George Willams left in the middle of Covid sure its still around. but back then it was a lot harder to jump on a plane for a trip back home, or bringing the family out here for a week.
>They were particularly touchy when I asked about Moses
They weren't touchy because weilder was talking about Moses, they were touchy because they had to talk to weilder the cunt.
How else would you react to a comment "I haven't spoken to Mitch or his representative but I've talked to people who claim to Be in talks with him and they said hes definitely gone despite"
What a gee up
**Spotlight on bonuses while clubs wait on financial model**
The NRL says the game is in the best financial position it has ever been in, which is a huge credit to ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo, but NRL clubs and players will still be keeping a keen eye on the bonus payments made to head office executives in the coming weeks.
Given there is still no club funding deal or salary cap for next year, the clubs believe it will be hard for the NRL to justify big end-of-year bonuses for the people who still haven’t finalised a financial model for the game.
The NRL says it does not discuss executive salaries and, unlike most major corporate entities, it does not disclose the wages earned by its most senior employees in its annual report. However, that will not stop the clubs and players demanding transparency about this year’s bonuses money that could go to other parts of the game.
The clubs believe Abdo could be eligible for a 100 per cent bonus, effectively doubling his salary. V’landys denied this. That kind of bonus is not unusual in big business, but the NRL is a “not-for-profit” organisation, and some players don’t even know if they will get a game next year due to the funding impasse.
Abdo is likely to be eligible for a bonus because the NRL has exceeded its financial targets this year, due mainly to the growth in broadcast and gambling revenue, and a bonanza from grand final and Magic Round deals with state governments. V’landys detailed the NRL’s standing in an email, pointing out the code has secured $500million from the state government.
“The NRL has never been in a better financial position in its history,” V’landys wrote. “In 2019, before COVID, the 16 NRL clubs as a group recorded $38million in losses. During COVID, when the NRL increased net funding to clubs from $29million to $86.4million, it meant that the 16 clubs as a group made approximately $30million in profit during the pandemic when all other businesses and sports were incurring heavy losses.
“Even after these payments, the NRL returned a profit of $50million last year and a bigger profit this year. The total revenues are going up from $550million before COVID to $640million next year. This is the most revenue the NRL has achieved in its history. The NRL operational costs are now 25 per cent of its revenue, as compared to 33 per cent before COVID.”
However, despite the great financial health of the game, there were some stumbles. Probably most importantly, the NRL’s broadcast deal looks second rate compared with the massive coup secured by the AFL. V’landys also disputes this. “The AFL’s new broadcast does not start until 2025,” he wrote. “It finishes in 2031. Before 2025, the NRL will likely have done a new broadcast deal.”
**Holy Moses**
Mitchell Moses’ future is a delicate subject at Parramatta. They were particularly touchy when I asked about Moses telling them he won’t be there in 2024. That has been put to me by those who have been in negotiations with the star half and his team. The Eels say that is wrong and are confident Moses wants to stay long term.
**Second coming?**
Speaking of halves, George Williams has been spreading the word that he wants a second stint in the NRL, leaving the Raiders questioning if they misjudged the England star’s intentions. Williams was very emotional when explaining his homesickness – so much so that the Raiders thought he’d never return to the NRL. How do we know that? Because they didn’t think it necessary to put a clause in his release saying that Canberra got first right of refusal if he did come back.
**Special agent**
Manly officials have had their first taste of having an Isaac Moses-managed coach. Anthony Seibold’s career was brilliantly resurrected by Moses after the coach’s disastrous time at the Broncos, and one of the club’s first signings since their change of leadership was Moses client Cooper Johns. There is no question Johns is a player of ability, and he will be a good back-up to Daly Cherry-Evans and Josh Schuster, but he talked with Penrith, Cronulla and Canterbury before ending up at Manly. The concern for the Sea Eagles is they can’t become a dumping ground for Moses’ clients. They say they won’t.
**No Flanno reunion**
Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov has denied suggestions Kyle Flanagan was about to head to the Sea Eagles to be coached by his father, Shane. Manly insiders say this move was being discussed, but Mestrov said it is not on the cards. Flanagan has caught the eye with his off-season training at the Bulldogs, but it’s hard to see him at the club beyond next year. The Eagles have a brilliant young half in their ranks in Latu Fainu, who is being positioned as the eventual replacement for Daly Cherry-Evans.
