A couple of weeks ago I posted a thread that gave my opinion of what our line-up should look like. I stated that Rhyse Martin needed to start on an edge and move Jacko to lock, and one week later that actually happened and it really improved the team in my opinion.
In that post, I also said that Renouf To'omaga needed to be in the first-grade line-up as he has been our best forward in ISP all season, and arguably the form front rower in the entire NSW Cup. Over the past two weeks, he has dominated both teams we've played, starring against Blacktown and then yesterday bagging two tries in 5 minutes against Wenty.
How we played Clay Priest over a young gun like To'omaga who is the front rower we NEED in first-grade is beyond me. To'omaga is a stronger ball-runner, tough, dominates the ruck, a try-scoring threat and is actually IN FORM. Please give him a crack Pay, he is far superior to Elliott AND Priest, plus he has been in the system since Holden Cup.
Don't forget that our ISP team beat the first-grade Panthers in the trials, and although that isn't a great indicator as it is only trials, we clearly have talent in that side if they are able to even compete with a first-grade Panthers side. Plus with our salary cap situation, we have a lot of untapped potential in ISP especially with To'omaga, Cleeland, Lewis and Brown all of which could make positive contributions to our first-grade side THIS YEAR. It's frustrating because around the league we saw Wayne Bennett give an 18-year-old in Payne Haas his debut this year, yet we've got blokes in their 20s who have dominated ISP and still haven't even had a chance.
Again, I'm not claiming that we have the next Andrew Fifita playing ISP for us, and I understand that Haas may be a more transcendent talent, but who's to say that To'omaga doesn't perform as well as Faitala-Mariner has. They both have a similar background coming from NZ, both have that sort of hard-running style that Kiwis are typically known for, and both are under the age of 25 (RFM is 24, To'omaga is 22). Give the kid a crack Dean Pay, he's in better form than Elliott and Priest.
In that post, I also said that Renouf To'omaga needed to be in the first-grade line-up as he has been our best forward in ISP all season, and arguably the form front rower in the entire NSW Cup. Over the past two weeks, he has dominated both teams we've played, starring against Blacktown and then yesterday bagging two tries in 5 minutes against Wenty.
How we played Clay Priest over a young gun like To'omaga who is the front rower we NEED in first-grade is beyond me. To'omaga is a stronger ball-runner, tough, dominates the ruck, a try-scoring threat and is actually IN FORM. Please give him a crack Pay, he is far superior to Elliott AND Priest, plus he has been in the system since Holden Cup.
Don't forget that our ISP team beat the first-grade Panthers in the trials, and although that isn't a great indicator as it is only trials, we clearly have talent in that side if they are able to even compete with a first-grade Panthers side. Plus with our salary cap situation, we have a lot of untapped potential in ISP especially with To'omaga, Cleeland, Lewis and Brown all of which could make positive contributions to our first-grade side THIS YEAR. It's frustrating because around the league we saw Wayne Bennett give an 18-year-old in Payne Haas his debut this year, yet we've got blokes in their 20s who have dominated ISP and still haven't even had a chance.
Again, I'm not claiming that we have the next Andrew Fifita playing ISP for us, and I understand that Haas may be a more transcendent talent, but who's to say that To'omaga doesn't perform as well as Faitala-Mariner has. They both have a similar background coming from NZ, both have that sort of hard-running style that Kiwis are typically known for, and both are under the age of 25 (RFM is 24, To'omaga is 22). Give the kid a crack Dean Pay, he's in better form than Elliott and Priest.
