2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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Now it is season over for the Canberra Raiders, we will be reviewing all 31 players who pulled on a green jersey in first grade in 2021. So far, we have looked at the season of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Xavier Savage and Caleb Aekins.

When Jordan Rapana left for Japanese rugby union at the end of 2019, it seemed like his football career was winding down. As it turned out, he didn't play a game of union in Japan. When the pandemic intervened, he returned to the national capital, and the club he loves.



It wasn't plain sailing for him in 2020. It took some time for him to get his fitness back. He ended up being an "everywhere man", playing 10 games on the wing, six at centre, two from the bench and one at fullback. He was mostly used on the left wing, rather than his usual right wing spot. He didn't seem to be quite the player he once was. He still brought an enormous amount of enthusiasm to the squad, the sort of infectious enthusiasm that rubs off on others. He always tried his heart out.

But this year, with a "full pre-season under his belt", the 32 year old produced some vintage form. He won the Meninga Medal - his first - and the Canberra Raiders Fans' Choice Player of the Year. And towards season's end, he was rewarded with a two year contract extension.

"He creates a lot of energy around the players. They love playing with him and they were all very excited when Jordy announced that he'd re-signed for another two seasons," Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said.

"He's been at the club for a long time now. I think it's nearly nine or 10 years now. He's a real Raider and a bloke who we all love playing with and I certainly enjoy coaching."



Rapana finished with 22 appearances in 2021 - along with Ryan Sutton, the most made by any Raider this year. He mostly played in his usual wing position, but moved to fullback in the Round 19 win over the Eels - and starred. He was the fifth player to fill the No. 1 jersey this year, following an early season neck injury for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. He started at the back in six games, before CNK made an unexpected return after surgery.

I rated him 6.9/10 on average, with his season rating of "8" reflecting his strong contribution to the season. I gave him two, rare "9" ratings - one for the win over the Eels, and the other for the Round 24 win over the Warriors. Against the Eels, he produced one try, 25 runs for 261 metres, 71 post contact metres, two line breaks, 15 tackle breaks, one offload and 100 per cent tackle efficiency. And an unforgettable match winning try saver at the death. In the clash with the Warriors, he scored one try, kicked four goals and delivered 24 runs for 286 metres, 91 post contact metres, two line breaks, one try assist, 12 tackle breaks, one offload and 100 per cent tackle efficiency. Two almost perfect games. I don't think I've ever given a player two "9" ratings in a single season before.





In Fans' Choice voting, Rapana was judged the best player on the park five times - four times after he moved to fullback. He was man of the match in three games straight between Rounds 19 and 21 - against the Eels, Knights and Dragons.

Rapana was the Raiders' top try scorer of the year with 12 tries - his best tally since the halcyon years of 2016 (23) and 2017 (21). He was also the second highest point scorer for the club (66 points), after taking on goal kicking duties in four matches (nine goals). At the end of the regular season, he ranked second in the NRL for tackle breaks, behind David Fifita, fourth for total runs and sixth for running metres. He averaged more running metres than he ever has in a season. He also finished first at the club for line breaks (17), second for try involvements (17) and fourth for offloads (17).





At the start of the year, I seriously wondered if 2021 would be Rapana's final year. He proved all the doubters wrong. He certainly merited his contract extension. What a season!

How did you rate Jordan Rapana's 2021? Do you agree with our rating? Tell us below.

