T
Thelmus
NRL Player
- Apr 19, 2016
- 1,778
- 2,318
I think the problem with Asiata from what I have seen is he seems to have a smaller tank than a lot of other middle forwards but doesn't have the impact of a bench forward.
He used to be an 80 minute player so I think it's possibly just an interrupted off-season and a few injuries impacting his performance.
He really needed to nail that starting 13 spot because there are better options on the bench and a bigger utility off the bench can cover a lot of what he brings with ball playing skills. At least you cant afford a forward giving underwhelming runs off the bench and another spot taken by a second hooker.
To get back in contention he needs to make some harder runs or build up his minutes in q cup.
I agree with the utility though as much as it is nice to have ball playing forward it's more important to have a constant threat from dummy half and a hooker not so off his feet with exhaustion that he plays the blind side rather than open or vice versa.
Even the best of the so called 80 minute hookers had ways to take a spell from the constant grind but poor old Turpin looked stuck following a cycle of throwing an amazing 80 minute all action game followed by one where he could barely engage the markers. Macca got caught in a similar trend before him and is now a little more free thanks to a ready made hooker playing half.
Theres no one really capable like that (at least consistently) so I applaud the new signing.
He used to be an 80 minute player so I think it's possibly just an interrupted off-season and a few injuries impacting his performance.
He really needed to nail that starting 13 spot because there are better options on the bench and a bigger utility off the bench can cover a lot of what he brings with ball playing skills. At least you cant afford a forward giving underwhelming runs off the bench and another spot taken by a second hooker.
To get back in contention he needs to make some harder runs or build up his minutes in q cup.
I agree with the utility though as much as it is nice to have ball playing forward it's more important to have a constant threat from dummy half and a hooker not so off his feet with exhaustion that he plays the blind side rather than open or vice versa.
Even the best of the so called 80 minute hookers had ways to take a spell from the constant grind but poor old Turpin looked stuck following a cycle of throwing an amazing 80 minute all action game followed by one where he could barely engage the markers. Macca got caught in a similar trend before him and is now a little more free thanks to a ready made hooker playing half.
Theres no one really capable like that (at least consistently) so I applaud the new signing.
