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Avenger

Immortal
Messages
34,042
Iongi is a great talent, but not super quick over the 100m. Very fast over the first 50m. Silky ball skills and great footwork. Yet another who was stuck behind a great player at Penrith who left for opportunities elsewhere. Hope he kills it next year.
We have a player called Sivo who is express over 100m, however he accelerates like a tortoise over the first 50m.

The first 50m is more important.
 

JokerEel

Coach
Messages
13,425
Not saying he isn't or won't ne a good future player, but other then knowing how to draw and pass and a bit of toe, those highlights are very underwhelming. He generally isn't the one making things happen much from those clips.

But I don't know anything about the kid so will reserve my final judgement till I see him play a little. Just commenting off of those clips.


Do we need him to be the one making things happen when you have Moses and Brown running plays and him being the link with his speed though...
 

JokerEel

Coach
Messages
13,425
Iongi is a great talent, but not super quick over the 100m. Very fast over the first 50m. Silky ball skills and great footwork. Yet another who was stuck behind a great player at Penrith who left for opportunities elsewhere. Hope he kills it next year.


Walsh is slow over 100m also.

Btw who is your long term hooker ffs you have about 3-4
 

TheRam

Coach
Messages
13,907
Do we need him to be the one making things happen when you have Moses and Brown running plays and him being the link with his speed though...

If you are playing fullback you do. After all isn't that why we have been looking to bring in a game changer for a few years now and part of why Gutho is being moved on? Even Gutho at his best was a game changer of sorts.

You know X factor?
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
91,402
Got my doubts he'll last that long. Great champion but best days past him. Must love playing as sure could have transitioned into some coaching position in 2026 if he really wanted to.
I think he’d still earn a lot more as a player than a coach. Why not milk it? He’s only 30 ffs.
 

84 Baby

Referee
Messages
29,749
The problem as I see it is not his ability to score tries as an individual.

What Gutho does and I haven’t seen him do in any highlight package is bring down a forward head on in the last line of defence, organise defence from the back and take 99% of those bombs including the wobbly ones that Joey spoofs about. Get up and do it again, effort after effort.

You can spend your life in reserve grade if you can’t tick those boxes.

BTW, I haven’t even touched on that 2nd 5/8 role with cut out pass on both left and right sides, which makes you elite.

Over to you, Izzy.

View attachment 95607
I’m not saying he’ll be elite, but when was the last time you saw Gutho be elite last line of defence? Our record this year and last would also indicate he isn’t great at organising defence either. Burton Speshalls I’ve seen Gutho spill and the kick Iongi took at start of highlights wasn’t exactly training run. And effort on effort, I’m sorry but Gutho has been off the mark since 2022 there as well.

I haven’t even touched on the other guy who kept Iongi out of 1st grade, who’s lack of playmaking/passing hasn’t kept him out of Australian jersey.
 

84 Baby

Referee
Messages
29,749
If you are playing fullback you do. After all isn't that why we have been looking to bring in a game changer for a few years now and part of why Gutho is being moved on? Even Gutho at his best was a game changer of sorts.

You know X factor?
I think fullbacks can do that without having to be an extra half or being the one “making things happen”. Edwards, Slater, Gutho at his best, are/were good because they were constantly involved and involved with energy. Those 2 things as a fullback will create things around them
 

JokerEel

Coach
Messages
13,425
If you are playing fullback you do. After all isn't that why we have been looking to bring in a game changer for a few years now and part of why Gutho is being moved on? Even Gutho at his best was a game changer of sorts.

You know X factor?


Not really you need someone with Pace that can get on the outside of his man and create an overlap out the back..

We don't need an X factory that's was BA's brain child....

Edwards at the riff isn't an X factor just has a little bit more speed than Gutho and works off his halves...
 
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JokerEel

Coach
Messages
13,425
Hardly. If he is good enough, there is more of a place for him there then there currently is at the Eels.


Well I didn't expect him to stay behind Moses and Brown but he had other options that would have been better than going down to Canberra and being forgotten about ..

Foggarty Weeks and Strange are all in front of him at an average Raiders side....
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
91,402
We should be challenging for the 8 in 2025. We have the parts of a side that can go deep in the finals if we just add a few appropriate pieces ala 2018>2019.
Pretty much every club has a team capable of making the eight, and that includes us, both this year and last year. What you want is a team capable of making the top four. We might’ve already added those pieces.
 

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