Team List Auckland Vulcans vs Manly Sea Eagles

[Miket12]

From https://www.facebook.com/VulcansRL

VB NSW Cup Rd #17 Team Announcement - Auckland Vulcans vs Manly Sea Eagles

1.James Blackwell
2.Dylan Collier
3.Rusty Bristow
4.Atelea Nafetalai
5.Ivan Penehe
6.Jordan Meads
7.Pita Godinet
8.Ukuma Ta'ai
9.Aaron Nootai
10.Daniel Palavi
11.Agnatius Paasi
12.Sam Lousi
13.Sebastine Ikahihifo

14.Steve Wateford
15.Murray Iti
16.Arden McCarthy
17.Upu Poching
18.Shaun Johnson Bristow


_____

Looks like Fish is still out with because of the knee injury from the Storm game.

 

[Spence]

I wonder if there would have been some benefit in giving Luck (assuming he's not injured) some game time in the Vulcans.

Anyone know something about Aaron Nootai?

 

[fanrrior]

I'm not sure about Aaron Nootai but is Latu injured or just shit?

 

[Viking]

Good to see Nafetelai back in the mx.

Only 6 of those 18 names are contracted Warriors, that's a big contrast from last year.

 

[Spence]

Has anyone seen Upu play since he's returned?

 

[slaughterhouse.sa]

I wonder if there would have been some benefit in giving Luck (assuming he's not injured) some game time in the Vulcans.

Anyone know something about Aaron Nootai?

Aaron nootai is a hooker from richmond club, who have been playing 2nd div.
no disrespect but there are plenty of better hookers in the fox to choose from.
I think Ricky Henry came from richmond...quite a few ex richmond boys including Arden McCarthy, Dan Palavi

Obviously Latu would have pulled out for financial reason and playing for pt chev.
Whilst Darin Kingi has pulled out for that regular match payments in fox..less training,less travelling,

I live out south and heard that Kimi Uasi - a regular q cup hooker and tongan international is playing for papakura.
Would be great for vulcans similar to latu really.
but the reality is these three guys Latu, Darin Kingi & Uasi would get regular payments playing fox footy, not just win bonuses.

Other than those guys ..I would say the two best hookers in Fox would be Joel Freeman (Mt Albert) and Jethro Friend (Manurewa).
Freeman wld get paid from Mt Albert..but I know Manurewa dont pay any money...a few of their players went across to papakura.

Friend is in the Junior Warrior squad..but hasnt really got a look in with ackland.
He should of partner havili imo...bishop is more a 13/backrower.

plus Manurewa are very weak this year..with Ligi Sao and Peta Hiku playing for warriors.
If I was ricky henry I would draft friend in, actually I would draft in Atu Tupou also a junior warrior.
He returned from injury and is a beast.
I reckon both with be in the vulcans squad next year.

 

[slaughterhouse.sa]

Good to see Nafetelai back in the mx.

Only 6 of those 18 names are contracted Warriors, that's a big contrast from last year.

Agreed...I have always rate nafetalai.

Otahuhu must have ran out of money why he is back with the vulcans.
Cause I know Blackwell (who is otahuhu through and through) was bought out by Mt Albert.

Watch out for young Shaun Johnson Bristow ..rustys little brother only 18s years old and goes good.

Hard work for Ricky Henry...entirely different situation to blackmore last year.
Players are once again getting offered more money to play local footy.

They need to fill up the team with youngsters imo and any keen veterans.

It would be helpful is Matagi got clearance to travel...one of the best forwards in the country
I reckon he could be fringe NRL if he could travel.

 

[Spence]

Agreed...I have always rate nafetalai.

Otahuhu must have ran out of money why he is back with the vulcans.
Cause I know Blackwell (who is otahuhu through and through) was bought out by Mt Albert.

Watch out for young Shaun Johnson Bristow ..rustys little brother only 18s years old and goes good.

Hard work for Ricky Henry...entirely different situation to blackmore last year.
Players are once again getting offered more money to play local footy.

They need to fill up the team with youngsters imo and any keen veterans.

It would be helpful is Matagi got clearance to travel...one of the best forwards in the country
I reckon he could be fringe NRL if he could travel.

What's Matagi's story? I don't think I've heard his name, has he played a few home games for the Vulcans?

 

[slaughterhouse.sa]

What's Matagi's story? I don't think I've heard his name, has he played a few home games for the Vulcans?

Suaia Matagi ...he is dynamic prop/back rower.
Perhaps similar to lama tasi/ frank paul.
I have heard he is only 24/25..but he has been around for ages.
He has played NZ residents based cple years and made all the Akld rep teams.

