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Who were you surprised never made it?

AJB1102

First Grade
Messages
6,339
Jarrod Sammut is another from Penrith that amounted to f**k all. Pronging the coaches daughter isnt a great career move apparently.

Didn't he get "no ragretts" tattooed on him (note incorrect spelling)?

Didn't know about coach's daughter lol you'd get rid of em both
 

Manu Vatuvei

Coach
Messages
16,676
Warriors game plan in 2002 of just give it to Lauitiiti /Jones was a rather effective one. What happened? falling out with the coach? lazy?

Lauiti'iti picked up some sort of weird injury in the 2002/03 off season- I believe a bone cyst or something like that? He missed most of the 2003 season which was a massive shame because he was in his absolute prime.

Then he departed in 2004 in equally weird circumstances. There was nothing particularly bad about his form but the Warriors had started the season poorly and questions were being asked. Apparently the story goes that Daniel Anderson and Mick Watson (I think it was them at the time?) asked Ali whether rugby league was his number 1 priority in life. He told them it was third behind family and religion. He was then pretty much summarily sacked on the spot because in the club's opinion he had "made it clear the Warriors weren't a priority to him".

The irony is that this bloke who apparently didn't care about football played 294 games in Super League and didn't retire until he was 37 years old.

He's a cult hero at Leeds but I still feel he never amounted to what he should have. He was able to be a superstar over there by sort of cruising through games and ended up as an impact bench player when really he should have been the best forward in Super League. He also played his last test for the Kiwis a decade before his retirement, he should have been our best forward of the 2000s.
 

Meth

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
34,478
Lauiti'iti picked up some sort of weird injury in the 2002/03 off season- I believe a bone cyst or something like that? He missed most of the 2003 season which was a massive shame because he was in his absolute prime.

Then he departed in 2004 in equally weird circumstances. There was nothing particularly bad about his form but the Warriors had started the season poorly and questions were being asked. Apparently the story goes that Daniel Anderson and Mick Watson (I think it was them at the time?) asked Ali whether rugby league was his number 1 priority in life. He told them it was third behind family and religion. He was then pretty much summarily sacked on the spot because in the club's opinion he had "made it clear the Warriors weren't a priority to him".

The irony is that this bloke who apparently didn't care about football played 294 games in Super League and didn't retire until he was 37 years old.

He's a cult hero at Leeds but I still feel he never amounted to what he should have. He was able to be a superstar over there by sort of cruising through games and ended up as an impact bench player when really he should have been the best forward in Super League. He also played his last test for the Kiwis a decade before his retirement, he should have been our best forward of the 2000s.

wasn't Monty Betham somehow involved too?
 

Manu Vatuvei

Coach
Messages
16,676
wasn't Monty Betham somehow involved too?

Shit I think you're right. He was captain so I guess had some say in it, although I get the feeling it might have been more that he came out in the media and supported the decision. Something along the lines of "I agree with management, we only want fully committed players at the Warriors" etc

Kinda crazy actually that Betham is so prominent in the media these days and that never comes up
 

Manu Vatuvei

Coach
Messages
16,676
Iafeta Paleaasina. I had never seen anything like him when he burst (so apt a word) onto the scene. He went to England so early- must've played there for a decade or so.

Since way back when it happened I've been spruiking the unpopular opinion that we should have kept Paleaaesina and not signed Wiki.

Paleaaesina was developing nicely into a frontline prop during our dud 2004 season, and then we went and bought Wiki and Price and relegated our most promising 22 year old prop back to bench impact status behind 32 year old Wiki. Unsurprisingly he headed for greener pastures.

Believe it or not, like Lauiti'iti he actually only just retired.

What's most frustrating is when the promising players don't actually do anything wrong and just get moved on due to poor management.
 

blaza88z

Coach
Messages
15,065
I can't believe Kevin Locke is now playing for the Sunshine Coast Falcons

When he came into the NRL you were just thinking how good is this kid going to be
 
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