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Willie TALAU [Player Stats]

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Smith must play in centres
Mon February 19, 2001
by Jim Koutsouklakis
Jim Koutsouklakis believes that Darren Smith (and later Steven Hughes) should be in the centres alongside Nigel Vagana before Willie Talau - read below for Jim's opinion.

Irrespective of whether Willie Talau is fit to play against Canberra or not, it is clear after viewing the method of which he plays since 1998, alot of working needs to be done with Willie before he can be considered for First Grade selection again.

I base the above on two things primarily.

1) All too often he is found wanting in defence! And this is not because he does not know how to tackle. Rather, his reading of the play leads him to being little more than a turnstile in defence. Something CANTERBURY cannot afford in a season where the quality of depth in the centres is simply not there, particularly since Steven Hughes is a long way from being considered for First Grade selection.

2) The manner in which he plays in attack. The start of 2001, both in the Trial and the Round 1 match against the Storm exposed the fact that Willie T is nothing more than a liability in attack. The reasons why I say this are outlined herewith:

Brett Howland is starved of possession as Willie simply does not look to pass the ball in attack. On the odd occasion he does so, it more than likely finds an opposing player, or the green stuff (whether it is in the field of play, or more closer to the Touch Judges who try to keep up with the play ahead). By the way, how many times did Willie just go over the sideline against Melbourne as if he was playing American Football???

My reasoning for having Darren in the centres is not because I think he should be a permanent player in that position. In fact, I view it as a temporary move until Steven Hughes regains full match fitness and form. In my opinion, I think Darren should be a fixture in the forwards as he is a class above many a second-rower in the NRL competition. This move is simply for a better balance to the side at this point of time. Selecting Matt Utai, whilst he is particularly promising for the future, will only be detrimental for both the team and player alike, as he is simply not ready for the step up to First Grade. People have to remember he should serve a successful spell in Division 1 first.

Naturally, selecting Shane Marteene would only be a backward step.

Apologies to all players concerned as this can be viewed as harsh criticism from someone who sits in the Grandstand and watches from afar. However, as a full-time fanatical supporter of the Club since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I think the Rugby League knowledge I have ascertained over the years, serves me well when it comes to having an educated opinion on player selection.

Thankfully, I have every confidence in our Coaching staff headed by Steve Folkes, and regardless of what decision he comes up with, I wholeheartedly believe it will be best for the team.

Jim Koutsouklakis

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2008 engage English Super League

St Helens 
9 games; 2 tries, 8 points. 
		 [View] Round 3 [22 Feb 08] W 22-16 v Bradford (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 4 [02 Mar 08] W 34-30 v Wakefield (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 5 [07 Mar 08] W 30-29 v Hull FC (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 6 [15 Mar 08] L 10-24 v Les Catalans (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 7 [21 Mar 08] W 46-10 v Wigan (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 8 [24 Mar 08] L 26-28 v Huddersfield (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 9 [28 Mar 08] L 10-14 v Leeds (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 11 [11 Apr 08] W 58-12 v Harlequins (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 12 [25 Apr 08] W 30-22 v Warrington (A). [CT] 
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2007 World Club Challenge

St Helens 
1 games; [View] WCC [23 Feb 07] W 18-14 v Broncos (H). [CT]
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2007 engage English Super League

St Helens 
13 games; 5 tries, 20 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [09 Feb 07] L 6-14 v Harlequins (H). [CT]
[View] Round 2 [18 Feb 07] L 22-29 v Wakefield (A). [CT]
[View] Round 4 [02 Mar 07] W 34-22 v Bradford (H). [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 5 [09 Mar 07] W 48-12 v Warrington (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 8 [06 Apr 07] W 32-14 v Wigan (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 11 [21 Apr 07] L 19-38 v Leeds (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 12 [29 Apr 07] W 44-6 v Harlequins (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 14 [18 May 07] W 34-14 v Wakefield (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 17 [17 Jun 07] W 40-0 v Hull KR (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 21 [20 Jul 07] W 19-12 v Wigan (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 23 [11 Aug 07] L 0-21 v Les Catalans (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 27 [14 Sep 07] L 12-20 v Wigan (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Finals Week 2 [28 Sep 07] W 10-8 v Leeds (H). [CT] 
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2006 International Test Matches

New Zealand Kiwis 
1 games; [View] XXXX Test [27 Jun 06] L 14-46 v Great Britain (A). [CT]
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2006 engage English Super League

