kiwi selectors have made a huge mistake

[Corbin]

Abouslt joke!

They have named Motu Tony at hooker whn he actually rarely even plays it

Robbie Paul should of been in the squad No doubt about it.

My personal team would of been

1 Brent Webb
2 Lesley Vainkolo
3 Paul whatuira/Nigel Vangana
4 Shay Hape
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 Nigel Vangana/Motu Tony
7 Stacey Jones
8 Paul Raihihi
9 Robbie Paul
10 Ruben Wiki
11 David Solomona (damn straight he got onto the starting!)
12 Tony Puletua
13 Louis Anderson

14 David Fuimu
15 Feka
16 Roy Asotasi
17 David Kidwell

 

[Iafeta]

Motu Tony played IMO one of the greatest periods of football I've ever seen, from the hooking position.

2003 final against Bulldogs where the Warriors smashed the living bejesus out of them, Motu Tony was absolute dynamite. He carved them up every which way but when.

IMO the Warriors missed a massive opportunity by not realising he was a good hooking option earlier in the piece.

 

[ozboy]

Robbie Paul is just as bad, if not worse.

 

[Iafeta]

Robbie Paul is much, much worse.

Motu Tony will make them work out of dummy half.

 

[Corbin]

How can u say that! Robbie Paul has been 1 of the great Kiwi players in the past 10 years along with Wiki and Jones and he still is!

Robbie Paul was robbed!

 

[Iafeta]

Yes he has, but his time has come.

A quick look to his performances in the Super League would show you that.

Infact, Bradford have him off the bench these days to accomodate... Ian Henderson, former Roosters reggie hooker. Infact, he's looking for a new club I hear because of how poor he has gone of late.

 

[Razor]

How can u say that! Robbie Paul has been 1 of the great Kiwi players in the past 10 years along with Wiki and Jones and he still is!

Robbie Paul was robbed!

WAS 1 of the great Kiwi players in the past 10 years. He's been sh*t the past couple.

 

[Murphdogg1]

As much as you might hate to admit it Corbin, Robbie Paul is past it and Motu has had an extra week to get over jet lag

 

[League Freak™]

Robbie Paul has NOTHING.


I think the worse decision was dropping Pritchard.

 

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

yeah... who will they replace for volcano????

 

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

sorry just realised webster has :arrow:

 

[Big Pete]

Tony is awesome out of dummy half.

Paul is nothing special from the games I've seen of him.

 

[Mal Meninga]

How much greater is Paul than Robbie?

 

[ParraDude_Jay]

Robbie Paul isn't a hooker, that's why.

I think his best position is fullback, where he can chime in when he wants to, a bit like Lockyer when he played there.

As for Motu Tony, he's only there for about 20 - 25 minutes then Faiumu will come on, plus Tony provides cover at five-eighth/wing/fullback and we all saw what happened when Australia got an injury with no utility to cover for it.

 

[bartman]

If I was a Kiwi fan I'd rather see Motu Tony at hooker than Robbie Paul. Bradford had to buy Ian Henderson mid season from Parramatta to fix their dummy half problem, and they never looked back.

I wouldn't be as confident with Motu playing in the backline, and I think hooker is the best position for him. Paul might get a chance in the GB games, as a shadow half depending on Hohaia's fitness, or off the bench.

 

[Harko]

I am not sure but did Robbie Paul play in that ESL grand final? I was told he did but really, didn't even notice the bloke.

 

[Phillips]

touched the ball once or twice, crabbed across field...

 

[Scott]

Robbie Paul is a long way past his best. He won't play again for the Kiwis. There are better options nowdays.

 

[League Freak™]

Even at his best, he was nothing special.

He was a bigger name in Super League when British Rugby League was at its worst. These days they talk highly about players like Dennis Moran.....so you can imagine how average you could have been back then and still been able to stand out.

 

[The Observer]

Corbin,

Robbie Paul was a great player. His main assets were his speed and acceleration off the mark, his step and his support play in trawling up behind ball playing forwards.

He is not a great hooker and has never been. When he passes from the ruck he always stood up or took a step, first cutting down the halfback's decision time. Also his decision making and pass from dummy half were average. Finally, he isn't a strong front on tackler. He could run wel from dummy half, but he couldn't do all the other things

Also, his passing, organising and attacking ability made him at best a serviceable half/five eighth in England. That's why Harris (6), Deacon (7) and now Henderson (9)have all put him out of those positions.

Robbie's best ever footy at rep level was in 2002 when he played three tests as a fullback for Gary Freeman's Kiwi team. He carved up Wales in a test, GB in two tests , chimed in beautifully from the back and beat the first man every time before he injured his knee. If he comes back into the Kiwis, it should be at fullback with Webb moving into the halves (at least in attack).