Luciano Leilua

[SAP58]

No... I was a fan coming through and in part in 2018 but I said back then he is not robust enough for the role he is playing. What i saw of 2019 confirmed it but he does run good lines at times but his defence is OK but not consistent or robust enough for me.
I pointed out that game to understand why he was dropped to reggies as people were saying he had no idea..poor Hosty.. it was going to be a no brainer decision for even dumbfounded Mary after that game...but good players bounce back and put their hand up for selection again...Hosty did OK at CC level but he was put back in line behind Fordy and Pat Kaufusi in the end...amd at full strength especially if JDB comes back...may not get back in.

Host appears to be a confidence player and the lack of communication he gets from our supposed head coach doesnt help, he was a big fan of Hornby who coached him early in his career and DID give him good feedback but he has been moved on. I have said before that to make Australian Schoolboys you must have ability and some players need the right advice and encouragement to bring that out and take them to the next level. Your comments on the game and some of his performances in 2019 is correct, I hope he proves everyone wrong in 2020 but he has got a few in front of him and it is now up to him to show the ability he has and earn a new contract and I hope the new coaching staff will help his further development.

 

[blacksafake]

Possm for Petes sake...stopping banging on about the same thing where you do not know the set up at all..you just interpret the way you want the lip service or media interview language stuff that they do to try and show they are trying to improve and change things around. I know part of it is BS carefully worded crap to settle the masses.
Here are the facts for your benefit for the last time

1. Millward has a department outside of coaching because it is nothing to do with coaching funnily enough...however
2. Mary never was stopped of being involved with recruitment just he wanted out of getting involved with contractural and player negotiations, paperwork stuff and also making decisions on the following / nurturing of the young talent which was weighing his time down with limited resources around him. (key point here). All the super better run clubs (most) had more resources at their disposal.
Dragons were and are still behind in this department. They have not grown with the game yet but ding dong...they realised it finally and now......People like Bellamy and Robbo have a plethora of staff to allow them to have their fingers in every part of the football departments...Dragons are yet to get to their level and may not have (or did not have) the funds to do same?.
3. Every player that potentially is interested to go to 1st grade or Top 30 or be training with the main squad from outside has to primarily talk to, meet Mary and he then tells them what he sees and what he wants and what he believes they will bring to the club.
4. Even with Mullholland & Warwick 2013-2015 our coaches have had heavy involvement as these 2 had to be on the road a lot more scouting for talent with our other scouts and bringing juniors through properly was not happening enough then. (due to lack of staff...poor Ben Haran back in those days)
5. The Dragons were seeing the young talent was not being nurtured enough into transitioning from lower to higher grades and we were losing more to other clubs or just lost to the NRL level so all they did was create a structure where Basil (nee Millward) still goes out and around and looks at players on the advice of Mary and his staff but spends more time doing the other stuff and liasing with lower grades people to promote players to higher grades, (pathways) ensuring we have more people talent spotting and now allows Mary more time to coach which he cant do anyway. (but we have more staff trying to come up to speed with others and get most things right)..Mary is another story, problem and topic discussed adnauseum elsewhere
6. Millward and Mary + coaching staff discuss who they want to target and why. Millward takes over from there seeking with his larger now staffed team under his control until interest from a player and his manager about a potential contract. Mary signs off on a player after interviewing and Millward gets the contract paperwork done and hopefully over the line.
7. They are in the thick of it together (blame all if you like but not one or the other) but you are seeing the results now of their restructure at least improving the young talent rising through the gateways putting their hands up for selection and knocking on the door waiting for Mary and his cronies to open it. (that is now the only problem)
8. Of course the CEO has to endorse everything and everyone reports to him in the football department..even Mary so no newsflash there

How do I know? My club deals with Dragons talent scouts, players every year and including some managers as players go into and out their system. Open your eyes into our lower grades and young talent and you will see for yourself.

Research the end of season press conferences of 2015 & 2016 which will also endorse their structure I speak of..

Really appreciate & enjoy yours & others, @getsmarty, Sammy, George Dragon etc, etc insights on here who know a lot more of the behind the scenes BLM01.
Thanks

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

When Merrin played for us, one of his strengths was his offload, so he may provide us with more offloads.

I am concerned that he hasn't developed as a player.
To me could best serve us as a ball playing prop not a lock.
Just my opinion.
Having said that, they signed him as a replacement for JDB.

