Official Wentworthville Magpies Thread II

[Gronk]

Moeroa, Ualesi or Aloia? Who is the better player of these 3 and should we bank on them if we don't re-sign Joseph Paulo.

I think Seffa is part of what makes our team varied and unpredictable. So I'd re-sign Seffa even if it meant losing 2 of the 3. Moeroa has the best predigree IMHO.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Ualesi is two years older than the other two. Aloiai didn't play NYC until the year he turned 19, whereas Moeroa and Ualesi debuted at 18. Ualesi and Moeroa both played on the edges at NYC level whereas Aloiai hasn't played out wide since SG Ball.

Aloiai is also currently injured and looks to have persistent knee problems.

As for replacing Joe Paulo, just about any forward can play in the middle. Kenny Edwards started the year in the 13.

 

[Chipmunk]

What day does Wentworthville play this week?

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

What day does Wentworthville play this week?

Saturday, 3 PM at Belmore.

 

[Forty20]

All three are good-to-great prospects. Not sure if we can keep them all (my gut says Ualesi is the one we will lose) but anyway here is my wrap:

Joseph Ualesi is the closest to Joseph Paulo as far as ball-playing ability goes. Ualesi is the biggest (at least as height goes) of the three and can play on the edges or up the middle. Plenty of ticker in attack and defence with a healthy dose of talent. I thought he was building nicely at Wenty this year before a back/neck injury sustained against Wyong kept him out of action for a couple of weeks. Has been somewhat quiet since his return but the form of Wenty overall has been indifferent of late.

Josh Aloiai is probably the surprise packet of 2014. A relentless defender and strong ball-runner who was one of the dominant fixtures in our NYC forward pack before an injury against the Sharks (?) sidelined him for an unknown amount of time (at least the club hasn't said anything to my knowledge).

I would probably put Aloiai and Ualesi on the same level of talent/potential. Both have massive motors and offer plenty of both sides of the ball. Ualesi has the ball skills but Aloiai (and Moeroa as well) emanates an element of fearlessness. He has played almost exclusively up the middle in 2014.

Tepai carries the most hype but it is for good reason. His prodigious defensive talents alone put him in a class of his own in the NYC even before you consider his wrecking-ball like running ability. Moeroa looks likes he relishes the physicality of rugby league. He wants to dominate every impact and every physical contest throughout the game - and he usually does.

He still has plenty of fine-tuning to be done physically (which will be sorted out over the off-season) but he is the sort of kid that would just kill it if he was selected to play against the Dogs on Sunday.

In the end it is like Poups said, plenty of forwards can play in the middle. If you want the most like for like replacement for Seffa you would lean towards Ualesi whereas Aloiai is closer to the defensive workhorse (though he can certainly attack) that plenty of merkins swear a club must have. Tepai can certainly play up the middle and would probably tend towards filling the 'third prop' role.

 

[Obscene Assassin]

In a few of his later games Aloiai had a bit of a passing game and was linking both of the sides really well.

 

[phantom eel]

Good to see Kelepi leap over Lasalo in the pecking order. Kid has talent, and hopefully will be in the first grade mix again in the back half of the season.

 

[Chipmunk]

Saturday, 3 PM at Belmore.

So we will basically know if there is going to be changes to the NRL team by 3pm Saturday

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Last week's 'highlights'. Pretty ordinary game.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Keen to see where Lasalo ends up next year. He is too good for reserve grade.

 

[strider]

am I kidding myself or did ben smith pass the ball back for someone else to score when he was basically already across the try line?

 

[Joely01]

Keen to see where Lasalo ends up next year. He is too good for reserve grade.

Interesting you say that Pou.

The games I've watched of wentys this year, he hasn't been that good. I find him an extremely lazy player. Which is unfortunate because with the size he has he could be a really good consistent NRL player.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

His involvement is definitely what lets him down, especially since he got huge. Some blokes just don't have a big motor, which is important for first grade, especially in the middle.

 

[Obscene Assassin]

Forty, are you heading out to the game?

 

[Forty20]

I am mate.

Weather is clearing up somewhat in the Inner West as well, so hopefully the game isn't too scrappy.

 

[Obscene Assassin]

Interesting changes. Fabian Goodall, Luke Kelly, and Tepai Moeroa are out of the Wenty line-up. I expect Fabian and Tepai to drop back to the NYC. But it could mean Kelly is going to play in the halves with Norman dropping back to fullback?

 

[Forty20]

Although he is named in the #6, it looks like Matterson is playing in the #23.

 

[Obscene Assassin]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BqECpJmCcAE_iHR.jpg:large that's the link to the picture of the team list for Wenty this afternoon, if that doesn't work here is the link to the tweet which contains the team list https://twitter.com/wentymagpies/status/477665941723942914

 

[Forty20]

Game day team list.

Pat Matele on the wing is of particular interest.

 

[Forty20]

I hope Foran doesn't try to overplay his hand again this week. He dominated possession between the two halves last week but didn't do a great deal with it.