buy Dave Copley

[trewhella]

my only advice for 2009

[vinscay]

Steve Micheals as well.

[Cockadoodledoo]

my only advice for 2009

Was that the blonde haired guy? I only caught a part of the game but he looked good.

[TheLoneRooster]

my only advice for 2009

Trew, why Copley? I haven't seen him play so have no idea what he might bring to the Roosters.

[Guest]

- Dave Copley (Broncos NYC)

11 games (9 at centre, 2 at fullback), 6 tries, 9 linebreaks, 2 linebreak assists, 1 try assist, 36 tackle breaks, 11 errors, average 8 runs for 71 metres

...

That is not too bad at all. However, there are other U20's centres whose performances are FAR better this season. These include players who have played all their games at centre, such as:

- Taioalo Vaivai (Souths NYC)

12 games, 13 tries, 19 linebreaks, 2 linebreak assists, 3 try assists, 65 tackle breaks, average 9 runs for 90 metres

- Kane Linnett (Dragons NYC)

14 games, 8 tries, 11 linebreaks, 3 linebreak assists, 4 try assists, 29 tackle breaks, average 11 runs for 92 metres

- *Blake Davey (Sea Eagles NYC)

12 games, 15 tries, 10 linebreaks, 2 linebreak assists, 4 try assists, 26 tackle breaks, average 6 runs for 59 metres

*these stats are not accurate due to stats missing for the Rd 4 clash between Manly and Newcastle

- Sam Joe (Storm NYC)

14 games, 9 tries, 9 linebreaks, 8 linebreak assists, 9 try assists, 41 tackle breaks, average 9 runs for 87 metres

- Siuatonga Likiliki (Warriors NYC)

13 games, 6 tries, 8 linebreaks, 5 linebreak assists, 3 try assists, 65 tackle breaks, average 13 runs for 108 metres

- Rusty Bristow (Warriors NYC)

7 games, 5 tries, 7 linebreaks, 1 linebreak assist, 2 try assists, 43 tackle breaks, average 11 runs for 113 metres

- Simon Williams (Knights NYC)

7 games, 5 tries, 6 linebreaks, 2 linebreak assists, 1 try assist, 19 tackle breaks, average 8 runs for 92 metres

...as well as players who have shown their best form at centre this season, including:

- Daniel Vidot (Raiders NYC)

11 games (9 at centre, all others at fullback), 6 tries (5 at centre), 9 linebreaks (8 at centre), 1 linebreak assist, 1 try assist, 44 tackle breaks (40 at centre), average 13 runs for 133 metres (13 runs for 138 metres at centre)

- Dylan Farrell (Souths NYC)

11 games (9 at centre, all others at five-eighth), 10 tries (9 at centre), 12 linebreaks (11 at centre), 3 linebreak assists (2 at centre), 3 try assists (1 at centre), 44 tackle breaks (42 at centre), average 8 runs for 77 metres (9 runs for 89 metres at centre)

- Josh Bishop (Bulldogs NYC)

9 games (8 at centre, all others on the bench), 5 tries, 7 linebreaks, 3 linebreak assists, 5 try assists, 27 tackle breaks (26 at centre), average 7 runs for 64 metres (7 runs for 68 metres at centre)


Just on a side note, none of these season stats include this weekends performances, as NRL stats only has them recorded up to Round 15. So far this weekend in the current round, Josh Bishop didn't play, while there were again great performances by:

Kane Linnett (14 runs, 100 metres, 2 linebreaks, 2 tries, 5 tackle breaks)
Rusty Bristow (10 runs, 131 metres, 2 linebreaks, 1 try, 4 tackle breaks)
Siuatonga Likiliki (14 runs, 150 metres, 2 linebreaks, 1 try, 10 tackle breaks)
Daniel Vidot (23 runs, 223 metres, 3 linebreaks, 3 tries, 10 tackle breaks)
Sam Joe (5 runs, 76 metres, 2 linebreaks, 1 try, 4 tackle breaks).

Moses Pangai (Cowboys NYC) also had a blinder at centre (20 runs, 170 metres, 2 tries, 2 linebreaks, 13 tackle breaks). Simon Williams, Dylan Farrell and Taioalo Vaivai all play tonight, while Blake Davey won't play this round as Manly have the bye.

It is clear that the SAME centres every round seem to consistently stand out, showing that they are definitely in a class above the rest going around. Rusty Bristow, Sam Joe, Daniel Vidot, Kane Linnett and Simon Williams have been dominating NYC in the centres for TWO seasons now, whilst all the others are relatively new on the scene. Roosters should definitely be looking into some of these players, some of them are top notch. Dale Copley might be good, but he has shown little in comparison to some of these kids.

