Player Bill Tupou

[Fazz_old]

Very good call on Tupou not pushing it unless he knows it won't cost us. I do like that.

 

[ToiletDuck_old]

At this point I'm happy to see almost anyone being touted as a future centre, as our stocks are so low.

The offseason should be interesting. You'd think at least one of Inu/Fish/Bill will spend a large amount of time training at centre. Rotating backrowers there just isn't good enough.

 

[Patu_old]

At this point I'm happy to see almost anyone being touted as a future centre, as our stocks are so low.

The offseason should be interesting. You'd think at least one of Inu/Fish/Bill will spend a large amount of time training at centre. Rotating backrowers there just isn't good enough.

Should Bluey be made coach, I can see him going for Inu at centre. Bluey's had alot of faith in Kris in the past (picking him at fullback for the Kiwis when he hadn't even played NRL) and if there's anyone who can motivate Kris it's Bluey.

The one I'm really excited about however is Hurrell. I haven't seen a player dominate in his position in the Toyota Cup as much as he has.

 

[Lego_Man_old]

So much so that he was added to NNRL without even being named for the real Warriors side.

Also re: Manu - it's interesting to not see a player for ages because the contrast between how you remember them is even more stark. Hence my jizz factor over Shaun Johnson and newfound enthusiasm for Little Bill.

Anyway I said to DK watching the game that "flimsy" is the word i would describe how Manu looks on his runs these days. At least in comparison to the Manu of old. Hopefully his hattrick will give him a bit more confidence, although if the damage is mainly physical not much can be done until season's end...

 

[Fazz_old]

Hurrell is being touted by even the clueless Fox commentary team as maybe the most dominant centre to be sighted in NYC in some time, maybe ever. If those guys are willing to talk him up, it's gotta be obvious.

He's not all brawn and no brains either, he's thrown a few nice passes for others to score, seems to have good pass selection on breaks too.

His only flaw is that his defensive reads can be a bit off, I think with the proper coaching (and more time playing league,this is his first full season afterall) that would be easy enough to clear up. I think I read somewhere that Ropati has been mentoring him too. While his defense WAS awful, it's been really quite good in the last year or 2 so I think it'll be more helpful than anything.

Fingers crossed he lives up to the hype, he COULD be a major star.

 

[a.c.e_old]

This talk about Hurrell really makes me smile thinking of the future. Hurrell is starting to sound like Likiliki. maybe we can keep this one? And yeah the guy needs to pick up on his defensive reads, he'd get killed and reversed on at the NRL level.

 

[Fazz_old]

He's better. Much better.

He's like the Ukuma Tai'ai to Likiliki's Epalahame Lauaki, if that analogy makes any sense?

 

[Spence_old]

One thing on Hurrell though, he still does the same thing he did playing Union, running sideways 30 metres until he finds a lazy defender. It worked in high school and in the NYC, but there's no way he's going to get away with that in the NRL.

 

[Tyrael_old]

One thing on Hurrell though, he still does the same thing he did playing Union, running sideways 30 metres until he finds a lazy defender. It worked in high school and in the NYC, but there's no way he's going to get away with that in the NRL.

Benji does this lots

 

[Fazz_old]

And I'd say Hurrell is already a hell of a lot stronger than Benji haha. I reckon it'd work for a while, but eventually teams would realize how to shut him down. Then we'd see whether he has the skills to adapt. I'd back him, he's got decent enough speed and agility to make a fist of things.

 

[Spence_old]

Benji does this lots

Slightly different kettle of fish though.

 

[Patu_old]

One thing on Hurrell though, he still does the same thing he did playing Union, running sideways 30 metres until he finds a lazy defender. It worked in high school and in the NYC, but there's no way he's going to get away with that in the NRL.

SKD does the exact same thing, it annoys me. It does work initially, but once defences have sussed you out it's pretty easy to shut down.

With Hurrell though it's not the only thing in his artillery. When he runs straight and hard he's almost unstoppable. Likiliki used to frustrate me by always trying to run through a man, Hurrell is a bit different. He's got footwork and an offload that he uses to great success. I think perhaps the biggest difference between Hurrell and Likiliki is that Konrad is willing to learn, hungry to even. It's been said that Tonga's biggest problem was his unwilligness to improve.

 

[Spence_old]

Oh for sure, I wasn't having a go at Hurrell. He's an immense talent. Just one thing that annoys me.

 

[a.c.e_old]

Is Hurrell a Matai mold then? Matai a straight runner himself but puts himself in good running lanes. Has the foot work to change his line of attack and awareness to find the supporting runner and set up his wing man.

 

[Patu_old]

Is Hurrell a Matai mold then? Matai a straight runner himself but puts himself in good running lanes. Has the foot work to change his line of attack and awareness to find the supporting runner and set up his wing man.

With less brain explosions on defense. Hurrell's much harder to put down just because of brute strength. Matai probably is more silky than Hurrell, Hurrell plays mainly a power game where Matai is more agile. I think the Fox commentary we're comparing him to Inglis, which is a real stretch at this stage, but I guess they have the same kind of game in terms of strength in the tackle. It would be fairer to say he's more like Junior Sau (in form) except with better footwork and passing.

 

[Fazz_old]

That's pretty much the perfect description of Hurrell.

You're pretty in the know Patu, any idea how highly/lowly the club rates him?

 

[a.c.e_old]

The young man has a lot of time to add more to his growing skill set will be interesting to see him go through the grades and hopefully debut for the Warriors in first grade.

 

[ToiletDuck_old]

I'm mainly a fan because of his AGS background. Same goes for Slaimankhel.

He's going to be 20 next month. I'd like to see us take a chance with him next year early on in first grade. I think there can be a tendency to keep players in the U20's and reserve grade maybe a little long sometimes?

I also don't subscribe to the theory that giving them a go in first grade, then dropping them destroys their confidence. It can give them a good idea as to what they need to work on in the lower grades. Ben, Sonny and Package all spent time in first grade while still eligible for the 20's.

 

[Patu_old]

I'm mainly a fan because of his AGS background. Same goes for Slaimankhel.

He's going to be 20 next month. I'd like to see us take a chance with him next year early on in first grade. I think there can be a tendency to keep players in the U20's and reserve grade maybe a little long sometimes?

I also don't subscribe to the theory that giving them a go in first grade, then dropping them destroys their confidence. It can give them a good idea as to what they need to work on in the lower grades. Ben, Sonny and Package all spent time in first grade while still eligible for the 20's.

I think the only thing with Konrad is that he's still very green, being his first year of playing league and all. I believe an off-season training with the big boys and learning off guys like Ropati and Vatuvei will help him immensely. He still makes errors based on the fact that he just doesn't know the game as much as he should. I'd give him a run in the pre-season games for sure, but an Inu/Ropati centre pairing would suit me at least for the beginning of the season.

 

[Patu_old]

That's pretty much the perfect description of Hurrell.

You're pretty in the know Patu, any idea how highly/lowly the club rates him?

He's rated enough that they signed him up to a first-grade contract with barely 10 NYC games behind him.