Martin Taupau

[Dexter]

I think this bloke is as over hyped and over rated as anyone in the last few years. Yes, he is super strong and aggressive but he spends so much time standing and shoving defenders away wasting energy and half the time ends up a long way from his first contact with the defence.
He rarely gets a quick play the ball because of he struggles so much and ends up losing momentum for his team.

I don't see the what others see I guess.

 

[broncos4life]

I think this bloke is as over hyped and over rated as anyone in the last few years. Yes, he is super strong and aggressive but he spends so much time standing and shoving defenders away wasting energy and half the time ends up a long way from his first contact with the defence.
He rarely gets a quick play the ball because of he struggles so much and ends up losing momentum for his team.

I don't see the what others see I guess.

I don't get it either and never have. He is just another one of these players that have put a few big shots on and everyone loses their shit and are all like "remember that big shot..."

 

[Browny]

He has a big fend. That's it

 

[tommy]

Only thing I can remember about him is he once fended off 2 defenders to score a try.
Oh he also did a throat slitting gesture to Thaiday.

 

[Broncoman]

Ever since that fend on Johnstone he has been hyped up a lot. Can be good but he is to inconsistent for my liking.

 

[Wolfie]

Always thought he is overrated. His reputation is based off a couple of big fends which give him good clips on tv. At the moment, his game has little substance to it considering his hype.

 

[Harry Sack]

Always thought he is overrated. His reputation is based off a couple of big fends which give him good clips on tv. At the moment, his game has little substance to it considering his hype.

This. He's one of those "Could be a beast" type of players. Whether he lives up to it is up for debate but I don't think going to Manly will tell us. Would love to see what he could do in a Dog's style environment.

 

[Big Pete]

I tend to agree with you Dex. He can also be a little loose in defence, like there's a timing issue there and he just doesn't have the foot-work down.

But I still think he's a good prospect and I think his performances for the Kiwis, particularly in the 2014 Four Nations demonstrates that. When he's at his best, he's just charging through the middle getting good quick play the balls and giving his halves something to do. The other night, he came into a new side that desperately needed somebody to step up and Taupau was caught trying to take on the world. It happens with a lot of talented forwards and I really hope he gets over his hurdle.

Let's be real for a second as well, the only reason anyone ever spoke about Taupau was because the Tigers were so listless last season. Outside of Richards and Woods, who else was there to really talk about? Generally speaking, he was one of their stand-out players, so of course whenever anyone brought up the Tigers, they were going to bring up Taupau.

 

[Wolfie]

In some respects, he is the new Dave Taylor imo. He isnt making the best of his natural gifts. I dont think he has the skill of big Dave, but for a bloke of his strength i dont see Taupau scaring the opposition forwards that much tbh.

 

[K-Style]

Taupau ripped some big holes in the Tigers defence in Rd 2. At least three runs where he tore right through the line and kept going. Of course this was against the Tigers but I have seen him push his way through in other games.

 

[Dexter]

It's fair point you make and if he played like that more often he would be a beast but I had similar hope for Dave Taylor too.