Good player in his time, few injuries but still only 29

Quote ="craigizzard"Sydney Morning Herald reporting/rumouring Willie Tonga to Leeds: www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 29ewn.html'" Would be fantastic if this was to happen.What a 3/4 line we would have!

Quote ="craigizzard"Sydney Morning Herald reporting/rumouring Willie Tonga to Leeds: www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 29ewn.html'" Would be fantastic if this was to happen.What a 3/4 line we would have!

The Aussie paper must have picked up on an old rumour as GH has recently confirmed we are not pursuing Tonga and since the rumour first broke we've also arranged the 3 month trial for vickery. IF we were still after Tonga I cannot see the need to give Vickery a trial as where would he play/who would he replace

No they didn't.
There may have been an old rumour but this story has arisen due to the Eels wanting to pursue Isral Folau who has announced that he wants to return to the NRL from the AFL. To fit him under thier salary cap the Eeels need to offload other players especially centres which is where Tonga comes into the equation.
HTH

Or is it the sleeve in action? Working the deal best he can. The number of players is no issue, sir Kev indicated the need for greater depth in his post match GF interview.

Vickery will be on peanuts - actually, will he even count of salary cap when on trial?

If he doesn't make the grade at Leeds he'll end up at a lesser club like Bradford or Hull.

I know that. The Folau issue is the whole reason the Tonga to Leeds rumour started 2 weeks ago, NOT today. GH told the YEP last Saturday that he was aware of the Tonga rumour but that he was a player we were not interested in.

Hence why I said the Aussie paper report is an old rumour and not something that has suddenly sprung up today

Boost the pack....Give SL time to the youngsters who came through last year......Tonga doesn't fit into the plan, I am guessing that he is on money that outstrips most of our team by a long way

Why bother making such a statement? I can only surmise GH is very interested but is seeking to downplay any rumours until the signing is completed.

Signing a new centre will boost the pack though, as it allows Ablett to play in the forwards.

TBH I think Ablett is a better centre than he is back rower, not that I don't think he is a poor back rower.

Double negative surely?
Doesn't what you wrote mean that you do think he's a poor back rower?
Not what I think you meant to say but with lawyers you never know.

Good spot. Double negative not intended. I do think he's a good back rower. I think he's a better centre.

And it's "lawyers", btw.

It is now.

From rugby league weekly Sadler seems to think the tonga deal is on, might hear something by end of week, but dependant if tonga actually wants to play SL.

Didn't he play SOO this year. Can't see it happening g personally but it would be a very good back line if we pull it off

I have always thought ablett was a better back row forward , however i tend to agree with u now, with what I have seen last year.

Willie Tonga was a quality player last time I saw him, which was a few years ago. He isn't too old, so if he's fit and committed then he could be a good signing. Provided he came for the right reasons, I'd be happy enough with him.

I'm still not sure whether or not Ablett is better as a back rower or a centre. I still think he sees himself in the pack. Either way, as a wide-running back rower, he's added some angles of running and passing skills to his game that can make him a dangerous option in the attacking line. It'd be like having two centres really.

As others have said, bringing Tonga in to allow Ablett get back in the pack would be like a double signing

Would the conditioners at Leeds try to keep Ablett's weight down for centre duties and bulk him up slightly if he was likely to spend more time in the pack?
I've no idea whether this is the case, or even feasible.

Or even necessary.

Quite. I was wondering whether his effectiveness in each position was affected by weight/conditioning. I'd hoped someone more knowledgable than myself could cast some light.

Don`t be silly Clearwing.
Look at Ryan Hall`s weight and he is a centre playing on the wing for now isn`t he?
Seriously I don`t think there is much difference weight wise between the likes of Delaney, JJB or Ablett compared to Watkins.

I'm not asking whether he weighs the same as other players playing in those positions. I'm wondering whether how well he plays in a given position is affected by his weight (or any other player for that matter). I read a piece by Usain Bolt's coach a while back who made the point that if Bolt weighed half a stone heavier, not only would he not have broken the world records he has, neither would he have even placed in the olympics. Obviously Bolt's is an extreme case because the margins are so fine but I did wonder whether conditioners in RL attempted to tweak players' weights on the basis of what roles they were being asked to perform.
Oh, and Hall's carrying far too much beef to be a decent winger

Sorry mate thought you were talking weight.
Anyway Hall would be much better in the SR so what do you know

If Ablett moved permanently to the centres I'd expect him to work as hard as possible on his footwork, as sometimes in defence he looks like a second row in the centres - i.e. a bit immobile. Other than that, I wouldn't have thought he'd need to do too much different, as he seems to be a good build for either position.