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Parra Podcasts

Delboy

Delboy

First Grade
Messages
6,883
Great podcast, as far as Wenty is concerned certainly Mahoney was by far the leader in round 1. Having said that, coaching in that team has been an issue for a fair while, and to be honest I see nothing to believe that their current coach should be there.
Understandably it's a tough gig , but since Rip Taylor was in there coaching as an old style tough nut, we have gone massively backwards.
Really needs a different type of coach, it's not working and is a massive issue as a back up to NRL, not sure just because you are a club stalwart doesn't translate into ability sorry to say.
 
hineyrulz

hineyrulz

Post Whore
Messages
148,714
Apparently Wenty weren’t keen on Caylo but the Eels insisted.


He’s really repaying the faith.
 
parra-matters

parra-matters

Coach
Messages
13,874
Forty i think your blow up was a little more than a sneeze mate, you really need to get more fired up next time. I know i will next week if we get hammered again this sunday.
 
Gazzamatta

Gazzamatta

Coach
Messages
14,334
The epitome of a good listen guys.
Totally agreed with PMs analysis of the 5 key areas requiring improvement. He nailed it imho.
Ive heard good things of Dressler but am yet to see him play. Any updates?
What with our decision to not match offers for Twal and Keppie I was wondering if you guys could shed some light on juniors you see as being prioriries up front.
Thanks guys.
 
parra-matters

parra-matters

Coach
Messages
13,874
Gazzamatta said:
The epitome of a good listen guys.
Totally agreed with PMs analysis of the 5 key areas requiring improvement. He nailed it imho.
Ive heard good things of Dressler but am yet to see him play. Any updates?
What with our decision to not match offers for Twal and Keppie I was wondering if you guys could shed some light on juniors you see as being prioriries up front.
Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
so glad you are enjoying the podcast and that you agree with me is even better lol.
Forty20 should be able to help you with those juniors.
I'd say with Twal is was a opportunity that the Tigers offered that enticed him. And good on him he is going well for them.
 
Forty20

Forty20

First Grade
Messages
7,677
Gazzamatta said:
The epitome of a good listen guys.
Totally agreed with PMs analysis of the 5 key areas requiring improvement. He nailed it imho.
Ive heard good things of Dressler but am yet to see him play. Any updates?
What with our decision to not match offers for Twal and Keppie I was wondering if you guys could shed some light on juniors you see as being prioriries up front.
Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

Lots to break down and delve into so let me flex the old typing thingamabobs.

Dresler is facing a similar battle to what Gutho had to overcome in regards to re-injuring the same knee, except he had more complications along the way. His timeline for a return to the Flegg is a little murky last I heard but it could be anywhere from 4-8 weeks. He was truly outstanding for us in the SG Ball in 2016 and after a strong start to 2017 he unfortunately banged that troublesome knee up.

Superb character, honestly can not speak highly enough of him having met and spoken to him dozens of times now. As good a club man as you will ever find for someone his age. Regardless of how tough his rehab was over the last 12 months he turned up to both SG Ball and Holden Cup/Jersey Flegg games to barrack for his mates and has run the water and tee this year in Flegg.

If he gets back to anywhere near his best he is one of quite a few returning players (Filia Utoikamanu, Salesi Faingaa, Beni Valu, John Fonua, Mitch Butfield plus SG Ball talent like JP Nohra and Stefano Utoikamanu) that will really boost the 20s down the stretch.

The Twal and Keppie situations were unfortunate. Wests paid a pretty hefty premium for Twal as I understand but he is obviously playing some good footy for them. I am glad that he is doing well but you could make a very compelling case that his talents wouldn't augment our current pack or address the well noted blockbuster-prop-shaped-hole in our roster.

Looking from the outside-in I think the loss of Keppie was a complex arrangement of factors. To a degree I think Manly snuck in under our guard - especially given they were right in the thick of their salary cap investigation and you would expect the NRL to put a freeze on any Top 30 player transactions they could make until the full extent of the findings were presented.

The other factor at play here is, and I know fans are frustrated that our supposed gun juniors still haven't manifested in first grade, but we have a raft of tough calls to make from here on out. Opinions will vary because talent identification is such an inexact science (and we fans are only privy to a tiny percentage of what makes up the process) but there are probably well over 12 player in our 2018 Jersey Flegg squad that have varying degrees of NRL potential.

Will all of them make it? Almost certainly not. Can you keep over a dozen prospective NRL talents stashed away in the T30/D6 roster system? Absolutely not. So you need to make the right call on which players to keep and I think Keppie is something of a victim to that process. We wanted to keep him but conversely we didn't necessarily commit the resources (a Top 30 spot) to locking him up due to higher priorities in junior retention and NRL development.

