Lolohea hasn't done much wrong, he just hasn't done anything super awesome.

Last season's woes were nicely reflected by the confusion surrounding Tuimoala Lolohea. Coach Andrew McFadden had no idea where to put Lolohea and when he decided that he needed to at least be on the bench, McFadden still didn't know how to use Lolohea for the betterment of the Warriors. Despite not contributing a whole lot, Lolohea got a whole lot of attention, or McFadden got the attention for failing to get the best out of Lolohea and after a season of footy, we were all left none-the-wiser as to what position Lolohea was destined for.

Stephen Kearney arrived and while he's brought immense clarity to this situation, it's not exactly positive clarity. Kearney pushed Lolohea down to reserve grade after his 'sussing out' period of the first few weeks and he's kept him there, where Lolohea has done what he's failed to do in the NRL: find a home. That his home is reserve grade isn't ideal and Lolohea has been overlooked by Kearney to fill a vacant wing spot that went to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and I'd suspect that it Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was unavailable, Nicoll-Klokstad or David Fusitua would fill at fullback. Then if Kieran Foran or Shaun Johnson were unavailable, Ata Hingano or Mason Lino would get a run.

There have been minor openings for Kearney to roll with Lolohea, yet he's gone the other route and Lolohea has understandably drawn interest from elsewhere. I've been fascinated by the attention that Lolohea has been getting from the mainstream media as he is a reserve grade player, he's not a young gun and nor has he come close to cashing in on the potential we saw earlier in his career.

Lolohea has been shifted around a fair bit in his career and that obviously has ramifications. Working against Lolohea though is the fact that he simply hasn't snapped up the opportunities that came his way, demanding further selection in the top-17. Not only have we seen Lolohea struggle to establish himself as a first-choice in any position, the roster around him has ensured that Lolohea is now even further down the pecking order.

Player movements between NRL clubs that involve a player in reserve grade usually don't demand too much attention. Hardcore fans will appreciate a shrewd signing, however media overlook these signings as they hunt for a glorious headline. With Lolohea though, it's been the opposite and everyone appears to be buggin' out over where Lolohea could end up, or if he'll be released or not.

The interest around Lolohea revolves around the idea that Lolohea will move from reserve grade to the NRL. Wests Tigers for example, have apparently shown interest in Lolohea and could offer him a starting fullback role and this narrative sets things up perfectly for the old 'leave the Warriors and get better' yarn. Konrad Hurrell and Sio Siua Taukeiaho lead that group and although Sosaia Feki didn't earn NRL minutes for the Warriors, he joined Cronulla after the Warriors showed no interest in giving him a future.

We need to prepare ourselves for this yarn if Lolohea leaves. Apart from putting the right people and resources around Lolohea to ensure he blossoms into a successful NRL player, the Warriors have kinda done all the can with Lolohea. At some stage the responsibility must fall on the shoulders of the player as we've seen Lolohea get torn to shreds by Adam Reynolds at fullback, his hoppin' and skippin' doesn't suit the physical demands of being an NRL winger and there's just no room in the halves for him.

So, who is in the wrong? Maybe both parties are? Maybe it doesn't matter and this relationship simply wasn't meant to be?

Right now though, the Warriors aren't releasing Lolohea. Perhaps the Warriors are scared of letting a blatantly talented footballer leave and would rather keep him around just incase he starts to figure out this NRL thing. Kearney has made his intentions fairly clear and I can't see an opening for Lolohea anywhere in the Warriors NRL team, while it's debateable as to whether Lolohea is a better depth outside back than Nicoll-Klokstad, Ken Maumalo or someone like Junior Pauga.

The only reason to keep Lolohea around is to cover Foran when he leaves next season. Even then, Hingano was given that job when Foran was missing to start the season and much of this confusion comes down to Hingano vs Lolohea; who is the future halves partner of Johnson? Lolohea and Johnson do very similar things - hence Johnson needs a pure halfback alongside him - which has me leaning towards Hingano, or a solid halfback who can steer the team around. There isn't a whole lot of sense behind a desire to find a replacement for Lolohea - a reserve grade replacement who won't play NRL? That's what young up and comers are for, or a local park footy veteran who earns a promotion. Lolohea clearly isn't close to the NRL team in any backline position (judging from Kearney's actions), so what is there to replace?

Which leads us back to why on Earth is Lolohea being kept captive? The family-factor could be keeping Lolohea in Auckland, but we've seen with Hurrell and Taukeiaho how beneficial it can be to leave that comfort zone. It'd be a bit of a douche move from the Warriors to keep Lolohea at Mt Smart for no real reason, blocking him from pursuing another opportunity and all. They signed Foran for a season just to help him out, so it would be very weird for the Warriors to then go the douche route with Lolohea.

This is all a bit messy and even if Lolohea finds some game time with the Warriors this season, there doesn't appear to be a long-term future for him with the club. Lolohea hasn't taken previous opportunities with open arms, leaving him as just another reserve grader who is chasing the dream. Here's hoping Lolohea gets another chance, preferable with another club where he can start fresh.

Free The Niche Cache by banging one of the ads and donating to our cause. You donate, but don't actually pay anything.