Pathways Felix Faatili

Hope he gets some time in the next trial too
Great middle depth at the club currently
 
Didn't look out of place and has a decent motor. Has some great footwork about him too. Looking forward to seeing him rip in this year and push for a spot if injuries strike.
 
G.H Shark said:
How's this young bloke going in reserves?
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I'm still catching up up on Jets games after a month overseas.

Rounds 2 and 3 were about as expected. Had some really nice touches but also some errors. Still winning contact on his runs even though he has shed a bit of weight. Work rate and effort areas are really good - which is the same as last year.

He and McCullough do some really good stuff in attack when they are on together.

He is behind Tuks, Fearnley and Hosking in the pecking order atm, but has played every game. McCullough (1), JJBM (1) and Taateo (2) have each been rotated out as 18th man for games.

I'd put the "next man up" order as:
1. Hohepa or Tuks (subject to needs)
2. Hosking or Fearnley (subject to needs)
3. Fa'atili
4. McCullough, JJBM or Taateo
 
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Sharks NRL Prospects said:
I'm still catching up up on Jets games after a month overseas.

Rounds 2 and 3 were about as expected. Had some really nice touches but also some errors. Still winning contact on his runs even though he has shed a bit of weight. Work rate and effort areas are really good - which is the same as last year.

He and McCullough do some really good stuff in attack when they are on together.

He is behind Tuks, Fearnley and Hosking in the pecking order atm, but has played every game. McCullough (1), JJBM (1) and Taateo (2) have each been rotated out as 18th man for games.

I'd put the "next man up" order as:
1. Hohepa or Tuks (subject to needs)
2. Hosking or Fearnley (subject to needs)
3. Fa'atili
4. McCullough, JJBM or Taateo
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Fa'atili has energy that our middles need.
 
Sharks NRL Prospects said:
Maybe - but right now he's a 22yo prop outside the top 30 who is playing ~30 minutes in the NSW Cup from the bench.

The next step for him is to prove he can play more minutes ahead of one of those other four guys (or Uele).
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22 isn't bad, I thought he was alot younger.
 
G.H Shark said:
22 isn't bad, I thought he was a lot younger.
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Yeah 22 is far from over the hill but the best gauge of where a player will end up is how soon he is progressing through the grades and through roles within the team. How much you or I rate him doesn't mean much because one or both of us could be wrong.

The list of players who are 30 minute cup bench middles at 22 and go on to be regular NRL players is extremely short. Right now the best comparable for Fa'atili in the Sharks/Jets organization would be Peter Taateo - who is an above average cup player but about to turn 24 and yet to crack the NRL.

It is early days in the 2026 season though. What's important is where he is sitting in the pecking order at the end of this year rather than after round 6.
 
With a couple of our forwards coming off contract, I think him and Sam will move up in ranks and we spend the money on outside backs instead
 
Gibs said:
With a couple of our forwards coming off contract, I think him and Sam will move up in ranks and we spend the money on outside backs instead
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It's an interesting one, it's typically harder for young forwards to come into the NRL as opposed to backs, or so it would seem.
 
Sharks NRL Prospects said:
Right now the best comparable for Fa'atili in the Sharks/Jets organization would be Peter Taateo - who is an above average cup player but about to turn 24 and yet to crack the NRL.
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Fa'atili seems a lot more talented to me? Getting a try every couple of games, generally through about four defenders.

I didn't realise Taateo was that young though.
 
Gibs said:
Fa'atili seems a lot more talented to me? Getting a try every couple of games, generally through about four defenders.

I didn't realise Taateo was that young though.
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I'm talking about his role and his progression through the system. Taateo had a similar progression to Fa'atili. He was very highly rated when he was younger, carved up Flegg and got a taste of cup when he was young, but he didn't become a full time cup player until after he had aged out of Flegg and even then it was as a low-minute bench middle. He become a starter at 23.

Every other Sharks or Jets middle except Hazelton was starting and playing big minutes in cup when they are younger than Fa'atili is now, and Hazelton had an injury/Covid effected turning-22 season so he's not really a fair gauge (he was a starter and playing big minutes at 23).

Fa'atili offers a point of difference in his body shape and athleticism and he is great with ball in hand, but there is more to being an NRL middle than taking big carries. He makes a lot of errors, he needs to get better defensively and he gets gassed after 20. Right now all those other guys are ahead of him for a reason.

Another good comparison would be Max Bradbury - who I think is a much better player than Fa'atili. He returned from an ACL last season averaging about 35 minutes over the first few months and by the end of the season was starting every game and playing 50-ish. He's now starting and playing big minutes most weeks in Q Cup but still hasn't made the NRL in his turning 23 season (he's a late birthday so will actually still be 22 when the season ends). The Sharks let that guy go but the fans are all excited about a guy who has to date achieved far less.

