Official Ronaldo Mulitalo

XGinga

XGinga

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Ronnie has a higher ceiling than Katoa I think. Katoa is solid but don't think we can get more out of him other then a few crazy put downs.

Ronnie this year had some great games and some bad ones in both attack and defense. If he could reduce the bad games he could be a top 3 winger in the game.

I don't think anyone would think of Katoa that way. Still really good but not great.
 
Sparkles

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Not exactly the conversation I had in mind...

If it helps, I meant that once, Ronnie was held up as one of our best, and Katoa called The Crab. Just pointing out what a huge shift it has been.

We don't need to pile on to every comment with pre-conceived ideas and frustrations.
 
Capital_Shark

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Wiz said:
Says the guy that comes out of nowhere talking about golden boot nominee and Charlie Staines lol ? scrambled alright
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You're so close to understanding my point but your light is just too dim to make it all the way.

I'd bet you know 2+2=4 but have no idea why.
 
BurgoShark

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Proud Shark said:
The golden boot is purely based on internationals, so speaks nothing to his nrl form. Ronnie had a great comp for Nz, but was below his best for us this year IMO. He's been pretty spoken in the media about aspects of that too, including his focus and chirping with other players.

I don't think he was bad, but he definitely can and should be better. I also don't think there's a huge gap between him and Katoa. It's probably Ronnie's aerial ability that clinches it.
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You know what’s good? We don’t have to choose between these two great wingers. We have them both :)

fwiw I think Katoa’s work on yardage sets is very underrated.
 
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Proud Shark

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BurgoShark said:
You know what’s good? We don’t have to choose between these two great wingers. We have them both :)

fwiw I think Katoa’s work on yardage sets is very underrated.
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Completely agree. Our back 5 has to be one of the most underrated in the comp.
 
Sir Chadley

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I've always liked our wingers but yes they are underrated simply because they're not in the elite wingers class. They could be though.

There is plenty of upside on both but unfortunately they both still have basic errors in them. Handling is one area, most of the time they are able to take the high ball but you always have your heart in your mouth when a bomb is put up in their direction.

Ronnie has bombed a heap of tries through negligence and skylarking. If he improves on that, he will make other sit up and take notice more.

When they first started playing together these errors happened and now after they have played several seasons in NRL, you would think they have cut out those mistakes by now. But every so often, they still happen.

Here's hoping that in 2024, we see improvement in them to the point where we know they will do the job consistently.
 
Wiz

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Capital_Shark said:
You're so close to understanding my point but your light is just too dim to make it all the way.

I'd bet you know 2+2=4 but have no idea why.
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That was weak.. don’t be mad you brought up two terrible and irrelevant points

Catch up bruv
 
BurgoShark

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Sir Chadley said:
I've always liked our wingers but yes they are underrated simply because they're not in the elite wingers class. They could be though.

There is plenty of upside on both but unfortunately they both still have basic errors in them. Handling is one area, most of the time they are able to take the high ball but you always have your heart in your mouth when a bomb is put up in their direction.

Ronnie has bombed a heap of tries through negligence and skylarking. If he improves on that, he will make other sit up and take notice more.

When they first started playing together these errors happened and now after they have played several seasons in NRL, you would think they have cut out those mistakes by now. But every so often, they still happen.

Here's hoping that in 2024, we see improvement in them to the point where we know they will do the job consistently.
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Probably begs the question Chad: what's an "elite" winger? Cobbo makes more errors than any other player in the NRL, but a lot of people would have him up there because of "x factor".

SoO wingers in 2023 were To'o, Addo-Carr, Cobbo, Taulagi and Coates.

Then for the tier 1 test nations we saw some of those guys, plus Young, Holmes, Edwards, Mulitalo, Isaako, Marzhew, To'a, Koula, J. Tupou and Penisini. Several of those guys don't play wing in the NRL regularly though.

So if the "elite" list is these guys, I'd put both Sharks players on it too.

To'o
JAC
Cobbo
Taulagi
Coates
Isaako
J. Tupou
Marzhew
Young
DWZ
Holmes (if you are picking a rep team)

As for posters saying Katoa "wasn't picked" for Tonga, that's pretty laughable considering the guys they actually had play wing. I'd say they asked him and he declined because he had niggling injuries or had other commitments and didn't want to go to England.
 
HaroldBishop

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Sir Chadley said:
I've always liked our wingers but yes they are underrated simply because they're not in the elite wingers class. They could be though.

There is plenty of upside on both but unfortunately they both still have basic errors in them. Handling is one area, most of the time they are able to take the high ball but you always have your heart in your mouth when a bomb is put up in their direction.

Ronnie has bombed a heap of tries through negligence and skylarking. If he improves on that, he will make other sit up and take notice more.

When they first started playing together these errors happened and now after they have played several seasons in NRL, you would think they have cut out those mistakes by now. But every so often, they still happen.