It appears he can only play home games.
similar to manu mau.
He must have some charges against him in the past.

 

[Viking]

Suaia Matagi ...he is dynamic prop/back rower.
Perhaps similar to lama tasi/ frank paul.
I have heard he is only 24/25..but he has been around for ages.
He has played NZ residents based cple years and made all the Akld rep teams.

It appears he can only play home games.
similar to manu mau.
He must have some charges against him in the past.

Matagi turned 24 in March according to his profile on the Vulcans site. Like you, I thought he was a lot older cos he's been playing prems for Tats and Mt Albert (and Marist?) for the last five years that I know of.

I thought the payment for wins only for the Vulcans was long gone and now the contracted top 10 or so get 10K per year then everyone else that plays for them is on pay for play basis, regardless of the result. If they have reverted back to payment for wins only for the Fox (or Richmond) players then they may as well pack the Vulcans up for good, it'll end up being little more than an U20s reserve grade as they're already getting paid. Ricky Henry's a good bloke and he's certainly got nothing like the squad that Blackmore was blessed with last year but he's not going to stand up to the Warriors like the coaches did cos they pay his wages. I know Bernie had disagreements with Cleary over the way he wanted the Warriors boys to play when they dropped back to the Vulcans.

I've been a fan of Jethro Friend but he looks to have slowed down a bit when I watched him play Bay Roskill on Maori TV on Sunday, maybe the Warriors have bulked him up too much. He used to be lightening fast. Speed was what set him apart from every other 9 coming through Auckland junior footy. He didn't have much to work with though, I can't even remember the Bay beating Manurewa, never mind thrashing them. Marlins can still squeeze past Northcote but they're running out of time.

Kimi Uasi was lightening fast when I saw him playing before he shot off to OZ. He was playing Vulcans regularly under Bernie Perenara. He should've gone up to England or France and got under the foreign quota with a Tongan passport, it's too hard to crack the NRL from Q Cup or NSW Cup now if you've missed out on the NYC system and it's going to get harder still. He has the natural speed and footwork that can't be taught or trained.

 

[Blain]

I use to love watching Kimi, he was in the Auckland Lions wasn't he? Very evassive from memorary.

 

[slaughterhouse.sa]

Matagi turned 24 in March according to his profile on the Vulcans site. Like you, I thought he was a lot older cos he's been playing prems for Tats and Mt Albert (and Marist?) for the last five years that I know of.

I thought the payment for wins only for the Vulcans was long gone and now the contracted top 10 or so get 10K per year then everyone else that plays for them is on pay for play basis, regardless of the result. If they have reverted back to payment for wins only for the Fox (or Richmond) players then they may as well pack the Vulcans up for good, it'll end up being little more than an U20s reserve grade as they're already getting paid. Ricky Henry's a good bloke and he's certainly got nothing like the squad that Blackmore was blessed with last year but he's not going to stand up to the Warriors like the coaches did cos they pay his wages. I know Bernie had disagreements with Cleary over the way he wanted the Warriors boys to play when they dropped back to the Vulcans.

I've been a fan of Jethro Friend but he looks to have slowed down a bit when I watched him play Bay Roskill on Maori TV on Sunday, maybe the Warriors have bulked him up too much. He used to be lightening fast. Speed was what set him apart from every other 9 coming through Auckland junior footy. He didn't have much to work with though, I can't even remember the Bay beating Manurewa, never mind thrashing them. Marlins can still squeeze past Northcote but they're running out of time.

Kimi Uasi was lightening fast when I saw him playing before he shot off to OZ. He was playing Vulcans regularly under Bernie Perenara. He should've gone up to England or France and got under the foreign quota with a Tongan passport, it's too hard to crack the NRL from Q Cup or NSW Cup now if you've missed out on the NYC system and it's going to get harder still. He has the natural speed and footwork that can't be taught or trained.

Mate, not too sure on the vulcans payment structure tbh
I heard perhaps some of the players like Kingi, Latu can get similar
which is fair enough i suppose ..we want players who want to push themselves

tbh I think they contracted some of the wrong players and wrong positions
like blackwell and waetford are both fullbacks??? with fish,lock and slaimankhel why bother.
They are good players though

I think next year will be better ricky henry can select which players get vulcans contracts
i.e blokes who are young, pushing themselves for further honours

guys who dont get nrl contracts but still keen to push themselves
atu tupou
Jethro Friend
Donald Tony
Jordan Meads
Should all form part of the side.
I assume Peta Hiku gets some form of contract.