I think fans need to be prepared for rival clubs to pinch more than a few handy players off us in the coming seasons due to the ridiculous success of the two junior classes that started their journeys in Harold Matthews classes of 2015 and 2016 respectively. Sean Keppie and Matt Doorey has been poached for 2019 so we need to hit it out of the park with who we keep because it could set us up for a sustained run in the NRL.

Off the top of my head (and apologies to any players I miss/forget) Flegg players you probably want to monitor go something like this:

Tui Afualo (Centre)
Noel Aukafolau (Centre)
Dylan Brown (Half)
Jesse Cronin (EDGE/Lock)
Steve Dresler (Prop/Lock)
Haze Dunster (Wing)
Salesi Faingaa (EDGE)
John Fonua (Fullback/Wing)
Oregon Kaufusi (Prop)
Reed Mahoney (Hooker)
John Paul Nohra (Fullback)
Ethan Parry (Wing)
Jaeman Salmon (Half/Super Utility)
Kyle Schneider (Hooker)
Joe Taipari (Half)
Michael Tupou (Lock)
Filia Utoikamanu (EDGE)
Stefano Utoikamanu (Prop)

That is only dipping into the SG Ball squad for Nohra, Schneider and Stefano by the by. No way they all go on to play NRL but you begin to see the problem here, the club has sort out who to keep - and at what priority - from from that rather lengthy list.

Ham and I will probably go over this again in the next installment of the podcast but hopefully that covers you until next week, mate!
 
Gazzamatta

Gazzamatta

Coach
Messages
14,334
Forty20 said:
Lots to break down and delve into so let me flex the old typing thingamabobs.

Dresler is facing a similar battle to what Gutho had to overcome in regards to re-injuring the same knee, except he had more complications along the way. His timeline for a return to the Flegg is a little murky last I heard but it could be anywhere from 4-8 weeks. He was truly outstanding for us in the SG Ball in 2016 and after a strong start to 2017 he unfortunately banged that troublesome knee up.

Superb character, honestly can not speak highly enough of him having met and spoken to him dozens of times now. As good a club man as you will ever find for someone his age. Regardless of how tough his rehab was over the last 12 months he turned up to both SG Ball and Holden Cup/Jersey Flegg games to barrack for his mates and has run the water and tee this year in Flegg.

If he gets back to anywhere near his best he is one of quite a few returning players (Filia Utoikamanu, Salesi Faingaa, Beni Valu, John Fonua, Mitch Butfield plus SG Ball talent like JP Nohra and Stefano Utoikamanu) that will really boost the 20s down the stretch.

The Twal and Keppie situations were unfortunate. Wests paid a pretty hefty premium for Twal as I understand but he is obviously playing some good footy for them. I am glad that he is doing well but you could make a very compelling case that his talents wouldn't augment our current pack or address the well noted blockbuster-prop-shaped-hole in our roster.

Looking from the outside-in I think the loss of Keppie was a complex arrangement of factors. To a degree I think Manly snuck in under our guard - especially given they were right in the thick of their salary cap investigation and you would expect the NRL to put a freeze on any Top 30 player transactions they could make until the full extent of the findings were presented.

The other factor at play here is, and I know fans are frustrated that our supposed gun juniors still haven't manifested in first grade, but we have a raft of tough calls to make from here on out. Opinions will vary because talent identification is such an inexact science (and we fans are only privy to a tiny percentage of what makes up the process) but there are probably well over 12 player in our 2018 Jersey Flegg squad that have varying degrees of NRL potential.

Will all of them make it? Almost certainly not. Can you keep over a dozen prospective NRL talents stashed away in the T30/D6 roster system? Absolutely not. So you need to make the right call on which players to keep and I think Keppie is something of a victim to that process. We wanted to keep him but conversely we didn't necessarily commit the resources (a Top 30 spot) to locking him up due to higher priorities in junior retention and NRL development.

I think fans need to be prepared for rival clubs to pinch more than a few handy players off us in the coming seasons due to the ridiculous success of the two junior classes that started their journeys in Harold Matthews classes of 2015 and 2016 respectively. Sean Keppie and Matt Doorey has been poached for 2019 so we need to hit it out of the park with who we keep because it could set us up for a sustained run in the NRL.

Off the top of my head (and apologies to any players I miss/forget) Flegg players you probably want to monitor go something like this:

Tui Afualo (Centre)
Noel Aukafolau (Centre)
Dylan Brown (Half)
Jesse Cronin (EDGE/Lock)
Steve Dresler (Prop/Lock)
Haze Dunster (Wing)
Salesi Faingaa (EDGE)
John Fonua (Fullback/Wing)
Oregon Kaufusi (Prop)
Reed Mahoney (Hooker)
John Paul Nohra (Fullback)
Ethan Parry (Wing)
Jaeman Salmon (Half/Super Utility)
Kyle Schneider (Hooker)
Joe Taipari (Half)
Michael Tupou (Lock)
Filia Utoikamanu (EDGE)
Stefano Utoikamanu (Prop)

That is only dipping into the SG Ball squad for Nohra, Schneider and Stefano by the by. No way they all go on to play NRL but you begin to see the problem here, the club has sort out who to keep - and at what priority - from from that rather lengthy list.

