Wests have an Awesome Pack,

[yappy]

a clever pair of halves

skillful and hard running three-quarters

a fullback that is as dangerous in attack as he is safe in defence

a bench full of big boppers

and a coach that is getting the best out of them all.















So get down to Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday to see the competition leading Magpies take on the Shellharbour Dragons in the NSW Cup. Kick off 3pm

1 Shannon Gallant
2 Todd Liubinskas
3 Rhys Pritchard
4 Josh Davis
5 Andrew Everingham
6 Charlie Herekotukutuku
7 Wade Dunley
8 Daine Laurie
9 Nathan Waters
10 John Skandallis
11 Corey Vlaciky
12 Nu Akeripa
13 Dean Rysko

14 Levi Freeman
15 Brendan Waters
16 Luke Young
17 Justin Coveney
18 Ray Nasso
19 Faitoa Asa
20 Alfred Betham
21 Duan Poaneki

Coach: Leo Epifania

 

[westie]

Only really rate Davis and Gallant from the backline - albeit very highly.

Could probably do with a bit more oomph in the pack too.

Still - a very good side at this level. Dragons will be very tough.

 

[macnaz]

I watched the replay against the Bears tonight, And YES yappy they have some great players. I think ill start taking a bit more notice of how they go as im losing interest fast in 1st grade.
Who was playing hooker in the first half of that game ? he looked like he has all the skills, could be a halfback if weststigers would actually look for one. Also Josh Davis has plenty to offer in the centres ( cya Collis)
Nu Akeripa is worth keeping a close eye on , this kid is a second rower with speed and power, could also be a center.
Anyway no one in 1st grade will look twice at them so i hope they have a great season and im sure they will go on to big and better things elsewhere

PS. fox sports 5pm Wednesdays has the best game reply so watch out for Balmain and Wests games to see these guys play.

 

[westie]

f**k me. Davis is on the left. Collis plays right. It's not the right option.

Chuck anyone with a bit of ability outside Collis and he'll be the goods again. He's getting double teamed constantly at the moment. Sure Davis could barge over from close, ignoring Ryan, but so could Skando. The right option is just to put anyone that offers the slightest amount of threat outside Collis and we'll see a real player again. Look what happened when Ryan went missing and he and Benji combined together.

 

[jasonl]

f**k me. Davis is on the left. Collis plays right. It's not the right option.

Chuck anyone with a bit of ability outside Collis and he'll be the goods again. He's getting double teamed constantly at the moment. Sure Davis could barge over from close, ignoring Ryan, but so could Skando. The right option is just to put anyone that offers the slightest amount of threat outside Collis and we'll see a real player again. Look what happened when Ryan went missing and he and Benji combined together.

Disagree.

Something went wrong imo with Collis mid last season - there was some injury plus what I can only imagine as some club pressure which has turned things awry.

All your games this season are 80% down the left - to the hole runner Lawrence and the headbanger Tuaki. Effective but predictable and just watch Manly shut it down.

Collis imo is a troubled soul. A gifted, genuinely classy centre lacking any real sense of direction.

As to Ryan - well, he maybe slow but a competent finisher nontheless and more than fine with the high ball in both attack and defence.

Put it this way - Dean Collis has without doubt superior natural skills as an attacking centre than Michael de Vere.

And that's Kangaroo turf.

The fact that these skills are not manifest by 2009 is something of a mystery and something which the coaching dept might possibly be questioned on.

 

[yappy]

Only really rate Davis and Gallant from the backline - albeit very highly.

Could probably do with a bit more oomph in the pack too.

Still - a very good side at this level. Dragons will be very tough.

And exactly how much of the others have you seen mate?

Pritchard is turning into a fantastic acquisition. Has that rare ability to turn nothing into something with footwork and speed. Will be close to the top try scorer in this comp. Todd is playing his fourth competitive game of league this weekend. He's still got inexperience errors in his game, but he's big, strong, works hard and does the ugly hit ups from kick returns that every side needs. Everingham is a bit of an enigma granted. Can do some freakish things (last try against the Bears for example), but can also come up with some bad errors. He'll make less errors as he goes.

If you want to watch a good game of footy then Saturday at Campbelltown is the place to be.

 

[westie]

And exactly how much of the others have you seen mate?

