Is Asiata even much of an upgrade on Offa? More skill I guess but it doesn’t fill me with excitement. Better than nothing I suppose, and adds a different dimension.
I think Asiata can be one of those guys that brings a different dimension to our attack and I've never thought he was a guy that looked lazy on the field.
I doubt he's looking for a huge contract... would probably be cheaper than Offa eventually... and he's not a guy that will take 18 hit ups for 160m, but we already have those guys.
He could be a little like Dunamis has been for the raiders. Solid option in the middle on a good contract, but he also has some footy smarts and seems quite mobile.
The only concern I could have is defence and if he's mobile enough in the middle, but I've not really paid any attention to his defence to know if it's an issue.
What I do know is Offa is a massive liability in defence... hs always gets stuck lying around the ruck leaving us a marker down. He also looked lazy covering the middle, in the roosters try where Liu busted through the middle you can see Offa plodding along not covering Haas' inside shoulder... and it's not like he can say he was fatigued because he came off the bench and it might've been straight after halftime??
Basically if Asiata can be mobile enough to defend the middle then I think his attack speaks for itself. I think he can also do more minutes just hasn't been given the opportunity at cows.
He could be considered a lite version of Jurbo or James Graham.. in that he's a playmaking prop in the middle of the field. Question marks would be on Asiata's defence (only because I haven't paid attention, but just needs to be solid), stamina (untried more than anything) and if he can take some tough carries, which I think he does, but nothing spectacular. Jurbo doesn't really run it, he just picks his moments
