The Cumberland Throw

The Tip Sheet – 2023 Ep 38: Jakes Leaves, Joe Arrives & First Look At Origin

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Departures, arrivals and debuts – there is plenty to talk about this week on The Tip Sheet as Sixties, Forty20 and Clint get stuck into another week of NRL news.

It starts with the news that Jake Arthur is now a Sea Eagle. The boys discuss Jake’s time with the Eels and what lies ahead for him at Manly. Joe Ofahengaue is a Parramatta Eels, although the Tigers made the Eels sweat on the Team List Tuesday deadline for it to happen. Still, he will pull on the Blue & Gold for the next 2 and a half years and the show looks at what he brings to the table.

State of Origin has taken its toll on the NRL with players from both states in camp ahead of Game 1 in Adelaide. There were surprising selections for both sides and the boys look at the gambles made by Slater and Fittler ahead of a massive series for both coaches.

The show closes out with a look at a pair of players in trouble with the judiciary with Viktor Radley and Felise Kaufusi both set to miss 3 games. Was the Match Review Committee and Judiciary too light on them?

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19 thoughts on “The Tip Sheet – 2023 Ep 38: Jakes Leaves, Joe Arrives & First Look At Origin

  1. Spark

    What an excellent week !
    First of all can I congratulate Mark O’Neill. He does cop it but he’s done an excellent job when you consider our injuries and our abilities to field a pretty good team against NQ.
    Joffa is a bloody good player. He brings experience and passion into the side.
    Excellent move for Jake. He’s a terrific young man and it’s great to see that the Sea Eagles view him as a ball playing lock rather than a halfback.
    He was badly mishandled by his father and the club resulting in the abuse that he copped.
    No one should debut at 18 unless they are an absolute supreme talent, especially in such a key role as halfback.
    Sanders has just turned 19 and has just been promoted to Flegg which gives you some perspective.
    Ethan Sanders is a supreme halfback talent.
    I hope the Sea Eagles develop Jake slowly and carefully.
    With the right coaching, Jake could turn into a Wade Graham type ball player.
    I wish him all the best.
    Go Luca ! – Going to be a regular for us moving forward.

    1. Spark

      Marata Niukore wanted to return to NZ for family reasons.
      Ray Stone wanted a starting position
      Oregon Kaufusi wanted a starting position and was offered more money.
      Mahoney and Ice retention is the only contentious ones.
      Perhaps the club mishandled their retention or perhaps not depending on who you speak to and the benefit of hindsight.
      Thats 5. I don’t know where you get 9 from ?
      We have replaced them with –
      A seasoned test player in Josh Hodgson
      The NSW Cup player of the year and now a player on the cusp of Qld SOO selection in Ja’maine Hopgood and now a seasoned ex SOO player in Joe Ofahengaue.
      We have also retained Moses and Brown and extended a couple of others.
      I would say that’s pretty good work.
      I would say the only place they have been let down is in their outside backs and that’s only because both Dunster and Russell haven’t come on as much as they thought they would.

    2. Spark

      I think the word you were looking for was either – You are or You’re but I digress, let’s not let a lack of education hold you back.
      I would usually not give your silly churlish accusation a right of reply but most readers, including my old sparring partner Sixties, would attest to the fact that I have never criticised Jake personally.

      I’ve always found Jake to be a pleasant young man when I have met him during corporate and sponsor meetings.
      Backstabbing would suggest that I have been inconsistent in my view of Jake as a player, that is just not correct.
      As a player, I thought he was out of his depth and unfairly given perhaps the most important position on the field, to sink or swim.
      I place the blame squarely on the club. Jake had enough pressure on him without the need to thrust him into the role, way before his time.
      My heart broke every time I heard the booing and jeers.
      Sixties saw his contributions differently and that’s fine, we can have differing views.
      Anyway, let’s see how he progresses at Manly.
      I truly hope that Manly take it very slowly with him and that he can learn in a system on his own two feet and merits.

      1. sixties

        You and I disagreed on Jake’s ability to be an NRL half Spark and about the standard of his performances when elevated. I also disagree with any assertion that you make that BA mishandled him or that he should be to blame for any fan response. I’ll have a bit more to say when I get the time later.

        1. Spark

          That’s fine Sixties, we will have to agree to disagree regarding how Jake was progressed.
          You know that I share your displeasure and disappointment with any abuse that Jake received but again, his elevation made that situation cherry ripe, such is the unforgiving nature of professional sport .. and rabid fans !

    3. Spark

      I want to what ???
      Perhaps re read what I said, slowly this time.
      Love to hear your in depth thoughts on the situation.