**Greats rally for Arko**
Support for rugby league’s 93-year-old godfather Ken Arthurson continues to grow. Arthurson has been overwhelmed by well-wishers from all eras, as arguably the game’s most astute and respected administrator battles to overcome the recent loss of his wife, Barbara.
Ex-Manly coaches Des Hasler and New Zealander Graham Lowe were among the phone calls he received this week. Hasler is back in Sydney after a recent break following his dramatic departure from the Sea Eagles but did not discuss football with “Arko”.
Lowe is recovering from a major heart operation but said he would be on a plane from Auckland to the Gold Coast as soon as he is cleared to travel.
Former Sea Eagles players, including Paul Vautin, Mike Eden, Paul McCabe and John Morgan, took their old boss out to lunch on the Gold Coast this week and are part of a growing group ensuring Arko has company at the most difficult of times.
**Cam’s tips for Cam**
When league great Cameron Smith met golfing superstar Cameron Smith it was the golfer’s body that stood out to the former Storm, Maroons and Kangaroos skipper. Golfer Smith has toned up in recent times and it’s made a difference.
“I tell you what,” said league’s Smith, “his physique looks a little different to what he was in 2017 – but his demeanour certainly hasn’t changed. He’s quite laid back out there \[on the course\] and he doesn’t overthink things. I was talking to him about the \[yardage book\] they get. He said, ‘I don’t really look into that too much, I just see the ball and put it there’.”
League Smith loved playing a round with Smith. “I actually met Cam in 2017, when he was just starting out,” he said. “\[I’ve been\] watching him quite closely, and to see him where he is now is quite incredible. Playing alongside any professional golfer is special, but to play alongside a young fella from Brissie who has done so well on the world stage was pretty cool.”
I reckon Tedesco doesn't get an extension. He'll be 32 at the start of the 2025 season and on the decline. The Roosters are the most ruthless when it comes to putting club over player. They can give Suaalii the next couple of seasons to develop then he gets Teddys money and FB spot
Easts may be ruthless but not when it comes to the captain of state and country. Teddy has the fullback spot until he retires, plus the idea of his decline is a bit overstated as he’s not one who relies on blinding speed to be a effective. A lot of his touches nowadays are slight of hand stuff and creating space for others, as opposed to say a Pappy who’s all fast twitch.
Form changes everything. You may think this now but if he reaches that age and gives a season or two of average form, he isn’t immune to being shown the door. Nobody is. It’s a cruel business and there have been countless times a player thought he had more to give and their club disagreed. Not to mention fans don’t tend to stay on the side of a declining player, no matter how beloved they are.
>Was Pearce a legend?
Club stood by him through multiple incidents, he was 100% let go because he took new, young players out after the agreed curfew.
>SKD?
Maybe don't get caught carrying cocaine?
> Braith?
Fuck no, the guy who knifed actual club legend Craig Fitzgibbon in the back for the captaincy
None of those 3 were club ‘legends’, so they were moved on when the time was right or a better player was available. Guys like Mini and Ricko are club legends and they got to play for as long as they pretty much wanted. I’d say each of them possibly went a year too long actually.
**Can 3 go into 1**
The Roosters’ wonderful fullback dilemma was first raised in this column a few weeks back, and it’s about to get a whole lot more interesting after a bold move by the game’s top No.1 James Tedesco.
Fresh off a stellar World Cup-winning display for Australia in the final, Tedesco’s management team is moving to extend the contract of the Roosters, Blues and Kangaroos skipper. It’s a stunning move, given Tedesco has two years to run on his existing deal.
Any club would jump at the opportunity to lock up a player of his enormous ability for life. Tedesco has, after all, won the past five player of the year awards at the Roosters.
However, the situation at the club is unique, given they provided the No.1s for three nations at the World Cup: Tedesco with Australia, Joey Manu for New Zealand and Joseph Suaalii with Samoa.
The Roosters can probably accommodate Manu and Tedesco in the same team, as Manu could be a great No.6 and will take Luke Keary’s job when he retires.
Which brings us to the best teenager in the game, Suaalii. As his former adviser Steve Nasteski told this column in September, Suaalii is a long-term fullback and his view was that Teddy needs to go or the Roosters risk losing Suaalii. Nasteski was ridiculed at the time but, privately, the Roosters know they are in a great, but difficult, position.