Jordan Rapana 2021: 8/10

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2021 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 22
Average minutes: 79
Points: 66
Tries: 12
Goals: 9/14
Goal kicking percentage: 64
Try assists: 5
Try contributions: 0
Total try involvements: 17
Total kicks: 18
Kick metres: 312
Forced line drop outs: 2
Kick errors: 3
Total runs: 377
All run metres: 3272
Average metres per carry: 8
Average metres per game: 149
Tackle breaks: 130
Offloads: 17
Line breaks: 17
Line break assists: 4
Tackles: 98
Average tackles per game: 4
1 on 1 tackles: 18
Missed tackles: 32
Average missed tackles per game: 1
Ineffective tackles: 5
Tackle efficiency: 71 per cent
Try causes: 15
Errors: 32
Penalties conceded: 9
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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Best Raiders back this year hands down. If we are rating him out of 10 against other raiders then yep an 8 is a good call. If we are rating him against other wingers in the NRL I’m not as convinced. If there is 16 NRL teams and 32 wingers (where he player mostly) you’d need to look at where you position him in that field to decide an appropriate score. As good as he was for us this year I’d say there were a good number for wingers across the NRL that had better seasons than him.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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Billy Walker wrote: September 23, 2021, 2:53 pm Best Raiders back this year hands down. If we are rating him out of 10 against other raiders then yep an 8 is a good call. If we are rating him against other wingers in the NRL I’m not as convinced. If there is 16 NRL teams and 32 wingers (where he player mostly) you’d need to look at where you position him in that field to decide an appropriate score. As good as he was for us this year I’d say there were a good number for wingers across the NRL that had better seasons than him.
To'o, Garrick, Saab, Tupou, JAC, anyone else ahead of him?
I'd say 8 is fair NRL wide.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:13 pm
Billy Walker wrote: September 23, 2021, 2:53 pm Best Raiders back this year hands down. If we are rating him out of 10 against other raiders then yep an 8 is a good call. If we are rating him against other wingers in the NRL I’m not as convinced. If there is 16 NRL teams and 32 wingers (where he player mostly) you’d need to look at where you position him in that field to decide an appropriate score. As good as he was for us this year I’d say there were a good number for wingers across the NRL that had better seasons than him.
To'o, Garrick, Saab, Tupou, JAC, anyone else ahead of him?
I'd say 8 is fair NRL wide.
Johnson score 27 tries for Souths + a ton of breaks and they are still in the finals... he stacks up better defensively in try causes, lb causes and errors v Rapana too. Doesn't make the yards Rapana does but shades him elsewhere.

I'd probably have Rapana behind that elite pack of 5 or 6, with guys like Sivo and Maumalo, maybe Staines who also had very good seasons.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Matt »

BadnMean wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:38 pm
Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:13 pm
Billy Walker wrote: September 23, 2021, 2:53 pm Best Raiders back this year hands down. If we are rating him out of 10 against other raiders then yep an 8 is a good call. If we are rating him against other wingers in the NRL I’m not as convinced. If there is 16 NRL teams and 32 wingers (where he player mostly) you’d need to look at where you position him in that field to decide an appropriate score. As good as he was for us this year I’d say there were a good number for wingers across the NRL that had better seasons than him.
To'o, Garrick, Saab, Tupou, JAC, anyone else ahead of him?
I'd say 8 is fair NRL wide.
Johnson score 27 tries for Souths + a ton of breaks and they are still in the finals... he stacks up better defensively in try causes, lb causes and errors v Rapana too. Doesn't make the yards Rapana does but shades him elsewhere.

I'd probably have Rapana behind that elite pack of 5 or 6, with guys like Sivo and Maumalo, maybe Staines who also had very good seasons.
I can agree with Johnston.
Sivo is probably in the next group.

Maumalo? He was ok for Tigz, but Warriors let him go for good reason.

Staines?!? Good yr?!? Since when?!? He was dropped coz he adds nothing.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Billy Walker »

Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:55 pm
BadnMean wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:38 pm
Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:13 pm
Billy Walker wrote: September 23, 2021, 2:53 pm Best Raiders back this year hands down. If we are rating him out of 10 against other raiders then yep an 8 is a good call. If we are rating him against other wingers in the NRL I’m not as convinced. If there is 16 NRL teams and 32 wingers (where he player mostly) you’d need to look at where you position him in that field to decide an appropriate score. As good as he was for us this year I’d say there were a good number for wingers across the NRL that had better seasons than him.
To'o, Garrick, Saab, Tupou, JAC, anyone else ahead of him?
I'd say 8 is fair NRL wide.
Johnson score 27 tries for Souths + a ton of breaks and they are still in the finals... he stacks up better defensively in try causes, lb causes and errors v Rapana too. Doesn't make the yards Rapana does but shades him elsewhere.

I'd probably have Rapana behind that elite pack of 5 or 6, with guys like Sivo and Maumalo, maybe Staines who also had very good seasons.
I can agree with Johnston.
Sivo is probably in the next group.

Maumalo? He was ok for Tigz, but Warriors let him go for good reason.

