Does Moga have the maturity to hold down a first grade spot next year

[Guest]

after hearing a few whispers during the offseason and just watching that off-season training video, it strikes me that Moga doesn't yet have the maturity that is required to hold down a first grade spot, Roosterfarian quoted Smith saying as much at the recent training clinic.

there is no doubt about his physical attributes, the guy is an absolute freak, but as we have seen so many times before, physical talent doesn't mean anything if you don't have the dedication/focus required to be an elite athlet

I really hope he doesn't become another talented youngster that doesn't make it in Sydney and ends up walking away from the game.

the club is in a really difficult situation with Moga, if we don't play him he will get unsettled and there will be any number of other clubs drooling to get their hands on him, especially a certain Queensland based team that was rumoured to be offering monopoly type money to get him, or on the other hand we throw him to the wolves when he is not mentally ready and we stunt his development.

He might surprise everyone. There is no way of predicting what will happen when he plays with/against
players who may be his heroes.
Many talented kids fold under the pressure of playing out of their age group.
There's only one way to find out.

[Headless Chook]

He might surprise everyone. There is no way of predicting what will happen when he plays with/against
players who may be his heroes.
Many talented kids fold under the pressure of playing out of their age group.
There's only one way to find out.

The good thing about Tau Tau, is when he stepped up from SG Ball to Toyota Cup he was still a star. Our other great white hope aka Ryan Williamson never really did much in the NYC after starring in the Ball comp so the signs are positive at this early stage.

My son played SG Ball with the Raiders this year, when it came time to play the Roosters they sat down to their video session which normally takes half an hour or so as they go through what the opposition is likely to throw at them. He said the Roosters session was the shortest all season because it was obvious the game plan was hit 3 up, then give it to Tau Tau!

[theGman]

A good mate of mine has been manager of the Aussie Schooboys teams for the last few years and he speaks glowingly of Tau Tau, or 'Little Issie' as he calls him. Said he's a terrific person, very humble, very polite, very level headed and supremely talented.

Correct on all fronts there HC.

Tau Tau is extremely shy in nature and doesn't say much. Heaven help him once he debuts and the journos line up to
interview him .
His nickname "little Issie" is so appropriate. So many similarities to Israel Folau at the same age i.e shy personality, physique,
religion & above all exceptionally talented.

p.s TT's hands are the size of baseball mits. Honestly, i was gobsmacked after being introduced to him.

[Guest]

His nickname "little Issie" is so appropriate. So many similarities to Israel Folau at the same age i.e shy personality, physique,
religion & above all exceptionally talented.

Does this mean he is going to sign with AFL for a million dollars as well? Also I hardly see him having religion as a positive personally.

[theGman]

Does this mean he is going to sign with AFL for a million dollars as well? Also I hardly see him having religion as a positive personally.

True. Look what happened to Manly and Will Hopoate. There's no guarantee the player will return & play at the same club
after their 2yr Morman mission.

[Yak]

Does this mean he is going to sign with AFL for a million dollars as well? Also I hardly see him having religion as a positive personally.

Will be interesting to see if he decides to take a couple of years off once he hits a certain age to go on his Mormon mission. That's the only way I can see us losing the kid.

Didn't look like he liked being called a gun. I think Smith will handle this issue in the same way he did with Tasi. Leave him in Newtown/NYC for the first 8-10 rounds and then if there is a need bring him in against opposition that aren't necessarily the toughest (the Titans this year). He'll play this year for sure but unless we have injuries or BJ struggles big time there is no need for him to start the season in fg. Anyone that thinks his situation is anything like Ryan Williamson's is off the mark. As Headless mentioned, Williamson showed basically jack all in the step up to NYC (the games I saw at least), whereas Tau Tau didn't slow down at all. It took him two games to adjust and dominate.