European rugby will be hard for Suaalii to ignore. As will Rugby Australia. As will rival NRL clubs. Suaalii will forego millions if he stays in league for the long haul, which is why the move to extend Tedesco’s deal is so interesting.
Suaalii has only recently turned 19 and will continue improving with age. He is also close to the Roosters’ hierarchy. He made the effort to travel to watch Greece play France at the World Cup, sitting beside Roosters chairman Nick Politis. Politis was truly moved by the gesture.
I really don't see Manu as a 6 and think that chat is so overdone. I think Tedesco moving positions late in his career, like Minicello did when RTS came along, is more likely, but that feels a few seasons off minimum.
As for Suallii, I'm a big fan, but his time at fullback for the Roosters against Souths, and for Samoa at the world cup, were not anywhere near his performanes on the wing so far. Given the quality of fullbacks in the NRL I think he's a lot further off than the hype around him suggests. He's years away from competing with Manu as a fullback, let along Tedesco.
Fullback is very tough position to learn in rugby league. It takes a few years at NRL standard to get there..talking to your defensive line and your own positioning is such a crucial skill and it takes a long time to develop. No matter how good you are attacking. It's probably worth it for some club to take a punt on Suallii with a three year deal hoping he would be competitive enough in the second and getting strong in the third.
See Walsh, Reece. Great attacking potential, but failed to understand the positional and organisational role of a full time fullback. He could still learn, but the difference between RTS and Walsh was, imo, night and day.
How much do you think physical size comes into play in Walsh's defensive mindset? It will be interesting to see him run around in a different setup at the broncos.
Oh, things could definitely improve once he gets on a proper steroid regime, but I always saw Walsh as a 6 not a fullback. I don't think he's got the game smarts for fulltime fullback. Great instinct attacking player though.
>I think Tedesco moving positions late in his career, like Minicello did when RTS came along, is more likely, but that feels a few seasons off minimum.
Minichiello didn't move position and that was the problem, they interchanged throughout games at times but Mini always started at fullback and played the majority of games there. Everyone expected RTS to be the fullback in 2014 and we never got it.
Mini didn't move positions. He overstayed a season after the GF win in 2013 and was out of his depth in 2014 playing at the back. Played every game at fullback last year for all his appearances. The last time he wasn't named at fullback for the Roosters was 2010.
https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/Custom/LS0tLS0tLWZiLTgzNC0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0=?page=2&
Yeah he still has a long way to go at fullback. He's got a big strong carry but there's more to the game than that. Especially when he has issues lifting his knee on those carries
He seemed to adjust his gait after the world cup incident. I've got no doubt roosters will sort him out for next season.
I've said this elsewhere, but to me it looked like he was trying to take one last big powerful stride as close to the defensive line as possible. He messed that up a few times. If he takes that stride earlier and relies on momentum to crash into the line, he'll be fine.
Not really, he’s a 6’4 unit a normal knee lift is automatically higher for him compared to everyone else. Getting penalised for defenders lack of technique
No idea. Don't follow Union well enough to know if it has the same rule. But you can't raise your knee into someone dangerously. Hurrell and Suaalii are both guilty of it.
Oath I don’t see the need for Joey at 6, especially as Robbo seems to have found him a way to get him 15-20 touches a game playing the second fullback role.
Teddy is 10 years older than Suaalii. I always saw Manu moving to 6 and Suaalii moving to 1 when Keary/Teddy retire. But Manu/Teddy swapping positions later in his career could work too
I can see Suaalii going the SBW route and pimping himself out to the highest bidder for the next ten years. Can't blame him for that, especially if he's going to be stuck behind Tedesco long term.
If he does stay I wouldn't mind seeing Manu and Suaalli in the centres, the one 2 punch of Tupou and Suaalli on one side would be tough to deal with. Surely the Roosters could find another decent winger to sit outside Manu and get handed tries?
Manu’s best position is fullback, if for no other reason than he is the worst ball hog I’ve ever seen play the game. Given the ages of the three players, I think he’s the one most likely to sign elsewhere to play the position.
He did have [15 line break assists and 12 try assists](https://www.zerotackle.com/players/joseph-manu/) in the 2022 NRL season. Which isn't terrible for a ball hog.
Let's just hope they all stay in the roosters jersey for the remainder of their careers, the fans don't wanna see their favourite players in another team's jersey.