Cant blame friend, wld be pretty depressing...watched manurewa play twice this year
they have the worst pack in teh comp hands down.
compared to Mt Albert, Howick etc...its crazy the divide in talent (linked to money offcourse)
half the mt team would live in otara/manurewa area.
Manurewa have been with out props ligi sao & Visesio setefano to rep duty
they lost trent bishop, kingi and willie stowers to papakura
he would be faster than havili & bishop who are huge.
He should of gone to otahuhu or Papakura and he would look like a star.
Manurewa have no money but just alround a mess of the field.
Unfortunately some clubs dont have the money or knowledge to run semi-pro footy.

Agreed, Uasi should of made the pro - in some country
plenty of spark and tough little bugger

 

[Viking]

Mate, not too sure on the vulcans payment structure tbh
I heard perhaps some of the players like Kingi, Latu can get similar
which is fair enough i suppose ..we want players who want to push themselves

tbh I think they contracted some of the wrong players and wrong positions
like blackwell and waetford are both fullbacks??? with fish,lock and slaimankhel why bother.
They are good players though

I think next year will be better ricky henry can select which players get vulcans contracts
i.e blokes who are young, pushing themselves for further honours

guys who dont get nrl contracts but still keen to push themselves
atu tupou
Jethro Friend
Donald Tony
Jordan Meads
Should all form part of the side.
I assume Peta Hiku gets some form of contract.

Cant blame friend, wld be pretty depressing...watched manurewa play twice this year
they have the worst pack in teh comp hands down.
compared to Mt Albert, Howick etc...its crazy the divide in talent (linked to money offcourse)
half the mt team would live in otara/manurewa area.
Manurewa have been with out props ligi sao & Visesio setefano to rep duty
they lost trent bishop, kingi and willie stowers to papakura
he would be faster than havili & bishop who are huge.
He should of gone to otahuhu or Papakura and he would look like a star.
Manurewa have no money but just alround a mess of the field.
Unfortunately some clubs dont have the money or knowledge to run semi-pro footy.

Agreed, Uasi should of made the pro - in some country
plenty of spark and tough little bugger

Meads and Tony will get 2nd tier contracts at the very least and either of could push for a 1st grade contract on the NRL minimum. I haven't seen Donald play at all this year but he's always seemed to have a professional attitude, similar playing attlibutes to Ben Henry but with a bit more power and finesse. He must be a smart boy if he's studying Crimnology at Akld Uni and playing NYC. Warriors have always had a high opinion of him like Ben Henry. With the cover that the Warriors need and with who they have on their books, Meads is probably more important to them though.

Jethro's father must have connections in England, he should pack his bags and work his way into an NL1 club and try to shine enough to get a ESL shot. Superleague clubs still look to the NL1 clubs for players a lot more than NRL clubs do. He'd need to get up to England in November for pre-season though, next year would be too late.

 

[slaughterhouse.sa]

Meads and Tony will get 2nd tier contracts at the very least and either of could push for a 1st grade contract on the NRL minimum. I haven't seen Donald play at all this year but he's always seemed to have a professional attitude, similar playing attlibutes to Ben Henry but with a bit more power and finesse. He must be a smart boy if he's studying Crimnology at Akld Uni and playing NYC. Warriors have always had a high opinion of him like Ben Henry. With the cover that the Warriors need and with who they have on their books, Meads is probably more important to them though.

Jethro's father must have connections in England, he should pack his bags and work his way into an NL1 club and try to shine enough to get a ESL shot. Superleague clubs still look to the NL1 clubs for players a lot more than NRL clubs do. He'd need to get up to England in November for pre-season though, next year would be too late.

I woudlnt count on it for mead or tony.
Tony is out with a knee injury ....and while top character/kid and good alround footballer but I can have too many ben henrys in one team.
He woldnt interest other NRL clubs enough for anything fulltime imo.

Well the warriors dont like meads ...clearly if they have been lino ahead of him so I doubt they would offer any money towards
They would probably stick with tuimavave, godinet as cover for the halves.
Will get a trial with an nrl club probably.

Havili, Tuimvave, Taukieaho, Palavi - will all be fulltime next year.
Ligi Sao and Omar - wld be offered contract, but will sign with an aussie club
Hiku - will push for a 2nd tier and they will eventually sign up hukatai/lolohea to fulltime

There are a few kiwi boys in the dev. league over there.
In the wider SL squads ...a boy from Pt Chev...Tyla Hepi is training fulltime with Hull KR
not sure how easy it is to do it on a nz passport though

 

[Tim burgess]

Some good post regarding local players. Getting into ESL is not that easy now as they have restrictions on overseas players and teams in lower leagues are strapped for cash, beside work permits are harder to obtain unless you've payed higher grade football

 

[OMG]

I woudlnt count on it for mead or tony.
Tony is out with a knee injury ....and while top character/kid and good alround footballer but I can have too many ben henrys in one team.
He woldnt interest other NRL clubs enough for anything fulltime imo.

