Turbo good to go

[Darren]

Reminds me of the Buddy Franklin debacle of the long contract. I really hope Ole doesn't end up the same.

 

[eagleron]

Feel for Tommy getting injured again but his effort, attitude and performance this year has been piss poor and that is reflected in the general reaction towards his injury tonight. Much more excited about the prospect of seeing Koula there now

Sadly the situation with Tom for some time now has been every time he makes a run or is tackled you're on the edge of your seat worried that he's fallen victim to another injury, not good for the team or the supporters

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

Sadly the situation with Tom for some time now has been every time he makes a run or is tackled you're on the edge of your seat worried that he's fallen victim to another injury, not good for the team or the supporters

I wonder if he feels the same way we supporters do: ie, if every tackle he goes into, either in attack or defence, he wonders if he'll come out of it unharmed. Couldn't do his confidence any good at all.

 

[Jay Eagle]

I think Tom needs to refocus where he is and who he is on this next 6 to 8 weeks.
He needs to be a Manly first footy player, go back to his youth mentality of just dreaming to play for the mighty Maroon and White..
He needs to forget the hype just play footy and play hard in every aspect.
Maybe if he treated every run or tackle as his last he may get back to some decent footy.
He needs to tell the Rep teams to back off and focus on Manly.
I personally think he actually has been saving his body at times because of Origin.. yes I get it..it's rep footy, he is a NSW gun and wants the origin victory at the highest level..blah blah blah..
But seriously he's defence in the last month has been very very restricted mentally I believe.
And I think it's because he fears the injury (that's just happened) because he will miss origin... and that's where he is going wrong.

Footy is a tough game and like any tough and physical endeavour if you go in half hearted or with self preservation in mind you come out injured or beaten.

Seriously he gets injured last week because he goes in half hearted.. Meninga commented after the game.. "with the game on the line, Tom's a big body and should have stopped that try, someone like Billy Slater would have lived for that effort"

My advice to Tom, forget the hype, focus on Manly and just play footy. Every hit run tackle as your last and you will be fine.

 

[Scorpio]

What do we do with Tom when he's back?

He's on $1m a year for the next few years. Fully fit he goes straight to fullback, no question. But for several years he is often out injured, hasn't looked fully fit for more than a few games, and his mobility and defensive ability have suffered as a result.

Koula and Hopoate have now both shown that they can do the job at fullback pretty well, and are doing some things better than Tom has this year (at less than full fitness).

So, do we put him straight back to fullback (and do as we've done for years expecting a different outcome), move him to centre where he's played in Origin and his lack of mobility wont be exposed as easily, or somewhere else (#14)?

 

[HK_Eagle]

'Don't overthink it': Joey's Turbo plea as switch beckons

'He doesn't have to do as much'

wwos.nine.com.au

It’s encouraging to know that the coaching staff are at least thinking about these things and not just blindly banging their heads against a brick wall.

 

[Brookie Bob]

What do we do with Tom when he's back?

He's on $1m a year for the next few years. Fully fit he goes straight to fullback, no question. But for several years he is often out injured, hasn't looked fully fit for more than a few games, and his mobility and defensive ability have suffered as a result.

Koula and Hopoate have now both shown that they can do the job at fullback pretty well, and are doing some things better than Tom has this year (at less than full fitness).

So, do we put him straight back to fullback (and do as we've done for years expecting a different outcome), move him to centre where he's played in Origin and his lack of mobility wont be exposed as easily, or somewhere else (#14)?

Excellent questions.

 

[HK_Eagle]

What do we do with Tom when he's back?

He's on $1m a year for the next few years. Fully fit he goes straight to fullback, no question. But for several years he is often out injured, hasn't looked fully fit for more than a few games, and his mobility and defensive ability have suffered as a result.

Koula and Hopoate have now both shown that they can do the job at fullback pretty well, and are doing some things better than Tom has this year (at less than full fitness).

So, do we put him straight back to fullback (and do as we've done for years expecting a different outcome), move him to centre where he's played in Origin and his lack of mobility wont be exposed as easily, or somewhere else (#14)?

Put him in the prop rotation… it’s what he does best these days

 

[DUFFMAN]

Fully fit he is one of the best fullbacks but I don’t think he has been 100% fit for a few seasons.
The centres is less demanding on his body and I would rather have him playing 90-100% of games at centre then having him out for half the season at fullback.

It’s not like we will struggle to replace him at fullback, we have two blokes more than capable.

He is taking up a lot of salary cap space and would be overpaid for a centre on his current contract but is even more overpriced sitting on the sidelines.
He seems to be a team player and probably would agree to play another position if it meant he was playing a full season.

 

[Disco]

What do we do with Tom when he's back?

He's on $1m a year for the next few years. Fully fit he goes straight to fullback, no question. But for several years he is often out injured, hasn't looked fully fit for more than a few games, and his mobility and defensive ability have suffered as a result.

