Francis Manuleleua thread

So Manu playing 13...
Granted it is a small sample size against poor opposition, but he looked way better than I thought at lock. It would make our back row truely elite. I was definitely of the opinion that manu stays on the left, Lucas moves to the right, and mcewen becomes part of the front row rotation. But that Somoan game has me thinking. It wasn't his stats, it was watching the way he moved. Organizing and pushing guys into position before the play, his enthusiasm to be involved. That short ball was mint. Maybe this is the way we go? Rough on croker but it's a long season. And another thing I hadn't considered. He was also a line runner / decoy on the edge a few times in that game. Just because he is in 13 doesn't restrict him. I back holbrook to be come up with a strategy that best uses all the individual talents of each player (manu will still get opportunities to use his hole running capabilities with the 13 on his back).
Looking forward to watching somoa when they play a tier one nation to get a better look.
 
Jar head said:
So Manu playing 13...
Granted it is a small sample size against poor opposition, but he looked way better than I thought at lock. It would make our back row truely elite. I was definitely of the opinion that manu stays on the left, Lucas moves to the right, and mcewen becomes part of the front row rotation. But that Somoan game has me thinking. It wasn't his stats, it was watching the way he moved. Organizing and pushing guys into position before the play, his enthusiasm to be involved. That short ball was mint. Maybe this is the way we go? Rough on croker but it's a long season. And another thing I hadn't considered. He was also a line runner / decoy on the edge a few times in that game. Just because he is in 13 doesn't restrict him. I back holbrook to be come up with a strategy that best uses all the individual talents of each player (manu will still get opportunities to use his hole running capabilities with the 13 on his back).
Looking forward to watching somoa when they play a tier one nation to get a better look.
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His stats say he had a linebreak, do you know when it happened in the game? i missed it.
 
glad this kid didn’t choose union
 

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I remember doing a post about this time last year, speculating that maybe Manu could be a great winger with his size and speed, because I didn't think he would ever have the motor to be a forward, but was a big, strong and powerful guy. I think I called him our most naturally gifted player.

The most incredible thing about his rise this year is his motor just gets bigger the more minutes he plays and the more he trains.
It went to new levels every game up till the GF, and I think he's clearly still getting fitter in the world cup.

I'm a bit worried that giving him 2 months off and giving him a short pre-season might set him back - but as with most players, I think it will be easier for him to get back to a high level than to get there in the first place.

I'd love to hear that he plans to do some self-directed training, rather than spend a month on a beach in Bali.
 
Billy said:
I remember doing a post about this time last year, speculating that maybe Manu could be a great winger with his size and speed, because I didn't think he would ever have the motor to be a forward, but was a big, strong and powerful guy. I think I called him our most naturally gifted player.

The most incredible thing about his rise this year is his motor just gets bigger the more minutes he plays and the more he trains.
It went to new levels every game up till the GF, and I think he's clearly still getting fitter in the world cup.

I'm a bit worried that giving him 2 months off and giving him a short pre-season might set him back - but as with most players, I think it will be easier for him to get back to a high level than to get there in the first place.

I'd love to hear that he plans to do some self-directed training, rather than spend a month on a beach in Bali.
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Yep don't want him to let himself go . But the kid has certainly earnt a holiday
 
There seems to be so much negativity around retaining Francis. Yes, he might be a future million-dollar player, but with the salary cap set to increase significantly, that figure won’t carry the same weight it does today. The new million-dollar deal could well be the equivalent of today’s $700k contract.

We’re inevitably going to lose players along the way, and it’s entirely possible we choose to retain Francis over others. That’s just the reality of managing a roster.

The positive is that we have some of the best junior prospects we’ve had in years, which gives us flexibility to pick and choose who we retain and how we build around our long-term contracts.

We’re 100% going to lose some big players eventually, but there’s also every chance this core group stays together long enough to have a few genuine tilts at a premiership before the next generation comes through.

I just don’t see the need for all the doom and gloom when we’re in a pretty good position to build something special.
 
Tackleslikeagirl said:
There seems to be so much negativity around retaining Francis. Yes, he might be a future million-dollar player, but with the salary cap set to increase significantly, that figure won’t carry the same weight it does today. The new million-dollar deal could well be the equivalent of today’s $700k contract.

We’re inevitably going to lose players along the way, and it’s entirely possible we choose to retain Francis over others. That’s just the reality of managing a roster.

The positive is that we have some of the best junior prospects we’ve had in years, which gives us flexibility to pick and choose who we retain and how we build around our long-term contracts.

We’re 100% going to lose some big players eventually, but there’s also every chance this core group stays together long enough to have a few genuine tilts at a premiership before the next generation comes through.

I just don’t see the need for all the doom and gloom when we’re in a pretty good position to build something special.
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Knights Derangement Syndrome. The last 20 years have made Knights fans among the most cynical in the league and fair enough! 😆 I choose to enjoy what is happening now at the club and hope it turns into a premiership.
 
RedBlue said:
Seems odd a lot are resigned to losing him - maybe losing Croker is our first step to keeping Manu? Small steps first
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Croker (as much as i adore him)
Jsaf
Cant
Graham
Hola
Matt Hunter year early hopefully (28)
Kepaoa
Schiller b4 27 season
Release Sandon from final year (29)
Marz release from final year (29)
 
Tackleslikeagirl said:
There seems to be so much negativity around retaining Francis. Yes, he might be a future million-dollar player, but with the salary cap set to increase significantly, that figure won’t carry the same weight it does today. The new million-dollar deal could well be the equivalent of today’s $700k contract.

We’re inevitably going to lose players along the way, and it’s entirely possible we choose to retain Francis over others. That’s just the reality of managing a roster.

The positive is that we have some of the best junior prospects we’ve had in years, which gives us flexibility to pick and choose who we retain and how we build around our long-term contracts.

We’re 100% going to lose some big players eventually, but there’s also every chance this core group stays together long enough to have a few genuine tilts at a premiership before the next generation comes through.

I just don’t see the need for all the doom and gloom when we’re in a pretty good position to build something special.
Click to expand...
Well said 👍🏻
 
If he's playing lock next year and having anywhere near the same impact he’s had through two World Cup games* then any idea of him being a luxury we'll just have to let go of should be out the window. At that point he is THE priority, even at the expense of some we thought were more vital. I’ve seen the situation compared to Kikau at the Panthers but we might be looking back at it like we let a young Yeo go instead.

*Not expecting the same volume of stats because he won’t be playing 80 minutes, but 50-60 minutes of him being anywhere near this impactful.
 
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