Our Centers and wingers

[Rocky]

I really like and rate all of Koula, Saab, Garrick, Talau and Hoppa Jnr.

A heap of pace there and all good to potentially great individual players.

But they are speed players. There isn't enough raw power in this group and the first three hit ups from these guys can be tough to watch. Not enough metres are gained and it puts the team under pressure.

For me Talau is the best of them but the rest are only ok at best - and collectively it is a problem.


Compare this to the remaining top teams and it is a clear weakness.

 

[47MVEagle]

I agree that Talau is our best back at hitting the ball up from a kick.

I’d rate Hoppa as second to him - he might be slight in build but he more often than not gets down low & drives through for several post-contact metres (the doggies game last week the exception). A good offseason in the gym & eating right should bulk him up a bit & he’ll be even better at it next season.

Saab will never bulk up enough to be able to break the line with power, his genetics won’t allow it, so speed is pretty much his only asset.

Garrick is solid but rarely breaks the line.

Koula appears to have been very closely marked but we finally got to see what he is capable of last week vs the dogs.

 

[Nordburg]

Saab is a worry for me.Arguably the fastest player in the comp,but has the agility and hands of a new born giraffe.Look at the try he scored in his last game against the Dogs.His finish was nothing like the diving efforts most of the wingers of today,can execute,which limits the chances of the opposition either bundling him into touch or knocking the ball out of his hands.Its like he’s too tentative to dive due to his height.As for his hands,how do you play this long in first grade and still have feet for hands?Thankfully his weaknesses are easily fixed with hard work because his asset,speed,is something no one can compete with

 

[Dee Why Eagle]

On the one hand, I agree with the Garrick to wing proposition.
On the other, Saab & Lehi are automatic selections there.
Turbo at fullback.
Garrick too good to drop.
Maybe Lehi to bench.

End up with:
FB turbo
W saab
W garrick
C talau
C koula

 

[HK_Eagle]

I really like and rate all of Koula, Saab, Garrick, Talau and Hoppa Jnr.

A heap of pace there and all good to potentially great individual players.

But they are speed players. There isn't enough raw power in this group and the first three hit ups from these guys can be tough to watch. Not enough metres are gained and it puts the team under pressure.

For me Talau is the best of them but the rest are only ok at best - and collectively it is a problem.


Compare this to the remaining top teams and it is a clear weakness.

That said, I thought Lehi bounced back well after last week. He’s slight, but he poked through the line often last night.

 

[The Who]

Look who are outside backs were up against: four monsters. I'm sure, collectively, they would be the tallest and biggest back four in the history of our sport.
Losing Koala was devastating. Sandwich just can't tackle well enough to be an effective defensive centre. Lehi is slight but with a great heart. TTII is the only one with some reasonable size, but still nothing to compare to the Easts four. Our tallest outside back, Saab, was injured.
Having said that, Penrith's small backs seem to be able to handle Easts reasonably well so it may come down to the desire to tackle.
It will be interesting to see how Melbourne try to contain the Easts' monsters. They, too, seem to have the method to nullify them.

 

[Hibyemama]

I really like and rate all of Koula, Saab, Garrick, Talau and Hoppa Jnr.

A heap of pace there and all good to potentially great individual players.

But they are speed players. There isn't enough raw power in this group and the first three hit ups from these guys can be tough to watch. Not enough metres are gained and it puts the team under pressure.

For me Talau is the best of them but the rest are only ok at best - and collectively it is a problem.


Compare this to the remaining top teams and it is a clear weakness.

Ive been saying this all along. people here criticise me for saying koula has deficiencies. they only look at speed, but size is important too. (for defending) Koula can have the best tackling technique in the whole wide world but at under 90kg....................uhm. On a brighter note, tommy Talau has been brilliant this year. Talau and Ola was the best on a very disappointing night.

 

[Frogz]

On the one hand, I agree with the Garrick to wing proposition.
On the other, Saab & Lehi are automatic selections there.
Turbo at fullback.
Garrick too good to drop.
Maybe Lehi to bench.

End up with:
FB turbo
W saab
W garrick
C talau
C koula

Teach one of the other 4 (+ Hoppa) to kick goals and Garrick doesn't make the 17.

 

[CRPSI eagle]

Teach one of the other 4 (+ Hoppa) to kick goals and Garrick doesn't make the 17.

You would play Hoppa with one leg over Garrick. Hoppa would almost be first picked in my backline

 

[LeonardCohen]

I really like and rate all of Koula, Saab, Garrick, Talau and Hoppa Jnr.