St Helens 
23 games; 6 tries, 24 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [11 Feb 06] W 40-16 v Harlequins (A). [CT]
[View] Round 2 [17 Feb 06] W 44-8 v Castleford (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 3 [24 Feb 06] W 13-4 v Leeds (H). [CT]
[View] Round 4 [03 Mar 06] W 18-10 v Warrington (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 5 [12 Mar 06] W 18-16 v Huddersfield (A). [CT]
[View] Round 6 [17 Mar 06] W 38-16 v Bulls (H). [CT]
[View] Round 7 [24 Mar 06] W 46-0 v Hull (A). [CT]
[View] Round 8 [07 Apr 06] W 16-6 v Harlequins (H). [CT]
[View] Round 9 [14 Apr 06] W 48-10 v Wigan (H). [CT]
[View] Round 10 [17 Apr 06] W 34-20 v Les Catalans (A). [CT]
[View] Round 11 [21 Apr 06] W 12-10 v Salford City (A). [CT]
[View] Round 12 [28 Apr 06] W 34-8 v Wakefield (H). [CT]
[View] Round 13 [06 May 06] L 16-19 v Huddersfield (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 15 [27 May 06] W 28-14 v Wigan (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 16 [08 Jun 06] L 26-27 v Hull FC (H). [CT]
[View] Round 17 [16 Jun 06] L 18-20 v Bradford (A). [CT]
[View] Round 18 [24 Jun 06] W 28-6 v Salford City (H). [CT]
[View] Round 19 [02 Jul 06] W 52-36 v Wakefield (A). [CT]
[View] Round 22 [22 Jul 06] W 18-14 v Leeds (A). [CT]
[View] Round 23 [04 Aug 06] W 56-8 v Huddersfield (H). [CT]
[View] Round 24 [13 Aug 06] W 72-4 v Castleford (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Finals Week Two [29 Sep 06] W 12-8 v Hull FC (H). [CT]
[View] Grand Final [14 Oct 06] W 26-4 v Hull FC (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
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2006 Challenge Cup

St Helens 
1 tries, 4 points. 
		 
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2005 English Super League

St Helens 
25 games; 12 tries, 48 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [11 Feb 05] W 40-18 v Widnes (H). [CT]
[View] Round 2 [18 Feb 05] L 18-30 v Rhinos (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 3 [25 Feb 05] W 34-24 v Huddersfield (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 4 [04 Mar 05] W 18-16 v Warrington (A). [CT]
[View] Round 5 [11 Mar 05] W 46-12 v Salford (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 6 [19 Mar 05] W 64-16 v Wildcats (H). [CT] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 10 [16 Apr 05] W 30-20 v London (A). [CT]
[View] Round 11 [24 Apr 05] W 36-22 v Huddersfield (A). [CT]
[View] Round 14 [21 May 05] W 29-22 v Widnes (A). [CT]
[View] Round 15 [27 May 05] W 38-24 v Rhinos (H). [CT]
[View] Round 16 [05 Jun 05] W 66-4 v Bulls (A). [CT]
[View] Round 17 [10 Jun 05] W 33-22 v Salford (A). [CT]
[View] Round 18 [17 Jun 05] D 28-28 v London (H). [CT] 12 Pts; 3t
[View] Round 19 [03 Jul 05] W 38-26 v Wildcats (A). [CT]
[View] Round 20 [08 Jul 05] W 18-10 v Hull (H). [CT]
[View] Round 21 [15 Jul 05] W 40-18 v Wigan (H). [CT] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 22 [22 Jul 05] W 27-20 v Leigh (A). [CT]
[View] Round 23 [05 Aug 05] W 30-10 v Warrington (A). [CT]
[View] Round 24 [12 Aug 05] W 60-4 v Wildcats (H). [CT]
[View] Round 25 [20 Aug 05] W 50-4 v London (H). [CT]
[View] Round 26 [04 Sep 05] W 78-4 v Leigh (A). [CT]
[View] Round 27 [09 Sep 05] W 38-12 v Wigan (A). [CT]
[View] Round 28 [17 Sep 05] L 18-32 v Bulls (H). [CT] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Qualifying Semi-Final [30 Sep 05] L 16-19 v Rhinos (H). [CT]
[View] Final Eliminator [07 Oct 05] L 18-23 v Bulls (H). [CT]
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Talau, Willie

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