Official Briton Nikora

apezza said:
Will this be the first week in a very long time all our forwards are available for selection (albeit Sifa playing in the centres)?

Will need to check the weeks before Cam did his ACL.
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If you set the criteria at below it has never happened under Fitzgibbon.

- Best 7 middles all healthy and available to play their usual minutes
- All 7 play their stints as expected and finish the game healthy.
(Talakai is considered one of the 7 middles starting from when Iro joined the team)

There are a few caveats if you want to loosen the criteria though.

2023 there were 2 games where they started with a full complement but a middle got HIA'd early in their stint (Williams once, Kaufusi once).

2024 there were a few games where they had everyone on board but Uele was coming back from injury and only playing 15-20 minutes. Sifa likely played some centre/edge in those games too.

2025 round 22 everyone was available but Hazelton was first game back from injury and only played 18 minutes, and Talakai played centre so they still had 3 forwards and Atko on the bench.
 
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Not the right table to be around the top of. I didn't realise either, but there you go.
On that, he can't be kept in the side, surely.

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Going against the grain here, but I liked Nikora this arvo. My biggest complaint was that he didn’t get in and do some hard yakka with his carries but I saw a big improvement on that today.

His line running is taking a hit because sides are focused on him, need to use him as a decoy and get the ball behind him to Kennedy and Sifa.
 
He was OK, bit up and down over the course of the game

Effort was there (which you would hope too see as a minimum) but he was still kinda medicore, especially compared to Teig and even Burns

4 missed tackles vs. Teig Nil

Nikora showed some promise I spose back in his old starting spot
 
Wilson said:
51 mins

5 runs
31m
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Here are my son's non-fantasy stats from last game as a second rower.

Minutes:: all of them.
Hit ups: 3
Tip ons: 3
Times in position but didn't get the ball: 100%
Team possession: 33%
Opposition players removed from the game from clean hard hits: 2
Errors forced in defence: 4
Times forcing the kicker into a poor kick: 4

Please tell me more about how second rower fantasy stats are performance indicators.
 
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Sharks NRL Prospects said:
Here are my son's non-fantasy stats from last game as a second rower.

Minutes:: all of them.
Hit ups: 3
Tip ons: 3
Times in position but didn't get the ball: 100%
Team possession: 33%
Opposition players removed from the game from clean hard hits: 2
Errors forced in defence: 4
Times forcing the kicker into a poor kick: 4

Please tell me more about how second rower fantasy stats are performance indicators.
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Missed the part where I used his statistics in a fantasy sports context.

Considering this was a post from a game two weeks ago - and you’ve posted in this thread since then - to find and respond to this post, the only fantasy must be the ones you have of me.
 
Sharks NRL Prospects said:
Here are my son's non-fantasy stats from last game as a second rower.

Minutes:: all of them.
Hit ups: 3
Tip ons: 3
Times in position but didn't get the ball: 100%
Team possession: 33%
Opposition players removed from the game from clean hard hits: 2
Errors forced in defence: 4
Times forcing the kicker into a poor kick: 4

Please tell me more about how second rower fantasy stats are performance indicators.
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What’s this got to do with Nikora having a bad game?
 
Gumby said:
12 runs for 87 metres
20 tackles
4 missed tackles
2 errors
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As frustrated as I am at the time, I can forgive him for some of those errors near the line when he is screaming onto the ball. Some of those passes are all or nothing.
 
Wilson said:
Missed the part where I used his statistics in a fantasy sports context.

Considering this was a post from a game two weeks ago - and you’ve posted in this thread since then - to find and respond to this post, the only fantasy must be the ones you have of me.
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Haha yeah sorry man. I think I meant to also quote one that was after yours. There was a conversation going on about how him not running enough = bad game.

AdShark said:
What’s this got to do with Nikora having a bad game?
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You can't use "runs" or "lack of runs" as a measure of a player's performance.

Second rowers do a whole lot more stuff than take hit-ups, and the coach wouldn't give two shits how many hit-ups or metres he had. His job is to be in position to receive the ball and to contribute in all those other little ways like kick chase, defensive aggression and kick pressure. If Nikora is doing that he is playing well even if he doesn't touch the ball once.

The concept of "being hungry for the ball" doesn't exist in Rugby League once you are past the age where you can spell it, and the idea that runs/metres is a measure of performance is a myth that the commentators and podcasters seem intent on continuing with even though every coach will flat out say they are meaningless. Fitz said to one journo last year when they were banging on about AFB's metres that he "hasn't even looked at AFB's running stats this year".

It's this sort of attitude that will have some coach's assistant ignore all of those other positive plays and tell my son after a game that he went OK but he needs to take more hit-ups, or have parents tell their kid not to listen to what their coach says and go looking for the ball more. It's a stain on the game.
 
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Gumby said:
12 runs for 87 metres
20 tackles
4 missed tackles
2 errors
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I think one of these was the bat-back by Teig on the bomb that landed at his feet and then he got tackled as he bent down to pick it up. I think I can forgive him for that one. If he dives on it there or gets tackled it's a handover anyway. Same result.

Can't remember what the other one was.
 
I got a horrible feeling this guy is going to get picked for the QLD side. Regardless of how he plays this Friday night
 
Gumby said:
I got a horrible feeling this guy is going to get picked for the QLD side. Regardless of how he plays this Friday night
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Good news for NSW!

Honestly can't see it hurting the Sharks either. In his current form we won't miss him, and maybe the experience will finally fire him up.
 
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