He attracts plenty of defenders in every game. That can only be good for his team mates.

I don't think he's anywhere near as bad as you're making out. He's not as good as Manu, but not many are. He's highlighted by opposition coaches as a danger man, and as someone it might be good to wind up. Because of this, when he gets the ball he comes in for heavier treatment than most.

That being said, he causes defences to worry, breaks the line quite regularly (not as frequently as Manu, granted), and is capable of a decent off load. He has his faults (short temper, big mouth, prone to the odd error), but on the whole I'd rather he was with us than against us.

And then when a string of undeserved penalties follows he can get [ireally[/i pilloried on here. Not to mention the damage done to our chances of winning games.

Why have you taken against him so badly? That's the second time you've accused him of acting like a big kid when there's a total absence of evidence of him doing any such thing.

For instance I would bet that if he ever fought to get up and have a quick PTB he'd get penalised for lashing out or something. He does give penalties away but I'm surprised at BDT picking up on it when he defends the penalty machine that is Radford

Neatly summed up.

He [iloves[/i Radford.

Hame is the sort of player who will always blow hot and cold during a match nevermind a season. I think he is exactly what we have need for a while, we have enough players that work hard and do the normal stuff. I think he does get a bad rap from the refs, against Cats he was spoken to the moment he took the field by the ref, what the hell is that about? Against Rovers he was right penalised for hitting out but the point is before he did that we should have had the penalty as players were hanging off his head. Had Lauaki tackled like that he would definately been penalised.

He does not want to give penalties away but does wnat to be aggressive, it's how to get the right balance. I think playing him at prop would also see him perform better, it showed against Cats when I thought he had a really strong game.

Didn't he give away a penalty whilst in posession that lead to the crusaders winning try earlier in the season. There's a difference between aggression and stupidity and lauaki needs to make sure he is on the right side of the line

After the saints game he set himself just a high standard I think we expect that kinda game from him every week

Like it was mentioned earlier, o'meley was a hotheaded wrecking ball when he was younger that would come out swinging everytime. Hame seems to have a similar mentality. Maybe ogre would be a good option to lend him some wisdom. Help him settle. I agree hame has been penalized for mistakes he has made and rightly so., but can anyone honestly say that if someone dropped the elbow into their face, as in the Derby they wouldn't react?. He needs to learn to harness it but certainly not lose it.

i think it was silverwood,who in one of our earlier games,at halftime,on tv ,told lauaki that he would be watching him.isn`t that enough to put a player off his game??

I value Radfords work ethic. Lauaki gives us neither a work ethic or the channelled aggression we need.

I've based that on expro talking about his lack of confidence and feeling hard done to by the officials. Feeling hard done to isnt the way a professional RL player should react to been targetted by officials imo.

Do they need to put much effort in to tackle him?

i would say so. Been as his metres per carry are well over a metre more than willi manu's! also one of only 5 forwards in tackle busters top 25! that includes Demetriu who's played a lot in the backs. Really not getting this hame bashing. Good hands,good footwork,strong,bit of an offload,can even kick the ball!(think we've had 2 drop outs off him kicking)and he aint the penalty machine he made out to be. A bit dumb at times though! All thats needed is for it to all come together. Reason it hasn't as much as it should is more to do with how the team been playing around him and using him!

Pesky swear filter.

Yes.

He's not actually said that, your blind spot on this subject has led you to extract that. What he's said is that he (expro) feels that Lauaki's being singled out, and that Lauaki has been told by refs he is being watched which has affected his confidence to play aggressively. Not unreasonable points.

Many amateurs have good work ethics, doesn't mean we should offer them a contract. It's an admirable trait but not one which absolves a player from criticism.

FWIW I rate Radford as a good player, but nowhere near the level you seem to. He's had some absolute stinkers over the past couple of years which you choose to ignore.

Where have i ever said that Radford is anything more than a good player?

and my point was that he shouldnt let the ref watching him effect his confidence. Is that unreasonable?

The extent of your posts about him suggest you think he is a very top player, and one we should prioritise. I wouldn't be too bothered if he left us as I think he'd be one of the more easily replaceable in our squad.

But my point was more about about how you seem to refuse to acknowledge any bad performances from him. All players have bad games and he's had several over the last couple of seasons, but you can usually be found defending him when he does.

I'm not having a go, you're entitled to do what you want. I just find it all the more unusual as you are typically a very balanced and sensible poster, but on the odd subject you do seem to stubbornly dig your heels in regardless.

Not meaning to appear argumentative for the sake of it, but yes TBH. There are many things that affect people's confidence, and they are usually beyond their control. He's only human, the pressure of knowing he's being specifically watched more than anyone else on the pitch raises the stakes of his actions so is bound to have an impact.

Not unreasonable if true, however could be bollox

Could also be a psoitive. If the ref is watching lauaki all of teh time then it may be an opportunity for someone to smack the opposition scrum half and get away with it