sheridanstand78
First Grader
Killing it for the Wobblies, another junior we did not invest in!! Sigh!
[Resurrected] Tom Wright, the enigma
- Thread starter The Who
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Terry Zarsoff
First Grader
And Bob and Peter, Rick and Scott, had no judgement.
He is where his style is best suited. Good luck to him and the Wallabies.
Bearfax
Grizzly old fart
I think he had the qualities that would have made him a star in League. Unfortunately he got on the first grade field only five times and a couple of those for ten to twenty minutes only This was an example with Manly's recruitment back then, when there was no patience given and a clear pathway to first grade was not given. Almost a duplicate of the Gutherson travesty. And I know some will immediately point to Schuster. And I'll agree. He was given opportunities, though I thought poorly handled, but he had to go. At least patience was given. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose, but if you dont offer the opportunity, you'll never know. what could have been.
We are going to go over this any time he has a good game arent we?
He's been gone 5 years.
He's doing well but wasnt convinced back then he'd be a star in the NRL and not convinced now.
Maybe he would have been a good to solid first grader but certainly not a rep player.
In fact if he signed to Manly on minimum now I'm not sure he walks into our backline. On the flipside and of our backs go to Union and I see them playing for the Wallabies.
He's been gone 5 years.
He's doing well but wasnt convinced back then he'd be a star in the NRL and not convinced now.
Maybe he would have been a good to solid first grader but certainly not a rep player.
In fact if he signed to Manly on minimum now I'm not sure he walks into our backline. On the flipside and of our backs go to Union and I see them playing for the Wallabies.
Bob signed him. Bob was not the coach.
He was disillusioned over his treatment and lack of coaching.
he look and got a better offer and the rest is history.
One of the best ball runners in global rugby or league.
Bearfax
Grizzly old fart
Actually it was anticipated that he would be a star. He was a high profile star in the juniors. You can only base assessments on performance. As mentioned he had overall fewer than three games in total time on the field. Hardly a way to determine whether he would be a top performer a year or two later. I recall Peter Sterling's first few games. First one was at full back. He was very ordinary. Yet a year or two later he's a top performer. As I always say its all about patience. Wright has shown without doubt in Union he's a star at the top level. League for a back is not much different from Union, as shown by the number of backs that switch to Union and others to League and succeed.
Terry Zarsoff
First Grader
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There are a plethora of juniors touted as stars who never kick on.
I'm going on the games Ive seen on him both in the juniors, first grade and Rugby Union and for mine I'm not losing sleep, as I said, dont think he would bring anymore to outlr side than out current backline.
All a moot point though as we will never know, that's why I find this thread amusing every time its bumped after a good game.
Terry Zarsoff
First Grader
So the Club was right on Wright?
Saw a couple of his games in lower grades. I think he found league 'a bit rough'. Clearly a talented open field runner but did not excel in defence, or in playmaking, that I saw. I wasn't surprised he didn't get more chances in first grade. In the end he asked to leave rather than try to improve and fight for a spot. Very happy for him that he's been a success in rugby but not sure how he'd have gone in league. Better than Kayo Weekes?
Bearfax
Grizzly old fart
If we had held onto Gutherson and Wright, the side with Turbo and DCE would have been top tier, I suspect. You cant deny we let them go too early and that they both stood out elsewhere big time. It was a stuff up and I realise there is nothing we can do about them now, but there is a lesson to be learned here about seeking instant gratification and showing no patience.
Cant lose by keeping these potentially outstanding players for a few years. If they fail you can let them go. But if you let them go before we can see if they offer worth, you may have saved yourself some money wasted on a failure, but you'll have lost any chance that they may become a top asset for the club. Its like throwing away a product because you're not satisfied with how its promoted on the packet (the old judging a book by its cover adage).
Cant lose by keeping these potentially outstanding players for a few years. If they fail you can let them go. But if you let them go before we can see if they offer worth, you may have saved yourself some money wasted on a failure, but you'll have lost any chance that they may become a top asset for the club. Its like throwing away a product because you're not satisfied with how its promoted on the packet (the old judging a book by its cover adage).
Bearfax
Grizzly old fart
I also saw several of his junior games, and I saw a different player obviously. He was a stand out. Only problem was involvement. He seemed a little lost at times knowing when to impose himself. Understandable given he's learning a different type of game. But the two codes aren't that different. Positional play seems to take some time to adjust. I remember Michell Cox, an outstanding Union test player, didn't seem to adapt well to League, though a serious bout of hepatitis probably didn't help. But there is a plethora of other players who've switched from League to Union and Union to League and been successful. And remember he was still only 20 when he played first grade with Manly. Defensively, he wasn't bad. Just wasn't outstanding. Had a tendency to grab at opponents, but he was quite strong because he often roughed up or swung players to the ground in defense. Sorry, but like Gutherson, who also was only 20, they never had the chance to truly show their wares at the Sea Eagles. The parallels are obvious. Both outstanding juniors, both only playing five first grade matches, both capable of playing anywhere in the backline. Both succeeding when given the chance elsewhere. It was a stuff up by the selectors in my opinion
Bearfax
Grizzly old fart
Hey don't be sorry. Its all about perspective and we're all, thankfully, different. I rated them both about the same, but then I thought Schuster was more gifted than both of them and where did that leave me. Just demonstrates how you cant judge a player too early. They develop at their own pace, some quickly, some more slowly, but you usually can tell through their potential if they will succeed, more than your average footballer. As I have said many times before Cliff Lyons was just a talented but not considered exceptional young centre at Norths. At 24, Fulton tried him out at 5/8 and bingo a star was born
Scorpio
Armchair Expert
Did anyone else notice that despite scoring three tries where no one else was within 10-15 metres of him, he didn't think of running the ball closer to the posts? Lolesio then missed 2/3 of those conversions.
He is a great athlete and great with clear space in front of him with the football in hand, no doubt... but he seems very flaky when the tough stuff is required and he does not seem to have much of a football brain. He's now 27 years old and is still criticised in rugby circles for being rocks or diamonds... which was the critique in the original post in this thread in 2017.
As such I wouldn't have him in our current back line... but he's doing well in rugby so best of luck to him.
He is a great athlete and great with clear space in front of him with the football in hand, no doubt... but he seems very flaky when the tough stuff is required and he does not seem to have much of a football brain. He's now 27 years old and is still criticised in rugby circles for being rocks or diamonds... which was the critique in the original post in this thread in 2017.
As such I wouldn't have him in our current back line... but he's doing well in rugby so best of luck to him.
I couldn’t blame the coaches at the time, I was excited to watch him, but that excitement was dulled in his final game with us, when he missed an easy tackle, then made absolutely no effort at all to chase and fix up his mistake. The miss is ok, the rest shows an attitude not quite up to scratch for me, then he took the soft option and departed so I don’t blame the club on it, his chances were there if he wanted to dig in and work hard
Bearfax
Grizzly old fart
Trouble is Kiwi, if you judge on one or two observed errors and allow this to dampen your enthusiasm, its unlikely anyone will get a pass mark. What I expected, if he had been given more game time, is he would be tentative in his first year, displaying occasional elements of genius, but gradually year by year he would improve. Its rare for a player to perform brilliantly in his first games. Young Hopoate grabbed his chance well, though even he copped a little in his games. He was only a year younger than Wright, when the latter first played first grade. Important I would think in letting players develop at their own pace. That's why I'm not concerned about Koula not setting the World afire. Next year he will be that much better. So will Burbo in my opinion
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