Doesn't have the engine, technique or work ethic to be a middle man imho.

Spot on.

Maybe so. I'm not impressed with Lauaki either way.

Not sure he was the work ethic to play in the back row either.

Lauaki looks better at prop imo although not sure he is cut out to play there. In the backrow he never quite knows when the ball is coming and that seems to effect his game. Same with Manu, always gets the ball stood still.

If the Prescott rumour is true I will be happy, thought he played well last night.

The answer there is the poor ball he receives. We do the Manu trick of giving him it flat and expecting him to blow apart the line from a standing start. We need to sort our poor tactics and distribution out for the wider players to shine rather than shift them around.

I'm struggling to understand why there is a creeping trend of posters suggesting the way to get the best out of our players is to move them further infield to where the action is (Briscoe's another). Are our dour, one man down the middle tactics starting to take root in people's minds?

Lauaki was a prop in Oz and Briscoe was a centre in the youth set up. I guess it just so happens that both of those moves by coincidence mean they move more to the middle. In my mind it's simply trying to get players into their best positions.

I've been impressed with him most times i've seen him this year. Hit the line hard and puts his body on the line in defence. We could do a lot worse.

Hame was voted most explosive forward in 2007 playing for warriors but this was done playing in the backrow. Hame is more of a threat on form playing wider

Completely agree mate, think talks happened last week so fingers crossed we can get the deal done.

You've hidden it well throughout the season. What's you're opinion on Berrigan?



Seriously though, I think both are similar cases (and just the latest in a line including Blacklock and Sing as well). We've brought them both in with decent reputations for what they do (obviously Berrigan far more), and we can see the obvious potential/ability, but not consistently. It's because we've brought them in to a setup which really does not suit them or allow them to produce their best, but we're then blaming them?

I think most fans agree that our playing 'style' is not up to scratch. By sorting that we'd also get more from these players. So if we know our tactics are a problem, and it's likely we'd get more from certain players by fixing this, why then, are they the ones seen as at fault? It would be like sticking Lewis Hamilton in a Ford Transit and then blaming him for not winning any races IMO.

Yup, like I just said the ball does not go wide consistently enough and our two explosive backrowers are often stood still and then have to rely on brute strength.

Berro is my new favourite player... as long as he's in the centres. I've only been saying he should play there for 2 seasons!!



Just dont think we've seen value for money from Lauaki.

lauaki best posistion is backrow playing outwide but when he does play there he dosent see the ball enough whilst running on to the ball with pace like manu but i would still leave him there for next season and id move fitzy to prop and have washy and whiting fighting for the 13 shirt. omeley,radders with moa,fitzgibbon not a bad frontrow but if we start to get a few injuries then we could start to look weak

Not so convinced by your claims of Lauaki as a prop in the NRL. Seem to recall him as an interchange capable of both, but primarily in the back row. IIRC, much was made of his handling out wide when he signed, and there was a lot of talk that he was to replace Crocker because he was a fellow back rower, which Hull denied by saying that he could also play prop. He's a 2nd rower, mate.

As for Briscoe, people are saying he should play centre so that he sees more of the ball. I would counter that by saying that instead we should sort our attacking game out so that our wingers see more of the ball, then it won't be an issue. I'm not convinced centre is his best position, as I've never seen him play there at first team level (something many seem keen to ignore, or just assume he'll just move with no problems).

Has Green been playing prop at all? Or maybe Burnett to be cover?

Well Steve Price said he was the best impact prop in the competition. I've seen very little evidence of Lauaki been a classy back rower so i'll go with Price for the time been if thats ok!





I've seen him play centre in the reserves a few times and he's a class act there too. I'm not saying i want him to move there to see more of the ball, i just think it's his best position long term. Next year may be one too soon for centre but within the next 2 or 3 years thats the position he will play.

I don't think we've seen value for money from almost the entire squad. What I think is unfair is to hold this against some players individually (and it seems to be the imports in particular). If it was 1 or 2 underperforming in a good team, fair enough, but when it's most players struggling because of a naff attacking side, it's time to look somewhere else for answers. Getting value for money is what the coach is supposed to be there for.

Did price say that in his book dave? I recall him writing about hame but can't recall the content.

It was an interview after a game back when Price was propping for the Warriors in 2007 or 08. He claimed that Lauaki's impact off the bench helped his game enourmously and that he thought he was the best impact prop at the time in the NRL.

A huge compliment from a player of Price's stature.

Cant remember where i read it mate. I hold Price's thoughts in very high regard though.

You wont get any disagreements from me there.

Opinions vary. I've seen no evidence of him being a better prop.





I've seen him in the reserves too, and I'll tell you one thing: he's never looked anywhere near as good at that level as Craig Hall did at centre. Then when it comes to the first team he's outshone him on the wing by far. Don't get me wrong, he may end up a good centre. My point is simply that basing this purely on the reserves is foolhardy, as that means diddly-squat when it comes to the first team, as has been proven with a few players in recent years. I'm not convinced he has the hands or vision to be any better than Yeaman at centre, someone you would like to see dropped.

So how do we see how he goes at centre in the first team without giving it a go? (agree about Hall too, however some players dont have the attitude to kick on, Briscoe most definately does)

Agree with that. I think Fitz, Houghton, Whiting and Briscoe have been standouts because of their individual effort and workrate. Compare to Wigan last night. Fair enough they have have a better squad, but just watching their shape in attack stood really deep with multiple runners (running with purpose) is fantastic and makes life far easier for the halves. As said before, if we'd adopted something similar, it would have mattered far less about Long/Horne getting on the pitch together.