[Guest]

And just to add one to my further analysis of the young centre prospects in the NYC, a fair few of the more successful ones last year are now NRL regulars. Joseph Tomane (Storm), Justin Carney (Raiders), Jarrod Croker (Raiders), Antonio Winterstein (Broncos), Jamal Idris (Bulldogs), Tony Williams (Manly), Blake Ayshford (Tigers) and Nathan Stapleton (Sharks) are some of the better young prospects in the NRL now, and all had good seasons in the NYC last year in particular in the centres.

Gerard Beale and Willie Tupou (both Broncos) have been plagued by injuries but are both still eligible for NYC anyway, while Mark Page (Manly), Sene Tala (Bulldogs), Brett Lane (Tigers), Kingi Akaoula (Titans) and Daniel Randall (Roosters) have really fallen off the face of the earth after growing past the NYC age bracket.

This shows that if we look into one of these amazing young prospects this year, in particular Vaivai, Linnett or Likiliki, we might pull off something special!

[TheLoneRooster]

... Gerard Beale and Willie Tupou (both Broncos) have been plagued by injuries but are both still eligible for NYC anyway, while Mark Page (Manly), Sene Tala (Bulldogs), Brett Lane (Tigers), Kingi Akaoula (Titans) and Daniel Randall (Roosters) have really fallen off the face of the earth after growing past the NYC age bracket ...

This is the problem with the age cut off being 20 years old. It really should be lifted to 21 or 22 to give these young men a place to play and the time to grow into their bodies. Disappointing that no Roosters players made your top centres list Mack.

[Guest]

Well really, none of our centres this season have really excelled, to be completely honest. Williamsons season has been repeatedly interrupted by injuries. He has now played 8 games (all at centre), scored 5 tries, made 3 linebreaks, 18 tackle breaks, no try assists or linebreak assists, and averages 8 runs for 74 metres. These stats are slightly distorted by the fact that he only played a few minutes v Broncos before breaking his jaw, but still, it is nothing amazing to see there. Mark Talanoa has been awful at centre, Ray Tafokitau wasn't much better apart from his first game, and Gelling has looked talented but hasn't broken the line as much as we need him to. He has a high workrate (averages 14 runs for 105 metres approx.) and can set up his outside man well (4 try assists), but 3 linebreaks for 3 tries in 11 games is not exactly amazing.

Agreed on that being the problem with the NYC though. The current NSW Cup system is awful, great players from last year get lost in the confusion of park football, and lose passion quickly. If you aren't a regular first grader by the age of 20, it is very hard for anyone to consider themselves willing to pursue a career in footy.

[Guest]

Bring it back to under 23's and have a proper reserve grade setup
Every team should be able to fill 3 teams each weekend.
It used to be good to be able to go to the games 3 hours before it started and watch the flegg and reserve grade run around beforehand. Now half the time newtown play at the same time but a different venue and you dont get to see whats happening or whos coming through.
How can a coach decide who to give a run to if he cant get to watch the game

[Guest]

Just letting everyone know that Taioalo Vaivai (Souths) and Simon Williams (Knights) both racked up another linebreak and try each to their season stats, although Dylan Farrell (Souths) had a quiet one.

Just looking at the players we signed from U20's, Ray Tafokitau was a very poor fringe centre for Souths who has had little success with us, while Sonny Tuigamala was an average winger on the end of a great Panthers backline in the U20's last year - even then, his workrate was average and there were 4 games where he made 3 errors each. The better wingers last season were Joe Vickery (Dragons), Bill Tupou (Warriors), Coedi Towney (Tigers), Drury Low (Raiders), Thomas Ah Van (Warriors), Nathan Gardner (Eels) and Jharal Yow Yeh (Broncos) - all of whom are still dominating U20's, as well as now NSW Cup or NRL regulars Mason Pure (Bulldogs), Peni Tagive (Tigers) and Kevin Gordon (Titans). Gordon would have been the IDEAL signing for us. Even guys like Joseph Tomane, Justin Carney, Blake Ayshford, Jarrod Croker, Jamal Idris, Nathan Stapleton and Willie Isa...all of them were successful outside backs in the U20's last year, and we didn't go after any of them. We have to make up for our mistakes and go for some of the better ones this year, when it is painfully clear that we aren't producing what is needed.

[trewhella]

As you know boys I am not really one for stats too much.

I could be credited for having a line break and the bloke marking me might be fatigued or cant tackle.
Sorry Mack but they dont tell much of a story in my mind.


This Copley has got it.
I can sense it.
His positional play and more importantly the way he moves on the field.
At 17 he has size and will get better.

A real prospect.

[Guest]

I know that stats don't tell much, but that Vaivai kid, he is already 90kg, he now has 20 tries in 14 games, that can't be ignored.

[trewhella]

agreed but havent seen him

[Guest]

- Dave Copley (Broncos NYC)

11 games (9 at centre, 2 at fullback), 6 tries, 9 linebreaks, 2 linebreak assists, 1 try assist, 36 tackle breaks, 11 errors, average 8 runs for 71 metres

...