  2. John Eel

    I look forward to seeing both Luca and Joe running around in our NRL side. Joe has good NRL experience and I think that BA is the right NRL coach to put the polish on him. He is a bigger human than I realised. Should fit into our system very well.

    Luca from what I have seen previously is a good defender and will be a welcome addition to our pack.

    Will be at the game on Friday and looking forward to both debuts.

    Sixties do you know if the rumour about Conner Tracey has any legs? It’s not being talked about anywhere but social media. Pity would have been a nice fit.

    1. Spark

      I was hoping that the rumour was true as well. Conner can play and would look great as a centre with Penisini, pushing Simonsson to the wing. Has a ton of speed and would look great as a 2 year deal to bridge until the youngsters arrive.

  3. BDon

    Tks guys. I wasn’t looking for them but somehow Joe O’s stats for 2022 appeared on my screen, when he was the Tigers’ player of the year, really solid and particularly a 93% tackle effectiveness rating, in a pack pretty well rolled most games. He should fit in well.moreso when our hospital ward starts to clear out.And if pedigree counts, Rugby Union had Ray Price then a decade later Willie O. I actually saw a Manly RU club game around 1990 ( a customer invited me, had to go), Willie O was brutal.it was cruel, and I thought ‘he’d be great in blue and gold’, anyway, we’ve got his nephew. Good luck Joe.

    1. John Eel

      BDon I don’t know if you saw it at the time. When Willie O was playing in Britain, the Irish coach of the time claimed Willie as Irish based on the spelling of his name and his incredible skill as a Rugby player.

      1. BDon

        JE, he was a footballer, regardless of the code, the game I saw Manly won by 20 or so and Willie went a bit quiet when the game was safe, he hadn’t played much club Rugby at the time due to rep duties, it was almost like ‘ I’ll just half kill a few blokes til they don’t want to win, then we can all finish the game in one piece’. Geez he could hit well and hard, that Higgs or Gilmeister style with another 15/20 kgs. I don’t blame the Irish guy for claiming him.

  4. John Eel

    Forty was saying during the podcast how Luca gets his opportunity to debut this week because of injury.

    Earlier this year the same thing happened to Woody. It would be nice if we get the same outcome from Luca

  5. Iron Mike

    Another great listen gents! Just on Tino tackle, when you take everything into consideration about what he did and who he did it to ……. I say fair play and play on! 😉

  6. MickB

    Wishing Jake the best. Good player, disappointing we couldn’t keep him but understand him being boxed out of the Eels NRL squad in his current preferred position. It would be great if he could come back as an edge forward or centre with a bit more bulk and strength.

    Joe O – going to have the Cows 2 weeks in a row. Hopefully the results are the same! I also think he’s an upgrade over Tapau.

  7. Shaun

    BA’s comment that it will be nice to be JA’s dad again was touching. Best of luck to JA and seriously, some of the Eels fan base are toxic beyond redemption.

    Watching the Penrith/Broncos game and Luai had very little impact on the game. I’d prefer Hynes at 6 as he offers so much more. But Freddie being Freddie keeps playing mind games with himself. The trouble is when he outsmarts himself the rest of us have no idea what he is doing.

    I’m ok with the Tino tackle. I’ve seen worse go unpenalised let alone placed on report. And I’m not too fussed with Luai touching the ref. But he should have been suspended to give NSW a better chance.

    Speaking of Origin, what a ridiculous concept these days. An anachronism from when Joh was in power and the old joke was when you your enter Queensland you turn your clock back an hour and ten years. Of course in 1980, Queensland had nothing going for them so you could understand why they embraced Origin. yet these days QLD is a modern state, Brisbane a great city (I do mourn the loss of the 80s era Gold Coast) and a nice place to visit with some good breweries that erase the memory of XXXX and yet they still have an enormous chip in their shoulder. So I hope QLD lose. But they won’t because Freddie has outsmarted himself again.

    On MON, I don’t envy his role but he has done a good job of resigning a core group of players. I suspect that the plan was once Mitch resigned and they had an idea of the salary cap position, then they would look to fill the 30. Hence Joe O and some others to come. And while some players mangers like to play out the negotiations in the press, I do think others welcome Parra’s quiet behind the scenes approach. There is no need to be like a certain chairman making a fool of himself on early morning radio.

    And this week, the team needs to treaty the Cowboys with respect, work into the game and then let Mitch and Dylan run riot. Simples! Go Parra!

    1. sixties

      Cheers for the observations Shaun. Just on the touching of the linesman, maybe there should be a crystal clear rule about it. That you cannot touch any match official in a confrontation or dispute. I know that still sounds ambiguous but someone could word it better to ensure that a touch on the shoulder as an apology or similar doesn’t constitute something that could result in a suspension.

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