Joey Leilua cleared to return to training

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Green eyed Mick
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Green eyed Mick »

Oldfield gets first crack. If Joey is gone for a long stretch, Bateman might wind up there if Hudson-Young does a better job of edge back rower than Oldy does at centre.

Can't see Ricky moving Cotric
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Kryptonite »

-PJ- wrote: May 8, 2019, 8:12 pm Can I ask how this happened ?

He just woke up with a sore neck ?

Did he cop a collision the the lead up to the Penrith game ?

Fill me in please..
Crusher tackle in the Manly game, was accused of "Milking" at the time
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Botman »

Kryptonite wrote: May 10, 2019, 6:28 am
-PJ- wrote: May 8, 2019, 8:12 pm Can I ask how this happened ?

He just woke up with a sore neck ?

Did he cop a collision the the lead up to the Penrith game ?

Fill me in please..
Crusher tackle in the Manly game, was accused of "Milking" at the time
Where has it been linked to that? other than by posters on this site?
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by The Nickman »

LastRaider wrote: May 9, 2019, 5:33 pm
Ilanraiders wrote:Whitehead or Wighton to Centre? Or Bateman when he’s back!!!
Wighton to centre and bring Sezar in surely! Can’t continue to have a $500k a year player sitting in Reserve grade for to long


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That seems a really bad idea to me considering Wighton's shift to the halves is a BIG reason we're currently 6-2.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Woodgers »

RedRaider wrote: May 9, 2019, 7:38 pm
Woodgers wrote: May 9, 2019, 4:26 pm
RedRaider wrote: May 9, 2019, 3:40 pm I'm glad the Club is getting another opinion. Some doctors have vastly different opinions on treatment. It must be hard to continue in a contact sport, particularly with BJs alpha male playing style.
I agree with the side selected in that Oldfield will get first crack at right center. Why shuffle 2 spots when the team functioned well with Oldfield at right center last week?
Hey RR, I understand your point bolded there but there were a few factors which led me to the opinion to move Cotric to plug the hole. Firstly, we've started well so we can afford to take a risk here and there for the long term benefit. I quite like Oldfield and he is a solid winger but when he's played centre he has been found out a fair bit, last week was a pleasing upside but I think when he is tested more we might see a different result as we did against Cronulla last year. However one of my main thoughts here is that Cotric has started 2019 slowly by his own standards. I don't think he is playing badly but he's not playing to his potential that we've come to expect. I think adding that variation to his development at this stage might be a good way to bring him into the game more and try jump start his season. I can't see Nick being a winger forever and in reality, a competent NRL winger is Oldfield's ceiling so I think it is worth a throw of the dice at this stage, particularly with the knowledge that he played his junior footy in that spot so isn't completely unfamiliar. I think since his junior days that playing outside Croker will have taught him enough to handle it well, plus if you are going to trial him there and see how he goes, having Rapana outside as an experienced and elite winger is a handy stepping stone to assist.
Hi Woodgers, I think if Ricky wanted Cotric at right center then last week would have been the match to do it. He chose to make a straight swap of Oldfield for BJ and the side won. While NC has played a lot of junior footy at center I don,t know that he has played there in FG. If he, as a rookie FG center, was to play there he would be up against the best player in the NRL in that position. If NC is to be blooded there I think it might be a couple of weeks off. At the risk of sounding like a Rick-head, I think Sticky has this week's backline selections, including the bench, right.
RR I would've thought that last week it was too late to shuffle the deck of cards that close to kick off so he kept Cotric where he was and slotted in Oldy, i'm more talking about the long term plan if there is no BJ.

I did consider the Latrell Mitchell factor but at the end of the day I think we have a better chance of winning the game with Cotric up against Mitchell than Oldfield.

Just on Bateman, there is no way i'd waste him in the centres. Just because he can play there doesn't mean he should. In many ways Wighton has been a victim of his versatility and whilst many judges think his best position is right centre it is a similar scenario, he adds more value to this team at fullback or 5/8 closer to the ball. I recognise that when everyone is fit the back row could be Whitehead, Tapine and Sutton, but for me Bateman has shown us his impact on the team on both sides of the ball is when he is in there grafting and the forwards feed off his energy and aggression. I think he has to be in one of those backrow spots and move Sutton to the front row with Papa. He's more valuable to us there than right centre I reckon.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Seiffert82 »

There's no way Stuart is moving Wighton or Bateman into the centres as a solution. He didn't even move Wighton back to fullback when CNK was off the field.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Northern Raider »

I'm with Woodgers on this. If BJ was out for 3-4 weeks and it was a stop gap measure I'd be OK with simply replacing him with somebody like Oldy and minimising disruption to the rest of the team. As he's likely out for most of the season we need to think more long term. If that means messing with team balance in the short term then so be it.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by greeneyed »

PigRickman wrote:
Kryptonite wrote: May 10, 2019, 6:28 am
-PJ- wrote: May 8, 2019, 8:12 pm Can I ask how this happened ?

