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Injury update

betcats

Referee
Messages
23,441
Check out his suspension record in lower grades. Missed the 2015 NYC GF due to suspension. Played mainly lock in lower grades too a work in progress and deserves to start next year but that extra 6 months will do him wonders

It was mainly injuries and Mitch Rein that kept him out of the 9 in reserve grade and recently Egan but it’s Katoas ability to play in The forwards allows that.

As for his temperament, they made him captain of the reserve grade two seasons ago and he led team well for two years.

Calling him a work in progress at hooker is not really accurate, he has been waiting for his chance in fg, Wallace and Rein have been in his way. He was picked at hooker for the nz under twenties team and played hooker in our nyc side.
 

tripster

Juniors
Messages
1,957
Calling him a work in progress at hooker is not really accurate, he has been waiting for his chance in fg, Wallace and Rein have been in his way. He was picked at hooker for the nz under twenties team and played hooker in our nyc side.

He was also Tonga’s hooker in the World Cup, and was fantastic.
 

mxlegend99

Referee
Messages
23,004
It was mainly injuries and Mitch Rein that kept him out of the 9 in reserve grade and recently Egan but it’s Katoas ability to play in The forwards allows that.

As for his temperament, they made him captain of the reserve grade two seasons ago and he led team well for two years.

Calling him a work in progress at hooker is not really accurate, he has been waiting for his chance in fg, Wallace and Rein have been in his way. He was picked at hooker for the nz under twenties team and played hooker in our nyc side.
Utility value is bit of a curse. Might help get you into the NRL quicker. But it prevents players getting the best chance to develop too.

Peachey has no home in first grade. Thrown in at centre, half, hooker, second tow and lock. Unable to truly reach his potential anywhere as its only temporary.

May.. where exactly will his home in first grade be? The fact he can jump between the backs, halves, hooker and second row/lock tells me he will have the same NRL career as Peachey. He will get a bench spot as a fix it but only ever get a starting spot to cover injuries and never get dnough tome to develop in a position.

Katoa... his utility value saw him moved from his best position to fit someone in who couldnt play elsewhere

Backs tend to cop it a bit too. Centres/fullbacks on wing due to being able to fo it while inferior players who cant get yhrir preferred position.
 

franklin2323

Immortal
Messages
33,546
It was mainly injuries and Mitch Rein that kept him out of the 9 in reserve grade and recently Egan but it’s Katoas ability to play in The forwards allows that.

As for his temperament, they made him captain of the reserve grade two seasons ago and he led team well for two years.

Calling him a work in progress at hooker is not really accurate, he has been waiting for his chance in fg, Wallace and Rein have been in his way. He was picked at hooker for the nz under twenties team and played hooker in our nyc side.

He was part time hooker in our 20's side. Soni Luke was the hooker. He is less than 20 games into his FG career how is that not a work in progress?

I have no doubt he will start next year as our number 1 hooker but he is very raw in the hardest position on the field.
 
Messages
17,744
He was part time hooker in our 20's side. Soni Luke was the hooker. He is less than 20 games into his FG career how is that not a work in progress?

I have no doubt he will start next year as our number 1 hooker but he is very raw in the hardest position on the field.
What happened to Soni?
 

age.s

First Grade
Messages
6,920
I think what is often forgotten in all the debate about whether someone played a year to long is the fact your are a long time retired as well as the fact it would be damn hard to sacrafice that $1,000,000-00 (in Thurston's case) a year before your deal ends. For the majority of players the onset of retirement means the days of the big bucks are over and for most that mean's getting a real job to pay the mortgage and bills like the rest of us.

The "one season too long" trope is only really wheeled out for the Thurstons of the world. Dudes who've likely made more than enough money to last them (if used wisely) and who likely have a commentary gig for life if they want it. It's not something you'd say for guys like Tim Browne unless it was an assessment of the long term toll on his body or something.

Reckon it's overused anyway. Thurston is below his very high standards but still a long way from the worst halfback in the comp. Wallace was contributing well enough at the start of the year to warrant a spot and injury can dent the performance of any player at any age.
 

Kilkenny

Coach
Messages
13,135
Utility value is bit of a curse. Might help get you into the NRL quicker. But it prevents players getting the best chance to develop too.

Peachey has no home in first grade. Thrown in at centre, half, hooker, second tow and lock. Unable to truly reach his potential anywhere as its only temporary.

