Re: rugby league world cup : Sun Oct 27, 2013 9:56 pm  

The Chair Maker wrote:

Masoe in some respects reminded me a bit of Vila Matautia in the sense that he is an assassin.
He destroys opposition packs by not only running at them like a train, but also completely killing them in the tackle.
He put on two or three tackles tonight that absolutely smashed the kiwi players, and had the crowd oohing and uttering four letter words of appreciation at the sheer brutality.

On the negative side however is that he isn't the fittest of blokes and can only play for short spells. Like all big blokes he is vulnerable against small fast nippy players. Saints will need to work him hard in the offseason to prevent him ballooning.

One thing that did surprise me was his passing ability. He can spin out a good 20 yard pass, which means he can be used close to the line as a foil, rather than just a plain battering ram. I can see Saints using this to good effect, similar to how we used to use James Graham in that role.

It was taking on occasion 5 Kiwi players to put him down. This is the Kiwi pack which is absolutely massive. I dread to think what Masoe will do to most SL packs.

Im also wondering if we will look to slim him down a bit. If so he could be a bit like Paul Anderson was for us. He was a big bloke who went to Saints, shed a stone or two and became a far better player than the one at Bradford.

I think Masoe will be the type of player that will really get the crowd going. Home fans will get a lift from his big runs and hits, while opposition fans will probably be calling for his head when he cleans one of their forwards out.
One thing is certain our pack will not be bullied while he is on the field.

Totally agree with all that.

The crowd was lifting every time he took the ball in or did a tackle.

Re: rugby league world cup : Sun Oct 27, 2013 10:03 pm  

Also, regarding his weight. He seems to have put few lbs on from when he was playing with the panthers.

When was the last time he played?

Just might be that he's not been very active since the panthers season ended

Re: rugby league world cup : Sun Oct 27, 2013 11:16 pm  

He looks an outstanding impact prop on that showing. His impact was pretty phenomenal and against probably the best pack in the world. He was rattling the likes of Warreah-Hargreaves and Kasiano. With the ball he was powerful too.

His fitness has to be a concern though. He is just an impact prop, we won't see more than 30 minutes a game from him in Super League at that weight. He was only on 15 minutes in the first half and he was constantly only getting back to the attacking line on the 3rd tackle when NZ kicked. There is the danger he could fill out too much and end up a liability like Feka was. They need to stay on top of it and hopefully the other 3 props will be strong enough to lay a platform for him to have an impact and potentially change the game in our favour.

Absolutely outstanding game and atmosphere tonight. Loved it, I've not enjoyed a game so much in years. Outstanding rugby league tonight.

Sonny Bill slipping over the touchline when arrogantly rubbing it in over a late try was the highlight, get that on youtube if you didn't see it.

Re: rugby league world cup : Mon Oct 28, 2013 6:32 am  

Saddened! wrote:

He looks an outstanding impact prop on that showing. His impact was pretty phenomenal and against probably the best pack in the world. He was rattling the likes of Warreah-Hargreaves and Kasiano. With the ball he was powerful too.

His fitness has to be a concern though. He is just an impact prop, we won't see more than 30 minutes a game from him in Super League at that weight. He was only on 15 minutes in the first half and he was constantly only getting back to the attacking line on the 3rd tackle when NZ kicked. There is the danger he could fill out too much and end up a liability like Feka was. They need to stay on top of it and hopefully the other 3 props will be strong enough to lay a platform for him to have an impact and potentially change the game in our favour.

Absolutely outstanding game and atmosphere tonight. Loved it, I've not enjoyed a game so much in years. Outstanding rugby league tonight.

Sonny Bill slipping over the touchline when arrogantly rubbing it in over a late try was the highlight, get that on youtube if you didn't see it.

I agree, I loved the game and the whole event. We got in there a hour and 20 before kick off so we could get a good spec but the time flew with the pre match entertainment.

The RFL actually put a great show on!

Re: rugby league world cup : Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:46 am  

Did Samoa have a decent Stand Off?

Re: rugby league world cup : Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:07 am  

Rommel wrote:

Did Samoa have a decent Stand Off?

Ben Roberts played there for them. I'd have him over Hohaia.

They had a couple of outstanding forwards, one of whom Voss said was without a contract for next season.

Re: rugby league world cup : Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:11 am  

Saddened! wrote:

Ben Roberts played there for them. I'd have him over Hohaia.

They had a couple of outstanding forwards, one of whom Voss said was without a contract for next season.

The number 10 and 16 was very good in their pack. The number 4 was good with the ball but little out of sorts in defence.

Re: rugby league world cup : Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:22 am  

Saddened! wrote:

Ben Roberts played there for them. I'd have him over Hohaia.

He doesn't get a very good write up of late, although being part of an apparently appalling Eels set up may not have helped him of late.
He's been around a while, so has clocked up the NRL appearances, thus implying he's not that bad. He also apparently scored a try, got a try assist and kicked a 40-20 against the mighty Kiwis.

I'm pretty sure he's available, isn't he?

Re: rugby league world cup : Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:39 am  

Offside Monkey wrote:

He doesn't get a very good write up of late, although being part of an apparently appalling Eels set up may not have helped him of late.
He's been around a while, so has clocked up the NRL appearances, thus implying he's not that bad. He also apparently scored a try, got a try assist and kicked a 40-20 against the mighty Kiwis.

I'm pretty sure he's available, isn't he?

He looked very lively at the game and Voss mentioned he's got it all, it's just consistency he struggles with, not game by game but within each 80 minutes. This showed as well, he made quite a few half breaks with direct running, he'd cut through SL defenses, he can put a man through a hole and he kicked the 40:20. But then he dropped a couple on the Kiwi 20 that were just simple passes to him, looked like he was already thinking about what to do with it before he'd caught it.

Re: rugby league world cup : Mon Oct 28, 2013 12:17 pm  

How good had Voss's commentary been so far. If Brian Barwick and the RFL want to help our game then one of the first things they need to do is to bring someone like him or Ray Warren over here as part of their negotiations for any new Sky contract.

Bye bye Mick and Monterrency.