He just woke up with a sore neck ?

Did he cop a collision the the lead up to the Penrith game ?

Fill me in please..
Crusher tackle in the Manly game, was accused of "Milking" at the time
Where has it been linked to that? other than by posters on this site?
The Canberra Times reported last night it happened in the game against Manly, but not the particular incident. Probably that’s the most likely incident, though.


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Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Brew »

No way you move Wighton. I wasn’t a fan of his move to 5/8 but he is proving me wrong, if he continues the way he is he will be wearing the number 6 for years to come.

He is not at 5/8 for a stop gap, he is there to develop long term.


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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by The Nickman »

Brew wrote: May 10, 2019, 11:23 am No way you move Wighton. I wasn’t a fan of his move to 5/8 but he is proving me wrong, if he continues the way he is he will be wearing the number 6 for years to come.

He is not at 5/8 for a stop gap, he is there to develop long term.


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Agreed. I love what I'm seeing from Wighton so far in the 5/8 shirt and he's only going to develop further.

Once again I scoff at the people who say he's a natural centre. They obviously watch a different sport to me.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by RedRaider »

Woodgers I think Sticky will stay with the players who perform in 2019. Oldfield did the job in Wagga so he stays. Huge challenge against the Chooks, but if Sticky stays with 2019 form I think he is on the right track.

I have to say our side has been very disciplined this year. On your point for future backrows I think we'll possibly see an all-england back row starting matches once both JB and Tapine are fit.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Timbo »

I was deeply sceptical of Wighton's move to the halves but after what he's shown there is no way you shift him. He can only get better the more he's there.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by The Nickman »

Interestingly, in previous seasons we've relied largely on raw talent, with hardly any structure or discipline, and it's cost us matches.

This season, we've built our performances largely around structure and discipline, often at the expense of raw talent and it has us currently sitting third on the ladder. For this reason I'm not as worried about injuries as I would've been in seasons past, provided the team keeps showing up with the right attitude, commitment and defensive focus as we've seen so far in 2019.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Woodgers »

The Rickman wrote: May 10, 2019, 11:24 am
Brew wrote: May 10, 2019, 11:23 am No way you move Wighton. I wasn’t a fan of his move to 5/8 but he is proving me wrong, if he continues the way he is he will be wearing the number 6 for years to come.

He is not at 5/8 for a stop gap, he is there to develop long term.


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Agreed. I love what I'm seeing from Wighton so far in the 5/8 shirt and he's only going to develop further.

Once again I scoff at the people who say he's a natural centre. They obviously watch a different sport to me.
Rickman, I think he might have developed beyond that earlier assessment which was a point that I made in the offseason when we were discussing his move to 5/8 and people were trying to say it wouldn't work because it didn't 4 years ago. Players develop and he's come a long way since he came into 1st grade and had a crack in that position. I think it is a bit of a hangover from his early days in 1st grade and the fact that the loudest voices in the media seem to trumpet it because they said it once so repeat it as they have no real insights into the Raiders team.

FTR I think given a season there he'd be a killer centre. He's a strong ball runner, hits holes, hard to handle 1 on 1, hits hard in defence and seems to be able to read it pretty well nowadays so doesn't make too many bad decisions. He can provide a target to kick to out wide and rucks it out well. Plus he'd have to do less thinking :D . I think he'd be a top centre if given the chance, but i'm not sure if that is what you mean by 'natural centre'.
We continue to **** about with blokes that are part of some fraternity. It's infuriating.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by The Nickman »

Woodgers wrote: May 10, 2019, 11:59 am
The Rickman wrote: May 10, 2019, 11:24 am
Brew wrote: May 10, 2019, 11:23 am No way you move Wighton. I wasn’t a fan of his move to 5/8 but he is proving me wrong, if he continues the way he is he will be wearing the number 6 for years to come.

He is not at 5/8 for a stop gap, he is there to develop long term.


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Agreed. I love what I'm seeing from Wighton so far in the 5/8 shirt and he's only going to develop further.

Once again I scoff at the people who say he's a natural centre. They obviously watch a different sport to me.
Rickman, I think he might have developed beyond that earlier assessment which was a point that I made in the offseason when we were discussing his move to 5/8 and people were trying to say it wouldn't work because it didn't 4 years ago. Players develop and he's come a long way since he came into 1st grade and had a crack in that position. I think it is a bit of a hangover from his early days in 1st grade and the fact that the loudest voices in the media seem to trumpet it because they said it once so repeat it as they have no real insights into the Raiders team.

FTR I think given a season there he'd be a killer centre. He's a strong ball runner, hits holes, hard to handle 1 on 1, hits hard in defence and seems to be able to read it pretty well nowadays so doesn't make too many bad decisions. He can provide a target to kick to out wide and rucks it out well. Plus he'd have to do less thinking :D . I think he'd be a top centre if given the chance, but i'm not sure if that is what you mean by 'natural centre'.
I think he'd be wasted at centre, just like Laurie Daley or Brad Fittler would've been if they played their careers there. Wighton has shown so much more at fullback and now at five-eighth than he ever did at centre, it's an absolute myth that he played his best football there.