May.. where exactly will his home in first grade be? The fact he can jump between the backs, halves, hooker and second row/lock tells me he will have the same NRL career as Peachey. He will get a bench spot as a fix it but only ever get a starting spot to cover injuries and never get dnough tome to develop in a position.

Katoa... his utility value saw him moved from his best position to fit someone in who couldnt play elsewhere

Backs tend to cop it a bit too. Centres/fullbacks on wing due to being able to fo it while inferior players who cant get yhrir preferred position.

I agree. Sometimes being a utility can work against you. The Sharks didn't quite know what to do with Tyrone Peachy, hence he wasn't given a opportunity and Gus picked him up. He has been great for us even if he hasn't quite made one position his own.

While Tyrone May has filled a number of positions coming thru the grades I only see him as a lock forward. Other than a utility bench player, I don't see Tyrone May in our starting side in any other position than lock forward. Not going to be easy for Tyrone May to force his way into our starting 13 when everyone is fit and available. Gus likes him as a footballer and it was only the influence of Gus that got Tyrone his debut last season as I gather he wasn't being seriously considered by the coach at the time.
 

mxlegend99

Referee
Messages
23,004
He was part time hooker in our 20's side. Soni Luke was the hooker. He is less than 20 games into his FG career how is that not a work in progress?

I have no doubt he will start next year as our number 1 hooker but he is very raw in the hardest position on the field.
His real issue is holding off Egan.

How long will Katoa get as our first choice hooker? Egan has a way to go yet. But it seems a certainty that he's our longterm #9.

I don't see room for both with May being our likely utility. Unless he gets the lock position as rumored.
 

OldPanther

Coach
Messages
13,404
The "one season too long" trope is only really wheeled out for the Thurstons of the world. Dudes who've likely made more than enough money to last them (if used wisely) and who likely have a commentary gig for life if they want it. It's not something you'd say for guys like Tim Browne unless it was an assessment of the long term toll on his body or something.

Reckon it's overused anyway. Thurston is below his very high standards but still a long way from the worst halfback in the comp. Wallace was contributing well enough at the start of the year to warrant a spot and injury can dent the performance of any player at any age.

The problem for Wallace isn't that he's injured right now (everyone gets injuries)

The problem he has is the frequency with which he is getting those injuries. That's something that is starting to show his age and unlike JT does genuinely raise the question of has he gone one too many. Remember this is about 5 injuries in 12 months to make him miss game time.
 

Kev07

Juniors
Messages
366
Egan wasn't as impressive on the weekend in cup.
Over played his hand at times and on a couple of occasions chose the wrong option going short side when a clear over lap was on bombing try opportunities and at times kicking too early in the tackle count when we had the opposition back peddling.
He will get alot better with more game time at playing heads up and reading what's in front of him and making the right play but Katoa is slightly ahead of him in my eyes
 

tripster

Juniors
Messages
1,957
The problem for Wallace isn't that he's injured right now (everyone gets injuries)

The problem he has is the frequency with which he is getting those injuries. That's something that is starting to show his age and unlike JT does genuinely raise the question of has he gone one too many. Remember this is about 5 injuries in 12 months to make him miss game time.

I agree.

As I think I mentioned earlier, he would have never lasted playing his whole career at hooker and defending in the middle. He has massive determination and dedication to the task, and is a great tackler, so he can play the position for us, but truth is, if he still had the speed, agility and running game would be playing half and defending as a half - being then position he played for more than a decade.

He switched to hooker because it prolonged his career and he was, even as a former half, better than anyone else we had right then and there for the hooker role. But it is absolutely busting his body as the last few seasons have shown.
 

Matthew Ellis

Juniors
Messages
482
It was mainly injuries and Mitch Rein that kept him out of the 9 in reserve grade and recently Egan but it’s Katoas ability to play in The forwards allows that.

As for his temperament, they made him captain of the reserve grade two seasons ago and he led team well for two years.

Calling him a work in progress at hooker is not really accurate, he has been waiting for his chance in fg, Wallace and Rein have been in his way. He was picked at hooker for the nz under twenties team and played hooker in our nyc side.
He's over the reason he kept getting suspended.
https://www.penrithpanthers.com.au/news/2018/05/26/gus-guidance-calms-katoa/
 

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