Pritchard is turning into a fantastic acquisition. Has that rare ability to turn nothing into something with footwork and speed. Will be close to the top try scorer in this comp. Todd is playing his fourth competitive game of league this weekend. He's still got inexperience errors in his game, but he's big, strong, works hard and does the ugly hit ups from kick returns that every side needs. Everingham is a bit of an enigma granted. Can do some freakish things (last try against the Bears for example), but can also come up with some bad errors. He'll make less errors as he goes.

If you want to watch a good game of footy then Saturday at Campbelltown is the place to be.

Would love to be there Sunday, hate the Dragons.

Remembering that a lot of this is based on ability to come in to first grade, rather than PL talent.

Haven't watched much, but don't need to, to see that Everingham is no where near the quality of player needed in first grade. Way too many f**k ups and doesn't have the intensity, see that late try where Davis had champion wrapped up and Everingham watched as he struggled free.

Not gunna try spell Todd's last name - but he doesn't offer much to write home about. Obviously he's the key set-starter in PL, but when we have Tuiaki in FG we don't need that.

Pritchard is the interesting one. Undeniably good on his feet. I didn't see any breaks last night, but there was one moment where his quick feet were very obvious in a small space. This needs to be regular for him to be regarded as a good player. Seen too many players with natural ability in the Maggies backline never get the consistency together.

In saying all of this, they can't be as woeful as Ryan (perhaps Everingham). But even he'll score a couple outside Collis, which Ryan seems incapable of doing.

I'd have Nu Akeripa on the FG wing. He's bigger, quicker and more talented than Ryan. Sure he might come up with some defensive mis-reads or drop a bomb or two... but Ryan does this with spectacular regularity, as well as being equally consistent with his ability not to score.

 

[westie]

Disagree.

Something went wrong imo with Collis mid last season - there was some injury plus what I can only imagine as some club pressure which has turned things awry.

All your games this season are 80% down the left - to the hole runner Lawrence and the headbanger Tuaki. Effective but predictable and just watch Manly shut it down.

Collis imo is a troubled soul. A gifted, genuinely classy centre lacking any real sense of direction.

As to Ryan - well, he maybe slow but a competent finisher nontheless and more than fine with the high ball in both attack and defence.

Put it this way - Dean Collis has without doubt superior natural skills as an attacking centre than Michael de Vere.

And that's Kangaroo turf.

The fact that these skills are not manifest by 2009 is something of a mystery and something which the coaching dept might possibly be questioned on.

Something went wrong with Collis a long time ago. You're right about his injury, and he's been forced to play with it a number of times in a diehard bid to make the top 8. Even to the extent where he was too f**ked to kick goals but was allowed on the field?!?!

Of course we run to the left, there's nothing doing on the right. We tried it a bit more this week, but obviously it didn't work, and I blame Ryan. There will never be a better example than when Collis beats two players by himself, throws a ball into the space outside, and Ryan is sitting in the dressing rooms wondering why he's in there alone.

This is in stark contrast to '06, '07 when our right was our key side with Collis and Crockett etc. Note that Crockett put fear into defences because he had PACE. This allowed Collis to get one on one with his center and make regular breaks, or set up Crockett.

How the hell can a guy who hasn't scored be regarded as a finisher. His defence is abysmal (see Penrith/Roosters games) as is his abillity under the highball (see Roosters game).

 

[tiger_nick]

id love akeripa to get a run. something definitely needs to happen to our right side, the center and winger seem to have no idea what each other are doing. i think ryan is more expendable then collis.

would love tagive to be fit but he seems to be another victim of our brilliant medical staff so id give nu a go outside collis.

 

[851]

Something went wrong with Collis a long time ago. You're right about his injury, and he's been forced to play with it a number of times in a diehard bid to make the top 8. Even to the extent where he was too f**ked to kick goals but was allowed on the field?!?!

Of course we run to the left, there's nothing doing on the right. We tried it a bit more this week, but obviously it didn't work, and I blame Ryan. There will never be a better example than when Collis beats two players by himself, throws a ball into the space outside, and Ryan is sitting in the dressing rooms wondering why he's in there alone.

This is in stark contrast to '06, '07 when our right was our key side with Collis and Crockett etc. Note that Crockett put fear into defences because he had PACE. This allowed Collis to get one on one with his center and make regular breaks, or set up Crockett.
How the hell can a guy who hasn't scored be regarded as a finisher. His defence is abysmal (see Penrith/Roosters games) as is his abillity under the highball (see Roosters game).

You are spot on Westie,Ryan has no idea in attack or defence,Collis covers him and the fullback in defence,and in attack Ryan still has no idea

.

