Leilua gone at the end of 2015

[The Showstopper]

i would rather see Chanel playing in the centres with his brother than McManus. It was their debuts where we went on our end of season streak last year. The incumbency in this club shits me to distraction now.

 

[Joker's Wild]

Huh? Chanel was on the wing in those games. Not sure why that makes him the best choice to play centre

Jimmy has a reputation as a learner. From what I've read, once given a role he goes all out to learn every aspect of the position. It's what he did when Smith picked him on the wing in 07

This doesn't mean he'll make a great centre, certainly not straight away but given he is still in his 20s and a current FGer it would at least be worth giving him an off season training there

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

Whatever the coaching staff decides on our backline next season I am sure it will be a complete and utter failure. I have zero confidence that they will get it right.

 

[The Showstopper]

Huh? Chanel was on the wing in those games. Not sure why that makes him the best choice to play centre

Jimmy has a reputation as a learner. From what I've read, once given a role he goes all out to learn every aspect of the position. It's what he did when Smith picked him on the wing in 07

This doesn't mean he'll make a great centre, certainly not straight away but given he is still in his 20s and a current FGer it would at least be worth giving him an off season training there

If he is going to the centres i hope it is to partner Akuila. If Danes makes a go at fullback then let Mamo and Sione sort their own style on the left. Jimmy's defence is usually very solid and his positioning spot on so it makes sense he should be able to assist Aku's horrendous defensive reads on an overlap. I would not allow Mamo a go at fullback until he serves his apprenticeship as a first grade winger.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Huh? Chanel was on the wing in those games. Not sure why that makes him the best choice to play centre

Jimmy has a reputation as a learner. From what I've read, once given a role he goes all out to learn every aspect of the position. It's what he did when Smith picked him on the wing in 07

This doesn't mean he'll make a great centre, certainly not straight away but given he is still in his 20s and a current FGer it would at least be worth giving him an off season training there

Exactly....

He was our gun centre all through juniors, only moving to the wing when he came into Firsts in '07. I dont think he'll ever tear up a line on his own, but i have faith that he'd set up his winger better than anyone we currently have; our wingers are gun, but we havent had a centre that could consistently put them into space since MacDougall.

 

[Allstar Knights]

The problem is McManus has almost zero footwork and when he tries to use it he slips over 90% of the time. It's such an important trait to have at centre unless you are a powerhouse like a Leilua or Hurrell, which he isn't.

It's also hard to set up your winger well if you offer no threat with ball in-hand.

 

[Loose Cannon]

McManus should stay on the wing. What he lacks in speed etc. he makes up for with smarts. The wing spot requires decision making in regard to positional play, reads in defence, and kick returns/dummy half runs. There hardly seems to be an abundance of football intelligence amongst some of our other candidates, especially Uate.

Don't weaken one position to patch up another. Unfortunately, we are only adequately serviced across maybe 25% of positions. Our hiring/retention policy is a joke.

 

[Yosh]

We not letting go of this bloke before the June deadline is up? Get rid. We have adequate depth in the backs, give someone else a go.

 

[Alex28]

If he wants to leave pre-end of contract why aren't we getting compensation for losing him? Or Smith? Or Scott?

Why is the NRL - as owners of our club - happy to strengthen other teams whilst doing nothing to improve our situation?

 

[Joker's Wild]

The problem is McManus has almost zero footwork and when he tries to use it he slips over 90% of the time. It's such an important trait to have at centre unless you are a powerhouse like a Leilua or Hurrell, which he isn't.

It's also hard to set up your winger well if you offer no threat with ball in-hand.

I think youve been misinterpreting his game mate

Jimmy has great foot work actually. His ability to get himself between defenders on kick returns is mostly because of it. He seems to "slip over" too because he is trying to get to his belly for a quick play the ball

 

[perverse]

If he wants to leave pre-end of contract why aren't we getting compensation for losing him? Or Smith? Or Scott?

Why is the NRL - as owners of our club - happy to strengthen other teams whilst doing nothing to improve our situation?

He has a get-out clause in his contract that's been activated. He's a free agent, we're entitled to nothing.

 

[slotmachine]

If he wants to leave pre-end of contract why aren't we getting compensation for losing him? Or Smith? Or Scott?

Why is the NRL - as owners of our club - happy to strengthen other teams whilst doing nothing to improve our situation?

Smith IS at the end of of his contract.
BJ has a clause that says he could leave whenever he wanted if Bennett went.
Scott left cause his kid is sick, probably not a good look to demand compensation in that case.

 

[Allstar Knights]

I think youve been misinterpreting his game mate

Jimmy has great foot work actually. His ability to get himself between defenders on kick returns is mostly because of it. He seems to "slip over" too because he is trying to get to his belly for a quick play the ball

Yeah, probably unfair for me to say he has zero footwork. He does use it to good effect, on top of ducking and weaving to gain extra metres, but I don't think it's threatening enough to play centre. On the slipping over I mean when he changes direction fast and if the turf is even a little wet, he more often than not falls over.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

I reckon the end of Jimmy career will end up as a result of multiple concussions. He falls towards the ground virtually every time he brings the ball back. He's already copped multiple wacks across the head this year. For a change I'd like to see if he can actually beat a player rather than just looking for a quick play the ball.

 

[perverse]

I reckon the end of Jimmy career will end up as a result of multiple concussions. He falls towards the ground virtually every time he brings the ball back. He's already copped multiple wacks across the head this year. For a change I'd like to see if he can actually beat a player rather than just looking for a quick play the ball.

We've got about 8 years of form that says that he can't beat a player... so personally I'm pretty glad he knows his limits and plays within them. It's actually smart footballing, and has seen him extend his career much higher (all the way to Origin on multiple occasions) than blokes with a similar lack of ability.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

We've got about 8 years of form that says that he can't beat a player... so personally I'm pretty glad he knows his limits and plays within them. It's actually smart footballing, and has seen him extend his career much higher (all the way to Origin on multiple occasions) than blokes with a similar lack of ability.

In those 8 years have you seen many times where he has attempted to beat a player? At the start of last year I thought I saw a new side of him as he made a few line breaks with footwork. It proved short lived though.

 

[Joker's Wild]

Not his job as a winger. His job early on in sets is to make metres and get a quick ptb

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Jimmy in form is at worst a good NRL winger and at best an Origin player. He's definitely in our 17 imo. He's still unproven at centre given that he only played a few first grade games there last year when we had no-one else. I'd be keen to give him half a season at centre to prove himself if need be. I think his footwork is underrated but he doesn't have much explosiveness which means he's unlikely to turn a half chance into a proper line break on his own. If he can develop a good passing game though and learn to set up a winger and be solid defensively then I'd be keen for him to get an extended run at centre.

 

[Yosh]

I can't see how he's worth whatever we're paying him. Wingers that offer more than he does are dime a dozen. All this talk about saving tries blah blah, others wingers do that too. How many other clubs would be fighting over his signature if we were to let him go right now. Jimmy isn't worth 300k or whatever he's on.

We have to get our priories straight. Outside backs will win us some games, good forwards will win us more games than not but without a good spine, we'll never challenge for top spot. If Stone doesn't change his ways, we'll be a 8-15 ranked side for a long while.

McManus or Leilua ain't gonna make or break our season. If he goes that's that.

 

[Alex28]

Any truth to Rothfields story in the Telegraph today about Leilua bailing on club events and feuding with Stone and Gidley?