Taniela Paseka is he the answer?

[Dan]

Imagine having two fifi's in your squad......

 

[ricardo]

AFB is the answer. The guy is an absolute weapon. Love him. Clone him.

 

[Jacinta Martin]

Unpopular opinion but I thought Paseka was fine tonight.

I think sometimes he is a victim off his size in the sense that fans expect more of him then our other bench props (Yes I know he started but that is tactical, AFB and Marty are our 1 and 2)

To compare him against Keppie based on NRL.coms stats

Minutes
Paseka - 35
Keppie -29

Hitups
Paseka -11
Keppie - 9

Metres
Paseka -93
Keppie - 82

Tackle busts
Paseka - 2
Keppie - 0

Tackes
Paseka - 25
Keppie - 20

Offloads
Paseka - 0
Keppie - 1

Errors
Paseka - 0
Keppie - 1

And dont get me wrong the above is not to wrap him nor to have a go at Keppie, moreso I just don't get the venom that Paeka cops.

Sure you can argue for Toff or Boyle but I dont think its clear cut and Des sees them all week in training so I'm willing to back him.

Also lets not forget Paseka is extremely young for a prop

Comparing him to Keppie is like oranges to apples. I actually think both played okay for bench props.
Extremely young shouldn't be in the equation. Sometimes what you see is what you get. Compare him to someone who is almost identical in size and body shape.
AFB is only 24, it would be interesting to compare his stats from 2017 & 2018.

Paseka - 22 years old
Haas - 19 years old
Paseka - 197cm
Haas - 194cm
Paseka - 120kg
Haas - 119kg
Paseka - 35mins
Haas - 80mins
Paseka - 93 metres
Haas - 191 metres
Paseka - 0 offloads
Haas - 4 offloads
Paseka - Post contact 38m
Haas - Post contact 105m

 

[Disco]

Ah c'mon now Haas is a once in a generation prop forward, if he is the yardstick then every other prop in the comp is useless

And I disagree, in general age does come into it with props, who usually dont mature till mid 20s.

Now I'm not say necessarily that Paseka will go on to be some sort of rep prop but I think it is way too early to be writing him off.

 

[HoldenV8]

Ah c'mon now Haas is a once in a generation prop forward, if he is the yardstick then every other prop in the comp is useless

And I disagree, in general age does come into it with props, who usually dont mature till mid 20s.

Now I'm not say necessarily that Paseka will go on to be some sort of rep prop but I think it is way too early to be writing him off.

We're not writing him off. But after two and a bit years in first grade we do expect more from a guy who is in the top 3 for size in the NRL (only Nelson Asofa-Solomona (200 cm) and Shaun Lane (198 cm) are taller and Paseka actually outweigh's both). His size, strength and skill should see him as one of the NRL's most dominating forwards. Problem is that often he plays too passively, kinda like a gentle giant.

He needs to get some aggression into his game. Personally I'd advise him to go have a chat with Mark Carroll, if you get my meaning.

 

[simon64]

I might be a bit of an optimist but I think the guy could still be anything.
Just needs to watch a bit of AFB and just copy and paste.
He's got all the physical attributes needed to be an absolute weapon.
Just needs a bit of self belief and confidence.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

The opposition are probably always under strict instructions not to goad him, but one day some dumb player is going to do him wrong and then we'll see what he's capable of when angry.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Sorry but I seriously don't see the problem with the guy,I watched the game and was impressed,but after coming on here and seeing people bag him and label him soft and T-Rex 2.0, I thought I would re-watch the game and see if I was delusional....
After seeing it again I am still impressed,he worked hard in defence and dropped guys like Lodge and Carrigan on their butts and cut down Staggs who made an early break in the first half.
I did not see him ever lose the point of contact and made ground each time he got the ball,when he got the chance to run onto the ball he made really good ground and pushed the defensive line backward with a pretty quick play the ball.
There were a couple of times on the Broncos line where Jake handed him a poor pass where Jake did not want to run and he was flat footed trying to run the ball at a couple of prepared defenders with no momentum. He seriously had no real shot at doing anything and tried to back into the defence and see if he could offload to create something more(sort of smart?)
I thought he played with some real conviction and whilst I questioned Des dropping Boyle for him,I could not demote him after that performance.
We have the best set of six props in the comp and with Saddler as the seventh we are well stocked with whoever Des chooses....

 

[globaleagle]

The opposition are probably always under strict instructions not to goad him, but one day some dumb player is going to do him wrong and then we'll see what he's capable of when angry.

I don't mind him tbh. Will get better, and is a big ole unit! Go Taniela!

 

[TokyoEagle]

Hits the line like a wet bag.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Hits the line like a wet bag.

Bag of cement?Highlight which moments in the game when he was soft,would be interested to see.....specify exact game time

 

[wombatgc]

He’s as lazy as all ****!!

Gets the ball, ambles to the line , then turns so he he can get a pass away which NEVER happens and submits easily.

Never saw him bend the line once.

But , that’s just an opinion of course.

Saw it exactly the same. If he does get another chance, it has to be from the bench. Never to start.

 

[jbb/james]

I think everyone is being unfair of paseka. He needs an organising 5/8 to compliment his game . He does heaps of tackles and really really tries hard.