 

[yappy]

I watched the replay against the Bears tonight, And YES yappy they have some great players. I think ill start taking a bit more notice of how they go as im losing interest fast in 1st grade.
Who was playing hooker in the first half of that game ? he looked like he has all the skills, could be a halfback if weststigers would actually look for one. Also Josh Davis has plenty to offer in the centres ( cya Collis)
Nu Akeripa is worth keeping a close eye on , this kid is a second rower with speed and power, could also be a center.
Anyway no one in 1st grade will look twice at them so i hope they have a great season and im sure they will go on to big and better things elsewhere

PS. fox sports 5pm Wednesdays has the best game reply so watch out for Balmain and Wests games to see these guys play.

The hooker is club captain Nathan 'Magic' Waters. He had a great season for us last year at 7 and wouldn't be out of place in Firsts at all. Playing great at 9 for us so that Dunley can play 7. You'll notice Magic went to 7 when Wayde went off injured and led us home for the win.

Nu on the wing is an interesting idea (not going to happen though), but you're wrong AJ about him dropping bombs. He had to take plenty under pressure last year when playing in the centres and never looked like dropping one no matter how much pressure he was under. Fantastic hands.

Last week was the first game (including the trials) where I haven't seen Pritchard make a clean break from pretty much nothing or score. We didn't go right alot (and why would we when we were slicing up at will on the left) so he didn't have too many chances to show his flair. I don't think consistency is going to be a problem, but he'll be a marked man.

 

[tiger_nick]

The hooker is club captain Nathan 'Magic' Waters. He had a great season for us last year at 7 and wouldn't be out of place in Firsts at all. Playing great at 9 for us so that Dunley can play 7. You'll notice Magic went to 7 when Wayde went off injured and led us home for the win.

i liked waters at hooker when i saw him in the souths trial. quiet often when a halfback goes to hooker they get caught up and dont seem to know what to do. however he was much more impressive then halatau (not that that would be hard) and ryan carr who also got the gig in that game.

any idea why dunley never seems to get a look in in firsts? everytime ive seen him play he looks like an out and out 7. throws a great ball and is always barking instructions.

 

[simon says]

Waters is a weapon...what about the centre with the tree trunks for legs.Josh something,how strong is he???

ANd Gallant is all class IMO.

 

[yappy]

Nathan has been swapping between the halves and hooker all his career so he's comfortable in either role. He really went brilliantly for us at half last year. He's strong and takes on the line. His kicking game used to be weak, but not any more. I hope someone gives him a shot at First Grade because he's more than earned it.

Josh Davis missed the off season after his bad shoulder injury late last year. He started the season quite tentatively, but against Norths he was back. He just smashed through them all day long and virtually all our points came down his side of the field.

Gallant seems to be ranked below Lazarus, Moltzen, Hanbury and McDonnell. I disagree.

 

[joel caine number 1 fan]

from what i saw the wests 5/8 looks really good ,fantastic passing game

 

[westie]

The hooker is club captain Nathan 'Magic' Waters. He had a great season for us last year at 7 and wouldn't be out of place in Firsts at all. Playing great at 9 for us so that Dunley can play 7. You'll notice Magic went to 7 when Wayde went off injured and led us home for the win.

Nu on the wing is an interesting idea (not going to happen though), but you're wrong AJ about him dropping bombs. He had to take plenty under pressure last year when playing in the centres and never looked like dropping one no matter how much pressure he was under. Fantastic hands.

Last week was the first game (including the trials) where I haven't seen Pritchard make a clean break from pretty much nothing or score. We didn't go right alot (and why would we when we were slicing up at will on the left) so he didn't have too many chances to show his flair. I don't think consistency is going to be a problem, but he'll be a marked man.

Like I said... he's the best option. Much better than Ryan.

 

[westie]

Oh and does Pritchard remind you of Macey? All the talent, but never the consistency or absolute quality to make a full time first grader?

 

[yappy]

Ha Jordan Macey - that's one from the past.

Rhys seems pretty solid to me. Haven't noticed him being any sort of liability in defence, seems pretty strong and can take the knocks. I like what I've seen so far.

 

[simon says]

Imagine Akeripa and Tuiaki on the wing in first grade....its scarey.


I think i like it/??????

 

[westie]

Imagine Akeripa and Tuiaki on the wing in first grade....its scarey.


I think i like it/??????

I've been fantacising for the past few weeks...

I spose it's all irrelevant while we continue to lack any defensive structure however.