Staines?!? Good yr?!? Since when?!? He was dropped coz he adds nothing.
Yeah Staines is rather horrible I think. But him aside that still puts Jordy at 7 or 8 out of 32. I’d say that is a 7/10 across the NRL
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Matt »

Billy Walker wrote: September 23, 2021, 11:28 pm
Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:55 pm
BadnMean wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:38 pm
Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:13 pm
Billy Walker wrote: September 23, 2021, 2:53 pm Best Raiders back this year hands down. If we are rating him out of 10 against other raiders then yep an 8 is a good call. If we are rating him against other wingers in the NRL I’m not as convinced. If there is 16 NRL teams and 32 wingers (where he player mostly) you’d need to look at where you position him in that field to decide an appropriate score. As good as he was for us this year I’d say there were a good number for wingers across the NRL that had better seasons than him.
To'o, Garrick, Saab, Tupou, JAC, anyone else ahead of him?
I'd say 8 is fair NRL wide.
Johnson score 27 tries for Souths + a ton of breaks and they are still in the finals... he stacks up better defensively in try causes, lb causes and errors v Rapana too. Doesn't make the yards Rapana does but shades him elsewhere.

I'd probably have Rapana behind that elite pack of 5 or 6, with guys like Sivo and Maumalo, maybe Staines who also had very good seasons.
I can agree with Johnston.
Sivo is probably in the next group.

Maumalo? He was ok for Tigz, but Warriors let him go for good reason.

Staines?!? Good yr?!? Since when?!? He was dropped coz he adds nothing.
Yeah Staines is rather horrible I think. But him aside that still puts Jordy at 7 or 8 out of 32. I’d say that is a 7/10 across the NRL
7/32 = 0.22 >> 78th%
8/32 = 0.25 >> 75th%
Isnt that round up to 8/10??? :P
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by -PJ- »

I can’t sit still watching JordyRaps.

A fantastic season.

And congrats on the Meninga Medal.
3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment..Old Faithful
#emptythetank :shock:
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by BadnMean »

Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:55 pm
BadnMean wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:38 pm
Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:13 pm
Billy Walker wrote: September 23, 2021, 2:53 pm Best Raiders back this year hands down. If we are rating him out of 10 against other raiders then yep an 8 is a good call. If we are rating him against other wingers in the NRL I’m not as convinced. If there is 16 NRL teams and 32 wingers (where he player mostly) you’d need to look at where you position him in that field to decide an appropriate score. As good as he was for us this year I’d say there were a good number for wingers across the NRL that had better seasons than him.
To'o, Garrick, Saab, Tupou, JAC, anyone else ahead of him?
I'd say 8 is fair NRL wide.
Johnson score 27 tries for Souths + a ton of breaks and they are still in the finals... he stacks up better defensively in try causes, lb causes and errors v Rapana too. Doesn't make the yards Rapana does but shades him elsewhere.

I'd probably have Rapana behind that elite pack of 5 or 6, with guys like Sivo and Maumalo, maybe Staines who also had very good seasons.
I can agree with Johnston.
Sivo is probably in the next group.

Maumalo? He was ok for Tigz, but Warriors let him go for good reason.

Staines?!? Good yr?!? Since when?!? He was dropped coz he adds nothing.
Maumalo went well. Almost same yards per game as Rapa. More line breaks than Rapa. More tries than Rapana. A lot less errors. Defensively the Tigers in general copped a hiding, but Rapa shades him. Still belongs in the same bracket imo.

I won't do player by player but all the wingers your dissing scored more tries than Rapana (1 key component of wing play), usually significantly more. They all made the same or (again) more breaks than Rapa this season (indication of threat level). Defensively a mixed bag- Maumalo worse but most WAY less try/lb causes than Rapa, sometimes half as many. Errors- Rapana makes the most, by a long way, sometimes triple the amount of these guys. He was good, but not in a league different to these other wings who had good years at the things wingers are supposed to do- score tries, make opportunities into breaks, not let tries in and not stuff up and lose the ball. Rapana did extremely well at yards gained which is another key facet- but again, so did some of these guys.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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Staines? More tries. 30% less errors. Same breaks amount but in 1 less game. Less lb causes. Half as many try causes. Less yards. Played 21 games... Same bracket imo. Just started sensationally then lost a bit of steam (not unusual for a young player). Jordy had a slower start but finished sensationally.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Billy Walker »

Matt wrote: September 24, 2021, 7:17 am
Billy Walker wrote: September 23, 2021, 11:28 pm
Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:55 pm
BadnMean wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:38 pm
Matt wrote: September 23, 2021, 8:13 pm

To'o, Garrick, Saab, Tupou, JAC, anyone else ahead of him?
I'd say 8 is fair NRL wide.
Johnson score 27 tries for Souths + a ton of breaks and they are still in the finals... he stacks up better defensively in try causes, lb causes and errors v Rapana too. Doesn't make the yards Rapana does but shades him elsewhere.

