Loko....

[True EEL]

You are kidding right?

Ben Smith has been DREADFUL this year.

He would've been stood up by Barba twice as badly as Loko was...

Smith was the revolving door in the centers v cowboys - no surprise we went for a 'specialist' the following game.

u can't be sure of that.....

 

[Parra]

Loko could be a great tackler. We'll never know because he displayed an uncanny knack of being around 20 metres away from where the tackle needed to be made.

He was lost out there. Not his fault that he was out there though.

 

[eels81236]

Ideally he should be at Wenty still. Second best is 2 or 5 now that he is up. As he learns he will move inside (next year at best).
When Morgan comes back to play centre, pair Reddy and Loko one side, Morgs and Burt on the other. Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Loko has all the tools to make it. Patience is a virtue.

 

[Eels Dude]

Loko is still very young. He is a talent but at his age he probably isn't ready for the week to week grind of the NRL. There's no harm in giving him a rest in reserves to work on his game, only problem is we don't have anyone better to replace him with.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

2nd game in the Nrl , GIVE HIM SOME TIME.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Even if he gets murdered week after week?

I dont think his defence is that far behind the rest of the squad. He would learn more from staying in grade then being dropped. If i were to drop him it would be when we have had a few wins and Morgan is ready to come back.

 

[Eels Dude]

I dont think his defence is that far behind the rest of the squad. He would learn more from staying in grade then being dropped. If i were to drop him it would be when we have had a few wins and Morgan is ready to come back.

Thing is Loko is not used to playing against big players in NYC... he could probably benefit from being given a run against the big boppas in NSW Cup before he plays first grade.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Im sure he's played some NSW Cup previously.

I think that he's at the stage where he needs to learn to deal with adversity. He's had it pretty easy in the NYC so it will be a great learning experience for him if he overcomes this hard period on top.

 

[Eels Dude]

Im sure he's played some NSW Cup previously.

I think that he's at the stage where he needs to learn to deal with adversity. He's had it pretty easy in the NYC so it will be a great learning experience for him if he overcomes this hard period on top.

I don't think that he has but i'm willing to be corrected if I'm wrong. He was supposed to make his debut for Wenty 2 weeks ago but he ended up getting elevated to first grade.

But yes you are correct with your latter point. He's used to playing playing guys much smaller then him in Toyato Cup. Now he's playing against players his size and even bigger so will take some time for him to get used to that.

 

[Runaround Man]

Oh By the way when Barba scored his third try he stood up Mortimer badly...

Don't mean to be pedantic but I was right in front of the third Barba try and Barba was put in a gap and Mortimer was the closest defender but he couldn't get to barba in time. No fault of Mortimer.....He was defending better than many others

 

[aqua_duck]

It wasn't the fact he was getting bulldozed, he was missing tackles left right and centre, half the time he'd miss so badly he wouldnt even get a hand to them. The kid is a turnstile ATM, opposition teams I guarantee you will target him everyweek

 

[cumberlandcozza]

yep, sack him and put fats back in their..... there's no way Ben B could stand him up.

 

[caylo]

It wasn't the fact he was getting bulldozed, he was missing tackles left right and centre, half the time he'd miss so badly he wouldnt even get a hand to them. The kid is a turnstile ATM, opposition teams I guarantee you will target him everyweek

I disagree mate, go back and watch the game.

The kid defended very well in the first 30min, he contained idris and hodkinson, and his turn and chase in defence was good.

After Hayne and Hindy were sent off he lost the plot a bit and tried to jam in but that was generally after the bulldogs killed us with second phase play.

You cant expect a 2 game rookie to have a level head when you most experianced players arnt. IMO he showed enough in the first 30min to suggest that he has the ability to contain most players in the centres if he could contain idris like he did (cut him down very well on a few occations one on one). He will learn how to deal will pressure in time, experiance only comes with time out in the middle.

 

[Ike E Bear]

Can he play wing?

I'd rather him there than Etu, if so.

I think we should persist with him, but maybe relieve him of some of the defensive pressures of centre.

I'd do more harm than good to drop him on form.

 

[Kornstar]

Brings us back to the question of why our juniors seldom step up when selected! Look at the Broncos and Melbourne, they seem ready even though they are young.......

Even the Roosters last year debuted young guts that looked comfortable straight away!!

Hope part of this "structure" includes addressing that!!!!

FWIW, I don't have too many issues with Loko, hope he stays in first grade considering this is a building year and it doesnt matter if we win any games........

 

[andrew057]

Brings us back to the question of why our juniors seldom step up when selected! Look at the Broncos and Melbourne, they seem ready even though they are young.......

Even the Roosters last year debuted young guts that looked comfortable straight away!!

Hope part of this "structure" includes addressing that!!!!

FWIW, I don't have too many issues with Loko, hope he stays in first grade considering this is a building year and it doesnt matter if we win any games........

All the teams mentioned have good/experienced halves, which shouldnt be overlooked when juniors step up.

 

[caylo]

All the teams mentioned have good/experienced halves, which shouldnt be overlooked when juniors step up.

Not just that, we have had almost all out point put on us out wide. Our edge defence seams paper thin and im thinking it more the coaching style is not there yet or the players are yet to adapt to it 100%.

Guys like Hayne, Inu, Mannah, Smith (both ben and tim) and Horo had good seasons first up. Some of them went on to struggle later on but simply if your in a strong team then you have the ability to shine more often. Dave Williams did that, not the best winger going around but he was on the end of a good pack with a good set of halves and he did his job by finishing triesm he went on to play origin and show how ordinary he was.

 

[Kornstar]

For teams that are always in the Matts & Ball finals, it is a ridiculously low success rate at playing first grade and handling it imo.

 

[worier]

Why is Jacob Loko not playing in the back row ? I only ask after watching this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzblBHVsuV8 The current Eel back row are all 1 dimensional, this guy's a beast he'll add a lot of grunt to the pack.

 

[Gronk]

Why is Jacob Loko not playing in the back row ?

There is a reason why children don't play back row in the NRL. Think about it.