Tapuha really impressed me tonight during his little playing time. I'd rather him before Kaufusi when Uele comes back.
Players like Kaufusi allow a young massive forward like Tuku to come off the bench and go hard for 10 mins with big carries. Fitz didn't get carried away about Tuku's performance in the pressor, he just said Tuki showed what he is capable of but he had a role to do just like Kaufusi has his role to do.
If they start doing their role poorly or Fitz changes that role and the player doesn't cope or adapt it's a different discussion.
Kaufusi does alot of grunt work carting it up and makes alot of tackles. If we consider Kaufusi a workhorse then players like him are what open the door for a forward with a specific short window impact role to come on and well..... do that role.
Not having Kaufusi means another player has to absorb some of his workload like BHU or Rudolf.
Even if Tuku was capable right now of playing longer minutes it would blunt his power and impact with all the extra time and tackles he would have to take on. As he builds his fitness and confidence as a first grader hopefully he can go on a similar trajectory to Hazelton who over time has taken on more minutes and responsiblity but has been able to keep his workrate AND impact in his runs up to a high level.
For the time being though even if Tuku were to give us a 10-15 min spell like that everyweek he would be invaluable.
Personally I was really impressed by him and his peformance. Was proud to see a young bloke new to the club ripping in for the jersey and showing what it means to him to be out there for himself and the club. That always gets my respect and admiration juices flowing and It's part of what makes a bloke a real Sharks player.
Royce needs to watch himself with this kid around now cause Tuku looks super promising