Here's hoping that in 2024, we see improvement in them to the point where we know they will do the job consistently.
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I reckon Ron was in the top few wingers in 2022, had a great year. Definitely dropped off this year which was a bit disappointing. Maybe just me but his mind seemed to be elsewhere at times, maybe something going on off the field?

Katoa I reckon plays well above his height under the high ball, I reckon he does very bloody well in that area.
 
Proud Shark

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BurgoShark said:
Probably begs the question Chad: what's an "elite" winger? Cobbo makes more errors than any other player in the NRL, but a lot of people would have him up there because of "x factor".

SoO wingers in 2023 were To'o, Addo-Carr, Cobbo, Taulagi and Coates.

Then for the tier 1 test nations we saw some of those guys, plus Young, Holmes, Edwards, Mulitalo, Isaako, Marzhew, To'a, Koula, J. Tupou and Penisini. Several of those guys don't play wing in the NRL regularly though.

So if the "elite" list is these guys, I'd put both Sharks players on it too.

To'o
JAC
Cobbo
Taulagi
Coates
Isaako
J. Tupou
Marzhew
Young
DWZ
Holmes (if you are picking a rep team)

As for posters saying Katoa "wasn't picked" for Tonga, that's pretty laughable considering the guys they actually had play wing. I'd say they asked him and he declined because he had niggling injuries or had other commitments and didn't want to go to England.
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I pretty much have To'o as the standout, and the rest after. I'd have both sharks with that lot too. Ronnie can match it aerially with any of the leapers and is a good finisher. Katoa is as good a finisher as anyone. If either had an extra yard of pace they'd easily be challenging for the mantle. I think Young and Cobbo have potentially higher ceilings, but are yet to fully realise them.
 
bort

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IMO
Katoa: consistency, finishing, yardage*
Mulitalo: X-factor, aerial (offensive)

Katoa gets yardage with a * as Ronnie's yardage is usually decent too, I think maybe he doesn't get kicked to as much.

Depends what you value which is the better winger. If a club was going to go out of their way to try and steal one off us though I think its Ronnie 10 times out of 10.

Ronnie did seem slightly off at times last season, not sure if he pulled the attitude back too far or was just dealing with injury/distraction.

Like PS said an extra yard of pace on either is probably an elite winger. Ronnie I think can still get there with a little consistency (mainly, error reduction).
 
Proud Shark

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bort said:
IMO
Katoa: consistency, finishing, yardage*
Mulitalo: X-factor, aerial (offensive)

Katoa gets yardage with a * as Ronnie's yardage is usually decent too, I think maybe he doesn't get kicked to as much.

Depends what you value which is the better winger. If a club was going to go out of their way to try and steal one off us though I think its Ronnie 10 times out of 10.

Ronnie did seem slightly off at times last season, not sure if he pulled the attitude back too far or was just dealing with injury/distraction.

Like PS said an extra yard of pace on either is probably an elite winger. Ronnie I think can still get there with a little consistency (mainly, error reduction).
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Other than the showboating ones that he acknowledged, did Ronnie make that many errors? Surely a winger's error count is usually higher anyway given the situations in which they get the ball (last pass, near the touch line, in the air etc). Also I'd imagine the more attacking opportunities your team creates, the more errors are likely for your wingers. JAC probably has had his best years with errors because no one can get him the ball (I'm guessing).
 
bort

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Proud Shark said:
Other than the showboating ones that he acknowledged, did Ronnie make that many errors? Surely a winger's error count is usually higher anyway given the situations in which they get the ball (last pass, near the touch line, in the air etc). Also I'd imagine the more attacking opportunities your team creates, the more errors are likely for your wingers. JAC probably has had his best years with errors because no one can get him the ball (I'm guessing).
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Ranks 4th total for wingers last season, with 28. (Dom Young had 39 so they can be overlooked!). Katoa finished un 6th with 26.
For average though, of players playing 10+ games Ronnie was 6th and Sione was 14th.

Not atrocious but wouldn't it be nice if he was equal or better than Katoa, not 'one of the worst' in the NRL?

The handful of botched putdowns are the main ones of concern. By a long shot.
How many were there? Maybe 4 including the kiwis one?
He's also good for cooking a bomb catch out of nowhere every now and again, but that is quite rare these days.
I certainly don't expect him to make no errors.
 
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bort said:
Ranks 4th total for wingers last season, with 28. (Dom Young had 39 so they can be overlooked!). Katoa finished un 6th with 26.
For average though, of players playing 10+ games Ronnie was 6th and Sione was 14th.

Not atrocious but wouldn't it be nice if he was equal or better than Katoa, not 'one of the worst' in the NRL?

The handful of botched putdowns are the main ones of concern. By a long shot.
How many were there? Maybe 4 including the kiwis one?
He's also good for cooking a bomb catch out of nowhere every now and again, but that is quite rare these days.
I certainly don't expect him to make no errors.
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Would love to see Katoa hang on to them interceptions, in an ideal world ig
Ronnie, reminds me of DK Metcalfe, all the phsyical tools but gets undone with emotion or concentration imo

Jw , what side does Stonestreet prefer?
 
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