Official Braden Uele

He's listed as a halfback and played there in their first cup game. I'm sure it's possible he's in the plans to possibly partner Moses. I'm not sure I'd be getting rid of any potential prospects in the halves with that spot still unfilled for 2027 there.
Think Lorenzo Talataina is their plan, Twidle might be ahead of him at the moment, but he definitely plays fullback sometimes. Scored 4 tries against Penrith recently from there and there are a couple of other games this year at FB.

Only reason I think Twidle is gettable is he is unsigned for next year and currently Eels have only offered a dev contract, while Lorenzo is signed for another 3 years until end of 2028.

 
Think Lorenzo Talataina is their plan, Twidle might be ahead of him at the moment, but he definitely plays fullback sometimes. Scored 4 tries against Penrith recently from there and there are a couple of other games this year at FB.

Only reason I think Twidle is gettable is he is unsigned for next year and currently Eels have only offered a dev contract, while Lorenzo is signed for another 3 years until end of 2028.


Yeah Lorenzo is their long-term 5/8

Kid's a freakish talent
 
Think Lorenzo Talataina is their plan, Twidle might be ahead of him at the moment, but he definitely plays fullback sometimes. Scored 4 tries against Penrith recently from there and there are a couple of other games this year at FB.

Only reason I think Twidle is gettable is he is unsigned for next year and currently Eels have only offered a dev contract, while Lorenzo is signed for another 3 years until end of 2028.

Fair shout then! Even better if he has the versatility to play anywhere across the backline.


Decent little package. The cut outs against the raiders and the storm in particular are impressive and seems to have a bit of pace even if not lightning quick.

Have you watched much of him to comment on his wider game?
 
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Have you watched much of him to comment on his wider game?
I haven’t watched him live, but I’ve gone through highlights from the games he’s played this year. From the Penrith game above, he probably directly contributed to two tries conceded through missed tackles.

Looking at his stats:
  • Missed tackles: 14 from 3 games
    • 2nd is 23 (but from 5 games) most others around him have played 5-6 games
    • (Side note: Owen Pattie has 35 in 6 games… no wonder he’s not in NRL)
  • Errors: 7 (ranking 14th)
    • The highest is 11, but from 5 games
  • Attack:
    • Mid-table for try assists, line breaks (all 4 from one game though), line engagements, etc.
He looks like he has some attacking upside, but defensively and with handling he’s a liability at the moment. That probably explains why Parra is only offering a development deal but I think there is something there. At the very least, it would be another option that is almost NRL-ready to compete with Ison.

Any case it looks like he has a few offers since the debut, so probably a meaningless conversation. Feel like the Bears will take a punt on him.
 
As they should. I think he's the exact type of prospect a new club needs to have their eye on.
 
He'll have to go to a **** club like Saints if he wants that.
Agreed. He's on 750 a season currently. Dragons offered him 2.7 mil for 3 years but his management rejected it. Just read they've now upped that now to 3 mil for 3 years.
 
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He's wanting a mil+ personally I don't see us offering him that. Could be wrong though just think we're chasing someone else for that kind of money.
I'd like to thinks that's the Dragons price
We'd be mad to pay that. I don't especially want him at 750k. Just saying it's been rumoured to be a thing.
 
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Wrong thread to be discussing Drinkie but I think one of the most important things he'd bring to the club is obstinance and attitude.

Obstinance is something that I find very grating at other clubs but I think that it's valuable when you want a winning attitude.

We're very much the nice guys (even though we're the most penalised).
 
The at times ridiculous attacking stats halfs post in the lower grades highlights the gap to first grade and reiterates just how freaken difficult it is to be a good half at NRL level. It is a massive step up, especially for young players that are still developing not just their game but physically

There's always plenty of hyped up young halves coming through the ranks but the majority never make it to first grade or they end up being journey men or end up overseas at a relatively young age career wise if not just giving the professional game away completely

Sure their are mediocre halfs that carve out a long NRL career on the back of effort, attitude or some other positive characteristic like being a good defender or leader

But players like Johns, Cronk, Cleary , guys with immense talent that can actually deliver on that promise and skill week in week out at the highest level it's very very rare and you could probably say it's a similar thing with fullbacks
 
The at times ridiculous attacking stats halfs post in the lower grades highlights the gap to first grade and reiterates just how freaken difficult it is to be a good half at NRL level. It is a massive step up, especially for young players that are still developing not just their game but physically

There's always plenty of hyped up young halves coming through the ranks but the majority never make it to first grade or they end up being journey men or end up overseas at a relatively young age career wise if not just giving the professional game away completely

Sure their are mediocre halfs that carve out a long NRL career on the back of effort, attitude or some other positive characteristic like being a good defender or leader

But players like Johns, Cronk, Cleary , guys with immense talent that can actually deliver on that promise and skill week in week out at the highest level it's very very rare and you could probably say it's a similar thing with fullbacks

I mean you just have to look at someone like Chad Townsend. The Chad genuinely had one of the most dominate junior careers of any half when he came through the ranks.

Then he got to first grade and was clowned on by fans for over a decade (despite being a premiership winning halfback).

Just because you’re a superstar in juniors/NSW Cup doesn’t mean it’ll translate to being a superstar in first grade.
 
I mean you just have to look at someone like Chad Townsend. The Chad genuinely had one of the most dominate junior careers of any half when he came through the ranks.

Then he got to first grade and was clowned on by fans for over a decade (despite being a premiership winning halfback).

Just because you’re a superstar in juniors/NSW Cup doesn’t mean it’ll translate to being a superstar in first grade.
He also was part of a premership winning team!

People can say the GF was on Maloney and Co. but CT had an awesome game against the Cowboys in the prelim.

My point is that not all spine members need to be superstars either.
 
I mean you just have to look at someone like Chad Townsend. The Chad genuinely had one of the most dominate junior careers of any half when he came through the ranks.

Then he got to first grade and was clowned on by fans for over a decade (despite being a premiership winning halfback).

Just because you’re a superstar in juniors/NSW Cup doesn’t mean it’ll translate to being a superstar in first grade.
He's no Tony Gigot!
 
I mean you just have to look at someone like Chad Townsend. The Chad genuinely had one of the most dominate junior careers of any half when he came through the ranks.

Then he got to first grade and was clowned on by fans for over a decade (despite being a premiership winning halfback).

Just because you’re a superstar in juniors/NSW Cup doesn’t mean it’ll translate to being a superstar in first grade.
I reckon Australia would be able to put together a pretty serious women's masters team, the amount of people who stopped playing rugby league at 10 years old who reckon their Nan would make a better NRL player than Chad Townsend.
 
I reckon Australia would be able to put together a pretty serious women's masters team, the amount of people who stopped playing rugby league at 10 years old who reckon their Nan would make a better NRL player than Chad Townsend.
I remember saying that my Grandma could play better. Made me smile.
 
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