Run Koula Run

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Harper had the footy smarts to put himself into those positions, but not the pace to go on with it. Koula is a little bit the opposite so far. He has some footwork and great strength, it's just a matter of time.
Haumole too, both great talents but sometimes look clunky. It's tempting to blame DCE but I suspect it's more likely the inexperienced duo. For example, has anyone seen Haumole run onto the ball? It's very unconventional the way he stands flat, trots forward, then makes a huge power surge just before the line. It's a quite different way of doing things.
Its tempting to blame dce because it his role as playmaker to set his backline , and it was the same output when suli and sirro were there even though they had more experience .

i actually saw oku run onto the ball last season when foran played right. That suggests the issue is not experience but you have to be objective

and yes ive heard it was only tigers and warriors, so compare them to tigers and warrior games with dce at the helm, early ball, run onto it.wow. Its not if they score tries , its about wether something oku in particular does that makes it difficult to give him early ball

maybe dce should call foz and ask him how he got oku to play along
 
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There are a lot of times Haumole can't pass the ball to anyone, as he gets the ball flat, runs in a 10 metre corridor, the defence is compressed. Manly's right hand sweeping moves always seem to be in that 10 metres to the touchline unlike left hand that uses easily half the width of a field.
 
One of the best things with Koula is that he has never seemed daunted in any of the matches i have seen him play in and just seems to get on with it . Always plenty of effort in attack or defence to try and be in the right place positionally . Gradually developing some good footy smarts all round and natural speed and strength should always be in his favor . Not too sure what the thinking is recruiting Talau from the West Tigers , Fletcher - Myers coming on well and Parker going O K but Koula really needed long term to help Manly be in the contenders category . Big O is always going to attract plenty of attention on Koula 's side , Turbo is the one who benefits Koula "s attacking opportunities more .
 
Its tempting to blame dce because it his role as playmaker to set his backline , and it was the same output when suli and sirro were there even though they had more experience .

i actually saw oku run onto the ball last season when foran played right. That suggests the issue is not experience but you have to be objective

and yes ive heard it was only tigers and warriors, so compare them to tigers and warrior games with dce at the helm, early ball, run onto it.wow. Its not if they score tries , its about wether something oku in particular does that makes it difficult to give him early ball

maybe dce should call foz and ask him how he got oku to play along
Will be interesting to see where Schuster predominately positions himself in attack, good opportunity to go the Koula - Ola channel, more so than the Parker side. Probably be the everywhere man I'd say.
 
We have a good one in Koula, be patient.

Look at Timoko and Penisini, young, highly touted centres who are just now really starting to assert themselves.

Timoko debuted in 2020 and is just about to play his 50th game.

Penisini debuted in 2021 and has played 46 games.

Koula debuted last year and has 27 games. He is still very muchh a rookie and I expect him to really take a step forward in the next 12-18 months.

Even look at the extremely talented Suaalii....35 games in and still really finding his feet.

Koula has it, no doubt in my mind
 
Problem is for the past 18 months we have all been screaming at DCE to get the ball to Hamole earlier due to his size and ability.

Koula not getting the ball is a direct result of that. I think they need to switch up the plays on that edge a bit more with perhaps Koula running an inside line more to give DCE some options.
 
We have a good one in Koula, be patient.

Look at Timoko and Penisini, young, highly touted centres who are just now really starting to assert themselves.

Timoko debuted in 2020 and is just about to play his 50th game.

Penisini debuted in 2021 and has played 46 games.

Koula debuted last year and has 27 games. He is still very muchh a rookie and I expect him to really take a step forward in the next 12-18 months.

Even look at the extremely talented Suaalii....35 games in and still really finding his feet.

Koula has it, no doubt in my mind
100%, while Saaby looms up in support you always see Koula alongside him drawing defenders to him making Saabs try runs all the more secure. He's heavily marked and draws 2 or 3 defenders in, making gaps for our half's to exploit. Going on the Raiders game, he's primed for a big one come Sunday.
 
Koula is on par for running metres with the likes of Graham, Penisini and Ramien at 141m per game. Doing pretty good for a 20 year old in his second season and he should be commended for getting himself involved as much as he does, given his halfback still hasn't worked out how to organise and use his outside men after 13 years in the league
 

Manly flyer Koula vows not to be distracted by rugby raid​

By Adrian Proszenko

May 27, 2023 — 4.00pm


Tolutau Koula says it’s “good to be wanted” after Rugby Australia approached him about a potential code switch, but the rising Manly star has vowed not to let the tug of war for his services become a distraction.
Koula is contracted to the Sea Eagles until the end of 2024, but the club is desperate to keep him long term. In a bid to keep the poachers at bay, Manly have tabled a three-year deal that would keep the Tongan international at Brookvale until the end of 2027, but he is yet to decide whether to accept it.