Ham and I will probably go over this again in the next installment of the podcast but hopefully that covers you until next week, mate!
Click to expand...
Fantastic summary. Ta 40.
From your list I see only 3 props who may have the right stuff and of cause how far off they are remains to be seen. With Mannah, Scott, Matagi and Vave unlikely for 2019 or nearing the end of their careers it does put pressure on our recruitment drive for middle forwards. I am concerned our strategy it this vital area has left our roster well short and will effect team performance moving forward.
 
Forty20

Forty20

First Grade
Messages
7,677
I think what it really boils down to is that an explosive/blockbuster/dynamic middle forward commands the highest premium out of any non-playmaking role in rugby league. In many ways, they are the most special athletes to step onto the field in any given game because of the unique blend of size, speed, power and endurance they possess.

There is a fascinating parallel to the NFL here really. Even if you don't give two shits about American Football, everyone knows that Quarterbacks are the most important players to a franchise. They command stupidly large contracts proportionately to everyone else on the roster - just like halves in the NRL.

However, the players that command the next biggest premium? The guys that are the scariest athletes on the park? D-linesmen (specifically, outstanding pass rushing D-linesmen) who are the biggest, most explosive athletes in the entire league. The truly special ones (Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack) are actually about to get paid quarterback money, just like what happened with how Jason Taumalolo got primary play-maker money in the NRL.

The problem with both the NRL and NFL in this regard is that these game-tilting, non-play-maker individuals are simply so rare. Get one though and their impact transcends conventional bounds for the position.

Now this isn't to say that we couldn't have done a better job upgrading their pack. The Dragons stealing Paul Vaughan (please no memes, guys) out of our hands at the end of 2016 really stings with the benefit of hindsight. He is no Taumalolo but he has size, aggression and a real big engine.

Last year though? We were victims of circumstance in a a play market bereft of pack defining big men. Packer and Matulino have been solid for the Tigers but the club's upswing speaks far more to an improved attitude across the roster in defence. Kasiano? Boom or massive bust risk. Jordan McLean was a popular choice among fans but he was lukewarm at best for the Cowboys this year before that nasty lisfranc injury.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona was the real gem of the free agents but after the massive exodus of talent (including McLean) and subsequent influx of cap space meant there was no real chance at snaring him away from Darth Bellamy. On that note, Dean Richie's rumour about our interest in NAS the other night was a real surprise to me. If something is going down in the Bleak City that would lead to his release I would all over him in a flash.

In the end we settled for Kane Evans, likely trusting the processes that had unlocked the best of Nathan Brown to do something similar for the big man. He has been extremely disappointing thus far in 2018 but then again, so have the vast majority of the team.

As far as the three props you reference (Dresler, Kaufusi, S.Utoikamanu) they probably aren't as far off as you would imagine...but conversely none of the three should be seen as 2019 solutions. Injury really cruelled Dresler's development over the last year and a bit. Had he played out the 2017 season injury free he would be someone I could have seen putting himself into the bigger NRL picture.

Kaufusi is a really, really solid all around package as a bookend. He probably has the size to bloom into a good NRL prop. He could be the sort of bloke to make a big jump between seasons. He did just that between Harold Matthews and SG Ball.

Stefano is easily the most special athlete of the three, even as the youngest. He starts to get real close to that elite physical pedigree I started talking about ages ago in this post. He turns 18 this year and will likely get a good dose of Flegg experience soon. His growth trajectory is really hard to read because like most athletically blessed big men (who suffer plenty of injuries as all their ligaments and tendons struggle to keep pace with their frame) Stefano has missed a good chunk of footy in the past. If he can stay healthy it is hard to say just how quickly he can develop.
 
Last edited:
Poupou Escobar

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
84,801
Gazzamatta said:
Fantastic summary. Ta 40.
From your list I see only 3 props who may have the right stuff and of cause how far off they are remains to be seen. With Mannah, Scott, Matagi and Vave unlikely for 2019 or nearing the end of their careers it does put pressure on our recruitment drive for middle forwards. I am concerned our strategy it this vital area has left our roster well short and will effect team performance moving forward.
Click to expand...
Mannah is a certainty for 2019. He will only be 31 next year and if we don't re-sign him I'm certain he will end up somewhere else in the NRL.
 
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