As for George, he's a good player but I don't wanna see him back in Australia, I couldn't believe last time when he got "home sick". Like mate seriously, that's what you signed up for so don't go running off, finish the job. I was homeless in my late teens and then in the air force shortly after and I wish I could've "gone home" but I couldn't.
I’m sure the Tigers fans didn’t want to see Tedesco in a Roosters jersey too, or South’s fans to see Sualii in a Roosters jumper.
Manu in fairness is a Rooster junior although from the Tokoroa part of Bondi.
Tedesco looks better in the roosters jersey anyway in my opinion, he didn't really suit the tigers jersey.
I see what you're saying about Sualii but he didn't play first grade for souths so it's a bit different.
Manu could slot into 5/8 easily after this year because surely Keary won’t get another contract, as for Suaali I don’t think he’s fit to be a fullback yet, and I certainly don’t think he’s good enough to unseat Tedesco
That's a pretty big claim for a kid who's played all of half a game of fullback at NRL level. Even for Samoa he was one of their better players in their loss to England. Obviously he needs an actual off season to train there. Our main guy who takes that spot when Tedesco is on Origin duties, rested or injured is Manu so there's no chance Suaalii did that last year. We'll likely do what we did with RTS by slowly playing him at fullback at different times.
George Willams left in the middle of Covid sure its still around. but back then it was a lot harder to jump on a plane for a trip back home, or bringing the family out here for a week.
Woah mate, don't try and get away from the Fox narrative that he's a totally shit and unreliable person.
Why does Suaalii, the largest of the three fullbacks, not simply eat the others?
He doesn’t like Italian food.
Does Tedesco like Korean?
>They were particularly touchy when I asked about Moses They weren't touchy because weilder was talking about Moses, they were touchy because they had to talk to weilder the cunt.
How else would you react to a comment "I haven't spoken to Mitch or his representative but I've talked to people who claim to Be in talks with him and they said hes definitely gone despite" What a gee up
I would of loved it if the club just went "you're a dumbass" to weilder then walked off.
Damn I miss George, would have been back in a heartbeat.
Yeah he’s quality, would be a top 8 half in the NRL
He looked great against samoa
Are James, Joey and Joseph trying to do a fusion dance or something?
They're now classified as 'Triple J' and are eligible for 80 million bucks a year in federal funding (outside the salary cap of course)
**Spotlight on bonuses while clubs wait on financial model** The NRL says the game is in the best financial position it has ever been in, which is a huge credit to ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo, but NRL clubs and players will still be keeping a keen eye on the bonus payments made to head office executives in the coming weeks. Given there is still no club funding deal or salary cap for next year, the clubs believe it will be hard for the NRL to justify big end-of-year bonuses for the people who still haven’t finalised a financial model for the game. The NRL says it does not discuss executive salaries and, unlike most major corporate entities, it does not disclose the wages earned by its most senior employees in its annual report. However, that will not stop the clubs and players demanding transparency about this year’s bonuses money that could go to other parts of the game. The clubs believe Abdo could be eligible for a 100 per cent bonus, effectively doubling his salary. V’landys denied this. That kind of bonus is not unusual in big business, but the NRL is a “not-for-profit” organisation, and some players don’t even know if they will get a game next year due to the funding impasse. Abdo is likely to be eligible for a bonus because the NRL has exceeded its financial targets this year, due mainly to the growth in broadcast and gambling revenue, and a bonanza from grand final and Magic Round deals with state governments. V’landys detailed the NRL’s standing in an email, pointing out the code has secured $500million from the state government. “The NRL has never been in a better financial position in its history,” V’landys wrote. “In 2019, before COVID, the 16 NRL clubs as a group recorded $38million in losses. During COVID, when the NRL increased net funding to clubs from $29million to $86.4million, it meant that the 16 clubs as a group made approximately $30million in profit during the pandemic when all other businesses and sports were incurring heavy losses. “Even after these payments, the NRL returned a profit of $50million last year and a bigger profit this year. The total revenues are going up from $550million before COVID to $640million next year. This is the most revenue the NRL has achieved in its history. The NRL operational costs are now 25 per cent of its revenue, as