And you really can't compare anything to his last stint at 5/8, when he was younger, played alongside a busted Campo, and the whole team was playing like busted ****.
Last edited by The Nickman on May 10, 2019, 12:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Woodgers »

Agree on Wighton, Nickman, he would be wasted out there with the skills he has. Just to echo myself, so would Bateman.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by The Nickman »

Woodgers wrote: May 10, 2019, 12:07 pm Agree on Wighton, Nickman, he would be wasted out there with the skills he has. Just to echo myself, so would Bateman.
Yup, 100% agree with your assessment on Bateman too. Would be a poor option sticking him out in the centres.

With everyone fit I'd personally put Bateman at lock, move Sutton to the frontrow and bring Lui/Soliola off the bench at first drop to really maintain our go-forward and get quick play the balls.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by SeeBee101 »

BJ gone for the year according to NRL.com. Requires surgery.

I hope Ricky seriously isn't going to leave Oldfield there. Cotric needs to move there ASAP.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Raider47 »

Canberra Raiders centre Joey Leilua to have surgery... and is likely out for the season

Canberra Raiders centre Joey Leilua will undergo surgery on a neck injury and will most likely be out for the remainder of the season.

Read more: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2019/05 ... e-round-9/

Out for the season :(
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by Sydney_Raider »

SeeBee101 wrote: May 10, 2019, 2:55 pm BJ gone for the year according to NRL.com. Requires surgery.

I hope Ricky seriously isn't going to leave Oldfield there. Cotric needs to move there ASAP.
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Re: Joey Leilua out for the year?

Post by -PJ- »

Get well BJ.

Terrible news for you personally, the club and its fans.

See ya bigger and better than ever in 2020.

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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by Woodgers »

Damn. Just when he was looking like he could go onto bigger things this year. Big loss but we move on.
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by TongueFTW »

Very unlucky for him given he really seemed to effort into his preparation this year.

Agree with the posters above - Cotric has to move to right centre.
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by The Nickman »

Woodgers wrote: May 10, 2019, 4:39 pm Damn. Just when he was looking like he could go onto bigger things this year. Big loss but we move on.
You might be able to move on, but I CAN'T, DAMMIT! I'M NOT READY TO DEAL WITH THIS!!!
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by yurithe1 »

I'd rather give Oldfield a chance to cement his spot rather than shuffle players around. Remember: nobody had even heard of Cotric before he was picked to replace Edrick Lee. At least we've seen what Oldfield can do. The question mark seems to be whether he can contain Mitchell, who we might face twice this year in the regular season.
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by greeneyed »

Canberra Raiders lose Joey Leilua to season-ending surgery

The Canberra Raiders will dig deep for Joey Leilua as their star centre undergoes season-ending surgery on his neck. Disc surgery can lead to three-six months on the sideline, but for Leilua it's clearly at the more serious end.

"He was on fire. He's been great for the team. He's really stepped his game up this year in defence and attack. We're going to have to really dig deep to cover him," Jack Wighton said.

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by edwahu »

Just awful luck and awful timing. Hopefully he makes a full recovery and can back to his best.
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by RedRaider »

BJ at last showing the discipline required (focus on footy not trying to be the tough guy).

He had an opportunity for rep footy via NSW development a couple of years ago. I reckon it was this footy focus and discipline they wanted to try to develop but the opportunity was discarded.

Now unfortunately he has a long term injury. I wish him a full and speedy recovery.
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by -TW- »

Already had surgery by the looks of it

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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by greeneyed »

Joey’s partner saying on Instagram the surgery went well.
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by zim »

Great news. Must have been pretty nasty to get on to it so quick.
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by Northern Raider »

Wish it was Rapana. Neck surgery would only keep him out 3 weeks.
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by Finite »

Iv'e been very critical of a lot of the decisions that BJ has made in the last 2 seasons with us. I viewed him as a potential top centre who threw it away by...throwing it away with haphazard passing, silly defence defence and massive brain fades at crux moments. His start to this year was a lot better than previous seasons.

His biggest asset is his strength and running. Hope he recovers well and comes back to the same form he has shown the last month.
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by Woodgers »

The Rickman wrote: May 10, 2019, 4:52 pm
Woodgers wrote: May 10, 2019, 4:39 pm Damn. Just when he was looking like he could go onto bigger things this year. Big loss but we move on.
You might be able to move on, but I CAN'T, DAMMIT! I'M NOT READY TO DEAL WITH THIS!!!
I’ve become very very good at facing adversary :D
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Re: Joey Leilua to have surgery and likely out for the season

Post by Damoni »

Surely they can’t be serious playing journeyman Oldfield on Latrell.

I’m sure if Inglis were still playing they would’ve moved him to Latrell’s side in SOO.

The kid is that good and outside of BJ there is only Cotric and Bateman I’d have marking him
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