 

[BLM01]

Host appears to be a confidence player and the lack of communication he gets from our supposed head coach doesnt help, he was a big fan of Hornby who coached him early in his career and DID give him good feedback but he has been moved on. I have said before that to make Australian Schoolboys you must have ability and some players need the right advice and encouragement to bring that out and take them to the next level. Your comments on the game and some of his performances in 2019 is correct, I hope he proves everyone wrong in 2020 but he has got a few in front of him and it is now up to him to show the ability he has and earn a new contract and I hope the new coaching staff will help his further development.

I certainly wont say that he wont or cant make it. I have said on here before that is one area at this club we are strong in is the back row position and he is superflous to our needs ATM if he wants regular 1st grade, however I dont see him pushing other backrowers out at other clubs either....and if you know him pretty well I am told our club was shopping him around which he should know about if true

 

[BLM01]

I am concerned that he hasn't developed as a player.
To me could best serve us as a ball playing prop not a lock.
Just my opinion.
Having said that, they signed him as a replacement for JDB.

DP I dont think you are right there...that they have signed him to replace JDB..cause they have high hopes JDB will be playing again. Sure if JDB is out we have others that can fill that role mainly for attack cause plenty can fill in the middle for defence.
Graham, Lovudua, maybe future Hayden Lomax?
You are right a ball playing prop he is and should be but in and through the line not before. He is not a ball playing lock in todays game

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

DP I dont think you are right there...that they have signed him to replace JDB..cause they have high hopes JDB will be playing again. Sure if JDB is out we have others that can fill that role mainly for attack cause plenty can fill in the middle for defence.
Graham, Lovudua, maybe future Hayden Lomax?
You are right a ball playing prop he is and should be but in and through the line not before. He is not a ball playing lock in todays game

So we agree that Merrin's best possie is as a prop but I disagree about shoring up our middle defence with our existing group.
I think we are a sieve up the middle and we were unable to solve that problem all last year.
Should JDB not make it, Merrin would make a significant difference stiffening up our middle defence.
Having said that, the optimism surrounding JDB seems to be never ending.
The final outcome is not far away but in the meantime, it has damaged this club enormously by maintaining the "light in the window" for this one player.
Letting him train with the squad when he had nothing to do with the 2019 campaign was just poor team management.
What made things worse is that the JDB situation was turned into the biggest excuse of the 2019 season.
McGregor's clingy sentiments about this player has damaged our 2019 campaign and the optimism surrounding his court case continues to be a priority focus for McGregor and the club.

I sometimes wonder how other clubs would've handled this situation.
St.George Illawarra have handled it poorly IMO.

 

[possm]

So we agree that Merrin's best possie is as a prop but I disagree about shoring up our middle defence with our existing group.
I think we are a sieve up the middle and we were unable to solve that problem all last year.
Should JDB not make it, Merrin would make a significant difference stiffening up our middle defence.
Having said that, the optimism surrounding JDB seems to be never ending.
The final outcome is not far away but in the meantime, it has damaged this club enormously by maintaining the "light in the window" for this one player.
Letting him train with the squad when he had nothing to do with the 2019 campaign was just poor team management.
What made things worse is that the JDB situation was turned into the biggest excuse of the 2019 season.
McGregor's clingy sentiments about this player has damaged our 2019 campaign and the optimism surrounding his court case continues to be a priority focus for McGregor and the club.

I sometimes wonder how other clubs would've handled this situation.
St.George Illawarra have handled it poorly IMO.

Good post however, I believe the NRL could have handled this situation in a way that the effect on the Dragon's could have been minimised to the extent that De Belin's plight would be a key feature of media speculaton.

The NRL, who initiated the hole controversy by standing De Belin down, needed to take responsibility and relieve the Dragons of any decisions or comment on the situation. Plain speaking, the NRL should have sat down with De Belin and brokered an agreement whereby his contract would be suspended and SGI relieved of its responsibility to include him at training or comment on anything to do with De Belin.

The Carrot that should have been offered to De Belin by the NRL, is an NRL payout of his contract in exchange for an agreement for no public comment or legal action initiated by De Belin or the NRL until after his case has been decided.

 

[epDragon62]

Spoke with a well known Tiger great on the weekend: he was very impressed with LL's fitness when he turned up for training...

So:

1. is the whole squad going to be super fit?
2. Does LL know he has to perform and is personally on a mission?

