Re: Thomas Leuluai : Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:50 pm  

Well if we could find a full-back...

Re: Thomas Leuluai : Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:13 am  

Phil Wilko reckons Tommy would have earned more staying at NZW, but the appeal of moving into coaching was a big one.

Sensible move that suits both parties.

Re: Thomas Leuluai : Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:24 am  

Also says hes got a young family and the plan was always to move back to England

Re: Thomas Leuluai : Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:47 am  

Wane said on Wigan Tv that Williams, Shorrocks and Matty Smith can learn from playing with Leuluai.

Re: Thomas Leuluai : Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:51 am  

I wonder if this means we will see Tommy switched between 7 and 9 and take the opportunity to give Smith a rest at times - not a bad option to have. So we could have Williams and Shorrocks to cover 6, Smith and Tommy to cover 7 and MM/Powell to cover 9 with Tommy able to cover 9 and Powell to cover halves, that would be a lot of options if it worked. No more dropping forwards to half.

Re: Thomas Leuluai : Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:53 am  

Agree that Smith has been helped by Sam coming back, and he does seem to be fairly robust. He has a good injury record.
Perhaps they know MM may never fully recover?
I just hope that Tommy has still got it: I'd love to see him back as he was, but he will still need to show he's worth a spot in the team, and swopping MS out may prove to be a mistake.

Re: Thomas Leuluai : Mon Jul 04, 2016 9:00 am  

Very unsure about this signing. Thought Tommy was a very average to poor 7 who lacked creativity, possesses one of the worst kicking games I've ever seen from a half. He's strong in defence, but I really wouldn't be signing a 7 for his defence alone.

At 9 he went well, was a great move by Wayne Bennett to play him there for NZ, and we slowly followed suit. But what does this mean? McM is our starting 9, Sam Powell is our interchange. In a salary capped sport do we really need to spend the money on another 9? I'm betting his new new at Wigan is bigger than what Powell is on, who is a much younger developing good player, who can also cover 7 and 9 for a fraction of the cost and will be around for a lot longer.

Playing him at 7? We have Williams, Smith, Powell, Shorrocks, Hampshire plus Tomkins who can play in the halves. Williams is very young and developing well, Smith is a better 7 than Tommy, and Shorrocks is looking to be a future star who needs game time, not have Tommy stand in his way. No doubt this signals the end for Hampshire.

If we signed at world beater, I could understand investing in this position, otherwise I'd sooner the cap be spent elsewhere.

Re: Thomas Leuluai : Mon Jul 04, 2016 10:26 am  

I have mixed emotions on this. As long as we don't lose Smith to accomodate Tommy I will be happy. I'm not Smiths biggest fan but since Sam returned he has looked a different player to the one earlier in the season. It probably shows the pressure he was under to organise and run the team with so many players injured and so many kids playing. This probably signals the end to Rocky staying at the club which is a shame. Having watched him come through the ranks I was convinced
he would be a star. I'm also not the biggest fan of going back, Joel and Mossop haven't been anywhere near as good as they were prior to leaving us. Sam I still finding his form so will reserve judgement on him.

Re: Thomas Leuluai : Mon Jul 04, 2016 11:56 am  

over the hill and injury prone.another pup signed.

Re: Thomas Leuluai : Mon Jul 04, 2016 12:04 pm  

exiled Warrior wrote:

I wonder if this means we will see Tommy switched between 7 and 9 and take the opportunity to give Smith a rest at times - not a bad option to have. So we could have Williams and Shorrocks to cover 6, Smith and Tommy to cover 7 and MM/Powell to cover 9 with Tommy able to cover 9 and Powell to cover halves, that would be a lot of options if it worked. No more dropping forwards to half.

That's pretty much how I see it, and I'd be happy with that.