I'd probably have Rapana behind that elite pack of 5 or 6, with guys like Sivo and Maumalo, maybe Staines who also had very good seasons.
I can agree with Johnston.
Sivo is probably in the next group.

Maumalo? He was ok for Tigz, but Warriors let him go for good reason.

Staines?!? Good yr?!? Since when?!? He was dropped coz he adds nothing.
Yeah Staines is rather horrible I think. But him aside that still puts Jordy at 7 or 8 out of 32. I’d say that is a 7/10 across the NRL
7/32 = 0.22 >> 78th%
8/32 = 0.25 >> 75th%
Isnt that round up to 8/10??? :P
Let’s not split hairs here, he was a clear 7.65/10. :roflmao

You win this round Matt :lol: seriously though who brings quality maths like that to footy debate :lol:
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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The point I was trying make before you went all mathematical on me is that we obviously have strong bias towards the players at our club, but when we are missing the 8 and not getting the results we want I think it pays to run a more analytical ruler over some of these guys and be honest about where we sit against the teams playing this week and next.

There was no doubt Rapa was our best back by quite a margin this year, but his season wasn’t exceptional compared to other wingers across the comp and I don’t think we will see improvement over the next 2 years from him.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Matt »

BadnMean wrote: September 24, 2021, 8:35 am Staines? More tries. 30% less errors. Same breaks amount but in 1 less game. Less lb causes. Half as many try causes. Less yards. Played 21 games... Same bracket imo. Just started sensationally then lost a bit of steam (not unusual for a young player). Jordy had a slower start but finished sensationally.
This is a classic case of the stats staying something completely different to the eye test.

If a winger scores a try through the hands he gets a line break. Thats the ONLY reason Staines has any. Not beating anyone with footwork or power. Dont remember him running around anyone either, not like JAC or Saab.

He has less errors because the Panthers didnt use him. If you dont get ball, you dont make errors. Why doesnt he get ball? Well To'o for 1, but, coz he cant do anything other that dive over the line.

He is too small to play on the wing in the modern game. Put Staines in our side or another bottom 8 side, and people are hating on him. Go ask Panthers fans about Staines, they will say as a winger he is useless. They want to see him at FB. Issue is, Crichton is a better FB than him, and so, he is now on the 'waiver wire' according to recent rumours. They are in an finals series and he only played a game coz Edwards was out, and he played wing coz SC went to FB (confirming the above). Then the following wk, with To'o out, he was dropped for Naden. Naden is named again this wk, and he is off to the Dogs next year.

Stats will not convince me that Staines is better than Rapa this yr.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by afgtnk »

Still has value and was clearly one of our best this season.

Only issue now being that he's as slow as guts and has lost a lot of agility. How this quite happened to the extent it has, I'm not quite sure.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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Billy Walker wrote: September 24, 2021, 10:35 am The point I was trying make before you went all mathematical on me is that we obviously have strong bias towards the players at our club, but when we are missing the 8 and not getting the results we want I think it pays to run a more analytical ruler over some of these guys and be honest about where we sit against the teams playing this week and next.

There was no doubt Rapa was our best back by quite a margin this year, but his season wasn’t exceptional compared to other wingers across the comp and I don’t think we will see improvement over the next 2 years from him.
Sure, dont dispute that at all. However, I do watch most of the games all yr. I have run a list of names, and while BnM has added some options (I disagree with both, but thats my view), I dont think that there are any other options worth putting forward, Nofo maybe?!?

Yes, he played a bit of FB this year too, so that 'muddies the water'. Point is, while there are 32 wingers on any given weekend, there are more like 50-60, maybe more, used in a season across the league. If we are saying Rapa is a top 10 winger at absolute worst, then that's a 7-8 out of 10.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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Matt wrote: September 24, 2021, 10:39 am
BadnMean wrote: September 24, 2021, 8:35 am Staines? More tries. 30% less errors. Same breaks amount but in 1 less game. Less lb causes. Half as many try causes. Less yards. Played 21 games... Same bracket imo. Just started sensationally then lost a bit of steam (not unusual for a young player). Jordy had a slower start but finished sensationally.
This is a classic case of the stats staying something completely different to the eye test.