Well the warriors dont like meads ...clearly if they have been lino ahead of him so I doubt they would offer any money towards
They would probably stick with tuimavave, godinet as cover for the halves.
Will get a trial with an nrl club probably.

Havili, Tuimvave, Taukieaho, Palavi - will all be fulltime next year.
Ligi Sao and Omar - wld be offered contract, but will sign with an aussie club
Hiku - will push for a 2nd tier and they will eventually sign up hukatai/lolohea to fulltime

There are a few kiwi boys in the dev. league over there.
In the wider SL squads ...a boy from Pt Chev...Tyla Hepi is training fulltime with Hull KR
not sure how easy it is to do it on a nz passport though

I hope your wrong about Hiku, if they offer him 2nd tier we will lose him, he will go close to U20s team of the year and has been better at Full back than Omar this year and is a sensational winger always looking for work.
I would love to see him get a crack at the 6 before the season is over he looks like he could be a better option than Tuimavave there.

 

[warriors4eva]

I was a big fan of these x2 in the Under 20's last year, Agnatius Paasi & Sebastine Ikahihifo, great ball playing back rowers. How are they going in the Vulcans and will they make the step up to the NRl next season ??

 

[Spence]

I was a big fan of these x2 in the Under 20's last year, Agnatius Paasi & Sebastine Ikahihifo, great ball playing back rowers. How are they going in the Vulcans and will they make the step up to the NRl next season ??

In the very limited games I've seen this year Paasi has impressed me a great deal - Ikahihifo was injured for a long time, I think.

 

[slaughterhouse.sa]

I hope your wrong about Hiku, if they offer him 2nd tier we will lose him, he will go close to U20s team of the year and has been better at Full back than Omar this year and is a sensational winger always looking for work.
I would love to see him get a crack at the 6 before the season is over he looks like he could be a better option than Tuimavave there.

Totally agree, re: Hiku - a big fan ...I watched him for Counties-Manukau rep side last year.
Him, Sione Feao, Friend and Bishop ...all got the opportunity to play against the best local senior players and all done well.
Warriors should push more of their development playes in the NZRL national comp.

he has never been rated by warriors ...they usually love the big, fast island wingers.
But Hiku has plenty of heart.

And you are right ...he can play a bit of 6

I reckon he has done enough for a 1 or 2 year deal.
much better than Penehe, collier etc and perfect for depth.

On a side note...Adam Henry looked much better in his 2nd game

 

[Viking]

Some good post regarding local players. Getting into ESL is not that easy now as they have restrictions on overseas players and teams in lower leagues are strapped for cash, beside work permits are harder to obtain unless you've payed higher grade football

5 players under the foreign players quota for ESL teams and I think it's 2 or 3 for NL1 teams unless the quota's been reduced this year. Virtually all players with Pacific Island heritage can be excluded from that quota using the Kolpak ruling by travelling under a passport from the pacific nation that they're claiming heritage from which includes Papua New Guinea but may not include the Cooks. There's been noises for years about reducing the foreign quota but I don't believe they'll ever be able to stop players under the Kolpak ruling as it's a legal precedent.

Most, if not all ESL teams have fulfilled the quota from year to year and not many will take anything less than a fringe NRL player, Gelling is the only recent exception that I can think of but there was only pooh between him and 1st grade really. He's playing well in a dominant Wigan side.

I don't know that the NL1 teams fill their quota's up though and if you were a good player prepared to take a chance and don't mind working a day job, it'd be worth a shot. I know of plenty of players that have done this in the past and have personally met a number of players that have played semi-pro in France and made OK money. It beat's playing for free in the Fox and hoping to be noticed. In fact, if I was a young player who felt they weren't going to get a chance in the NRL, I'd be looking at a team like Toulouse who could get promoted to ESL in expansion plans in the future, especially as Catalans has been fairly successfull. Sala Faálogo and Matt Sturm, who currently play for the Mt Albert prems, both played for NL1 teams that managed to get promoted to ESL. I think Sturm played 90 plus games in the Superleague overall. With no promotion\relegation process, it'd be tougher now for sure.

As for work permits, you only need to have an English (or Welsh?) grandparent to get a residency permit that lasts four years, can be renewed up there and is a quarter of the price of a work permit. That's probably how Nathan Ashe, who is in the St Helens top squad, is staying up there and maybe the Hepi kid that S.Sa mentioned. I don't know how it works with the foreign quota if you've got legitimate residency, I think if you had an English grandfather, you qualify for a British passport which probably means you'd be exempt from the quota altogether.