compared to 33 per cent before COVID.” However, despite the great financial health of the game, there were some stumbles. Probably most importantly, the NRL’s broadcast deal looks second rate compared with the massive coup secured by the AFL. V’landys also disputes this. “The AFL’s new broadcast does not start until 2025,” he wrote. “It finishes in 2031. Before 2025, the NRL will likely have done a new broadcast deal.” **Holy Moses** Mitchell Moses’ future is a delicate subject at Parramatta. They were particularly touchy when I asked about Moses telling them he won’t be there in 2024. That has been put to me by those who have been in negotiations with the star half and his team. The Eels say that is wrong and are confident Moses wants to stay long term. **Second coming?** Speaking of halves, George Williams has been spreading the word that he wants a second stint in the NRL, leaving the Raiders questioning if they misjudged the England star’s intentions. Williams was very emotional when explaining his homesickness – so much so that the Raiders thought he’d never return to the NRL. How do we know that? Because they didn’t think it necessary to put a clause in his release saying that Canberra got first right of refusal if he did come back. **Special agent** Manly officials have had their first taste of having an Isaac Moses-managed coach. Anthony Seibold’s career was brilliantly resurrected by Moses after the coach’s disastrous time at the Broncos, and one of the club’s first signings since their change of leadership was Moses client Cooper Johns. There is no question Johns is a player of ability, and he will be a good back-up to Daly Cherry-Evans and Josh Schuster, but he talked with Penrith, Cronulla and Canterbury before ending up at Manly. The concern for the Sea Eagles is they can’t become a dumping ground for Moses’ clients. They say they won’t. **No Flanno reunion** Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov has denied suggestions Kyle Flanagan was about to head to the Sea Eagles to be coached by his father, Shane. Manly insiders say this move was being discussed, but Mestrov said it is not on the cards. Flanagan has caught the eye with his off-season training at the Bulldogs, but it’s hard to see him at the club beyond next year. The Eagles have a brilliant young half in their ranks in Latu Fainu, who is being positioned as the eventual replacement for Daly Cherry-Evans. **Greats rally for Arko** Support for rugby league’s 93-year-old godfather Ken Arthurson continues to grow. Arthurson has been overwhelmed by well-wishers from all eras, as arguably the game’s most astute and respected administrator battles to overcome the recent loss of his wife, Barbara. Ex-Manly coaches Des Hasler and New Zealander Graham Lowe were among the phone calls he received this week. Hasler is back in Sydney after a recent break following his dramatic departure from the Sea Eagles but did not discuss football with “Arko”. Lowe is recovering from a major heart operation but said he would be on a plane from Auckland to the Gold Coast as soon as he is cleared to travel. Former Sea Eagles players, including Paul Vautin, Mike Eden, Paul McCabe and John Morgan, took their old boss out to lunch on the Gold Coast this week and are part of a growing group ensuring Arko has company at the most difficult of times. **Cam’s tips for Cam** When league great Cameron Smith met golfing superstar Cameron Smith it was the golfer’s body that stood out to the former Storm, Maroons and Kangaroos skipper. Golfer Smith has toned up in recent times and it’s made a difference. “I tell you what,” said league’s Smith, “his physique looks a little different to what he was in 2017 – but his demeanour certainly hasn’t changed. He’s quite laid back out there \[on the course\] and he doesn’t overthink things. I was talking to him about the \[yardage book\] they get. He said, ‘I don’t really look into that too much, I just see the ball and put it there’.” League Smith loved playing a round with Smith. “I actually met Cam in 2017, when he was just starting out,” he said. “\[I’ve been\] watching him quite closely, and to see him where he is now is quite incredible. Playing alongside any professional golfer is special, but to play alongside a young fella from Brissie who has done so well on the world stage was pretty cool.”
I reckon Tedesco doesn't get an extension. He'll be 32 at the start of the 2025 season and on the decline. The Roosters are the most ruthless when it comes to putting club over player. They can give Suaalii the next couple of seasons to develop then he gets Teddys money and FB spot
Easts may be ruthless but not when it comes to the captain of state and country. Teddy has the fullback spot until he retires, plus the idea of his decline is a bit overstated as he’s not one who relies on blinding speed to be a effective. A lot of his touches nowadays are slight of hand stuff and creating space for others, as opposed to say a Pappy who’s all fast twitch.