If a winger scores a try through the hands he gets a line break. Thats the ONLY reason Staines has any. Not beating anyone with footwork or power. Dont remember him running around anyone either, not like JAC or Saab.

He has less errors because the Panthers didnt use him. If you dont get ball, you dont make errors. Why doesnt he get ball? Well To'o for 1, but, coz he cant do anything other that dive over the line.

He is too small to play on the wing in the modern game. Put Staines in our side or another bottom 8 side, and people are hating on him. Go ask Panthers fans about Staines, they will say as a winger he is useless. They want to see him at FB. Issue is, Crichton is a better FB than him, and so, he is now on the 'waiver wire' according to recent rumours. They are in an finals series and he only played a game coz Edwards was out, and he played wing coz SC went to FB (confirming the above). Then the following wk, with To'o out, he was dropped for Naden. Naden is named again this wk, and he is off to the Dogs next year.

Stats will not convince me that Staines is better than Rapa this yr.
Yeah great because I never said that. I said they belong in the same bracket of achievement this season. Better start, worse finish. If you remove the recency bias he played just as many FG games and did just as well at the things that matter for a winger.

Mentioning his size as disqualifying him is silly, why not disqualify Rapana because he is slow or drops the ball 1.5 times per game (high for any player)? Fact is they both had good seasons despite either of those- and Staines can still get bigger...
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Matt »

BadnMean wrote: September 24, 2021, 11:33 am
Matt wrote: September 24, 2021, 10:39 am
BadnMean wrote: September 24, 2021, 8:35 am Staines? More tries. 30% less errors. Same breaks amount but in 1 less game. Less lb causes. Half as many try causes. Less yards. Played 21 games... Same bracket imo. Just started sensationally then lost a bit of steam (not unusual for a young player). Jordy had a slower start but finished sensationally.
This is a classic case of the stats staying something completely different to the eye test.

If a winger scores a try through the hands he gets a line break. Thats the ONLY reason Staines has any. Not beating anyone with footwork or power. Dont remember him running around anyone either, not like JAC or Saab.

He has less errors because the Panthers didnt use him. If you dont get ball, you dont make errors. Why doesnt he get ball? Well To'o for 1, but, coz he cant do anything other that dive over the line.

He is too small to play on the wing in the modern game. Put Staines in our side or another bottom 8 side, and people are hating on him. Go ask Panthers fans about Staines, they will say as a winger he is useless. They want to see him at FB. Issue is, Crichton is a better FB than him, and so, he is now on the 'waiver wire' according to recent rumours. They are in an finals series and he only played a game coz Edwards was out, and he played wing coz SC went to FB (confirming the above). Then the following wk, with To'o out, he was dropped for Naden. Naden is named again this wk, and he is off to the Dogs next year.

Stats will not convince me that Staines is better than Rapa this yr.
Yeah great because I never said that. I said they belong in the same bracket of achievement this season. Better start, worse finish. If you remove the recency bias he played just as many FG games and did just as well at the things that matter for a winger.

Mentioning his size as disqualifying him is silly, why not disqualify Rapana because he is slow or drops the ball 1.5 times per game (high for any player)? Fact is they both had good seasons despite either of those- and Staines can still get bigger...
Im saying one of the reasons he isnt a good winger because of his size/ physicality, its Ivan Cleary who has disqualified him because of it.

Rapa had a massive hand in what we did this yr. Rapa had 580 (3rd among wingers and TBF Val and RTS are 1st and 2nd and they played at least half the yr at FB) possessions this yr; yes that is inflated a little due to being a FB for 5.5 games. While Staines had 325, or 26th - it is approx 30 more than JAC and Johnston BTW. However, to put it in perspective Simmo was 36 touches away in 17 games, meaning he was getting 17 touches a game to Staines 13. Rapa is 4th in run meters to To'o, Garrick and Tupou - Staines 32nd and is behind Simmo, and Naden, the guy who replaced him, has half the run meters in a third of the games. Rapa in the team that came 10th has the same number of line breaks. Rapa destroys him in offloads, tackle busts, try assists. I dont see how you can put them in the same bracket when tries and line breaks are the only 2 close stats.

