Aku Uate

[aqua_duck]

Don't care what injuries we have the bloke is a deadset liability, rubbish in defence, good for atleast one f**k up a match under the high ball, about as much awareness and game smarts as an under 12's player and now he's shown his attack is about as good as his defence. The most damning statistic IMO, 19 hit ups, 1 solitary tackle break. Really have to ask yourself what he offers us ?

 

[perverse]

Well he's always had most of those qualities. I'm not so much upset about the errors as much as I'm upset that we've essentially lost all his positive attributes. The tackle/line breaks and all his attacking flair seem to be completely gone now. Obviously he doesn't offer a lot at all without those assets... and I don't know how much longer we can persist with him.

The was a 2-3 year period where the bloke was untouchable and unstoppable, and you didn't care when he made the odd f**k up because he'd create 2 or 3 tries a match out of raw athleticism. He doesn't have that anymore.

 

[aqua_duck]

Yep exactly right. The writing was kind of on the wall when he struggled to make an impact at the 9's this match confirms to me that he's either lost his power or is struggling to find that extra yard of pace and footwork he had

 

[Apey]

Yep exactly right. The writing was kind of on the wall when he struggled to make an impact at the 9's

Pretty much exactly what I was going to say. It was worrying how lacklustre he was in a setting where the old Aku would have excelled.

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

Mantellato would add so much more. He's big good under the high ball and a good goal kicker.

Have not seen much of mamo but from all reports he should also be pushing uate out.

 

[Swarzey]

I take back what I said earlier. Axe him next week, give Mantellato or Mamo if Boyd is fit to play.

 

[slotmachine]

put a fork in him, he's done

 

[Dave_]

I think all Knights fans never thought they'd ever be seeing what has happened to Aku. The man should be in the prime if his career but has been slowly declining for 2-3 seasons to the point where he is barely a shadow of the player he was.

It's hard to say why he's become like this. Are we paying him to much resulting in laziness? Should his coaches have focused more heavily on ensuring he nails the fundamentals of the game? Does he have an attitude problem? Does he lack confidence? Was he just a one trick pony or does he just need to lay off the pies?

Whatever it may be, I am now at the point where I don't want him in the side. He has become such a liability that opposition teams actively try to exploit him with great success. The shortcomings in his game are failings of the basics, fundamentals of the game that are drummed into children learning the rules of the game. I believe it is more of a case of poor attitude as opposed to him being utilised incorrectly by the coach. It has also come to the point where it's no longer possible for him to rely on his natural attributes - speed, power and finishing ability, because it seems as if he's lost them all.

He is wasting a large chunk of our salary cap that could be better used elsewhere. Instead of Aku being spoken of as a future Knights legend, sadly it's time for him to go.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

The bloke needs to lose some weight and find a good shrink. I would never get on my high horse and say he's a hopeless footballer. That would be silly as there is a tone of evidence that demonstrates he is a quality winger with the ability to be one of the best going around. His form over the last 1-2 seasons has been disappointing, but he has demonstrated how good he is in the past. If I was coaching the knights I would insist that he trimmed down (both muscle and fat) and go back to playing like he did (great step, outstanding speed, great ability to score in highly unlikely circumstances).

 

[The Showstopper]

I think Wayne will release him at season's end. I honestly do. Superleague can have him. He is a joke now. Mamo in please.

 

[Rod]

He shouldn't have contested that garbage kick from Soward that wasn't threatening anything so far out from the try line. I honestly don't know why fullbacks and wingers put so much effort into catching those. The way he sprints in and tries to take every bomb, I think he's trying to show that he's confident in taking them now.

Apart from that play I don't really know what all the dramatic statements and wrist-slitting is about on here. He ran hard and didn't shirk his workload, just wasn't a day for our outside backs. I know he's on big money but he is a winger after all, there's only so much you can do with no ball, no attacking opportunities and no territory or open space.

He actually had a very good back half of last year as well.

 

[aqua_duck]

He ran the ball hard 19 times and broke 1 tackle, I think that's a major concern

 

[Joker's Wild]

I think he either is carrying a niggle or has a poorly healed injury in his back/core. He just looks to have lost his ability to move with fluidity

Disappointing nonetheless

 

[Dave_]

I think the reason most people are harsh on Aku is not just because of this particular game but his performances in general the last couple of years. Personally, I've just had enough of his incompetence in comparison to the $$$ he's on. McManus may as well not bother doing any catching practice because the opposition will NEVER kick to his side. Aku's reputation has become that bad. I don't question his workrate but any winger can punch it up the guts from D/H all day with ineffective carries Merritt style. Not good enough.

 

[aqua_duck]

I think the reason most people are harsh on Aku is not just because of this particular game but his performances in general the last couple of years. Personally, I've just had enough of his incompetence in comparison to the $$$ he's on. McManus may as well not bother doing any catching practice because the opposition will NEVER kick to his side. Aku's reputation has become that bad. I don't question his workrate but any winger can punch it up the guts from D/H all day with ineffective carries Merritt style. Not good enough.

Exactly, if he's averaging about 7m a run and not capable of breaking any tackles, if I'm the opposition I won't mind if he's taking 70 hit ups a game

 

[hugzy]

uhhhh it's been coming for a while. his attitude towards end of last season was "im the man, the fans love me no matter wat"

had the audacity to lead the applause after getting thrashed 40-16 by roosters. he was 3/10 in that game

my tip before the start of the season: aku to be dropped to reserve grade by rd 8.

he is right on track

 

[Yosh]

I think the crowd love him too much.... Not that anything like that puts off WB when he makes decision...

I've only seen Mamo in the 9s but he reminded me of Mansour (the penrith winger today). If anything, we should release Aku before June 30th and use that money on some quality forward.

 

[timka4]

His form has gone down heavily over the past year which is sad cause he was always such a highlight. Always made everyone smile and glad to be a knights supporter in times of inconsistent performances. Everyone loved Aku but I'm not sure if he'll ever recover from this slump

 

[hugzy]

y so extreme?

he will be ok if he takes the wake up call on the chin

2 weeks in reserves, wake the fk up, come back a new man

 

[perverse]

I've only seen Mamo in the 9s but he reminded me of Mansour (the penrith winger today). If anything, we should release Aku before June 30th and use that money on some quality forward.

We already have Packers money + a bit extra sitting around to go after a quality forward.