Either way we could see Luc smashing it this year for the Tigers

 

[Dragonsamy]

Spoke with a well known Tiger great on the weekend: he was very impressed with LL's fitness when he turned up for training...

So:

1. is the whole squad going to be super fit?
2. Does LL know he has to perform and is personally on a mission?

Either way we could see Luc smashing it this year for the Tigers

Thanks for update I agree with Madge as ccoach he will go well.
Always had the talent just needs the correct guidance

 

[watatank]

I'll be interested to see how Leilua goes. Maguire will probably slot him to an edge to replace matterson but I thought he struggled defensively when he played there for us and even worse on the right. Will see how that goes

 

[slippery5]

No... I was a fan coming through and in part in 2018 but I said back then he is not robust enough for the role he is playing. What i saw of 2019 confirmed it but he does run good lines at times but his defence is OK but not consistent or robust enough for me.
I pointed out that game to understand why he was dropped to reggies as people were saying he had no idea..poor Hosty.. it was going to be a no brainer decision for even dumbfounded Mary after that game...but good players bounce back and put their hand up for selection again...Hosty did OK at CC level but he was put back in line behind Fordy and Pat Kaufusi in the end...amd at full strength especially if JDB comes back...may not get back in.

Agree 100% & I don't agree on other opinions that if he had a different coach you might see a different player, lacks mongrel & intensity to be an established 1st grader.

 

[blacksafake]

I'll be interested to see how Leilua goes. Maguire will probably slot him to an edge to replace matterson but I thought he struggled defensively when he played there for us and even worse on the right. Will see how that goes

Let’s see if L plate has the smarts to exploit his defensive weaknesses when we play them.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

Good post however, I believe the NRL could have handled this situation in a way that the effect on the Dragon's could have been minimised to the extent that De Belin's plight would be a key feature of media speculaton.

The NRL, who initiated the hole controversy by standing De Belin down, needed to take responsibility and relieve the Dragons of any decisions or comment on the situation. Plain speaking, the NRL should have sat down with De Belin and brokered an agreement whereby his contract would be suspended and SGI relieved of its responsibility to include him at training or comment on anything to do with De Belin.

The Carrot that should have been offered to De Belin by the NRL, is an NRL payout of his contract in exchange for an agreement for no public comment or legal action initiated by De Belin or the NRL until after his case has been decided.

Not sure that De Belin and his legal team would have accepted an offer of an NRL full payout of his contract as this may have added to the public perception that he was guilty. However, the lesser action of the NRL assuming responsibility for ongoing payments until final determination of his innocence or guilt and his contract being set aside and not included in the SGI 2019 salary cap should definitely have been pursued. We were grossly disadvantaged in 2019 due to being unable to offer potential recruits a longer term contract and we ended up with Kaufusi who's now gone.

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

Can Host and Ford be starting backrowers at the dragons in 2020?

Have they jumped ahead of Luc ?

Could they at another club with a different t coach?

 

[muzby]

Can Host and Ford be starting backrowers at the dragons in 2020?

Have they jumped ahead of Luc ?

Yep, I reckon they’re ahead of Luc now..

 

[Frank Facer]

Can Host and Ford be starting backrowers at the dragons in 2020?

Have they jumped ahead of Luc ?

Could they at another club with a different t coach?

With Tariq Sims and Frizell on our roster, I can't see Host and Ford being our starting secondrowers unless of injuries. I think Ford would be in the running for one of the starting secondrow spots if Mary decides to play Frizell lock, but he may choose to go with Merrin lock. DeBelin will obviously be lock if he is found not guilty.

 

[George Dragon]

Some interesting comment from Luch on why he left.
Wests Tigers recruit Luciano Leilua spent Christmas Day in hospital
Luciano Leilua is getting used to black and orange after a health scare saw the Wests Tigers’ new backrower spend six days in hospital – and that’s not the only change his body has undergone.
Michael Carayannis, The Daily Telegraph

Luciano Leilua spent Christmas Day in hospital with the Wests Tigers recruit battling a severe infection. Leilua was hospital bound for six days before finally being released on Boxing Day after being diagnosed with shingles.

Initially it was feared the 23-year-old had meningitis as he battled severe sweats, high temperatures and chills.

Leilua began to feel unwell on the second last day of the Tigers pre-season and it wasn’t until he was urged by his partner to take himself to St George Hospital he learnt the full extent of his ailment.

“I didn’t think much of it at the last day of training when we were training at the beach,” Leilua said.

