I honestly have never really noticed him in the NRL however I’ve sat and watched a few videos of him this afternoon.

Now I appreciate these are highlight reels etc so it’s tough to make a judgement however a few things stand out.

He looks technically very good.

2 hand carry, steps off both feet and can pass off both hands.

Looks to have an excellent short kicking game.

Looks comfortable taking on the line and quite explosive.

Looks a bit of a maverick who plays with his eyes up. I think this is great I just hope he is able to play that way.

I’m not blowing my beans over the signing but I do think he looks promising.

same with Field on his to be fair

You missed Ben Barba, like I said on another post we might/have signed NRL players who haven't lived up to expectations but I can't ever recall us signing someone who so blatantly threw the towel in when he thought he'd got a contract back home

Brian Carney, but he was going to the NRL and not home.

Was thinking the same.

Carney played injured in his last year at Wigan.

That’s often forgotten given his performances prior to that and the lack of impact he had in his last year.

He did have injuries which earned him the nickname 'biscuit' but in those final half a dozen games for us he was literally a shell of the player he had formerly been with us.

https://silvertails.net/threads/cust-gone.61345/page-3 Majority of Manly fans on this thread are pretty disappointed at him leaving and hope after 2-3 years of ripping it up will go back to them a starting player. This fills me with confidence.

https://silvertails.net/threads/cust-gone.61345/page-3 Majority of Manly fans on this thread are pretty disappointed at him leaving and hope after 2-3 years of ripping it up will go back to them a starting player. This fills me with confidence.

The same could be said by Wigan supporters about the departure of Jackson Hastings!


A message from French that he is coming back would give many supporters even more confidence!

MoM in a Grand Final, I like that

I'd say most Wigan fans wish him well back home, whilst he didn't help bring us much success he can't be faulted for his efforts. He goes home with a leaders shield and two grand final appearances to look back on. I think most Wiganers don't expect him to come back to the UK later in his career and if he does probably may choose Salford again?

I agree that with French even if the club posted an image of him training in the gym with a snippet saying he can't wait to get back, this would go some way. Whilst we do know some details around his family issue, one thing we don't know how serious it currently is
.. final stages and would have to respect that if it was... Etc.

I think the same was said about Tony Gelling - man of the people, only for him to end up gigging at lesser clubs within 12 months of him leaving the UK for good. I wonder when he'll pop up again at somewhere like York or Halifax?

I think Hastings and Gelling are in two separate classes.

100%

I'm not sure why there now seems to be a bit of a trend to knock Hastings. He was absolutely class imo & I wish he'd have stayed for the rest of his career.

Gelling would make our 13 imo, he’s no doubt good enough to play in the Superleague.

Perhaps he'll return at right centre when/if Zac departs. That would be a laugh!

I personally rated Gells. Was a superb wingers centre for a few years and a Match winner on occasions.

I think it was him, JT and Dom down the right for a few years and that Was a frightening combo. Scored some worldies between them.

Spot on, massively under rated.

Is Gelling any worse than what we will have have at Centre with Gildart gone and Hardacre possibly following?

Agree. Never really got the flack he used to get.

I thought he was a top end SL standard centre.

Big unit, massive go forward and could put his winger away.

Clearly there are things off the field which have held him back but I thought he was a very good asset for us.

Field played a lot in 2020 when Mitchel Moses was injured, he's scarily quick, hopefully he still has his pace.

When I've watched Manly Cust has stood out because he is an attacking threat, he's a strong runner with a very good step.

If Cust and Field play 6 and 7 I'm hoping one of them can step up and organise, hopefully 1 has a decent kicking game, my concern is they are both runners and we have a Denis Moran type issue.

Wane won’t work with Gelling again.

Whilst Gelling is clearly a talent on the field he lost the trust of the coaches a while back.

His social media persona is extremely misleading.

The Thornley signing might not excite some supporters but he’s a coaches dream in relation to contributing towards a game plan and his conduct off the field.

Having seen Gelling at Wigan and Warrington, I'd say he's neither under-rated or over-rated. He's very good on his day, just doesn't do it consistently enough to be top-drawer IMO. Having said that, what is considered top-drawer in 2022 is very different to that of 5-10 years ago. Would we see the champions racing to sign a Konrad Hurrell? Would a top 4 team be bolstering their starting spots with the likes of P Matautia, Cust et al?

Gelling is entertaining when at his best though. A bit like a Mamo or a Fonua. Not the best, but the crowd love them.

In short - yes they would.

Top teams over the years have seen plenty of unfancied players come in and be massive successes. Look at Bradford - Hape, Withers, Robbie Paul etc. None of them had more than 40 NRL caps. Saints had Fa'asavalu (a complete unknown) they signed Hargreaves etc.

We've had plenty of success in the modern times with guys like Carmont, Flower & and an aging Paul Deacon. Heck go back to the 'glory days' and we picked Iro up from relative obscurity and Henry Paul was drafted in after a season with Wakey.

Agree.

Win you the game one minute, lose it you the next with a brain fart.

His work rate can't be criticised though and he was one of the best at bringing the ball off our line.