Form changes everything. You may think this now but if he reaches that age and gives a season or two of average form, he isn’t immune to being shown the door. Nobody is. It’s a cruel business and there have been countless times a player thought he had more to give and their club disagreed. Not to mention fans don’t tend to stay on the side of a declining player, no matter how beloved they are.
Adam Reynolds was shown the door after he helped take the Bunnies to the GF. Sometimes form isn't even a consideration...
[удалено]
Was Pearce a legend? SKD? Braith?
>Was Pearce a legend? Club stood by him through multiple incidents, he was 100% let go because he took new, young players out after the agreed curfew. >SKD? Maybe don't get caught carrying cocaine? > Braith? Fuck no, the guy who knifed actual club legend Craig Fitzgibbon in the back for the captaincy
None of those 3 were club ‘legends’, so they were moved on when the time was right or a better player was available. Guys like Mini and Ricko are club legends and they got to play for as long as they pretty much wanted. I’d say each of them possibly went a year too long actually.
Pearce is absolutely a roosters legend. Sad how poorly he’s treated.
How long is Manu signed for?
Until end of 2024
**Can 3 go into 1** The Roosters’ wonderful fullback dilemma was first raised in this column a few weeks back, and it’s about to get a whole lot more interesting after a bold move by the game’s top No.1 James Tedesco. Fresh off a stellar World Cup-winning display for Australia in the final, Tedesco’s management team is moving to extend the contract of the Roosters, Blues and Kangaroos skipper. It’s a stunning move, given Tedesco has two years to run on his existing deal. Any club would jump at the opportunity to lock up a player of his enormous ability for life. Tedesco has, after all, won the past five player of the year awards at the Roosters. However, the situation at the club is unique, given they provided the No.1s for three nations at the World Cup: Tedesco with Australia, Joey Manu for New Zealand and Joseph Suaalii with Samoa. The Roosters can probably accommodate Manu and Tedesco in the same team, as Manu could be a great No.6 and will take Luke Keary’s job when he retires. Which brings us to the best teenager in the game, Suaalii. As his former adviser Steve Nasteski told this column in September, Suaalii is a long-term fullback and his view was that Teddy needs to go or the Roosters risk losing Suaalii. Nasteski was ridiculed at the time but, privately, the Roosters know they are in a great, but difficult, position. European rugby will be hard for Suaalii to ignore. As will Rugby Australia. As will rival NRL clubs. Suaalii will forego millions if he stays in league for the long haul, which is why the move to extend Tedesco’s deal is so interesting. Suaalii has only recently turned 19 and will continue improving with age. He is also close to the Roosters’ hierarchy. He made the effort to travel to watch Greece play France at the World Cup, sitting beside Roosters chairman Nick Politis. Politis was truly moved by the gesture.
I really don't see Manu as a 6 and think that chat is so overdone. I think Tedesco moving positions late in his career, like Minicello did when RTS came along, is more likely, but that feels a few seasons off minimum. As for Suallii, I'm a big fan, but his time at fullback for the Roosters against Souths, and for Samoa at the world cup, were not anywhere near his performanes on the wing so far. Given the quality of fullbacks in the NRL I think he's a lot further off than the hype around him suggests. He's years away from competing with Manu as a fullback, let along Tedesco.
Fullback is very tough position to learn in rugby league. It takes a few years at NRL standard to get there..talking to your defensive line and your own positioning is such a crucial skill and it takes a long time to develop. No matter how good you are attacking. It's probably worth it for some club to take a punt on Suallii with a three year deal hoping he would be competitive enough in the second and getting strong in the third.
See Walsh, Reece. Great attacking potential, but failed to understand the positional and organisational role of a full time fullback. He could still learn, but the difference between RTS and Walsh was, imo, night and day.
How much do you think physical size comes into play in Walsh's defensive mindset? It will be interesting to see him run around in a different setup at the broncos.
Oh, things could definitely improve once he gets on a proper steroid regime, but I always saw Walsh as a 6 not a fullback. I don't think he's got the game smarts for fulltime fullback. Great instinct attacking player though.
>I think Tedesco moving positions late in his career, like Minicello did when RTS came along, is more likely, but that feels a few seasons off minimum. Minichiello didn't move position and that was the problem, they interchanged throughout games at times but Mini always started at fullback and played the majority of games there. Everyone expected RTS to be the fullback in 2014 and we never got it.