 

[HoldenV8]

Sorry but I seriously don't see the problem with the guy,I watched the game and was impressed,but after coming on here and seeing people bag him and label him soft and T-Rex 2.0, I thought I would re-watch the game and see if I was delusional....
After seeing it again I am still impressed,he worked hard in defence and dropped guys like Lodge and Carrigan on their butts and cut down Staggs who made an early break in the first half.
I did not see him ever lose the point of contact and made ground each time he got the ball,when he got the chance to run onto the ball he made really good ground and pushed the defensive line backward with a pretty quick play the ball.
There were a couple of times on the Broncos line where Jake handed him a poor pass where Jake did not want to run and he was flat footed trying to run the ball at a couple of prepared defenders with no momentum. He seriously had no real shot at doing anything and tried to back into the defence and see if he could offload to create something more(sort of smart?)
I thought he played with some real conviction and whilst I questioned Des dropping Boyle for him,I could not demote him after that performance.
We have the best set of six props in the comp and with Saddler as the seventh we are well stocked with whoever Des chooses....

Totally get what you are saying. He didn't play badly last night and really hasn't played all that bad since he made his first grade debut, hence why he keeps getting picked.

However ... with his size, strength and skill he could be one of the most dominating forwards in the NRL, yet for some reason he's not. Its like he's currently lacking a killer instinct. Guys like Lurch had it. Igor had it. Phil Daley had it. Spud had it. Ian Roberts had it. Josh Perry had it. And in their time they were among the best forwards of their era.

Get some aggression, and confidence, in his game and Taniela Paseka could be a very damaging forward for Manly (and NZ since he is a Kiwi). I just hope he doesn't become another T-Rex who wasted most of his career being average when he could have easily been one of the best.

 

[40 years an eagle]

He is coming along. Des will start him next week and he will be better for thursday's start.

 

[HoldenV8]

He is coming along. Des will start him next week and he will be better for thursday's start.

Depending on how long Marty is out for, and of course how well he goes against Canberra, Paseka could well be starting the next 2-3 games for Manly, at least. I hope you're right and that being picked in the starting XIII will do his confidence the world of good.

None of us want him to fail, quite the opposite in fact because it can only benefit both himself and Manly. But we'd all be a lot happier if he started using his ability and natural size advantage to full effect a lot more often than we've seen.

 

[40 years an eagle]

Depending on how long Marty is out for, and of course how well he goes against Canberra, Paseka could well be starting the next 2-3 games for Manly, at least. I hope you're right and that being picked in the starting XIII will do his confidence the world of good.

None of us want him to fail, quite the opposite in fact because it can only benefit both himself and Manly. But we'd all be a lot happier if he started using his ability and natural size advantage to full effect a lot more often than we've seen.

Des has been showing his faith in him buddy, even though Lance did a very good job in the first 2 rounds. He obviously sees something in him that he doesn't see in the others.
We put all our faith in Des, let's see if he can pull the fire out of the embers.

I expect Tent to start with Kapow next week.

 

[manlyfan76]

Sorry but I seriously don't see the problem with the guy,I watched the game and was impressed,but after coming on here and seeing people bag him and label him soft and T-Rex 2.0, I thought I would re-watch the game and see if I was delusional....
After seeing it again I am still impressed,he worked hard in defence and dropped guys like Lodge and Carrigan on their butts and cut down Staggs who made an early break in the first half.
I did not see him ever lose the point of contact and made ground each time he got the ball,when he got the chance to run onto the ball he made really good ground and pushed the defensive line backward with a pretty quick play the ball.
There were a couple of times on the Broncos line where Jake handed him a poor pass where Jake did not want to run and he was flat footed trying to run the ball at a couple of prepared defenders with no momentum. He seriously had no real shot at doing anything and tried to back into the defence and see if he could offload to create something more(sort of smart?)
I thought he played with some real conviction and whilst I questioned Des dropping Boyle for him,I could not demote him after that performance.
We have the best set of six props in the comp and with Saddler as the seventh we are well stocked with whoever Des chooses....

I thought it was his best game. Last year Fainu would jump out of dummy half and get the players moving onto the ball. We need more of this.

 

[jbb/james]

The moment he starts ripping teams apart , his price jumps and we lose him. He is good and steady atm , considering our rotation in the front row and depth, its very important

Careful what you wish for

 

[Smokin Joe]

Totally get what you are saying. He didn't play badly last night and really hasn't played all that bad since he made his first grade debut, hence why he keeps getting picked.

However ... with his size, strength and skill he could be one of the most dominating forwards in the NRL, yet for some reason he's not. Its like he's currently lacking a killer instinct. Guys like Lurch had it. Igor had it. Phil Daley had it. Spud had it. Ian Roberts had it. Josh Perry had it. And in their time they were among the best forwards of their era.

Get some aggression, and confidence, in his game and Taniela Paseka could be a very damaging forward for Manly (and NZ since he is a Kiwi). I just hope he doesn't become another T-Rex who wasted most of his career being average when he could have easily been one of the best.

Yeah,there is still room for improvement,but I don't agree with the T-Rex comparison.Williams had to be yelled at to get involved,I don't see Pasekas' involvement as the issue,I think he is coming along but perhaps a bit slower than many of us would prefer.Just quietly...I don't think Perry had the killer instinct,he was solid but not in the same vein as Carroll or Daley or Bella etc....