A heap of pace there and all good to potentially great individual players.

But they are speed players. There isn't enough raw power in this group and the first three hit ups from these guys can be tough to watch. Not enough metres are gained and it puts the team under pressure.

For me Talau is the best of them but the rest are only ok at best - and collectively it is a problem.


Compare this to the remaining top teams and it is a clear weakness.

Statistics suggest that Koula averages the most of the lot:
Koula: 146m
Talau: 144m
Saab: 128m
Hoppa: 125m
Garrick: 123m

Of course, metres are only part of the equation; they're great but a 10m run and a slow play-the-ball is less effective than a 7m run and a fast play-the-ball. Giving the bigger guys something to play off at the back end of the sets is important.

 

[Dion Johnson]

Koula and Talau for me in the centres though interested in how Hoppa and Faulalo add some size to their bodies over the offseason.

Oliver Lawry is a player of interest in the centres, he came over from the Tigers and played Flegg, a mate of mine has high hopes for him developing.

 

[Scorpio]

We have pretty good backs but we lack a Brian To'o type back who never gets ragdolled and always gets the sets off on the front foot... this would help out our forwards as well.

 

[Uk eagle]

We have pretty good backs but we lack a Brian To'o type back who never gets ragdolled and always gets the sets off on the front foot... this would help out our forwards as well.

Or Greg Marzhew if Newcastle wanted to offload him

 

[Tomay]

Hoppa is good at getting between defenders and sliding through for a quick play the ball. Been very impressed.

Saab has improved his technique at running over people too - he hits it up a lot like Tupou now.

Turbo when injury free is a decent meter eater too and has a big frame.

Give them a good hooker and it will help. Getting the ball flat footed allows the defence to rush.

 

[Bloke on the hill]

Manly's backline with their speed & skills made a massive improvement in '24, & another off season together - hopefully even better!

 

[Stewbojevic]

Or Greg Marzhew if Newcastle wanted to offload him

He’d get ripped to shreds on this forum for his defence and rightfully so.

 

[BOZO]

Koula: 146m
Talau: 144m
Saab: 128m
Hoppa: 125m
Garrick: 123m

Thank you for posting those stats @LeonardCohen
Those stats suggest satisfactory running meters
Those players possess good speed and skill
The bottom line is Speed is a DNA gift . You can never teach a Tortoise to run fast like a Tiger
But the other technical fundamentals can be taught
It is up to he coaching staff to get the best out of those capable and gifted athletes and make a difference
Capable Coaching can make a difference
They can improve technical fundamentals

The moral of the story
You get what you pay for and the Storm are getting what they paid for

NRL FOX ...
At an age where most men are thinking retirement, Bellamy is still at the top of his game.
Coaching as good now as he ever has, after guiding the Storm to another minor premiership.
It was reported Bellamy signed his most recent deal for $1.7m-a-season,
making him the game’s top paid coach.
Week after week, year after year, Bellamy continues to turn lesser players into standouts
and standouts into superstars.

A great example of that is Jahrome Hughes who is odds-on to also win the Dally M Medal for player of the year.
Remember, Hughes was previously let go by the Cowboys and Titans, where they basically didn’t rate him.
END NRL FOX


Hughes was signed by the Storm for a Song and Bellamy turned him into the Games Superstar

 

[BOZO]

All people are just like people in all clubs
We are playing on the same level playing field
But this changes when Higher Quality Gifted people Contest and it does not become a level playing field anymore
The moral of another story
We have capable players
But do we have the capable coach @The Wheel ?

 

[The Wheel]

All people are just like people in all clubs
We are playing on the same level playing field
But this changes when Higher Quality Gifted people Contest and it does not become a level playing field anymore
The moral of another story
We have capable players
But do we have the capable coach @The Wheel ?
View attachment 28349

Looks like we can’t get Bellamy, Cleary, Bennett to coach us in the near future and Des won’t be back for a 3rd time so who is going to better than Siebs and replace him?

 

[Scorpio]

Hoppa is good at getting between defenders and sliding through for a quick play the ball. Been very impressed.

Saab has improved his technique at running over people too - he hits it up a lot like Tupou now.

Turbo when injury free is a decent meter eater too and has a big frame.

Give them a good hooker and it will help. Getting the ball flat footed allows the defence to rush.

I'm not saying that Croker is an elite hooker, but do you think Croker is any worse than Mitch Kenny? I personally don't. But Penrith still win the ruck in most matches anyway.

Changing the hooker will not be the silver bullet to our problems... just like when we had Api for 4 years and we never looked like serious premiership contenders.