General The Manu puzzle

[Viking_old]

Everyone's had an opinion on Manu recently so here's a thread to consolidate them all.

My opinion. MANU IS GOING TO PLAY NRL. He either plays for us or he plays for someone else. If he plays for someone else and he plays against us, he will punish us horribly as do all ex-Warriors! Therefore, I'd rather he played for us.

His reactions are slower than they should be, maybe it's because he's the biggest winger in rugby league, maybe something's up with his eyesight (seriously, poor eyesight can go undetected for years) or it could be something else but he's slower to react when he's taking high balls and he seems to be out of position.

Catching thousands of high balls in training doesn't seem to be the answer, how about some drills to improve hand eye coordination and reaction timing.

 

[Northern_Union]

I notice in union they were gloves, can this be done in rugby league?

It's not just his catching thats the problem, he is always a target for defenders to attack his ball carrying arm because he has such a lose carry.....how many times have we seen over the last couple of years Manu carrying the ball back from a kick only to turn the ball over after losing the ball in a tackle.

 

[Viking_old]

I notice in union they were gloves, can this be done in rugby league?

It's not just his catching thats the problem, he is always a target for defenders to attack his ball carrying arm because he has such a lose carry.....how many times have we seen over the last couple of years Manu carrying the ball back from a kick only to turn the ball over after losing the ball in a tackle.

I don't see why not but he needs to be able to get into position first, I've seen him reach out in front of him because he hasn't been fast enough to get into position. He was fine under the high ball today, Hohaia might have taken a few intended for Manu though.

Loose carries have been a problem for a lot of our bigger boys over the years, Hame's been guilty of it and Paleeasina was the worst I can remember. Bad habits carried over from junior years where they steam rolled lesser opponents and got away with loose carries.

 

[Skinny_Ravs82]

It is the hardest puzzle to figure out! You can practice things a thousand and one times, but you really know how it will come off in a real game situation. He hasn't been that bad in the past couple of weeks, yes he always seem to have the dropsies, but he 's better at coming back from those now. He doesn't go off and hide/sulk but he just gets back in there.

As for the loose carry stuff, I think he just needs to play it smarter. Which, for a guy whose been playing in the top grade for a while should already know. Sometimes he seems to panic a bit, and wants to shove the ball to somebody else.

 

[Esoj_old]

he does have defensive weaknesses and his hands do let him down at times but at the other end he can simply be magical. I think he is one of the reasons we did finish in the top 4 last year. He should be judged like any other player and when his performance merit his dropping then so be it. I think so far this year he is on a par with his storm performance not so good but he went ok against the eels in my opinion.

 

[BigD_old]

Vatavai cannnot stand Monday nite footie



Simple as that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ToiletDuck_old]

Yeah, MNF at brookvale...scene is set for a huge Manu breakdown, but I'm confident he'll be alright ...

 

[Esoj_old]

I guess we find out on the night which manu will be showing up. I know I'll be watching and many of you will be too.

 

[Viking_old]

I don't think he'll crumble mentally again, he's been to the bottom and climbed back up and the way he's responded to mistakes in the last two weeks shows the problem is physical.

 

[Joe 90_old]

There's only 2 other positions for Manu imo. Prop or 2nd row. While he still has the speed he's best used out on the wing for now. He's 22, i give him another 3 years tops before they have to look to move him in.
You could chuck him in their now, cripes he hits the ball up better than most props going. But, there's no way he would cope with the 20 odd hit ups needed or 30 odd tackles of defensive work. When he does eventually move in he'll need to be drip fed from the bench.

 

[Jesbass_old]

Everyone's had an opinion on Manu recently so here's a thread to consolidate them all.

My opinion. MANU IS GOING TO PLAY NRL. He either plays for us or he plays for someone else. If he plays for someone else and he plays against us, he will punish us horribly as do all ex-Warriors! Therefore, I'd rather he played for us.

His reactions are slower than they should be, maybe it's because he's the biggest winger in rugby league, maybe something's up with his eyesight (seriously, poor eyesight can go undetected for years) or it could be something else but he's slower to react when he's taking high balls and he seems to be out of position.

Catching thousands of high balls in training doesn't seem to be the answer, how about some drills to improve hand eye coordination and reaction timing.

I used to think it was a confidence thing, but I no longer do. I'm now of the opinion that it's an eyesight issue. Perhaps he needs to get his vision checked and, if necessary, buy contact lenses.

The similarities between him and Jonah Lomu are many. They have the same running style, ability to be at full speed after only a few steps, the ability to run over other players - if he can get his handling (and presumably vision) issue sorted, he'll (obviously) be an even more potent weapon for us than he already is.

That Eels match last year was played under lights, so that possibly supports the vision theory.

 

[Skinny_Ravs82]

And the Dome didn't have that great lighting either now I think about it

 

[sebastian_old]

One word to describe Manu would be "Enigma" but for Ivan not to drop him after all this time, surely Ivan has faith in Manu & see's the light isn't far away. I think next week against Manly in Monday night Footy will definitly be Manu's biggest test ever. If he comes through that night with a solid game, it could be a turning point for Manu. One thing I must agree with is with what Skinny said he's coming back from his mistakes now, shrugging them off & putting them behind him & that's already a improvement in his game so there is maturing.

 

[ToiletDuck_old]

From another point of view...he puts bums on seats. He's pretty well known in Australia too, and I'm sure is one of the main attractions when the Warriors play here.

His eyes could be the issue, however it would be strange if they hadn't checked this out.

 

[Ryno_old]

Can we move him from the wing on defensive sets or something like that? So Ropati is at 5 Mannering at 4 and Vatuvai inside.

Sort of what the All Blacks used to do with Mehertans.

 

[LordGnome_old]

Most of our games would finish 0-0 without him.

 

[Kav_old]

Last week, it was failure to take the high ball; this week it was poor carries and a loose pass. His main problem is that he attacks the ball rather than letting it come to him (when he leaps for the ball he takes the ball on the chest rather than enclosing it in his arms). When bringing it back, his struggles to break the line will inevitably cause the occasional loss of the ball as defenders try to break his grip. I am prepared to forgive him the occasional lapse as long as he is displaying a devastating style of football. The hope is that the plusses outweigh the negatives and that the gap widens in time.

Kav

 

[Skinny_Ravs82]

From another point of view...he puts bums on seats. He's pretty well known in Australia too, and I'm sure is one of the main attractions when the Warriors play here.

His eyes could be the issue, however it would be strange if they hadn't checked this out.

and that is definite fair call, players like him are one attraction to the game. I know this probably sounds a bit bad, but sometimes when you have players that can do no wrong like JT as an example while they are brilliant to watch, you always know what you'll get from them. Where as, in Manu's case you just know what you'll get from him. And that, in terms of entertainment can be a good thing. He is a joy to watch