“But I got really crook on the Saturday and checked myself into hospital after training. It was painful. I don’t know how I got the infection. I was struggling at hospital.

“I was really scared. They thought it was meningitis. That got me worried. My partner told me ‘That’s it’ and I sent me to hospital.

“I was showing some really bad symptoms. I wouldn’t have gone to hospital if it wasn’t for her. Christmas was OK. I had my family there. My partner’s family and my partner came. It was a different type of Christmas.”

He was told not to do any physical activity for a week before joining his teammates in Brisbane last week as part of a training camp.

Leilua will finish his dose of antibiotics this week. The hospital visit aside, Leilua said he has thrived since making the switch from St George Illawarra at the end of last year.

He still had a year to run on his contract with the Dragons but the St George junior felt his time had come to an end at the club.

“I didn’t see a future for myself at the Dragons. It didn’t work out for me and where I wanted to go in my career,” Leilua said. “I could just feel a little bit of tension that maybe it was not a good idea for me to stay there. I wanted to find somewhere else where I was wanted.

“(The tension was) just around the whole club just where I wanted to go in my career. I thought I might’ve got too comfortable. Growing up as a Dragons junior, maybe I got too comfortable. I got pushed around in what position I had to play. I want to be one position and nail that.”

Leilua was instantly impressed when he met with Tigers coach Michael Maguire before inking a three year deal with the club. He knew Maguire’s reputation as a hard taskmaster but felt that’s what he needed to take his game to another level.

“When I first met him, I was pretty scared,” Leilua said. “I heard a few stories how hard he was but that’s what I wanted. It’s the best move for me. I’m excited for the club and for me.

“I wanted to come and learn off Madge (Maguire) especially defensively. My attack will come off the back of that.

“At first I couldn’t picture myself being in the Tigers uniform. Until we did the team headshots on Monday and the black and orange looks pretty good on me.”

Leilua has stripped four kilograms off his big frame and the ball-playing back-rower has identified a starting spot on the right edge. He has reunited with Benji Marshall on that side of the field after playing alongside Marshall when Leilua made his top grade debut for the Dragons in 2016.

“We have a lot of good back-rowers,” Leilua said. “Lots of good healthy competition. That’s what I love about coming to training every day. Everyone loves coming here and competing. No one is bad mouthing each other, it’s all good.

“Madge is pushing me to be that consistent 80 minute player.”

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/tigers/news-story/bc4b402c7f1b727704fa5eace430354f

 

[getsmarty]

Possm for Petes sake...stopping banging on about the same thing where you do not know the set up at all..you just interpret the way you want the lip service or media interview language stuff that they do to try and show they are trying to improve and change things around. I know part of it is BS carefully worded crap to settle the masses.
Here are the facts for your benefit for the last time

1. Millward has a department outside of coaching because it is nothing to do with coaching funnily enough...however
2. Mary never was stopped of being involved with recruitment just he wanted out of getting involved with contractural and player negotiations, paperwork stuff and also making decisions on the following / nurturing of the young talent which was weighing his time down with limited resources around him. (key point here). All the super better run clubs (most) had more resources at their disposal.
Dragons were and are still behind in this department. They have not grown with the game yet but ding dong...they realised it finally and now......People like Bellamy and Robbo have a plethora of staff to allow them to have their fingers in every part of the football departments...Dragons are yet to get to their level and may not have (or did not have) the funds to do same?.
3. Every player that potentially is interested to go to 1st grade or Top 30 or be training with the main squad from outside has to primarily talk to, meet Mary and he then tells them what he sees and what he wants and what he believes they will bring to the club.
4. Even with Mullholland & Warwick 2013-2015 our coaches have had heavy involvement as these 2 had to be on the road a lot more scouting for talent with our other scouts and bringing juniors through properly was not happening enough then. (due to lack of staff...poor Ben Haran back in those days)
5. The Dragons were seeing the young talent was not being nurtured enough into transitioning from lower to higher grades and we were losing more to other clubs or just lost to the NRL level so all they did was create a structure where Basil (nee Millward) still goes out and around and looks at players on the advice of Mary and his staff but spends more time doing the other stuff and liasing with lower grades people to promote players to higher grades, (pathways) ensuring we have more people talent spotting and now allows Mary more time to coach which he cant do anyway. (but we have more staff trying to come up to speed with others and get most things right)..Mary is another story, problem and topic discussed adnauseum elsewhere
6. Millward and Mary + coaching staff discuss who they want to target and why. Millward takes over from there seeking with his larger now staffed team under his control until interest from a player and his manager about a potential contract. Mary signs off on a player after interviewing and Millward gets the contract paperwork done and hopefully over the line.
7. They are in the thick of it together (blame all if you like but not one or the other) but you are seeing the results now of their restructure at least improving the young talent rising through the gateways putting their hands up for selection and knocking on the door waiting for Mary and his cronies to open it. (that is now the only problem)
8. Of course the CEO has to endorse everything and everyone reports to him in the football department..even Mary so no newsflash there

