2017 RLWC: How Might Samoa's Squad Look?
MILFY MILF
With the World Cup lurking on the horzion, we're here to celebrate all rugby league and not just concern ourselves with Aotearoa or Australia. Samoa and Tonga will roll out strong squads and with more competition than ever for spots, combined with what I reckon will be a low key desire for some players to represent their heritage over chasing cash to be part of a Kiwis squad - where they may not actually play a game - I reckon we're going to see very interesting selection decisions made. I'll whip up something similar for Tonga in the next few days and then it might be fun to revisit this later on before the RLWC squads are announced, or it might not be.
The stereotypical strength of Samoa is their forward pack, especially through the middle and so that's a good place to start. Leeson Ah Mau, Josh McGuire and Suaia Matagi are key figures as they'll offer leadership to this group, while the ball-playing ability of John Asiata has flourish this season with greater opportunities. Sam Kasiano will be there as well to add his size and skill into the mix, plus we can't forget about Junior Paulo. Two low key forwards to keep close tabs on over the remainder of this season are Isaac Liu and Herman Ese'ese.
Ese'ese has earned an upgraded contract to move from Brisbane to Newcastle next season and he's added a bit of impact to a grizzly Broncos forward pack. Liu could work himself into the Kiwis mix but he's better off reppin' Samoa and his effort/footwork combo through the middle has seen him establish himself at lock for the Roosters.
I do expect McGuire to opt for Samoa at the World Cup, despite being capable of walking into Australia's No.13 jersey. McGuire has consistently turned out for Samoa and throughout his Samoan career, McGuire has filled in at hooker many times. Kasya Pritchard would be the first option at hooker, but if Pritchard is unavailable through injury, then the depth of Samoa's middle stocks and the bonus of McGuire adding another strong defender at hooker, wouldn't be a bad result.
The edges will be an interesting selection area. Sione Mata'utia's move to an edge forward and his consistency for Newcastle is great news for Samoa, then you have Sauaso Sue who can play edge as well. Perhaps Frank Pritchard will add some depth there and earlier this year against England, Ah Mau moved out to the edge. Samoa have many middle options, so pushing Sue or Ah Mau to the edge is the likeliest move and this doesn't take away from their depth up the guts.
If Raymond Faitala-Mariner can smash out an impressive last few weeks with the Bulldogs, expect him to come into the frame as a specialist edge forward. Bunty Afoa has been a constant on the left edge for the Warriors in Ryan Hoffman's absence, so the stars could be aligning for Afoa to nail down an edge spot for Samoa.
McGuire's the best hooking option and Samoa could look to either Erin Clark or Pita Godinet to come off the bench. Both should be selected to provide cover and this comes with the consistent halves pairing of Anthony Milford and Fa'amanu Brown likely to be rolled out again. Clark and Godinet can both cover the halves along with Mason Lino.
Samoa's outside back group is stacked with talent and I'll be intrigued by what happens at centre, or if that flows into other positions. Peter Mata'utia laced up at fullback against England and the two wingers from that game Ken Maumalo and Antonio Winterstein should be comfortable as the incumbents. The only bit of funk could come via David Nofoaluma as he offers a bit more speed than Maumalo and Winterstein, which is an asset when Nofoaluma gets involved around the ruck. Nofoaluma should be the next in line and if Samoa need something different, you could see Nofoaluma get a chance ahead of Maumalo or Winterstein.
You can't say that Joey Leilua and Tim Lafai don't deserve to be the top-dawg centre pairing, there's just great depth at centre. Ricky Leutele is consistently solid at centre for Cronulla and Tautau Moga has reinvigorated his NRL career this season with Brisbane. I don't think anyone would be overly upset if Leutele and Moga were a starting centre pairing, such is their quality but they are likely to sit behind Leilua and Lafai.
Kirisome Auva'a has earned minutes at centre and on the wing for Parramatta this season which will see him come into the equation as a depth member of the squad.
Don't sleep on possibilities such as Warriors players James Gavet and Sam Lisone, who are victims of Samoa's depth in middle forwards. Same goes for Sam Tagataese and Iosia Soliola, who would both be influential veterans to have in a World Cup camp despite being unlikely to get much game time.
Samoa's major strength is where their trickiest decisions lie. They have such a luxury of depth in the middle that they will need to decide what style of forwards they require to execute the game plan and which forwards work while together. There's only so many minutes and carries that can be dished out, so a focus may instead be put on which forwards do the best defensive work to balance out the metres/skill of other forwards.
My favourite bit of a possible Samoan squad is easily the Milford x Brown halves combination. These two have played a few Tests together and they will head into the World Cup knowing the system they're playing within and what their roles are. Brown's left-sided nature simplifies their combination as well, allowing for them to play on either edge or give Milford freedom to roam with Brown organising the troops.
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