That is not too bad at all. However, there are other U20's centres whose performances are FAR better this season. These include players who have played all their games at centre, such as:

- Taioalo Vaivai (Souths NYC)

12 games, 13 tries, 19 linebreaks, 2 linebreak assists, 3 try assists, 65 tackle breaks, average 9 runs for 90 metres

- Kane Linnett (Dragons NYC)

14 games, 8 tries, 11 linebreaks, 3 linebreak assists, 4 try assists, 29 tackle breaks, average 11 runs for 92 metres

- *Blake Davey (Sea Eagles NYC)

12 games, 15 tries, 10 linebreaks, 2 linebreak assists, 4 try assists, 26 tackle breaks, average 6 runs for 59 metres

*these stats are not accurate due to stats missing for the Rd 4 clash between Manly and Newcastle

- Sam Joe (Storm NYC)

14 games, 9 tries, 9 linebreaks, 8 linebreak assists, 9 try assists, 41 tackle breaks, average 9 runs for 87 metres

- Siuatonga Likiliki (Warriors NYC)

13 games, 6 tries, 8 linebreaks, 5 linebreak assists, 3 try assists, 65 tackle breaks, average 13 runs for 108 metres

- Rusty Bristow (Warriors NYC)

7 games, 5 tries, 7 linebreaks, 1 linebreak assist, 2 try assists, 43 tackle breaks, average 11 runs for 113 metres

- Simon Williams (Knights NYC)

7 games, 5 tries, 6 linebreaks, 2 linebreak assists, 1 try assist, 19 tackle breaks, average 8 runs for 92 metres

...as well as players who have shown their best form at centre this season, including:

- Daniel Vidot (Raiders NYC)

11 games (9 at centre, all others at fullback), 6 tries (5 at centre), 9 linebreaks (8 at centre), 1 linebreak assist, 1 try assist, 44 tackle breaks (40 at centre), average 13 runs for 133 metres (13 runs for 138 metres at centre)

- Dylan Farrell (Souths NYC)

11 games (9 at centre, all others at five-eighth), 10 tries (9 at centre), 12 linebreaks (11 at centre), 3 linebreak assists (2 at centre), 3 try assists (1 at centre), 44 tackle breaks (42 at centre), average 8 runs for 77 metres (9 runs for 89 metres at centre)

- Josh Bishop (Bulldogs NYC)

9 games (8 at centre, all others on the bench), 5 tries, 7 linebreaks, 3 linebreak assists, 5 try assists, 27 tackle breaks (26 at centre), average 7 runs for 64 metres (7 runs for 68 metres at centre)


Just on a side note, none of these season stats include this weekends performances, as NRL stats only has them recorded up to Round 15. So far this weekend in the current round, Josh Bishop didn't play, while there were again great performances by:

Kane Linnett (14 runs, 100 metres, 2 linebreaks, 2 tries, 5 tackle breaks)
Rusty Bristow (10 runs, 131 metres, 2 linebreaks, 1 try, 4 tackle breaks)
Siuatonga Likiliki (14 runs, 150 metres, 2 linebreaks, 1 try, 10 tackle breaks)
Daniel Vidot (23 runs, 223 metres, 3 linebreaks, 3 tries, 10 tackle breaks)
Sam Joe (5 runs, 76 metres, 2 linebreaks, 1 try, 4 tackle breaks).

Moses Pangai (Cowboys NYC) also had a blinder at centre (20 runs, 170 metres, 2 tries, 2 linebreaks, 13 tackle breaks). Simon Williams, Dylan Farrell and Taioalo Vaivai all play tonight, while Blake Davey won't play this round as Manly have the bye.

It is clear that the SAME centres every round seem to consistently stand out, showing that they are definitely in a class above the rest going around. Rusty Bristow, Sam Joe, Daniel Vidot, Kane Linnett and Simon Williams have been dominating NYC in the centres for TWO seasons now, whilst all the others are relatively new on the scene. Roosters should definitely be looking into some of these players, some of them are top notch. Dale Copley might be good, but he has shown little in comparison to some of these kids.

Just to update, in the NYC game last night

- Simon Williams made 7 runs for 55 metres, 1 tackle break, 0 line breaks, 0 tries + 1 try assist

- Taioalo Vaivai made 10 runs for 110 metres, 5 tackle breaks, 1 linebreak, 1 try + 2 try assists

- Dylan Farrell made 8 runs for 66 metres, 4 tackle breaks, 0 linebreaks, 0 tries + 0 try assists

As can be seen, although Farrell and Williams had relatively quiet ones, Vaivai had another blonder, and pretty much every other of the 'top class centres' to play this weekend yet again stood out with tremendous performances across the board.

Roosters, make some sense and invest in talent!

[Guest]

Are there any actual rumors of us trying to sign a talented U20's player or two, by any chance?

I would like to see us looking at signing Taioalo Vaivai, Siuatonga Likiliki (what a name!) or Daniel Vidot as a centre, it would be a great investment for us.