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Who were you surprised never made it?

Whino

Whino

Bench
Messages
3,398
Life's Good said:
Richie Williams come to mind for the Dragons. Came into FG with a bit of hype(maybe just at the Dragons). Killed it in his first game vs. Titans(07) and thought it was easy so started mouthing off about how good he was. Fizzled out pretty quickly after that.
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He was dreadful. I can't believe he turned up at Penrith.
 
Lambretta

Lambretta

First Grade
Messages
8,689
Someone mentioned Jake Mamo earlier
He is a player I thought would do well

He went to the birthplace of Rugby League, no, not the George Hotel, that got knocked down two years ago, cos no one gave enough of a shit to save it.... I mean it was only the birthplace of a whole code. Like, as if that's important..... no, he went to Huddersfield. He f**king tore the place up for at least three weeks, scoring 97 tries and single handedly won 8,000 games and prevented Huddersfield from being relegated. Superhero stuff - almost Ben Barba-esque

But then this season, he got injured, lost his place, got back in, lost form and is now on the sidelines and wants to come back to Australia

Apparently the Roosters are interested. So expect him to be erm, in reserves or something
 
mozza91

mozza91

Coach
Messages
14,175
Mamo’s only asset was his pace and that seemed to desert him not long after he made his debut.
 
adamkungl

adamkungl

Immortal
Messages
42,971
Lambretta said:
Someone mentioned Jake Mamo earlier
He is a player I thought would do well

He went to the birthplace of Rugby League, no, not the George Hotel, that got knocked down two years ago, cos no one gave enough of a shit to save it.... I mean it was only the birthplace of a whole code. Like, as if that's important..... no, he went to Huddersfield. He f**king tore the place up for at least three weeks, scoring 97 tries and single handedly won 8,000 games and prevented Huddersfield from being relegated. Superhero stuff - almost Ben Barba-esque

But then this season, he got injured, lost his place, got back in, lost form and is now on the sidelines and wants to come back to Australia

Apparently the Roosters are interested. So expect him to be erm, in reserves or something
Click to expand...

I had a good laugh when he went over and people were saying "see SL is shit, even Jake Mamo is carving up"
Didn't exactly last
 
roostersrule2

roostersrule2

Bench
Messages
4,370
Cockadoodledoo said:
Second worst defensive fullback behind RTS. Sad because RTS was once pretty good in defence but since he got the big fat contract, he concurrently did a heartlidge.
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RTS isn’t the worst defensive fullback.

He misses some easy ones but he saved a couple sure tries this year.

RTS ain’t as good as he was with us but I wouldn’t say it’s due to him not having heart.
 
B

BennyV

Referee
Messages
24,047
Kyle Stanley and Cam King were two of the most disgustingly talented juniors I've seen play the game. Unfortunately, they were both absolutely penetrated by brutal leg injuries in the years where they were getting blooded into first grade (I think KStan finished up with 4 or 5 ACL tears before he threw in the towel).

In Mitch Rein's first year of first grade I thought he'd be a great career first grader, maybe even knock on the door of SOO one day. By the end of the second year, it became obvious that he wasnt going to make it past the 'decent back up' category. Unfortunately it took our coach and management an extra 4 years to get that through their heads.

Jackson Hastings also looked destined for a long first grade career carving up. I mean, it's not too late for him, but looks unlikely.

From other clubs; Manaia Cherrington looked like he was going to be a killer 9. Jake Mamo and Jacob Loko (already mentioned) also spring to mind.
 
Bobby DIGital

Bobby DIGital

Coach
Messages
12,714
Bazal said:
So many from an Eels perspective, but disregarding the poor buggers wrecked by injury like a Danny Sullivan or a Tim Smith (really bad mental health issues might as well be injury IMO), Steve Witt is one that comes to mind. More talented than Michael, who was at worst a solid first grade half, but just did absolutely nothing.

Matt Keating is another, although he was pretty solid and eked out a decent career by virtue of how shit we are. Deadset looked like Cam Smith as a kid, outstanding kicking game, smart out of dummy half, snappy service....then in FG he took thirteen years to pass a footy and ran about 27m in his entire career.

Anthony Mitchell also comes to mind pretty quickly
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Here's another one for Parra fans: Daniel Irvine.

Actually kept Cameron Smith on the bench for the 2001 Junior Kangaroos:

Junior Kangaroos: Justin Hodges (Broncos), Joel Monaghan (Canberra), Jamie Lyon (Eels), Brent Tate (Toowoomba), Luke Rooney (Penrith), Braith Anasta (Bulldogs), Matt Bowen (Cowboys), Michael Luck (Cowboys), Daniel Irvine (Eels), Nick Walker (Brisbane Norths), Danny Sullivan (Eels), Corey Parker (Broncos), Dallas Johnson (Brisbane Norths). Interchange Paul Franze (Newcastle), Cameron Smith (Brisbane Norths), Ben Czislowski (Brisbane Wests), Garrett Crossman (Penrith).

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=199605

Let that one sink in.
 
Rhino_NQ

Rhino_NQ

Immortal
Messages
33,050
Bobby DIGital said:
Here's another one for Parra fans: Daniel Irvine.

Actually kept Cameron Smith on the bench for the 2001 Junior Kangaroos:

Junior Kangaroos: Justin Hodges (Broncos), Joel Monaghan (Canberra), Jamie Lyon (Eels), Brent Tate (Toowoomba), Luke Rooney (Penrith), Braith Anasta (Bulldogs), Matt Bowen (Cowboys), Michael Luck (Cowboys), Daniel Irvine (Eels), Nick Walker (Brisbane Norths), Danny Sullivan (Eels), Corey Parker (Broncos), Dallas Johnson (Brisbane Norths). Interchange Paul Franze (Newcastle), Cameron Smith (Brisbane Norths), Ben Czislowski (Brisbane Wests), Garrett Crossman (Penrith).

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=199605

Let that one sink in.
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what did franze play off the bench?
 
ANTiLAG

ANTiLAG

First Grade
Messages
8,014
Havn't read whole thread - but Glen Fisiiahi (the Fish from Warriors).

Really thought he'd become a star.
 
DeeJ

DeeJ

Bench
Messages
3,119
GC_Gladiator said:
Woosh, you are right. While I also thought Copley would do more, it was Michaels at centre and Boyd on the wing that I was thinking of. Michaels looked a step ahead and Boyd just hung in there.
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Michaels career ruined by Vagana after her tore his ACL. Was never the same player after that. Alot of players adapt to injuries but for some reason he couldn't and it even seemed to affect his handling. I guess alot of it is confidence.
 
Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey

Referee
Messages
25,426
Cherry_poppins said:
Josh Drinkwater

Debut for manly and has been passed around like a drunk kiwi chick ever since
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Drinkwater was sensational for Wests ISP team this year, he completely dominated in most games he played. Not surprising that an ESL team picked him up midway through the year.

It wouldn’t surprise me if he is another Blake Green, comes back to the NRL as a 26/27 year old and has a decent back end up of his career.
 
skeepe

skeepe

Immortal
Messages
48,315
Terry Campese. I mean the reason is obvious, but if he kept up the form he was in when he did his ACL, he could have been one of the all-time greats.

I’d put Jarryd Hayne in a similar category, although his wasn’t injury, his dreams just got in the way.

Adrian Purtell was actually a star in the lower grades, just couldn’t make the step up, no matter what Matt Elliott thought.
 
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