[Guest]

Everyone is so excited about this kid. I really hope people are patient with him. However, we have seen in the past that the great players such as Fittler of Lockyer, etc are often good enough at a young age. Still the body of an 18 year old may take some adjusting to the toughness of the NRL. I am hoping he gets a start at some point and plays so well that dropping him is out of the question.

[Rooster_6]

Everyone is so excited about this kid. I really hope people are patient with him. However, we have seen in the past that the great players such as Fittler of Lockyer, etc are often good enough at a young age. Still the body of an 18 year old may take some adjusting to the toughness of the NRL. I am hoping he gets a start at some point and plays so well that dropping him is out of the question.

In recent times Inglis & Folau both debuted at very young ages and both in the 3/4 line. I don't think another year in the 20's would hurt but there's a lot of precedence to the saying 'if you're good enough you're old enough' that works in his favour. The other question is will he learn more in a team that's going to win about 75%+ of there games in the Under 20's or in a team that'll struggle to win half their games in first grade.

I mean how much chance will he get to work on and develop his game in a side that will most likely be scrapping for every point compared to a team where that will be playing with plenty of width and fast ball movement.

[fletch]

imagine an NYC backline of Wells,RTS,Moga,BJ,O'Sullivan it won't happen because Moga/BJ will either be in top grade or Newtown but it would be great to see how good they would be.

[Rooster_6]

imagine an NYC backline of Wells,RTS,Moga,BJ,O'Sullivan it won't happen because Moga/BJ will either be in top grade or Newtown but it would be great to see how good they would be.

Rona is no slouch either, will be interesting to see how they fit them all in.

[Headless Chook]

In recent times Inglis & Folau both debuted at very young ages and both in the 3/4 line. I don't think another year in the 20's would hurt but there's a lot of precedence to the saying 'if you're good enough you're old enough' that works in his favour. The other question is will he learn more in a team that's going to win about 75%+ of there games in the Under 20's or in a team that'll struggle to win half their games in first grade.

I mean how much chance will he get to work on and develop his game in a side that will most likely be scrapping for every point compared to a team where that will be playing with plenty of width and fast ball movement.

How much development is there in playing at a level below what you might be capable of? How much development is there not being truly tested to find out what your limits might be?

[Rooster_6]

How much development is there in playing at a level below what you might be capable of? How much development is there not being truly tested to find out what your limits might be?

Whilst he's quite obviously one of the top players in the 20's it doens't mean there's no chance for him to develop his skills. There's obviously parts of his game that need working on and certain things that the club would like him to start doing. Bit hard to do when you're in a struggling FG side and the majority of your runs are coming out of your own end.

Mitchell Pearce & BJ Leilua were thrown in way too early for mine and are perfect examples of players who really should of been given more time to develop and harness their skills and it has really stunted their development. Where as Friend and Kennedy were both given time to develop in the 20's and reserve grade and are great examples of how to develop players.

[Guest]

Whilst he's quite obviously one of the top players in the 20's it doens't mean there's no chance for him to develop his skills. There's obviously parts of his game that need working on and certain things that the club would like him to start doing. Bit hard to do when you're in a struggling FG side and the majority of your runs are coming out of your own end.

Mitchell Pearce & BJ Leilua were thrown in way too early for mine and are perfect examples of players who really should of been given more time to develop and harness their skills and it has really stunted their development. Where as Friend and Kennedy were both given time to develop in the 20's and reserve grade and are great examples of how to develop players.

Why do you already assume the first grade team will be struggling next year?

[Rooster_6]

Why do you already assume the first grade team will be struggling next year?

Realistic of our chances, even if we are to succeed it'll be through a forward dominant game that doesn't favour playing with width. I can see the majority of our games being a real grind. Also the way that Anasta likes to play down that left hand fringe at 5/8 he usually likes to skip out the centre of throw short balls rather than try and open up space for them.

I could well be wrong but based on our late season form this is the way I see us playing.

[Guest]

LOL you are probably right. I stupidly hope we will win the title every year no matter how bad our team and form looks.