Another squad update

[Papenhuyzen23]

After my early season break down on the squad and individual performances I thought I’d follow up with another:

Meaney - Still performing at a very consistent level, has been very reliable covering for Paps and his cool head and goal kicking have been pluses, he doesn’t always break a game open like Slater or Paps did but he is steady and doing enough at the moment - 7/10

Warbrick - Really impressed with how he has adjusted his game as the season has progressed, he is doing a lot of the little things better every week, making better decisions in defence and doing more work out of trouble, he is a safe finisher and decent under a high ball, love his big rangy frame think he could develop into a really solid winger for us - 8/10

Smith - Another that’s warmed up as the season has gone on, he was out injured for a long time and was always going to take some time to get his timing and strength back but has been really good the last few weeks, he tries hard and is getting much more involved, he still has a tendency to jam which sometimes he nails but when he misses we tend to get carved open, hopefully he works on his decisions to hold and slide at the right time but pretty happy with his form - 7/10

Olam - Ahhhh Justin … look let’s just be honest, he just isn’t the force he once was. Looks tentative still carrying the ball, doesn’t use his speed or vision to create space or try scoring opportunities any more, and besides the occasional big hit (which he usually misses and leaves his winger stranded now) I really think it could be time to give him a spell, his arm is still hindering him he refuses to use it in contact or to even play the ball with, he looks gassed and old out there maybe his kamakazie style has finally caught up with him - 4/10

Coates - Been the most disappointing player for me all year, had such high hopes when we signed him and he started his first year on fire and looked every bit the elite winger to replace the Fox long term, but he has just gone backwards so much, he makes awful reads, can’t catch a bomb to save his life, isn’t scoring, isn’t making metres, makes errors and misses tackles, he really isn’t offering anything to the team at the moment, funnily enough his best moment all year wasn’t even a try against the Broncos, needs to go down to reserves for a spell, time to bring up Fa’alogo, Seve or Jennings. 2/10

Munster - Our superstar, has been floating in and out of some games but always injects himself when we really need him, has been playing with a lot more passion and confidence the last few weeks especially and we are going to need every bit of it come September, our X-factor and guy we need firing to win footy games - 9/10

Hughes - Jahrome, look he has been a bit better the last few games but overall he is still well below where he is capable of being, I’m not sure why he looks so lost and so indecisive but he needs to get back to basics, back your instinct and be the guy other teams fear, he has become predictable and easy meat for defences this year and he also has a habit of some dumb errors at really bad times both sides of the ball, needs to lift but is on the up - 6/10

Welch - Mayne he read my last criticism of him, has been leading and playing much better, is getting loud and leading by example, I saw a lot of fire against the dolphins and loved that he didn’t take a backward step, also saw him firing the boys up a few times, need more of that! Solid enough by not surprised he missed the final QLD 17 - 6/10

Grant - Harry is a bit of an enigma for me, he is obviously terrific, gets through a lot of work and has been our best and most consistent player, my gripe is he tends to just overplay his hand at the wrong times, he won’t run when we need him to, and when we need him to just play it smart and let the halves do their jobs he will put in a silly kick or try something like he is the only option, he has not been running the ball lately and that’s where he is deadly, would love to see more of that but I’m nitpicking - 9/10

NAS - Missed a lot of time since my last update with injuries, and even the last few weeks hasn’t had a chance to impact games because of a rib injury, only game he got a full chance to stamp his authority was ANZAC day and he was phenomenal, we know what he is capable of and I’m sure once he gets over these niggles he will destroy teams again - 7/10

Trent - I’ve been very critical of him all year but he has steadied the ship the last few weeks, actually does a lot of clean up work and has really fixed up the discipline that plagued him early in the year, still not much of a threat especially attacking the red zone but a Bellamy type work horse who is getting quite dependable, lifted and is doing better but I think he can improve more - 6/10

Katoa - Been brilliant, has been really unlucky and could have scored half a dozen tries if things went his way, but he has been really getting used to the long minutes and his work rate has blown me away, he is good for 150m 30 tackles every game and a genuine threat on the ball too, was fantastic against the Dolphins and hopefully this AC injury isn’t too bad, he was really warming to the task - 8/10

King - Was my best early in the year and has been ok but not as dominant as he was, seems to just perpetually go through the motions. Has worked a pass into his game and tries to link like Yeo does at Penrith but looks gassed sometimes, maybe Bellamy needs to drop his minutes to keep his effectiveness up, but he is quite dependable his hands used to let him down a lot but is much improved lately - 7/10

Tui - Was amazing agains the Dolphins, has had some suspensions and injuries but we saw what he is capable of last weekend, hopefully the start of a big run for the big Fijian, he can really add some much needed starch to our pack - 7/10

Pene - Solid if unspectacular, does just enough to justify his spot hut could easily be replaced, big Lazarus is killing it in QLD and breathing down his neck - 6/10

Eisenhuth - Injury seems to be the story of his career, hard to grade as he never strings many games together, still think he has a lot to offer but has to get fit and stay in the paddock, but shown flashes of a really good player - 6-10

Garlick - Looks ok in patches but isn’t getting the minutes to impact the game, comes on late and makes his tackles but it’s hard to grade just how well he is playing, Bellamy seems to like and rate him, maybe during origin he will get more time and show a bit more - 6/10


The rest of the squad haven’t really had the minutes to get a write up but from what I hear we have some great performers in reserves, Sims/Sua/Lazarus/Seve/Nikorima are all playing well and could get some time during origin, overall I think the squad has steadied the ship and won some big games, coming out of the bye on 18 points equal first agains the Cowboys in 2 weeks time we are in a nice position, be interesting to see if we really make our move now and assert that top spot. Papenhuyzen doesn’t seem close we might need to accept he isn’t an option this season and pray for a full strength Paps in 2024.

Season grade - 8/10

[Storm Spirit]

With Anderson & Seve as the only back up Centres on the roster....do Storm look at Bradman Best as a longer term option ? Take him out of the Newcastle bubble, give him a really disciplined football environment under CB for 12 months and hopefully give Olam some real competition for his spot.