If Felix doesn't leapfrog at least two other guys on the Jets by season's end I would have serious doubts about his NRL potential.

Also - check out some Taateo highlights. He is every bit as much a weapon as Felix. He and JJBM were head and shoulders above the field in the Jets trials (which tbf was mostly against third graders).
 
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Sharks NRL Prospects said:
I'm talking about his role and his progression through the system. Taateo had a similar progression to Fa'atili. He was very highly rated when he was younger, carved up Flegg and got a taste of cup when he was young, but he didn't become a full time cup player until after he had aged out of Flegg and even then it was as a low-minute bench middle. He become a starter at 23.

Every other Sharks or Jets middle except Hazelton was starting and playing big minutes in cup when they are younger than Fa'atili is now, and Hazelton had an injury/Covid effected turning-22 season so he's not really a fair gauge (he was a starter and playing big minutes at 23).

Fa'atili offers a point of difference in his body shape and athleticism and he is great with ball in hand, but there is more to being an NRL middle than taking big carries. He makes a lot of errors, he needs to get better defensively and he gets gassed after 20. Right now all those other guys are ahead of him for a reason.

Another good comparison would be Max Bradbury - who I think is a much better player than Fa'atili. He returned from an ACL last season averaging about 35 minutes over the first few months and by the end of the season was starting every game and playing 50-ish. He's now starting and playing big minutes most weeks in Q Cup but still hasn't made the NRL in his turning 23 season (he's a late birthday so will actually still be 22 when the season ends). The Sharks let that guy go but the fans are all excited about a guy who has to date achieved far less.

If Felix doesn't leapfrog at least two other guys on the Jets by season's end I would have serious doubts about his NRL potential.

Also - check out some Taateo highlights. He is every bit as much a weapon as Felix. He and JJBM were head and shoulders above the field in the Jets trials (which tbf was mostly against third graders).
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Have you gotten to the backrowers in your jets analysis yet?

Haven't had much chance to watch this year as mentioned but both look like they're getting through plenty of work on match report
 
Sharks NRL Prospects said:
I'm talking about his role and his progression through the system. Taateo had a similar progression to Fa'atili. He was very highly rated when he was younger, carved up Flegg and got a taste of cup when he was young, but he didn't become a full time cup player until after he had aged out of Flegg and even then it was as a low-minute bench middle. He become a starter at 23.

Every other Sharks or Jets middle except Hazelton was starting and playing big minutes in cup when they are younger than Fa'atili is now, and Hazelton had an injury/Covid effected turning-22 season so he's not really a fair gauge (he was a starter and playing big minutes at 23).

Fa'atili offers a point of difference in his body shape and athleticism and he is great with ball in hand, but there is more to being an NRL middle than taking big carries. He makes a lot of errors, he needs to get better defensively and he gets gassed after 20. Right now all those other guys are ahead of him for a reason.

Another good comparison would be Max Bradbury - who I think is a much better player than Fa'atili. He returned from an ACL last season averaging about 35 minutes over the first few months and by the end of the season was starting every game and playing 50-ish. He's now starting and playing big minutes most weeks in Q Cup but still hasn't made the NRL in his turning 23 season (he's a late birthday so will actually still be 22 when the season ends). The Sharks let that guy go but the fans are all excited about a guy who has to date achieved far less.

If Felix doesn't leapfrog at least two other guys on the Jets by season's end I would have serious doubts about his NRL potential.

Also - check out some Taateo highlights. He is every bit as much a weapon as Felix. He and JJBM were head and shoulders above the field in the Jets trials (which tbf was mostly against third graders).
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I mentioned it in the Uele thread, but he hasn't made an error so far this season, is currently third in tackle breaks and plays about the same minutes as the rest of the prop rotation. Again I'm looking at paper stats here and not the actual games.
 
Gibs said:
I mentioned it in the Uele thread, but he hasn't made an error so far this season, is currently third in tackle breaks and plays about the same minutes as the rest of the prop rotation. Again I'm looking at paper stats here and not the actual games.
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Not sure about paper stats. He's definitely made some errors this season, and he was an error machine last year.

Fearnley, Tuks, Hosking all play a lot more than him. His minutes are on par with the other guys.

Some injuries pushed the bench props minutes up a bit too. Warriors game in particular.
 
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Sevshark said:
Have you gotten to the backrowers in your jets analysis yet?

Haven't had much chance to watch this year as mentioned but both look like they're getting through plenty of work on match report
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I haven't said much about the Jets yet unless someone specifically asked. The backrowers are going really well. Hassett missed a game and Hosking had to play his spot (left) that day. I don't love Hosking as an edge player but he's OK. Hassett and Lavender though are quality.
 
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