Francis Manuleleua thread

Les Misérables said:
So we activated our club Option for next year, meaning he goes on the market as of Nov 1st this year?

He needs to be signed long term immediately. It allows us to slide one of McEwen, Manuleleua and Lucas into the middle at any point for any reason next season. With the emergence of Hopwood and Crouch plus the signing of Niukore, we'll have everything we need to challenge for a title next year.
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As long as someone steps up and goes well at right centre.
 
Defender1 said:
We seriously need to find a way to get Manuleleua into the NRL side. I've been following his Cup games this year and he is unbelievably talented. For me, I'd throw him in over Cant, and it would not surprise if he was a starter by years end. He could be as good as any forward in the game and I fear if we don't give him a good crack at NRL we'll see him carving it up at another club.

Coach, make it happen!!!
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Follow up from my post on 08/04.

Didn't want him to be a starter because of an injury to another player, but I'm definitely glad he's getting a chance to showcase his ability and is making the most of his opportunity. He's a dead-set gun!
 
He’s got that build too that doesn’t make you as nervous as other guys. Like when you see the skinny boys get smashed you hold your breath and hope they get up without wincing in pain. You get the impression a gang with baseball bats aren’t keeping him down and you’d better run before he gets back up. 😆
 
I was keeping a look at his stats throughout the game.
This is only the 3rd time he has done 80 minutes in firstgrade.
At halftime he had just under 50 fantasy points - he finished with 54.
At halftime he was only behind Crossland for tackles made and hadn't missed any - in the second half he only made about 10 and missed 3.
He gave away penalties for not getting back 10.

To compare, he ran 100 metres for the game while Lucas averages 120 - he made 31 tackles at about 90% efficiency - Lucas averages 40+ at 96%.

At halftime, Manu was well on track to match the workrate of Lucas, but second half he was holding on.

In reserve grade last year he would go missing for large parts of the game and really struggled to complete 80.

Anyway - he didn't go missing in this game, but it's clear he still needs to either get fitter or play shorter minutes to be able to match Lucas for workrate - but he's miles ahead of where he was a year ago.
 
Billy said:
I was keeping a look at his stats throughout the game.
This is only the 3rd time he has done 80 minutes in firstgrade.
At halftime he had just under 50 fantasy points - he finished with 54.
At halftime he was only behind Crossland for tackles made and hadn't missed any - in the second half he only made about 10 and missed 3.
He gave away penalties for not getting back 10.

To compare, he ran 100 metres for the game while Lucas averages 120 - he made 31 tackles at about 90% efficiency - Lucas averages 40+ at 96%.

At halftime, Manu was well on track to match the workrate of Lucas, but second half he was holding on.

In reserve grade last year he would go missing for large parts of the game and really struggled to complete 80.

Anyway - he didn't go missing in this game, but it's clear he still needs to either get fitter or play shorter minutes to be able to match Lucas for workrate - but he's miles ahead of where he was a year ago.
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It was great to see him throw that long cut out pass in first grade that you have been telling us about all year.
 
After last night I think it’s fair to say that at the moment McEwen is a more consistent player and Francis has a higher ceiling. He deadset was unbeatable that first half on both sides of the ball. It leads me to believe that if we’re thinking long term McEwen seems to be a genuine lock/front row option (great aggression, short passing and improving week by week with his defensive clean up).

I know I know it’s early but Francis is just too good to be a bench player for next year.
 
krustykraz said:
It was great to see him throw that long cut out pass in first grade that you have been telling us about all year.
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Well it wasn't a secret. He does it about 10 times a year in reserve grade.
Thinking about it, I've only seen him do it right to left, which is a pity because he's not taking Lucas's spot any time soon.
 
I wonder if POS will top up his contract for next season to keep him and his manger happy. If he keeps progressing at this rate, it’s going to be very difficult to retain him beyond 2027.
 
Billy said:
Well it wasn't a secret. He does it about 10 times a year in reserve grade.
Thinking about it, I've only seen him do it right to left, which is a pity because he's not taking Lucas's spot any time soon.
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You have been talking about his passing for a while @Billy . He is extremly skilled in all areas of the game it seems.
 
