couple of games a bit latter at full back as well .

His debut was R19 2022 off the bench. He deserved to get an NRL debut and at the time that was an opportunity. Next one was R24, also off the bench, then R25 selected at fullback.

Started 2023 again pushing hard for first grade and was chosen for each of our opening 7 games, on the bench except R5 (5/8) and R9 (fullback). His final 3 NRL games for Manly were all at fullback.

He was given opportunities and didn't quite nail them, which is no slight on him, but helps explain why Manly didn't stand in his way for a chance elsewhere.