Summary of the Kids

[Mataiforever]

Our issue is that besides DCE and Tom (maybe now Schuster?) we have no out and out guns in centre and wing. theyre pretty well on the same level (besides Taufua & Parker who are reserve graders)

First grade pushers: Funa, Harper, Hopoate, and maybe Garrick.
Definite first graders, out of form/injured: Suli & Walker.

They pretty well even out. If we keep Walker i would he tempted to push suli out to wing and make him actually get involved through tough carried and competing for high ball. He has the attributes just is naturally lazy but you can’t be lazy as a winger having to drop back all the time.

IF Walker stays;
1 Tom
2 New Signing: I would liek Saab, maybe Johnston
3 Funa / Harper compete
4 Walker
5 Suli
6 Schu
14 Cust

Garrick and Hoppa for depth.

 

[wombatgc]

Harper exceeded expectations and Schuster looks quality.

Pleasantly surprised with Harper. Wasn’t expecting anything flash from him, quality touches, and plenty of much needed enthusiasm.

 

[47MVEagle]

Was very impressed with Schuster, he lived up to his wraps & played with a confidence beyond a debutante. Looking forward to seeing more of him over the next few weeks.

Have yet to see anything great from Hoppa but he got little ball in the first half last night & looked nothing more than a solid player in the second but obviously recovering from his injuries & gaining match fitness is what he needs so will keep an open mind on his abilities at NRL level & hope to see what his potential is over the next few weeks.

Funa & Ola have proven they're NRL players IMO & I hope to see Ola starting the next 3 games.

Hopefully Des plays Schuster at 5/8th next week & puts Cust in at hooker with Croker at 14.

I'd like to see this team for the next 3 games:

Fun-er
Hopp-er
Harper
Parker
Misk-er
Schuster
DCE
AFB
Cust
Paseka
Olakau'atu
Sirro
Jake

Croker
Marty
Keppie
Jetski

 

[Shoe1]

Schuster went alright, he just need to put the kick away a little bit. 4 or 5 times he give the ball back with a kick on the 2nd or 3rd tackle.

I think 2 of them we got 6 again Or a scrum due to west errors

 

[John Nicholson]

Harper was good, suli underwhelming post signing the big contract. Still, can’t forget how good his form was last year... Suli is definitely the better player but would love to see Funa/Harper compete for that other centre spot next year

I think we should consider that Funa is one of our centres PLUS long term cover for Turbo, during Origin and (hopefully only a few) injuries.

 

[The Who]

I'm pretty sure Harper debuted for the Dogs this season on the wing.
I'm surprised that many poster are still prepared to persist with Parker. Really? Haven't you seen enough to realise he'll never be more than an average First Grader. We need better than that.
I'm not a Walker fan.
I'm ambivalent about Suli.
I'd like to see how Miski and Anderson perform at NRL level.
I think Burbo may be ready by 2022.
So, I'm happy to go into 2021 with a backline roster including Turbo, Garrick, Tyfuna, Harper, Hoppa Jnr, The Shoe, DCE, potentially backed-up by Suli, Miski, Anderson, Metcalf and a known recruit, such as Alex Johnson or Ado-Carr.

 

[Scorpio]

Keen to hear opinions on our rookies.
Start with Schuster - nothing but admiration....had a pearler in attack and they launched a heap of attack at him and failed, as his defence is also top shelf, did not deserve to be on the losing side and in fact, we were up by a couple of tries when he was there.
Added another dimension in attack which looked far sharper immediately with his inclusion
Harper was also a breath of fresh air and constantly runs through holes at speed....scored 2 and nearly scored 2 more, best attack any Manly centre has performed in 2020 and for a skinny kid, doesn't mind the tough stuff and tackles well
Hoppa is struggling in top grade, I think he is still unconfident of his injury and his electric pace will not be back till another off season....if it comes back - disappointing when he is a natural talent who has had horrible injuries that have taken their toll

Hopoate did not have electric pace from what I saw in U/16 state of origin (before ACL injuries).

 

[Kez]

Schuster is a future star (if not a current star). He literally has everything. This is a big call, but I think he is more important to Manly’s future than DCE, Jake T, Taupau and AFB. If Tom stays fit, I put them on the same level of importance to our future. Despite all the ability he showed yesterday, the biggest thing that told me he was ready was his confidence. So many players (especially halves) go missing in early career games. This guy is ready.

What impressed me was his involvement and want to be there attitude..he wanted to create and he did great

 

[Kez]

The loss yesterday was somewhat caused by the defence issues many of the youngin’s had BUT the positives of playing them now that the season is dusted , simply for the experience and leading into 2021 is priceless.

Add Fainu & Tom back in and we have the makings of a pretty good side.

One thing though was glaringly obvious , as soon as our two Props left the field we started the rot, so the thoughts that anyone had of discarding either is ludicrous.

If we can move Slowfua on ( medical retirement ) and replace him with say Alex Johnson then we have hope for next year.

Your right with when our props come off i would be rotating afb paseka starting with marty and keppie bench..split up afb and marty

 

[The better Robbo]

Yes Funa looks like a long term NRL player - very solid....not doing the Matai comparison but shares many similar attributes at a young age

I actually think Funa is showing as much as Matai did early in his career. Funa is a long term keeper and will be a manly favourite edit

 

[manlyfan76]

I actually think Funa is showing as much as Macau did early in his career. Funa is a long term keeper and will be a manly favourite

Is he from Casino?

 

[mickqld]

The loss yesterday was somewhat caused by the defence issues many of the youngin’s had BUT the positives of playing them now that the season is dusted , simply for the experience and leading into 2021 is priceless.

Add Fainu & Tom back in and we have the makings of a pretty good side.

One thing though was glaringly obvious , as soon as our two Props left the field we started the rot, so the thoughts that anyone had of discarding either is ludicrous.

If we can move Slowfua on ( medical retirement ) and replace him with say Alex Johnson then we have hope for next year.

Wasn't the young ones who missed in defense. DCE and Parker basically gave away multiple tries with dropped balls, moronic passes and missed tackles especially running up out of the line and targeting the wrong attacker.

 

[grogbog]

One thing though was glaringly obvious , as soon as our two Props left the field we started the rot, so the thoughts that anyone had of discarding either is ludicrous.

In yesterday's instance I dont think it was the props fault that that momentum shifted. Naturally we weren't going to maintain the % of possession we had and we started making dumb mistakes which the props didn't directly contribute to.

I do think Des should stagger the props so that one of the starting props is always on the field.