I know most people seemed to disagree but I standby my comments that McEwen should be the one to move into the middle next year as he’s more well suited to it.

Manu clearly isn’t a middle and just looks too good on the edge not to have him start every week. Not just for his attack either, he’s the only forward we have that consistently causes errors with his defence
 
Newygirl said:
I know most people seemed to disagree but I standby my comments that McEwen should be the one to move into the middle next year as he’s more well suited to it.

Manu clearly isn’t a middle and just looks too good on the edge not to have him start every week. Not just for his attack either, he’s the only forward we have that consistently causes errors with his defence
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McEwen is definitely the most suited to a middle role of the three.

Jermaine runs a decent line and has some skill but his real strength is his aggression and ability to dominate contact on both sides of the ball. IMO he was very effective in the first short stints he has done in the middle off the bench so far. Whether McEwen would be keen to make the switch to a 40-minute middle role when his best position is probably as an 80-minute edge is another question.

Lucas' current strengths are his line-running, defensive workrate/efficiency, and agility on the edge - In saying that, he definitely has the skillset and aerobic capacity to make an Isaah Yeo style transition to lock but it would be a strange decision to shift our current best edge who is signed long-term on big money to an entirely new position.

Manu would take years to become an effective middle and it takes away the freedom he gets on an edge to deploy his unique mix of athleticism and skill. I'm sure he could do it but it doesn't make sense for him.

I often try to temper my expectations when someone emerges as Manu has but I've seen enough, he's too good to not be playing 50-60 minutes on an edge next year. It's also not like he has emerged from nowhere, he was a dual-code prodigy rated as one of the best Union Schoolboys in the world, it appears he took some time becoming a professional athlete and is now reaching the potential that was always there - a natural talent ceiling higher than most playing the game.

Great problem to have for Holbrook/POS but I don't envy the responsibility of making these calls.

My "ideal" scenario would be that McEwen is keen on a shift to the middle so we start by running the rotation that Tom Gilbert used to do at the Cowboys when they had a glut of young backrowers coming through - McEwen plays on the right edge for the first 20 mins before joining the middle rotation with Manu playing out the game on the right edge.
 
MullosLefttoRight said:
McEwen is definitely the most suited to a middle role of the three.

Jermaine runs a decent line and has some skill but his real strength is his aggression and ability to dominate contact on both sides of the ball. IMO he was very effective in the first short stints he has done in the middle off the bench so far. Whether McEwen would be keen to make the switch to a 40-minute middle role when his best position is probably as an 80-minute edge is another question.

Lucas' current strengths are his line-running, defensive workrate/efficiency, and agility on the edge - In saying that, he definitely has the skillset and aerobic capacity to make an Isaah Yeo style transition to lock but it would be a strange decision to shift our current best edge who is signed long-term on big money to an entirely new position.

Manu would take years to become an effective middle and it takes away the freedom he gets on an edge to deploy his unique mix of athleticism and skill. I'm sure he could do it but it doesn't make sense for him.

I often try to temper my expectations when someone emerges as Manu has but I've seen enough, he's too good to not be playing 50-60 minutes on an edge next year. It's also not like he has emerged from nowhere, he was a dual-code prodigy rated as one of the best Union Schoolboys in the world, it appears he took some time becoming a professional athlete and is now reaching the potential that was always there - a natural talent ceiling higher than most playing the game.

Great problem to have for Holbrook/POS but I don't envy the responsibility of making these calls.

My "ideal" scenario would be that McEwen is keen on a shift to the middle so we start by running the rotation that Tom Gilbert used to do at the Cowboys when they had a glut of young backrowers coming through - McEwen plays on the right edge for the first 20 mins before joining the middle rotation with Manu playing out the game on the right edge.
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Couldn't agree more. I've said it here before, McEwen looks alot like a potential Spencer leniu type to me, he even actually looks a little like him. And also what a luxury to have guys who cover dual positions. If we lose a back rower mid game then mcewen is already there as an option.
I also like the idea of Mcewen starting and then Francis comes on after 20. Let's him work into first grade a little more slowly, and he can go a little harder...
 
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