Tito

[Girds89]

Rookie of the year.

1000% deserved...

Kids a freak.

He doesnt get enough love on here.. basically the safest winger in the comp.. carts it back a million miles an hour and despite being tiny somehow gets us momentum every run.

Knew he was something special for years.. and whilst people have doubted him this year, or had a crack at his finishing... it was obvious he is all class.

He will get better and better too.. for the amount of love staines got off the back of poor performances from a lot its kinda a shame there hasnt been more posted about this bloke this year.

Hes been a huge part of our success and hes a real winner.

I hope he saves his best for this weekend.. couple high flying outside men oposing him. This will be his toughest challenge to date.

Lets go tito.

 

[Pjf04b]

He is also our most improved. His finishing, catching and kick returns are so far ahead of the first round.

 

[Hooked]

He has had a wonderful year. Gotten better as the season went on.
Only the 2nd Panther to win Dally M rookie of the year. The 1st was Brandy back in 1984.

 

[Chins get the wins]

He's a fullback and we'll only be able to keep him for a limited time unfortunately.

 

[The Realist]

He's a fullback and we'll only be able to keep him for a limited time unfortunately.

There are plenty of players who fancied themselves fullbacks but have been forced to have careers on the wing (or other outside back positions). The biggest example for us Panthers is DWZ.

There is a massive glut in the NRL for the fullback position. Turuva is an old style running fullback. There isn't much room at the elite level for that 'old fashioned' style of fullback anymore. Ball playing Fullbacks are all the rage, and if you aren't, you have to have some other exceptional attributes. Having a good kick return and being relatively safe under the high ball doesn't cut it.

 

[Chins get the wins]

There are plenty of players who fancied themselves fullbacks but have been forced to have careers on the wing (or other outside back positions). The biggest example for us Panthers is DWZ.

There is a massive glut in the NRL for the fullback position. Turuva is an old style running fullback. There isn't much room at the elite level for that 'old fashioned' style of fullback anymore. Ball playing Fullbacks are all the rage, and if you aren't, you have to have some other exceptional attributes. Having a good kick return and being relatively safe under the high ball doesn't cut it.

Cuts it for Edwards. Turuva's running in the middle is 10X better than on an edge. Someone will take a punt on him I have no doubt

 

[Munky]

There are plenty of players who fancied themselves fullbacks but have been forced to have careers on the wing (or other outside back positions). The biggest example for us Panthers is DWZ.

There is a massive glut in the NRL for the fullback position. Turuva is an old style running fullback. There isn't much room at the elite level for that 'old fashioned' style of fullback anymore. Ball playing Fullbacks are all the rage, and if you aren't, you have to have some other exceptional attributes. Having a good kick return and being relatively safe under the high ball doesn't cut it.

Very similar to AJ.

Absolutely amazing winger from the get go in a beast team. Hyped as a fullback but was so ineffective there Souths were willing to let him go until going back to being a gun winger.

Tito is a better returner though.

His put downs still give me heart palpitations though. He's stopped coming off his wing too which is great to see.

Edit: I'm not saying he can't make a go of it at fullback just that recent history shows it's a hard transition. Holmes is the most recent failure.

 

[The Realist]

Very similar to AJ.

Absolutely amazing winger from the get go in a beast team. Hyped as a fullback but was so ineffective there Souths were willing to let him go until going back to being a gun winger.

Tito is a better returner though.

His put downs still give me heart palpitations though. He's stopped coming off his wing too which is great to see.

Early on this year he had some pretty big deficiencies as a winger. Even the middle of the season he had a few clear weaknesses. By the end of the season he has no clear weaknesses. Outstanding progress.

 

[Munky]

Early on this year he had some pretty big deficiencies as a winger. Even the middle of the season he had a few clear weaknesses. By the end of the season he has no clear weaknesses. Outstanding progress.

Still puts the ball down right handed with the cover defence coming over. It's a minor thing but a 1% play from a defender could dislodge the ball.

Marginal gains and all that shit.

 

[The Realist]

Cuts it for Edwards. Turuva's running in the middle is 10X better than on an edge. Someone will take a punt on him I have no doubt

No. Edwards is an exceptional kick returner, not just good or very good. but his truly exceptional attributes are his defense and fitness. With defense it is not just his ability to tackle or plug gaps, but as many have said - his ability to organise the entire teams defensive line.

His fitness is unparalleled.

I see no evidence that Tino has either of those qualities and my bet is that he is far short of Edwards.

Also Edwards now has some modest (but effective) play making skills that he simply didn't have 3 years ago.

So in short, Edwards is not just a good kick returner that is safe. In 2023 he is far more than that.

 

[Iamback]

He's a fullback and we'll only be able to keep him for a limited time unfortunately.

If Luai goes we can offer more and stretch it out for longer

 

[Chins get the wins]

If Luai goes we can offer more and stretch it out for longer

To'o is on the big bucks for a winger. The club with back cheap youth on the other wing imo

 

[Iamback]

To'o is on the big bucks for a winger. The club with back cheap youth on the other wing imo

They should but not easy to find a winger to do the ugly stuff we need.

Depends on how well May takes to centre. That leaves Cole as a cheap 6 and means we can spend elsewhere.

Having Henry, Cole and McLean locked up long term allows flexibility with the middle tier players

 

[Hamstring awareness]

One of our best last night I thought. His runs were outstanding.

As one of the few who wasn’t there in 21/22 he seemed particularly stoked to get a ring.

 

[MrBlack]

He and Kenny have been our most improved players this year