My point is Staines wasnt good... at all. You are leaning on his 'winger' numbers to suggest he had a good yr. He scored tries in the 4th best attack in the league, and it was probably 1st or 2nd when he scored most of them (TBF, I nearly canned Johnston for the same thing coz he scores tries on the Bunnies left edge - but he has done it yr after yr and no 1 else agrees with me, so I agreed this yr). Literally the only thing he did this yr was dot down, that is but 1 part of a wingers job, and TBH, in the modern game, it isnt even the most important thing. His performance this yr was a blip on the Panthers performance this season. He was the Panthers weakest link this season.

If you look at the Fox Lab stats, and look up Panthers wingers, its pretty damming that Naden, considered a centre, is out gaining him on a per game avg in so many areas. Go listen to Panthers games, but mid season the commentators were calling for him to be dropped coz he doesnt add anything other than finish. If you didnt see it that way I cant change your mind, but, if he was good he wouldnt be stuck behind Naden going into finals.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

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What a convoluted mess of an argument. Yeah repeat all the things I say already about Rapana having a good year, with his strength being his yards game. That's not in dispute. His strength is involvement and yards- but he's not quite the banker as finisher he used to be (slowly adjusting to left edge) and Rapana played 5.5 games at FB, which does skew things. Staines strength is speed and finishing and not making a bunch of errors.

Saying I lean on his winger numbers- that's what good wingers do, and someone like Simo can't, just doesn't have the game sense.
You are ignoring the fact that Staines had a hot streak during the year, so did Rapana. Both had poor spells, Staine's happened to be late.

Righto mate, I just disagree.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by mick63 »

In an absolute total punish of a season as a Raider fan it was heartwarming to see Jordy play his guts out each and every week like each and every game would be his last.
That complete fraud of a Raider shillington only has to see the effort that Rapa put in to see what emptying the tank actually looks like.
Funny that it took the club until the last possible moment before awarding JR the well deserved Meninga Medal a new contract.
Not resigning your best player to a new contract would surely have been the most Raiders thing ever.
All the best Jordan and long may you bang the drum and bellow our the team song after a win.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by RedRaider »

Rapa plays his guts out for the Raiders every week. He puts his passion for the game and the club out there match after match. An easy 8/10 for me on his Season 2021. In a year when too often the side faded in matches Rapa continued to play with determination. He tried things which didn't always come off - that field goal attempt, but he put his hand up when no one else did. He is a leader in his own way. I am very happy he has re-signed for the Raiders.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Billy Walker »

It is credit to Raps that he could go to the well one more time, dig deep and give all he had this year to be an 8/10 very good but not exceptional NRL winger. Noting that we are all agreeing that he gave his everything to get that return, I think some of us are romanticising to thing he will produce similar for 2 more years, while others seem to believe NRL contracts are rewarded for past deeds not future potential.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Canberra Milk »

Great year for Raps and I think he could be a handy 14, if he doesn't make the starting backline. It's very handy having both him and Kris who can cover multiple positions
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Matt »

BadnMean wrote: September 24, 2021, 2:51 pm What a convoluted mess of an argument. Yeah repeat all the things I say already about Rapana having a good year, with his strength being his yards game. That's not in dispute. His strength is involvement and yards- but he's not quite the banker as finisher he used to be (slowly adjusting to left edge) and Rapana played 5.5 games at FB, which does skew things. Staines strength is speed and finishing and not making a bunch of errors.

Saying I lean on his winger numbers- that's what good wingers do, and someone like Simo can't, just doesn't have the game sense.
You are ignoring the fact that Staines had a hot streak during the year, so did Rapana. Both had poor spells, Staine's happened to be late.

Righto mate, I just disagree.
The "expert commentary" said they need to drop him. Even Gus said he needs to be dropped, and he is pro Panthers.

His coach dropped him for the most important part of the yr.

His so called "hot streak" lasted 4 games, Rds 9 to 12 where he scored 7 tries. After 3 tries in the first 8 games.

I repeated the stats and added a comparison because the stats will say he isnt in Rapas league.

So, with the stats and the eye test, it tells you Staines is NO WHERE near a top 10 winger.

That's the argument, and TBH, it's closer to fact than up for debate.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by gangrenous »

Matt wrote:Even Gus said he needs to be dropped, and he is pro Panthers.
First clue you’re wrong. Gus agrees with you.
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Re: 2021 in review - Jordan Rapana

Post by Matt »

gangrenous wrote: September 26, 2021, 5:18 pm
Matt wrote:Even Gus said he needs to be dropped, and he is pro Panthers.
First clue you’re wrong. Gus agrees with you.
:lol:
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