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2014 Playing Roster

J

Jodeci

Bench
Messages
3,513
Chipmunk said:
It appears we're possibly intending to play Hopoate on the wing then? (And as a potential fullback back up for Hayne)
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Loko will not get a full pre season so they decided to keep Willie for another year

Hoppa will team up with Tonga in the centres

For the money Hoppa is getting, you wouldnt put your second highest paid player on the wing
 
Poupou Escobar

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
85,103
Jodeci said:
Loko will not get a full pre season so they decided to keep Willie for another year

Hoppa will team up with Tonga in the centres
Click to expand...

And Morgan as a backup?

For the money Hoppa is getting, you wouldnt put your second highest paid player on the wing
Click to expand...

I wouldn't play him at centre either. Makes you wonder why we signed Norman. Or re-signed Hayne.
 
Chipmunk

Chipmunk

Coach
Messages
16,312
Jodeci said:
Loko will not get a full pre season so they decided to keep Willie for another year

Hoppa will team up with Tonga in the centres

For the money Hoppa is getting, you wouldnt put your second highest paid player on the wing
Click to expand...

How long is Loko out for then?
 
Eels Dude

Eels Dude

Coach
Messages
19,065
Hopefully Tonga came cheap. In saying that Morgan's done nothing since returning to first grade. At least if Tonga can get match fit again he can be pretty devastating so him and Hoppa as the centre pairing next year could be a real weapon.
 
Poupou Escobar

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
85,103
Someone said:
Or Peats. Or Mossop. Or anyone...
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Peats because we needed a quality dummy half, Mossop because we needed a quality prop.

The signing of Norman and the re-signing of Hayne has necessitated playing Hopoate in the outside backs.

Considering that, at the start of this year the only potential spine players we had contracted for next year were Sandow and Hopoate (fullback), we could have either re-signed Hayne as a potential 'five-eighth' or signed Norman and let Hayne go.

If reports are true, Hopoate will be on far too much for an outside back. But if we want to get the most out of him in attack we're better off playing him on the wing than centre. Centres just don't get enough ball to be able to influence a match in an attacking sense. However it is an extremely important defensive position.

Why wouldn't you play him at centre? Surely thats his future, he played origin there.
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And Hayne played on the wing in the same game. Who do you think is the better player?

Hopoate has played the majority of his NRL games on the wing, with a few games at fullback and centre. We would have been better off playing him at fullback and either not signing Norman or not re-signing Hayne. Now Hayne and Norman have to play in the spine, meaning there's no room for Hopoate.

We could have used the extra money strengthening our pack. We could have signed a cheaper outside back (than Hopoate) and thrown more money at Papalii or some other merkin.
 
Poupou Escobar

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
85,103
Chipmunk said:
I think we signed Norman because he would sign. Not because we needed him or he suited the team.
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If it was up to me I would have signed Norman and let Hayne go. Think how much extra cash we would have available to make the rest of the team stronger.
 
Someone

Someone

Bench
Messages
4,964
Poupou Escobar said:
And Hayne played on the wing in the same game. Who do you think is the better player?

Hopoate has played the majority of his NRL games on the wing, with a few games at fullback and centre. We would have been better off playing him at fullback and either not signing Norman or not re-signing Hayne. Now Hayne and Norman have to play in the spine, meaning there's no room for Hopoate.

We could have used the extra money strengthening our pack. We could have signed a cheaper outside back (than Hopoate) and thrown more money at Papalii or some other merkin.
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Didnt even read the first part, not sure why you would have a bite at that..

Hayne is the better player, so he is in the spine.

We needed a decent back, so kearney chased hopoate.

having hayne, norman and hoppa in the same side isnt the issue, its the fact kearney signed hopoate on a wage someone like cooper cronk would be proud of.

But once we signed Hoppa, we still needed a 5/8 (Hayne probably doesnt want to move positions) so we got Norman..

no doubt we could have took 300-400k off hoppas contract and brought another foward, or a quality winger. shit happens.

Doesnt mean when hoppa comes he shouldnt be playing in a position that means he'll be more influential on the team. He has the ability.
 
Chipmunk

Chipmunk

Coach
Messages
16,312
Poupou Escobar said:
If it was up to me I would have signed Norman and let Hayne go. Think how much extra cash we would have available to make the rest of the team stronger.
Click to expand...

I think I would be reluctant to play a player in a spine position straight away who hasnt seen a football field for almost 1000 days. If it was up to me I would have him on the wing.
 
Last edited:
Chipmunk

Chipmunk

Coach
Messages
16,312
I actually think that we should play Morgan and Hoppa on the right side of the field together and have them alternate positions between Centre and Wing, depending on what they're good at. For some aspects of the play, Morgan plays Centre, for other aspects, Hoppa plays Centre. I think Morgan is an excellent hole runner, I think Hoppa will be a great dummy half runner, perhaps potentially more dangerous than Hodges. I think Hoppa would be great on crossfield kicks also, even for tap backs to Morgan. I think either of them will finish off well.

If we can keep Tonga fit I think we will be great on the left side and I think whoever plays outside Tonga will benefit greatly from his experience. I think Radradra's performances so far have had plenty of contribution from Tonga. If we go with Sio on the left I think he could be just as good outside Tonga.

For next year we essentially have 4 centres of NRL quality. Loko at left edge inside Tonga I see as a good thing.

I think having a full fit and firing Willie Tonga is going to be a key to whether or not we have some kind of success next season.
 
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