How do I know? My club deals with Dragons talent scouts, players every year and including some managers as players go into and out their system. Open your eyes into our lower grades and young talent and you will see for yourself.

Research the end of season press conferences of 2015 & 2016 which will also endorse their structure I speak of..

Well said...pretty much this....

 

[getsmarty]

Some interesting comment from Luch on why he left.
Wests Tigers recruit Luciano Leilua spent Christmas Day in hospital
Luciano Leilua is getting used to black and orange after a health scare saw the Wests Tigers’ new backrower spend six days in hospital – and that’s not the only change his body has undergone.
Michael Carayannis, The Daily Telegraph

Luciano Leilua spent Christmas Day in hospital with the Wests Tigers recruit battling a severe infection. Leilua was hospital bound for six days before finally being released on Boxing Day after being diagnosed with shingles.

Initially it was feared the 23-year-old had meningitis as he battled severe sweats, high temperatures and chills.

Leilua began to feel unwell on the second last day of the Tigers pre-season and it wasn’t until he was urged by his partner to take himself to St George Hospital he learnt the full extent of his ailment.

“I didn’t think much of it at the last day of training when we were training at the beach,” Leilua said.

“But I got really crook on the Saturday and checked myself into hospital after training. It was painful. I don’t know how I got the infection. I was struggling at hospital.

“I was really scared. They thought it was meningitis. That got me worried. My partner told me ‘That’s it’ and I sent me to hospital.

“I was showing some really bad symptoms. I wouldn’t have gone to hospital if it wasn’t for her. Christmas was OK. I had my family there. My partner’s family and my partner came. It was a different type of Christmas.”

He was told not to do any physical activity for a week before joining his teammates in Brisbane last week as part of a training camp.

Leilua will finish his dose of antibiotics this week. The hospital visit aside, Leilua said he has thrived since making the switch from St George Illawarra at the end of last year.

He still had a year to run on his contract with the Dragons but the St George junior felt his time had come to an end at the club.

“I didn’t see a future for myself at the Dragons. It didn’t work out for me and where I wanted to go in my career,” Leilua said. “I could just feel a little bit of tension that maybe it was not a good idea for me to stay there. I wanted to find somewhere else where I was wanted.

“(The tension was) just around the whole club just where I wanted to go in my career. I thought I might’ve got too comfortable. Growing up as a Dragons junior, maybe I got too comfortable. I got pushed around in what position I had to play. I want to be one position and nail that.”

Leilua was instantly impressed when he met with Tigers coach Michael Maguire before inking a three year deal with the club. He knew Maguire’s reputation as a hard taskmaster but felt that’s what he needed to take his game to another level.

“When I first met him, I was pretty scared,” Leilua said. “I heard a few stories how hard he was but that’s what I wanted. It’s the best move for me. I’m excited for the club and for me.

“I wanted to come and learn off Madge (Maguire) especially defensively. My attack will come off the back of that.

“At first I couldn’t picture myself being in the Tigers uniform. Until we did the team headshots on Monday and the black and orange looks pretty good on me.”

Leilua has stripped four kilograms off his big frame and the ball-playing back-rower has identified a starting spot on the right edge. He has reunited with Benji Marshall on that side of the field after playing alongside Marshall when Leilua made his top grade debut for the Dragons in 2016.

“We have a lot of good back-rowers,” Leilua said. “Lots of good healthy competition. That’s what I love about coming to training every day. Everyone loves coming here and competing. No one is bad mouthing each other, it’s all good.

“Madge is pushing me to be that consistent 80 minute player.”

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/tigers/news-story/bc4b402c7f1b727704fa5eace430354f

Thanks for posting george.

 

[The calm one]

Thanks for update I agree with Madge as ccoach he will go well.
Always had the talent just needs the correct guidance

Don't get excighted, the season hasn't started yet. Plenty of stars at training.
Chill out man.