Up front grunt

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Matabele

Journey Man
What concerns me about 2006 is a distinct lack of up front grunt. It's all very well having Orford but not when the pack goes backwards.

These days you need 4 quality props.

We have:

Kite
Kylie (assume 8 games missed with suspension)
King (50/50 proposition at best).
Bryant (journeyman, a PL prop really)

and who else?

We're placing a hell of a lot of faith in Kite and if he gets injured I suspect we have wooden spoon potential still.

Who is going to plug the up-front gap?
 

The Wheel

https://membership.seaeagles.com.au/
Premium Member
I share your concern about the props but surely we can avoid the dreaded spoon no matter what happens with injury etc in 2006
 
I am in complete agreement. This is our number one problem. All the Final Four teams from last year had either serious grunt and stability up front (Ryles and Bailey, Skando and Payton, Cayless and Vella, Tronc and Rauhihi, etc)
Hopefully my son Kane can step up to the challenge this year.
 

The Wheel

https://membership.seaeagles.com.au/
Premium Member
Other props in the club are:

Rose - we really have to hope he gets fits & is one out of the box
Curtis - probably should be warming the P/L bench
Deadwood - as above
Sinone - who knows but hopefully he provides a Foi Foi type of impact
Arnold - as above who knows but hopefully turns out to be NRL bench player
Cleal - been around for a while, like Rose needs to step up to his abiltiy/reputation

We have to keep our fingers crossed that 1 or 2 of these guys improve enough to be solid NRL players to support the others Matabele mentioned above.
 

Fluffy

Journey Man
It all depends on the type of game the coach want to play.

The tigers do not have serious up from grunt - they played with just 2 props a lot of the time and sometimes started with 4 back rowers. Des' style does appear to be based on the Spud/Cement days, we dont have that roster now.
 

Ryan

Journey Man
My Opinion:-

1. Brent Kite is one of the best props going around on his day.
2. Kylie Leuleuai can be extremely damaging when he isn't suspended. He has worked on his technique, and is fringe NZ side. He is an awesome prop.
3. Jason King like we have all said in my opinion is going to have a cracker year. He is training the house down, and is being touted as a leader type.
4. If you watch ANY game Mark Bryant played, he put his all in, and personally, I would rate his as a much better prop than many, many others in the NRL. He aint Luke Bailey, but he's improving every week.

I also think that we have SOOO much depth in this area, the guys playing 1sts will HAVE to play well...or they are under deep pressure.

To be honest, I bet 2 out of the 4 already feel that pressure.

Apparently Arnold was a stand out in Premier League last year.

Also, I think Styles is one of the best props I have seen going around...
 

The Wheel

https://membership.seaeagles.com.au/
Premium Member
Depth isn't the problem, quality is. We need a few of these standout premier league players to become quality NRL players
 

Garts

First Grader
Hopefully Arnold turns out like Rahaui from the Cowboys, he was in the Navy and also a late starter.

Personally I dont rate Styles that much, seen him do some good things but not on a consistant basis.
 

Jatz Crackers

First Grader
We did a poll on this site some weeks back asking what area of the team in 2006 will worry you most :

a) The forwards
b) The halves
c) The backs

I chose a) because at the time I had little optimism about King and there were way too many negatives & unknowns with the likes of Kane and some of the others.

Wheel is correct when he says, its not the depth. Its the quality. Im very optimistic about this year but I cant blame Mata or anyone else for harbouring doubts about our go forward.
 

Canteen Worker

First Grader
Is anyone talking about Cuthbertson. I reckon he is one out of the box and should be good for two lots of 20 mins if he continues to develop. He is young and I think he is good enough.

Cleal is training the house down and could be ready to develop.

Time will tell!
 

The Wheel

https://membership.seaeagles.com.au/
Premium Member
CW, I reckon Cuthbo is a backrower thru & thru. Tall & lanky, likes running wide of the rucks. Great replacement for Beaver next year
 

Ryan

Journey Man
Cuthbo is the difinite replacement for Kennedy when he retires...Same playing style.

Guys - list Wests, Melbourne, Souths, Cronulla, Canberra, Parramatta etc etc teams, and you will find our forwards are on par if not better than these teams:-

The 2 best is obviously:-

Sainsts - Bailey, Ryles..
Bulldogs - Asotasi, Mason..
We have - Kite, Leuleuai (almost Kiwi team)...that aint far off. You'll note the other teams have two prime players, two fringe players...
 

The Wheel

https://membership.seaeagles.com.au/
Premium Member
Ryan - Kylie isn't patch on Bailey/Ryles/Mason/Asotasi/Webcke/Cincovia
 

Ryan

Journey Man
Fair enough:- Australian props you have named...how about the second teir props? He is up there...
 

CC_Eagle

Reserve Grader
I made a similar post over at WSS Mata, this years forward depth concerns me..

Out of our "NRL" props only four have 1st grade experience..two of which are yet to even play fifty NRL games. And another is an absolute pansy.

Sione and Arnold are untried at NRL level. Sione has been thrown between clubs for years.

Moorwood and Curtis are King of the Nuffies. If either gets a run in 1st grade this year I'll cry.

Cleal is an option, but maybe after another 2-3 years.

Sims and Skandalis are off contract this year, either would be a very,very good buy IMO.
 

Garts

First Grader
No need to worry, King will shoulder the responsibility of 2 props for the whole season.

Surely the club must have faith in one of them to step up as they did release Hecks, I am hoping that they are very very confident one of them will.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Lets pray that Cleal, Sione alphabet, Conrad alphabet or Arnold step up this year as 1st grade props because we need them to. It's a big ask but hopefully they will come through.

With King no doubt reading this site and seeing that he has at last received Mata's encouragement he will no doubt be prop of the year. We just need a couple more to support him.
 
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24 17 7 186 40
24 16 8 275 38
24 16 8 222 38
24 15 9 89 36
24 14 10 96 34
24 13 10 113 33
24 12 12 -40 30
24 12 12 -127 30
24 11 13 -1 28
24 11 13 -126 28
24 10 14 -70 26
24 9 14 -62 25
24 8 16 -168 22
24 7 17 -155 20
24 7 17 -188 20
24 6 18 -287 18
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