Fa'aoso joins Melbourne Storm

[Yosh]

So all of you rate Richie big time...interested in understanding why he was a fan favourite ??.

Happy to have him at Storm as well.

Hit's the ball up a thousand miles an hour. Love it.

 

[Apey]

So all of you rate Richie big time...interested in understanding why he was a fan favourite ??.

Happy to have him at Storm as well.

Yeah I think you will see it when he runs the ball... but Bellamy will need to keep working on his handling.

 

[jonno_knights]

He'll be like another Sika Manu for you storm guys, just less injured and plays closer to the ruck. Built like a brick you know what.

 

[K-Man]

So all of you rate Richie big time...interested in understanding why he was a fan favourite ??.

Happy to have him at Storm as well.

As well as running harder than most forwards in the NRL when he's at his best, Richie has a little bit of football in him and I always like that added dimension in a prop.

When he's in form he can hit a hole, throw a decent short ball, pop an off-load and he's got footwork - he'd look at home in the Bulldogs pack at the moment.

On the negative side he doesn't consistently eat up metres or get a lot of tackling done, and he can come up with an absolute brain explosion of a dropped ball just when you don't need it.

I really think he will prove a handy acquisition for you guys, and I'll be happy for him if he fires.

 

[Jono078]

Now Official - http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/news-display/Storm-adds-depth-to-NRL-squad/58113

Lol I click on the link then on the side is player profiles and I see a guy named Mitch Garbutt, the same Mitch Garbutt that use to play in our lower grades and dominated with his size and offloads?

f**k I hate the Storm.

 

[Whats Doing]

Richie of 2011 version is a loss.

Richie of 2012 version is not a loss. Not sure what but there was a significant decline in performance this year and made little impact.

 

[macavity]

First two offloaded are two I thought we could build our pack around.

Apparently I know nothing about football.

 

[bails]

Sad to see him go,but i think his best form was under B Smith and obviously does not fit into W Bennett's plans so i hope he plays to his potential under Bellamy as we all know how devastating a ball runner he can be but also how devastating his butter fingers can be.Good luck and all the best Richie

 

[Bring it home Knights]

I'll probably feel the same gut wrenching pain I experienced when Ben Kennedy pulled on a Manly jersey. I don't think I have it in me to hate Richie, hell even if he pulled on a QLD jersey.

Richie was always a favourite of mine and he will be missed. He only knew one way: straight and hard. I always found my spirits would lift when he came off the bench. Aside from Richie, Tetevano is the only other "unwanted" that I'll miss, if the speculation proves true.

Agreed. The other players mentioned can piss off as far as I'm concerned, but Fa'aoso and Tetevano were the 2 players that I rated as long term players that would compliment the team.

 

[slotmachine]

I think the last straw was when he started against the Roosters and made 2 runs in the first 22 minutes.

Not sure if he was sighted in 1st grade after that.

 

[Johns Magic]

I think Richie's runs have lost their oomph the last couple of years. Props are supposed to peak around his age, but his game was based on explosiveness and I suspect he is slowing down.

He might have a year or two of decent footy left in him but I doubt he's the type of player that can carry into his 30's which are fast approaching. Not a massive loss for me from that perspective.

 

[Johns Magic]

Just to add...I guess the main point I'm making is that we have a 28 year old who has always relied on explosiveness and has been out of touch for a while. I'm sure he could turn his form around, but at his age it's not a long-term investment anyway. Is it worth hoping/waiting for when that money could go towards a player that Bennett is confident fits the mould.

 

[Adsy]

Sad to see Richie go. Always a favorite of mine and could get the crowd going with just one of his trademark runs.

My only hope now is that we re-sign Tetevano. He's only 21 which is young for a prop and shows a ton of potential IMO.

 

[Rolla]

All the best to him, have always been a Faas fan and won't be surprised to see him be very successful down there.

From a football perspective i don't really see room in our side for both he and Tets. Zane is younger, cheaper, bigger and can cover 2nd row better. I hope Wayne doesn't let Tets go too.

 

[EdLondon]

Even though Tets only had a few runs on Monday night he has that Ritchie running style about him. Bennett hopefully sees him as an upgraded version of Ritchie and will keep him around. Will be interesting to see how he responds on Saturday night with perhaps some more game time.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

Best wishes to Fa'as. Ditto on him being the least of off-contract players I'd like to see go.

 

[The Showstopper]

It is going to hurt seeing him in a Melbourne jumper.

 

[Rod]

Favourite Richie moment was in 2008 when he charged onto a Mullen inside ball after taking about a 30m run-up into the Manly defence line and charged over for the try to send the game into golden point.

Then Scotty kicked the FG to win it.

 

[Burwood]

Favourite Richie moment was in 2008 when he charged onto a Mullen inside ball after taking about a 30m run-up into the Manly defence line and charged over for the try to send the game into golden point.

Then Scotty kicked the FG to win it.

Was that the game where he stuffed up a certain try only a few minutes earlier and the game looked to be over? One of my favourite Richie moments as well if it was.

 

[Rod]

That's the one.