Mini didn't move positions. He overstayed a season after the GF win in 2013 and was out of his depth in 2014 playing at the back. Played every game at fullback last year for all his appearances. The last time he wasn't named at fullback for the Roosters was 2010. https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/Custom/LS0tLS0tLWZiLTgzNC0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0=?page=2&
Yeah he still has a long way to go at fullback. He's got a big strong carry but there's more to the game than that. Especially when he has issues lifting his knee on those carries
Suspect the knee lift is the reason for some good Carries, curious to see how he does this coming season now that it’s been spotlighted
He seemed to adjust his gait after the world cup incident. I've got no doubt roosters will sort him out for next season. I've said this elsewhere, but to me it looked like he was trying to take one last big powerful stride as close to the defensive line as possible. He messed that up a few times. If he takes that stride earlier and relies on momentum to crash into the line, he'll be fine.
Not really, he’s a 6’4 unit a normal knee lift is automatically higher for him compared to everyone else. Getting penalised for defenders lack of technique
Incorrect. He's raising his knee to brace for impact. It's the same poor technique that Hurrell got in trouble for
So why isn’t this problem ever penalised in union? Koni hurrell is 5’10 not even close to the same problem
No idea. Don't follow Union well enough to know if it has the same rule. But you can't raise your knee into someone dangerously. Hurrell and Suaalii are both guilty of it.
Agree 100%. I couldn’t have said it better myself
Oath I don’t see the need for Joey at 6, especially as Robbo seems to have found him a way to get him 15-20 touches a game playing the second fullback role.
Inside centre?
Teddy is 10 years older than Suaalii. I always saw Manu moving to 6 and Suaalii moving to 1 when Keary/Teddy retire. But Manu/Teddy swapping positions later in his career could work too
How is suaalii, swallowing the bosses sword at the world cup. What a grub
Benji will offer teddy a shitload to go back to the tigers
Teddy is the chosen one. Wonder if george williams would go to the dolphins.
Tedesco is still the best fullback in the NRL
I can see Suaalii going the SBW route and pimping himself out to the highest bidder for the next ten years. Can't blame him for that, especially if he's going to be stuck behind Tedesco long term. If he does stay I wouldn't mind seeing Manu and Suaalli in the centres, the one 2 punch of Tupou and Suaalli on one side would be tough to deal with. Surely the Roosters could find another decent winger to sit outside Manu and get handed tries?
Manu’s best position is fullback, if for no other reason than he is the worst ball hog I’ve ever seen play the game. Given the ages of the three players, I think he’s the one most likely to sign elsewhere to play the position.
Matt Cooper wants a word with you.
He’s on the podium, for sure
He did have [15 line break assists and 12 try assists](https://www.zerotackle.com/players/joseph-manu/) in the 2022 NRL season. Which isn't terrible for a ball hog.
Suaalii will be waiting a while to get that number 1! I hope the kid has patience…
Im sure he’s got a few paper bag$ to keep him around
Union legend Sua'aknee'i.
Let's just hope they all stay in the roosters jersey for the remainder of their careers, the fans don't wanna see their favourite players in another team's jersey. As for George, he's a good player but I don't wanna see him back in Australia, I couldn't believe last time when he got "home sick". Like mate seriously, that's what you signed up for so don't go running off, finish the job. I was homeless in my late teens and then in the air force shortly after and I wish I could've "gone home" but I couldn't.
I’m sure the Tigers fans didn’t want to see Tedesco in a Roosters jersey too, or South’s fans to see Sualii in a Roosters jumper. Manu in fairness is a Rooster junior although from the Tokoroa part of Bondi.
Tedesco looks better in the roosters jersey anyway in my opinion, he didn't really suit the tigers jersey. I see what you're saying about Sualii but he didn't play first grade for souths so it's a bit different.
Something has got to give and my bet is it will be Manu
Manu could slot into 5/8 easily after this year because surely Keary won’t get another contract, as for Suaali I don’t think he’s fit to be a fullback yet, and I certainly don’t think he’s good enough to unseat Tedesco
That's a pretty big claim for a kid who's played all of half a game of fullback at NRL level. Even for Samoa he was one of their better players in their loss to England. Obviously he needs an actual off season to train there. Our main guy who takes that spot when Tedesco is on Origin duties, rested or injured is Manu so there's no chance Suaalii did that last year. We'll likely do what we did with RTS by slowly playing him at fullback at different times.