The 20-year-old is on the Wallabies’ radar as speculation builds that former Manly recruiter Scott Fulton will also target the club’s players after taking a role at Wests Tigers.

Koula said he was flattered by the interest, but isn’t ready yet to decide whether to return to the 15-man game.

“It’s good to be wanted,” Koula said. “I’m not really paying attention to all of that stuff. My manager and my family are taking care of me and all of that stuff. My main focus is just playing footy for Manly and doing my own thing.
“I like it here at Manly, all the boys and stuff; I’ve liked it ever since I’ve been here.
Tolutau Koula is a young man in demand.

Tolutau Koula is a young man in demand.CREDIT: GETTY

“I grew up playing rugby league first and I went to Newington, which is a pretty big rugby school.
“The majority of my high school I played union, but I’m here playing league now.
“I enjoy playing league, initially coming out of high school they had a good deal for me. It felt like the right thing to do and I think it was the right choice.”

Koula played alongside Joseph Suaalii on the Australian Schoolboys rugby union tour that ended a seven-year winless drought against New Zealand in 2019. Having nabbed Suaalii, Rugby Australia has set its sights on other NRL stars, including Payne Haas, Cameron Murray and Koula.

Having already represented Tonga at the Rugby League World Cup, there is an opportunity to represent Australia in the rugby union edition.
“That would be something pretty special to do. We’ll see what happens,” Koula said.

“Obviously, it’s a big thing, but it’s just a bit too far in the future for me to be worried about with everything going on right now.
“The main communication with all of that external stuff has gone through my manager. He takes good care of me and handles all of that.”

Koula, who made a successful return from knee surgery three weeks ago, is part of an understrength Manly side that takes on Newcastle on Sunday. The Silvertails will be missing Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans and all three Trbojevic brothers – Tom, Jake and Ben – for the clash at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The game will mark the club debut of Jake Arthur, who will come off the bench after leaving the familiarity of playing under his father, Brad, at Parramatta.

“Jake will come onto the bench,” Manly coach Anthony Seibold said on Saturday.
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“That will add some flexibility and versatility depending on the game.
“He’s been the standout in NSW Cup this year, and I’ve loved his work ethic this week. We’ve brought him to the club to give him an opportunity and he’ll get an opportunity to debut tomorrow afternoon.”
 
Its tempting to blame dce because it his role as playmaker to set his backline , and it was the same output when suli and sirro were there even though they had more experience .

i actually saw oku run onto the ball last season when foran played right. That suggests the issue is not experience but you have to be objective

and yes ive heard it was only tigers and warriors, so compare them to tigers and warrior games with dce at the helm, early ball, run onto it.wow. Its not if they score tries , its about wether something oku in particular does that makes it difficult to give him early ball

maybe dce should call foz and ask him how he got oku to play along
Truth be known Foz is a super ball player
DCE can actually throw a good ball and put players into space but lacks a key component Foz has offered through his career
Fox will carry ball 2 hands and use a pumping action which will hold defenders and also attract his outside runner to be hitting the ball at pace
Plus his ability to play at the line which is a selfless act and would have seen 100 players go to the bin for copping a shot after passing the ball in todays game
Has played far earlier at Titans to preserve his career
 
Truth be known Foz is a super ball player
DCE can actually throw a good ball and put players into space but lacks a key component Foz has offered through his career
Fox will carry ball 2 hands and use a pumping action which will hold defenders and also attract his outside runner to be hitting the ball at pace
Plus his ability to play at the line which is a selfless act and would have seen 100 players go to the bin for copping a shot after passing the ball in todays game
Has played far earlier at Titans to preserve his career
While i agree, im really only talking about the preparation, the structure and the motion of seeing a backline function, a gamebreaker getting fed early ball. It doesnt have to yield

just a functioning line that gives space to oku via depth to see what they can do. its not always going to work , thats footy . As a veteren halfback not feeding the destructive oku just seems to lack a fair bit of brainpower possibly due to overthinking it

it happens outside them when turbo wraps around because he straigtens the attack for saab so its not a foreign language

i know dce is not a game manager but his side is just set on stutter.
the problem with DCE is that is is split between

he is a hog and wants his hands on the ball
but doesnt want to straighten the attack so he timewastes overplays. triple pump, crabways, turn em under repeats
 
Still would like to see Koula out with space more often.
Need to see that speed he has more.
Agreed. We don’t get him enough early ball, for a number of reasons. BUT one thing is for sure, he will be getting way less room to run in international rugby. 👎🏼
 
Agreed. We don’t get him enough early ball, for a number of reasons. BUT one thing is for sure, he will be getting way less room to run in international rugby. 👎🏼
I have no idea why someone would not take the $ from the rah rah boys

1. Far less physical contact than the NRL / easier on the body
2. More $
3. From the outside seems to be an easier game - look at the amount of average first graders / reserve graders who are starts in the code.

They also have the chance to make massive $ playing overseas
 

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