Re: Thomas Mikaele : Sat Jun 25, 2022 7:09 pm  

easyWire wrote:

He certainly looked hungry.

I think it's a little unfair to question his fitness at this stage. The jet lag may have worn off but moving half-way across the world is more than just a plane journey. I know as I've done it twice! You're suddenly in a new place for the first time, sorting yourself out while trying to also focus on work and adjust to new sleeping patterns. At the same time trying to train under a new coach.

He's young and looks the part. I'm excited about him for next season.

Agree. Very impressed with his efforts last night, especially after contact, just what we need. He looked a bit lost some of the time but that's only to be expected as he learns more about his positioning within the team and the way Powell wants to see the team play.

Re: Thomas Mikaele : Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:59 pm  

easyWire wrote:

He certainly looked hungry.

I think it's a little unfair to question his fitness at this stage. The jet lag may have worn off but moving half-way across the world is more than just a plane journey. I know as I've done it twice! You're suddenly in a new place for the first time, sorting yourself out while trying to also focus on work and adjust to new sleeping patterns. At the same time trying to train under a new coach.

He's young and looks the part. I'm excited about him for next season.

Hard to argue to be fair.

Re: Thomas Mikaele : Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:53 am  

I'm a West Tigers fan and have followed them since 2005, Mikaele is NOT too far off his full fitness. So don't be expecting a 50-60 minute prop as that's not how he is. He's great in short bursts and he is effective, but what you saw last night is basically what we're gonna get from him so don't expect much more from him. I'm made up we've got him but like Sita he works well in shorter spells. Bonus with him is he does have and offload and he does have good footwork and a step.

Re: Thomas Mikaele : Sun Jun 26, 2022 5:54 am  

Or thane wrote:

I'm a West Tigers fan and have followed them since 2005, Mikaele is NOT too far off his full fitness. So don't be expecting a 50-60 minute prop as that's not how he is. He's great in short bursts and he is effective, but what you saw last night is basically what we're gonna get from him so don't expect much more from him. I'm made up we've got him but like Sita he works well in shorter spells. Bonus with him is he does have and offload and he does have good footwork and a step.

Good to see your assessment. Not all players are the same, never have been & never will. Sam Kasiano will also only play in short bursts.
So we best keep the odd workhorse.

Re: Thomas Mikaele : Sun Jun 26, 2022 8:51 am  

Watching Mikaele and Kasiano coming off the bench next season should be a lot of fun.

Re: Thomas Mikaele : Sun Jun 26, 2022 11:09 am  

Yeah i genuinely believe we'll have a very dominant pack next year and every team that plays us will struggle with our Forwards.
Daz Clark & Williams will have a field day running off the back of Kasiano and Mikaele. I'm really excited for next year already, i think there is a chance we'll make the top 6 but we'll definately avoid relegation, i've no doubt about that.

Re: Thomas Mikaele : Sun Jun 26, 2022 2:35 pm  

Smiffy27 wrote:

Good to see your assessment. Not all players are the same, never have been & never will. Sam Kasiano is the same.
So we best keep the odd workhorse.

What gets lost with these low-minute forwards is that we only have so many substitutions so you can't afford to have too many impact players & rely on flogging the long-playing forwards to death.

Re: Thomas Mikaele : Sun Jun 26, 2022 9:27 pm  

ninearches wrote:

What gets lost with these low-minute forwards is that we only have so many substitutions so you can't afford to have too many impact players & rely on flogging the long-playing forwards to death.

Depends what you mean by 'low-minute'.

Paul Vaughan regularly plays 55 minutes which would allow someone like Kasiano to play 25. That's a total of two interchanges which is standard for props. Do the same for Dudson and Mikaele and you're not losing out on interchanges but still get plenty of impact.

Re: Thomas Mikaele : Tue Jun 28, 2022 1:34 pm  

easyWire wrote:

He certainly looked hungry.

I think it's a little unfair to question his fitness at this stage. The jet lag may have worn off but moving half-way across the world is more than just a plane journey. I know as I've done it twice! You're suddenly in a new place for the first time, sorting yourself out while trying to also focus on work and adjust to new sleeping patterns. At the same time trying to train under a new coach.

He's young and looks the part. I'm excited about him for next season.

Be thankful you're not feeding him.