Lehi Hopoate

Lehi is a better fullback than Koula. I’d be putting Koula on the wing.
Bit of a catch 22 situation , Lehi on balance goes [ or would seem to go ] a bit better then Koula on the wing
Koula can still go quite well at full back , probably on season "s indications admittedly not quite to Lehi 's all round level [ and especially with ball playing ] but the wing suitability issue again .
Probably indicated on Friday night when Koula came on for Saab and then moved to one when Turbo dropped out where Seib:s preference is going to be in the short term at least .
Koula "s best position is still no doubt as a centre ,.
 
i have been following manly since 1967 dude. koula is not 1st grade standard. in february, no one here picked their top 8 to include the dogs. i did 🤣dragons were in my top 8 too. people think i am mad and dont know my footy picking dogs and dragons. but i have watched the game for 57 years. koula will stuff our season up. lehi is 10 times the player. Brad parker would be a better option than koula.
Well, I've been following Manly since 1963 @:p@:p ... :giggle: I rate Koula higher than Brad and I'm a BP fan ... Koula will prove you wrong ... imho
 
Could depend on Turbo 's best case recovery situation but if Saab can be available in 2 weeks and if Turbo was advised to rest another week from then , might then be a case of Lehi going to full back , Koula and Garrick centres , Saab and Talau as wingers for week one finals .
Probably better for Lehi to stay on a wing and Koula at one for the Sharks game with Saab out and looks like the case that Turbo is going to try to be available for the i st week of finals regardless so then back to the scenario of Koula or Talau for a centre position [ and if again Saab is available for week one finals ]
Being a do or die final however , one could only assume that every effort and motivation will be made to get Turbo and in as best possible shape , available for week one finals
Sounds pretty unlikely that Saab will play again this year.
 
How long is Lehi contracted to the Eagles? Can see a lot of interest in him from other teams once he hits the open market
Officially what’s out there on the NRL contracts site he signed until end of season 2026 in November 2023, though Seibold said in an interview they had just extended him, nothing on the official contracts NRL page yet though.
 
Well, I've been following Manly since 1963 @:p@:p ... :giggle: I rate Koula higher than Brad and I'm a BP fan ... Koula will prove you wrong ... imho
well, i hope you're right. i want koula to play well but ive been following him since he came to 1st grade. One look at lehi and immediately see talent there, not so with koula. Against the bulldogs, the bulldog player ran at koula and koula got him high and the bulldog player just spin around . had it not been for Turbo, that bloke scores. Koula cant defend, he cant punch holes, he aint the ball player nor has the skills like Hoppa. I must been watching a different game to all the koula supporters. I am the first to want to see Koula play well, but in my humble opinion, he is the least talented player in the 17 lineup. people say koula is still young at 21, but hoppa is just 19 and just oozes class. and throughout the bulldogs game, koula made no impact. he is stopped in his tracks when he runs. he is only good when there is open space. Koula playing fullback would be the biggest disaster since white star line struck an iceberg in 1912. The way the manly fans describe koula would fit perfectly for Lehi. he scored 2 great tries, saved another by tackling JAC over the sidelines. If only Koula play like that, then he would earn the accolades you guys bestow upon him. maybe I am in the twilight zone and there really aint any praise for koula at all in the real realm. koula only position is a reserve winger (not mocking him nor an insult) just how i see it. i rate Vaega over him.
 
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well, i hope you're right. i want koula to play well but ive been following him since he came to 1st grade. One look at lehi and immediately see talent there, not so with koula. Against the bulldogs, the bulldog player ran at koula and koula got him high and the bulldog player just spin around . had it not been for Turbo, that bloke scores. Koula cant defend, he cant punch holes, he aint the ball player nor has the skills like Hoppa. I must been watching a different game to all the koula supporters. I am the first to want to see Koula play well, but in my humble opinion, he is the least talented player in the 17 lineup. people say koula is still young at 21, but hoppa is just 19 and just oozes class. and throughout the bulldogs game, koula made no impact. he is stopped in his tracks when he runs. he is only good when there is open space. Koula playing fullback would be the biggest disaster since white star line struck an iceberg in 1912. The way the manly fans describe koula would fit perfectly for Lehi. he scored 2 great tries, saved another by tackling JAC over the sidelines. If only Koula play like that, then he would earn the accolades you guys bestow upon him. maybe I am in the twilight zone and there really aint any praise for koula at all in the real realm. koula only position is a reserve winger (not mocking him nor an insult) just how i see it. i rate Vaega over him.
Each to their own but personally I dont see how any rational person could rate Vaega over Koula.

Hyperbole
 
Lehi will have to be fullback this week, Koula and Garrick in the centres with Talau to the wing alongside Faulalo.
Burbo will come onto the bench as cover for backline/backrow.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but the last opportunities he had at fullback were the final 2 games last year... in both of which he absolutely smashed it!
He also played one game against the Broncos this year as the starting fullback, where he did an AC joint injury but played on. We lost the game but he was very good. I still think Lehi is a better option, but it doesn't matter as much where Lehi plays - that kid will find a way to make an impact.
 
100%, Lehi reminds me of a Manchester United striker called Dimitar Berbatov, when in the Penalty box he had the ability to slow down time and defenders and to visualize his next move and what's in front of him. Lehi has this ability slso.
Great comment. I've noticed that he does seem to have more time than other players to make ther right decision defensively.
 
for me, the play of the night was Hoppa’s management of the two on one down the Dogs left side attack. He did an amazing job of turning his shoulder to cover Addo-Carr but spook Xerri into passing. It was such a smart defensive play and one that you don’t often see from even the best and most experienced wingers. Not only did he do enough to be there, he made the grassing legs tackle on a flying Addo Carr.
 
Now I understand why they were called 'the Clash', rather than 'the Dentists'..............they would not know what the latter was.......
Joe Strummer’s top teeth rotted from years of squatting, smoking & eating rubbish food.

He got them fixed up once The Clash started making some money.

Legend has it that after a long night of putting up posters for their upcoming gigs, Strummer, Mick Jones & Paul Simenon returned to the auto-mechanics workshop their manager let them live & rehearse in & cooked up the leftover flour & water solution they’d used to stick the posters up with on an old saw blade over an electric bar heater.
 
Joe Strummer’s top teeth rotted from years of squatting, smoking & eating rubbish food.

He got them fixed up once The Clash started making some money.

Legend has it that after a long night of putting up posters for their upcoming gigs, Strummer, Mick Jones & Paul Simenon returned to the auto-mechanics workshop their manager let them live & rehearse in & cooked up the leftover flour & water solution they’d used to stick the posters up with on an old saw blade over an electric bar heater.
Surely helped him get the Pogues frontman gig too…😉
 
well, Vaega has certain attributes that Koula dont. Eg: vaega can bust tackles and go on a strong bullocking run. can koula do that? the "rationality" quotient clearly lies in your take on your fascination with Koula.
No fascination, he has been a bit down this year but nowhere near bad.

To your question, he has 37 tackle busts (2 per game) and averages 135m per game which is 3rd in the squad behind Turbo (163m) and Vaega (136m in only 3 games), so solid in a slightly down year.....so I'd say yes.

To be honest, I think the only fascination here is yourself.
 

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