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Team 2016

perverse

Referee
Messages
25,828
Yep, Aku is done. Doesn't have the heart for it anymore. The tolerant ones amongst us have been sitting back waiting for his form to return for far too long now. He's done. Time to move him on... and it's a sad one, too. He'd only have himself to blame - everyone knows what he's capable of when committed and fit.

Gags is far and away the best fullback at the club. I hope Browny sees it that way, too.
 
Messages
3,329
If they find a way to offload the biggest mental midget winger of all time I am calling that victory in itself. There are no words for how irritating I find his collecting the money he does and giving so little in return.
 
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slotmachine

First Grade
Messages
7,152
Someone would take him for 250-300k based on past performance.

They'd convince themselves that Newcastle are a joke and don't know how to get the best out of him.
 

Yosh

Coach
Messages
11,245
1. Gagai
2. Mamo
3. Mata'utai
4.
5.

6. Mullen
7. Hodkinson

8. Snowden
9. Farah
10. Tolman
11. TSim
12. Rochow
13. KSims

14. Levi
15. Stockwell
16. Paea
17. Tapine

That looks like a mighty team. We just need someone to play decently in the outside backs.
 

cb4

First Grade
Messages
9,576
Not sure when he was off contract last when he was in peak form, but I know we had a red hot go for him.
I wanted him, badly. I lost sleep over it haha.
Not sure what has happened but he has gone from the best winger in the game to one of the worst.

I also remember a lot of Knights fans wanting him at Fullback, anyone know why he was never given a crack there?
 

perverse

Referee
Messages
25,828
Not sure when he was off contract last when he was in peak form, but I know we had a red hot go for him.
I wanted him, badly. I lost sleep over it haha.
Not sure what has happened but he has gone from the best winger in the game to one of the worst.

I also remember a lot of Knights fans wanting him at Fullback, anyone know why he was never given a crack there?

It's easy to forget just how good he was. I've rarely seen a winger carry a team like he did for a while there. Absolutely electric.

There's a lot of reasons why he never got a crack at fullback - not vocal enough to guide the defence from the back, hands not good enough, not a smart enough footballer, Captain Kurt being "the best fullback at the club"... many, many reasons. He is... or was... a pure ball runner. He was at his best roaming around the field Nathan Blacklock style on occasion and just having the team work for him as our primary attacking weapon. As soon as he got his juicy contract, the water stopped boiling.

Bennett's arrival didn't help - he moved Aku right out of our gameplan and sat him out on the wing... but ultimately you can only lay the blame at Aku's feet. If he had the heart and dedication, he could have bettered himself as a player and overcome all of it without much drama. Fact is, he didn't and doesn't. You can tell when Aku has had a rocket up him, he still pulls a good game out here and there. It's all attitude. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if another team did pick him up and get him back into gear. He's a prime example of there not being any problems with a player except attitude. Fix that and the best winger in the game might still be hiding under there somewhere. I hope we can convince another NRL team that that is the case, because it would make offloading him viable. HE won't improve at the Knights... he needs a rocket bigger than one we can give him without sacking him.
 

Swarzey

Bench
Messages
4,165
Bennett's idea of making him bigger, thus making him better failed miserably and I wouldn't blame Uate if he struggled with it mentally. I really, really hoped under Stone this year with a full pre season he would have been able to recapture at least a third of his old self; I thought he was "back" after Round 1 but nawww :(

26 rounds later and nothing has changed. Just a 500k potato sitting on the edge.
 

slotmachine

First Grade
Messages
7,152
He's got a pretty serious knee injury holding him back too, but he hasn't looked happy or motivated in a long time.

Even so, he topped the team for tries and line breaks this year and was second in tackle breaks and metres gained.

I'm willing to cut him a lot of slack because that 2010-2012 run of form his had was the most excitement I've had watching the knights in 10 years.
 

perverse

Referee
Messages
25,828
He's got a pretty serious knee injury holding him back too, but he hasn't looked happy or motivated in a long time.

Even so, he topped the team for tries and line breaks this year and was second in tackle breaks and metres gained.

I'm willing to cut him a lot of slack because that 2010-2012 run of form his had was the most excitement I've had watching the knights in 10 years.
It was quite remarkable, and I agree... it was the most enjoyment I got from this team since the glory years. I have a really, really, REALLY soft spot for Aku... but I can't see how he's going to turn it around here anymore. There's a few blokes that need to be shown the door if they can't make their intentions clear early next year, and Aku has to head that list. I've defended him too for so long, but he seems to have too much inertia in the wrong direction now.

I feel like the way he is now - if challenged to keep his spot, he may well just throw in the towel and not bother. The comments from him lately about being "happy" to play NSW cup were pretty disturbing. Could just be poor eloquency from Aku, I can see how that would happen... but he needs some fire. He needs to want to be better.
 

mozza91

Coach
Messages
12,672
Last chance for mine. His only saving grace is that his knee is clearly f**ked. He needs to get it fixed and get as much training under his belt as possible. I'd give him the first 6 rounds of 2016 to prove his worth. The old Aku has to be there somewhere.
 

Joker's Wild

Coach
Messages
17,894
No one but ESL or Rugby will take Aku off our hands imo.

I honestly think the best we can hope for is him playing in NSW cup in 2016
 

PhilGould

Bench
Messages
3,316
ESL teams would love him. If Brown decides to get rid of him I don't think we'll struggle to find him a new home.
 

Still Nutty

Juniors
Messages
867
Didn't Rochow have surgery on a disk problem in his back? I'd rather him have another 6 months to make sure it's back close to 100% rather than risking him having a chronic injury.....

Rochow's back surgery and rehab was successful but he broke his arm first game back - had a plate inserted and he had been OK to play if needed but it wasn't worth the risk for the last 2 games that had no value.
 

PhilGould

Bench
Messages
3,316
I'd be happy with

1. Mamo
2. Holland
3. Gagai
4. Sione
5. Chanel

with Aku overseas somewhere. Holland is so impressive though, he was playing in the local league at the start of this season so hasn't even had a professional pre-season. He can kick goals too. Surely he'll at least be in our top squad for next year.
 

Jono078

Referee
Messages
21,112
He looks like a prospect too. I think he'll fill out and strengthen his defense and he could be a good centre for us.
 
Messages
3,329
I think Feeney to left centre as the boy looks like a really good hole runner. Browny has to be happy with what he saw today. He specialises in making young players better.
 
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