Francis Manuleleua thread

Billy said:
He's played there a bit in firsts and reserve grade, but every really good game I've seen him play was on the left, and I can't recall him ever throwing a long pass to the right, so maybe he can only pass well with his right hand (to the left).
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He played on the right recently against the Roosters and played well, including a lovely try off a deft pass from Brown 20 metres out. He did switch to the left later after the injury to Lucas and a HIA spell he had.
 
Billy said:
A week ago I said it was unlikely that Francis would be selected for Samoa for the World Cup, but after another great game, both Samoa and New Zealand must be looking at him, and a few more games like that and he must make a squad you'd think.
We saw Leo Thompson improve out of sight after training and playing with NZ.
It would certainly be the best possible off season for Manu to go with Crossland and Ponga to play and train with elite forwards.
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Marzhew also deserves a spot on the wing for Samoa. He has only made one appearance for Samoa, he is often overlooked for Tualagi. Tualagi has been average, on form Marzhew definitely deserves it.
 
PTB said:
Lucas will get priority as our best back rower and so he should.
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Whatever combination is the most potent will be prioritised in my opinion. If Lucas can play right side almost equally well, than Manuleleua could play left side where he has massive skill advantage. Obviously if its better to play Lucas on the left they will keep with it. A lot of tough questions coming up.
 
An article on Francis in the League section of the Herald this morning.
No online link yet.
Basically says Holbrook sat him down after his debut and told him he has the talent but the game will pass him by if he doesn't do the work.
Quotes Francis as saying he loves KFC but has given it away and has dropped from 110kg to 105kg and put on extra muscle by improving his diet and coming in to do 'extras' in the gym.
The article also quotes the Samoa coach as saying he worked with Francis at Penrith and can't get over how fit he looks now and is keeping an eye on his progress.
 
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Billy said:
An article on Francis in the League section of the Herald this morning.
No online link yet.
Basically says Holbrook sat him down after his debut and told him he has the talent but the game will pass him by if he doesn't do the work.
Quotes Francis as saying he loves KFC but has given it away and has dropped from 110kg to 105kg and put on extra muscle by improving his diet and coming in to do 'extras' in the gym.
The article also quotes the Samoa coach as saying he worked with Francis at Penrith and can't get over how fit he looks now and is keeping an eye on his progress.
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So even though I’m 40, if i give up KFC i might still get my debut jersey for the Knights one day
Doesn’t mean i have to give up Hungry Jacks though by sound of it :p
 
Maybe those of us who were saying “gee it’s not a great sign that he looked completely shagged immediately & then got hooked” weren’t overreacting to that then yeah? Sounds like the same thought was had internally and that was his come to Jesus moment.

Kudos to the kid for turning it around and doing the work but gee just how talented is this kid? It sounds like he literally only started taking things seriously *during the year* this season. Dropping 5kgs and clearly getting a much better fitness base under him while playing NSW Cup every week is something else. Scary to think what his potential is if he busts his arse this next pre-season.
 
You were talking about how some players are just never up to it after watching him for 10 minutes. Another poster was ready to book him a flight to England. If the only difference between then and now is him playing in his actual position and laying off the wicked wings for a few weeks then yes, you were overreacting.
 
I've went back and searched his name and all I can find are examples of people saying "gee this isn't a good sign, he'll have to really work on his fitness if he wants another crack at it" and you responding with "I can't believe you guys are saying we should have the kid summarily executed!" Impossible to say who's overreacting here.

He made probably the worst first impression in first grade of anyone in the squad right now. By the sounds of it, he got a bit of a talking to after that, and that feedback echoed concerns raised. Then he really knuckled down. Good on him.

I'll tell you where I am at now: I am very happy we have him through 2028 because he's a classic "icing on the cake" player - if you have a strong foundation, a game breaker like him can put you over the top. And I think we're building a great foundation.

I'm also glad we haven't tied ourselves to him any longer, for now, and likely don't have him on huge money. Feel free to say this is an overreaction too, but I'm very happy Lucas is the forward we've given the most coin to, and I'm not sold, still, on Francis being the smartest guy to keep for a long time over Jermaine.

It's an awesome story how Francis has broken through, but IMO the best & most talented "icing on the cake" player in the game right now is Latrell Mitchell. I love watching Big Trell play footy but I'm glad he's doing it somewhere else!

Ultimately you want to invest in guys where being motivated & disciplined is an assumed, just part of who they are, not something that can come and go. It may very well be the case that the penny has dropped for Francis and this is who he is now, but I don't think you could say that it's by any means the norm with guys like him. A lot of them yo-yo between committed & complacent their whole careers.
 
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