Run Koula Run

I like Talau but equally a fan of Koula. Talau is possibly the more 'natural' footy player but Koula has had many great moments and as we all know he's still only 21.

Centre in modern NRL isn't the easiest position to shine in. Stats for top players such as Staggs and Crichton aren't all that different to Tolu's.

I'm glad he's in the 17 for the Dogs game, assuming he stays in. He only lost his spot through injury, and the replacements have done so well it would be unfair to drop them now, so he'll have to bide his time and win it back when the chance comes.

Whatever the future holds it's a good position for Manly to be in with everyone available.
 
Just hasn't clicked this season, needs to hit some sort of form leading into the semi's, needs a few scorching try's to get his confidence back.
 
frank stokes said:
I just think opposition coaches have worked him out... he is having his time/space cut down and his impact is suffering...Many, many players have suffered similar drop-offs over the years (Paul Hauff being the poster boy for this syndrome) and Koula and our coaches have failed to manage it well enough... sux cause he looked a star...
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Yes opposition coaches have certainly worked him out. The bigger problem unfortunately is that our own coaches have not. I think Tolu is a runner ....an athlete first. A footballer second. So why play him in the centres where you definitely need to be somewhat creative?? The bleeding obvious position (for mine) is wing so why have we not seen him on the wing this year??? The other bleeding obvious thing out there is how smart and creative Lehi Hopoate is so why not try Lehi in the centres and Tolu on the wing? Anyway lets hope he has a blinder from the bench tomorrow. Could be lethal in and amongst tiring forwards. Here's hoping the coaching staff have a simple game plan for the kid.
 
frank stokes said:
Really strong sunce he came on tonight... tge tackle on half time was immense vut his runs before that had a lot more purpose to them... imo... 👏👏👏
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Couldnt agree more… he deserves a lot of credit for his game tonight including that try saving tackle to bring down a powerhouse winger. Poor game last week but I think some were too harsh on him, he’s still only 21 & a future star of this team IMO. Does anyone know If Ramien is out next week too? Calling it early but He will have a career best game if marked up on Talakai
 
Ohgeez said:
Does anyone know If Ramien is out next week too?
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Back for the Manly game - from Sharks website:

“Sharks centre Jesse Ramien will miss Saturday's match against the Warriors at PointsBet Stadium after accepting a one-game ban for a careless high tackle.

Ramien was charged with a Grade 2 offence having been sin-binned for a hit on Mat Feagai in the first half of Sunday's 38-10 win over the Dragons in Wollongong.”
 
Ohgeez said:
Couldnt agree more… he deserves a lot of credit for his game tonight including that try saving tackle to bring down a powerhouse winger. Poor game last week but I think some were too harsh on him, he’s still only 21 & a future star of this team IMO. Does anyone know If Ramien is out next week too? Calling it early but He will have a career best game if marked up on Talakai
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Let’s not forget he’s been out with a knee injury. There are some heroes in here that dislike him no matter what mate. The same clueless ones who think they matter in this world.
 
madmax said:
Let’s not forget he’s been out with a knee injury. There are some heroes in here that dislike him no matter what mate. The same clueless ones who think they matter in this world.
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Yes I thought Tolu had a great game on Friday and looked to be running more comfortably. I am damned if I can work out his best position. Loves the tough stuff so opens up possibilities through the forwards as a utility. I think this kid could play in almost any position. Time will tell.
 
manlyfan76 said:
We saw a good try from a set peice / scrum on Friday.
Surely we can have more of these with our speedy backline players.
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That was a really clever play.
Yet I noticed on the NRL extended highlights of the game, about 15 min... and they didn't even show it!
Spent a minute or more showing Addo-Carr howling about a cramp, about 3 minutes on multiple plays of the Dogs opening try, etc

But ... NRL promoting the Dogs resurgence and Manly irrelevance? Pfft, just conspiracy talk (Oh really???!!!!)
 
Geez I hate to see what people would say about Koula if he was really poor. So far, he just hasn’t hit top form. It’s not like he’s played a series of absolute shockers.

His best moments so far in career make Talau look like a NSW Cup player. You only need to go back to a couple of games at the back end of last year to see what he is capable of. There’s no way Talau could have played fullback and torched the Dogs and Tigers like Koula did, because he doesn’t have the raw talent.

Talau is solid, with minimal speed, a good bump, an error or two and a bruising tackle. He’s serviceable but not a game breaker.

Last year, Xavier Savage played one first grade game. He’s been outstanding this year. Imagine if Canberra cut him loose because of a dip in form? I can’t see any benefit in letting a guy like Koula go, who has the potential to be one of the game’s elite centres, because our cheapie from the Tigers exceeded expectations this year. Dumb idea!
 
LeonardCohen said:
Geez I hate to see what people would say about Koula if he was really poor. So far, he just hasn’t hit top form. It’s not like he’s played a series of absolute shockers.

His best moments so far in career make Talau look like a NSW Cup player. You only need to go back to a couple of games at the back end of last year to see what he is capable of. There’s no way Talau could have played fullback and torched the Dogs and Tigers like Koula did, because he doesn’t have the raw talent.

Talau is solid, with minimal speed, a good bump, an error or two and a bruising tackle. He’s serviceable but not a game breaker.

Last year, Xavier Savage played one first grade game. He’s been outstanding this year. Imagine if Canberra cut him loose because of a dip in form? I can’t see any benefit in letting a guy like Koula go, who has the potential to be one of the game’s elite centres, because our cheapie from the Tigers exceeded expectations this year. Dumb idea!
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He turned 22 today as well. He's got a lot of time ahead of him.

A year ago yesterday was that Tigers game where he absolutely torched everyone. He's coming off an injury, and everyone bar Turbo and maybe Garrick had a shocker against the Tigers. I think he definitely showed a response to his performance against the Tigers, with him making a really good try-saver with Turbo.

The left edge during finals will be Koula and Talau. I think I'd prefer Koula out on the left wing, purely because we have lost that ability from Saab on the right to torch everyone. However, Koula is very clearly more skillful, with the ability to pull things out of nowhere, with Garrick showing this year that a skillful player contributes far more to attack when in the centres than on the wing.
 
LeonardCohen said:
Yep. There was only one player on the field that could have scored that try today. He might not be perfect but the reality is he is literally the only player capable of that try.
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And big props to Burbo for recognising that. Your instinct there would be to run upfield as far as possible before drawing the next man, but that would have only let the cover defence get organised. He gave the ball to Koula as quickly as he could and let him get to work.

Can I also give praise to Tolu's fantastic cover defence when he and Talau (I think) saved that try in the corner? He really wanted the win today.
 
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