Kitione Kautoga

TwinTurbo

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Thommo ain’t elite. He may have been in ESL but here he is undersized and injury prone. We have almost 4 years evidence now
Just a bit of exaggeration there, he signed a 3 year contract and is halfway through the last year of that, so 2.5 years would be more accurate.

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bradyk

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Why let him go? He is an elite player having a bad run. Add some props around him
Thompson's shown overall while here he's somewhere between not that great and does the job. I think for a small period he showed potential to be quality (while on elite money) but after 3 years the potential period is over. If we end up keeping him it's because we missed all the other props available, currently 2 better options available. We took a massive risk signing him and he's not even worth half what we're paying him.
 

Interestingg

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Just a bit of exaggeration there, he signed a 3 year contract and is halfway through the last year of that, so 2.5 years would be more accurate.

Always a Bulldog
No. He debuted round 9 of 2020. So by the end of this season, in which he will likely not play any games, he would have been with us for almost 4 seasons
 

Bulldogs09

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Hopefully goes well
 

D- voice

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Thompson's shown overall while here he's somewhere between not that great and does the job. I think for a small period he showed potential to be quality (while on elite money) but after 3 years the potential period is over. If we end up keeping him it's because we missed all the other props available, currently 2 better options available. We took a massive risk signing him and he's not even worth half what we're paying him.
Time and time again I have said we bought the wrong prop it should have been Walmsley not Thompson, the monstrous Walmsley did all the hard work, off the back of that hard work Thompson looked pretty doing the pretty things.
 
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Alan79

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Maybe. But I haven't seen anything from him yet
A burst here and there maybe. Proof will in the pudding..
I was keen to see if he improved with a hooker that could time a pass to allow him to hit pace before receiving the ball. He's pretty quick when he gets good service and I think it might have allowed him to stand out more.
 

TwinTurbo

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Time and time again I have said we bought the wrong prop it should have been Walmsley not Thompson, the monstrous Walmsley did all the hard work, off the back of that hard work Thompson looked pretty doing the pretty things.
Walmsley has knocked back numerous NRL offers over the years, he obviously doesn't want to play here.


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w00t

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Isn't he the one that Kikau supposedly lured over for next year? There was a thread about it a few pages back
 

1967

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Young gun forward Kitione Kautoga has officially made a surprise switch to the Canterbury Bulldogs.

The first mention of his move to Belmore was his naming in the club's NSW Cup team for this weekend's match against the New Zealand Warriors, which will be played in Auckland on Sunday.

Kautoga is listed as a prop, but can also play on the edge, and that's where he will line up for the Bulldogs this weekend in reserve grade alongside Reece Hoffman (provided he gains travel clearance to New Zealand), who has recently been promoted to Canterbury's Top 30 squad.

The Bulldogs have confirmed on Thursday that he has been signed to a development deal this year, and will join the club's top 30 next year, signing a deal which will keep him at Belmore until at least the end of 2025.

Kautoga made his NRL debut with the Wests Tigers last season shy of his 20th birthday, playing a single game during Round 24 off the bench against the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Born in Fiji, Katuoga is viewed as a future representative of the Island nation, and has been earmarked for big things in the NRL, with the forward already standing at 107 kilograms and 187 centimetres.

In two NSW Cup performances so far this season for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Kautoga lined up in the second-row on both occasions, scoring a hat-trick against the Sydney Roosters in Round 1 and another try against the Newcastle Knights in Round 2. He has made 11 tackle breaks and defended strongly in both games, which went down as wins for the Tigers' feeder side.

Alongside Kautoga, the Bulldogs' NSW Cup side also features players with NRL experience in Declan Casey, Braidon Burns, Josh Reynolds, Andrew Davey, Reece Hoffman and Harrison Edwards, as well as young gun Karl Oloapu, who signed with the club after a long-running contract feud with the Brisbane Broncos during the most recently completed off-season.

View attachment 67213

Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton was pleased to announce the two-year agreement:

"The Bulldogs are thrilled to have welcomed Kitione to the Club. He has made an immediate impression at training and will line up this weekend alongside Reece Hoffman and Harrison Edwards to form a strong back row formation.

"As we continue to work on depth and cohesion across the playing group, Kitione will form an integral part of our side as we look to the next few years. His journey at the Bulldogs begins now and we couldn't be more excited for the future of this great Club."

Kautoga's Club debut this weekend will be pending his approval to travel to New Zealand on his temporary visa.

The Warriors and Bulldogs' NSW Cup match will be televised on Fox Sports from 11:30am (AEDT) on Sunday ahead of the NRL match between the same clubs at 2pm (AEDT).
 
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2ndphase

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Young gun forward Kitione Kautoga has officially made a surprise switch to the Canterbury Bulldogs.

The first mention of his move to Belmore was his naming in the club's NSW Cup team for this weekend's match against the New Zealand Warriors, which will be played in Auckland on Sunday.

Kautoga is listed as a prop, but can also play on the edge, and that's where he will line up for the Bulldogs this weekend in reserve grade alongside Reece Hoffman (provided he gains travel clearance to New Zealand), who has recently been promoted to Canterbury's Top 30 squad.

The Bulldogs have confirmed on Thursday that he has been signed to a development deal this year, and will join the club's top 30 next year, signing a deal which will keep him at Belmore until at least the end of 2025.

Kautoga made his NRL debut with the Wests Tigers last season shy of his 20th birthday, playing a single game during Round 24 off the bench against the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Born in Fiji, Katuoga is viewed as a future representative of the Island nation, and has been earmarked for big things in the NRL, with the forward already standing at 107 kilograms and 187 centimetres.

In two NSW Cup performances so far this season for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Kautoga lined up in the second-row on both occasions, scoring a hat-trick against the Sydney Roosters in Round 1 and another try against the Newcastle Knights in Round 2. He has made 11 tackle breaks and defended strongly in both games, which went down as wins for the Tigers' feeder side.

Alongside Kautoga, the Bulldogs' NSW Cup side also features players with NRL experience in Declan Casey, Braidon Burns, Josh Reynolds, Andrew Davey, Reece Hoffman and Harrison Edwards, as well as young gun Karl Oloapu, who signed with the club after a long-running contract feud with the Brisbane Broncos during the most recently completed off-season.

View attachment 67213

Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton was pleased to announce the two-year agreement:

"The Bulldogs are thrilled to have welcomed Kitione to the Club. He has made an immediate impression at training and will line up this weekend alongside Reece Hoffman and Harrison Edwards to form a strong back row formation.

"As we continue to work on depth and cohesion across the playing group, Kitione will form an integral part of our side as we look to the next few years. His journey at the Bulldogs begins now and we couldn't be more excited for the future of this great Club."

Kautoga's Club debut this weekend will be pending his approval to travel to New Zealand on his temporary visa.

The Warriors and Bulldogs' NSW Cup match will be televised on Fox Sports from 11:30am (AEDT) on Sunday ahead of the NRL match between the same clubs at 2pm (AEDT).
"Temporary Visa" i hope they let him go to Nz i was looking forward to watching him.
 

maroondog72

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It’s frustrating I know but he is elite. For the right price, definitely keeping and adding to the stocks
That's the problem with Thompson he is elite in England, But he is not even close to being elite here and he is on elite money.
 

InGusWeTrust

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Those stupid Tigers. Talk about shooting yourselves in the feet. They lost Luci Leilua, so they run out to buy Ipap, Klemmer and Bateman, only to lose a young gun in Kautoga. Those 3 are probably not going to go very far, with 2 getting on now, whereas this kid could have many good years ahead.
 
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