egg
Jaws
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Official Braden Uele
- Thread starter gando2230
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He can replace Tuku Hau Tapuha as the young giant we never play because being the biggest kid doesn't translate as well into Cup
And I say replace as Tuks has disappeared off both Sharks and NSWRL websites as a player
AdShark
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
Can do it for cheaper than Braden too
Likely cheaper yes, but assuming we are extending him and not just getting him for rest of season, we are tying him (and his presumably upgraded contract) to our cap for much longer than whatever Braden has left. Absolutely not worth it unless we want this guy for a few years.
Compare their 2025s
Uele won more @ 67% vs 20%
Obviously team is a big factor in that, but worth noting Sharks win rate was 62.5% and Dragons was 33.3%, so we won above average amount of time when playing Uele, and they lost an above average amount of time when playing Tonga. Many factors of course.
They scored tries at approx same rate
Uele broke 1.3 tackles per game vs 1
Tonga made 34 PCM vs 32
Uele had 0.4 offloads a game, Tonga 0.3
Effectively same number of tackles per game (Tonga 0.4 more)
Tonga did have a 3% better efficiency rate though, for an impressive 97.7%
Uele ran 3 more meters per game
So basically we'd be tying ourselves to a younger (and hopefully room to improve) Uele for longer, to save maybe 100k or so this season.
Capital_Shark
Kitty Master
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Very similar numbers with very different experience levels. I’d say only 1 of them is gonna get better.
AdShark
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
I’m still for it
I don't know enough about what our plans are for the rest of our forwards - I certainly don't hate the concept of signing him, but the stats show it is more about next couple years than this year.
Tuks, Hosking, McInnes, H Puru and Toby are all off contract. If we are letting quite a few of them leave then getting Loko now seems a decent move.
If we are keeping most of them but don't rate many of the depth guys then getting Loko now also seems a good shout.
Certainly room to grow and improve but Tuks was the exact same, this blokes just as likely to become the next Tuks as anything else.
We also already have a bloke (Hazelton) his height and weight who is getting mixed opinions on if he is too big and slow for the direction of the game.
That should be a big factor in the decision.
Proud Shark
Jaws
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Probably a fair chance signing Loko steps on Faitili's toes and he looks elsewhere.
AdShark
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
Maybe. Or they can make a powerful combo
Proud Shark
Jaws
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Could go either way for sure. Talakai leaves one spot, but the other would have to come from somewhere else. There's certainly a few other forwards coming through for us already too.
AdShark
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
Talakai, Uele, McInnes, Tuku, Rudolf not far behind. Plenty of room for both if they both kick on
Gibs
Great White
Rudolf should be re-signed, he's been one of our best and consistent players since getting dropped
Proud Shark
Jaws
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Only two of those are in the 17 currently though.
Blix
Great White
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Agreed he has been good for last couple of years (which by chance also aligns with contract time)
Had been average (and fat) prior to that for a number of years.
Don’t get me wrong at this point he should be signed…..but wouldn’t be offering a long term contract…
Proud Shark
Jaws
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He's been pretty vocal about being interested in PNG. I'd be very surprised if he didn't just sign a 1 year extension.
HaroldBishop
Megalodon
Yep and I think that suits both parties just fine
Gibs
Great White
Well yes, you do re-sign players based on their current form and not their previous form. Thats like not signing James Maloney because he didnt win a premiership with the Warriors
Sharks NRL Prospects
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
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They don't even need to sign anyone or have McInnes come back for that to become and issue.
In round 10 the Jets and Sharks both play in Sydney. Sharks Saturday, Jets Sunday. That means NRL players #18 and #19 would likely play cup.
8. Tuks
9. hooker
10, Uele
13. Puru
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14. hooker/utility
15. Fearnley
16. Hosking
Felix is not a sure bet to be the 17th player here.
Gibs
Great White
His stats on paper tell me otherwise, He's currently 3rd for Tackle breaks in cup, has about the same minutes as the rest of the props very solid defensive numbers and barely any errors/ penalties.
Sharks NRL Prospects
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
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As per Fa'atili thread... comparable minutes to JJBM and Taatao. More than McCullough.. but Felix has played every game and those guys have each been rotated out to 18th man at least once. I think he would probably get the final bench spot ahead of those other 3 but I wouldn't bet my left nut on it.
His coach doesn't care about tackle breaks stats. Felix is an attacking behemoth but right now his all around game is not obviously better than either of those Jets contracted guys, and he isn't fit enough to play to play bigger minutes (yet). If you are picking him to be player #17 and provide 25-30 minutes of grunt from the bench it's a good role for him at this point. Just because I think he's a long way off NRL it doesn't mean he can't get there eventually. Players improve.
Anyway... back to Uele.
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