Koula and Hopoate have now both shown that they can do the job at fullback pretty well, and are doing some things better than Tom has this year (at less than full fitness).

So, do we put him straight back to fullback (and do as we've done for years expecting a different outcome), move him to centre where he's played in Origin and his lack of mobility wont be exposed as easily, or somewhere else (#14)?

Boring answer, but we need to look at Koula (or possibly Hoppa) over the next month.

I think many jumping the gun atm

 

[Rocky]

Turbo basically misses half the season on average (a guess) between injuries and origin. That's crazy when talking about a spine player.

The club needs more stability and I think Tom defends well in the centers and does well in that roving attacking role. It is a lot of money to park in the centers but if it adds to team stability and Turbo's longevity then it is the right move.

And with the emergence of Hopoate and the brilliance of Koula we have some really good options.

It is time to make some decisions for the future.

 

[double hoops]

Unless someone puts a case forward in the no 1 on why fullback should be there's for the rest of 24 it's academic.

But if Turbos not back till say Rd 20 and the teams firing with a different custodian.

The team thing to do is not upset the apple cart, and find a spot where our marquee man can add.

 

[Eagle 1]

What do we do with Tom when he's back?

He's on $1m a year for the next few years. Fully fit he goes straight to fullback, no question. But for several years he is often out injured, hasn't looked fully fit for more than a few games, and his mobility and defensive ability have suffered as a result.

Koula and Hopoate have now both shown that they can do the job at fullback pretty well, and are doing some things better than Tom has this year (at less than full fitness).

So, do we put him straight back to fullback (and do as we've done for years expecting a different outcome), move him to centre where he's played in Origin and his lack of mobility wont be exposed as easily, oKoula and r somewhere else (#14)?

Toms not a marquee player for nothing, we've got more attacking options with Tom calling the shots from the back. Scores his regular trys and assists, but it's good to know we now have FB covered in Koula and Lehi.

 

[Scorpio]

Toms not a marquee player for nothing, we've got more attacking options with Tom calling the shots from the back. Scores his regular trys and assists, but it's good to know we now have FB covered in Koula and Lehi.

My main concern is his performance at fullback during the half of the game that's played when the team doesn't have the ball.

 

[Eagle 1]

My main concern is his performance at fullback during the half of the game that's played when the team doesn't have the ball.

Think we are judging Tom harshly, a lot of missed tackles by Tom are when they are running full bore close to the line, virtually tackling them when close to the line or over the line. Not many fullbacks can pull off these sort of tackles tbh.

 

[Scorpio]

Think we are judging Tom harshly, a lot of missed tackles by Tom are when they are running full bore close to the line, virtually tackling them when close to the line or over the line. Not many fullbacks can pull off these sort of tackles tbh.

He's not going to save every try of course, but IMO it's the final 1% plays that he no longer seems to be doing, either because of mobility or self-preservation... We've already seen several times this year that he often stops because he can't/doesn't change direction quickly enough, or he doesn't sprint across to prevent a try that is likely going to be scored.

It's a slippery slope... If the highest paid player in the team isn't doing those 1% plays, then soon enough the rest of the team will follow.

But it seems like the coaching staff are at least aware of the issue which is a good thing.

 

[HK_Eagle]

Think we are judging Tom harshly, a lot of missed tackles by Tom are when they are running full bore close to the line, virtually tackling them when close to the line or over the line. Not many fullbacks can pull off these sort of tackles tbh.

FFS, Blaize Talagi steamrolled over the top of him in the first Parra game... that would never happen previous seasons, and it wasn't an isolated incident. The tackle where he did his hammy was just as pathetic, with no shoulder in it.

 

[Eagle 1]

He's not going to save every try of course, but IMO it's the final 1% plays that he no longer seems to be doing, either because of mobility or self-preservation... We've already seen several times this year that he often stops because he can't/doesn't change direction quickly enough, or he doesn't sprint across to prevent a try that is likely going to be scored.

It's a slippery slope... If the highest paid player in the team isn't doing those 1% plays, then soon enough the rest of the team will follow.

But it seems like the coaching staff are at least aware of the issue which is a good thing.

0k, yeah, you've made some valid points. Lot of this for Tom is a confidence thing, we can only hope after the latest set back he'll be back to or close to his old self again.

 

[Eagle 1]

FFS, Blaize Talagi steamrolled over the top of him in the first Parra game... that would never happen previous seasons, and it wasn't an isolated incident. The tackle where he did his hammy was just as pathetic, with no shoulder in it.

Talagi was already over the line when Tom attempted the tackle, hardly good comparison.

 

[HK_Eagle]

Talagi was already over the line when Tom attempted the tackle, hardly good comparison.

It was a pathetic effort, wherever it happens on the field. The 90kg 2" shorter debutant steamrolled him.

A good fullback with size and strength on his side could well have stopped Talagi. Not easy to stop the try, granted, but certainly possible.