Tajhon Mailata Update

[Darren]

Bay bolstered by NZRU scoop

09.09.2006
By KELLY EXELBY and CRAIG TIRIANA

Bay of Plenty Times

After years of watching their best talent up pegs and head overseas lured by the pound, yen or franc, you'd imagine the New Zealand Rugby Union might sit back tonight with a wry smile on their collective face.

Although it's hardly akin to getting an Andrew Mehrtens or a Carlos Spencer home, Tajhon Mailata's presence on the Bay of Plenty Steamers bench in tonight's Air New Zealand Cup clash with Taranaki signals a rare win for the NZRU in its fight to tie the best talent to home.

Mailata was last night given clearance to play by the Australian Rugby Union, to whom he's been contracted since he was a schoolboy, taking his place with the Bay reserves.



The former Australian schoolboy star, who played one Super 14 game for John Mitchell's Western Force this season, joined the Steamers on Monday, with the Bay union working through the week to get him cleared to turn out against Taranaki at Blue Chip Stadium.

Mailata, who prefers fullback but can play wing or centre, has been fast-tracked by the New Zealand Rugby Union into the Bay squad after being fitness-tested by the Chiefs Super 14 franchise earlier this week.

Mailata needs to play in the Air NZ Cup tonight _ before the repechage rounds start _ to be eligible to play in the rest of this season's provincial competition.

It also has implications for New Zealand Super 14 selection next year and any future involvement with the Steamers. If clearance wasn't received in time, Mailata, who has moved back to New Zealand from Australia, would have been restricted to playing for the Bay development side for the rest of the season.

Mailata, 20, is a quality prospect, which probably explains why the Australian union wasn't moving too fast this week to grant him a release.

He played one game for the Western Force this season but it is understood he has returned home after falling out of favour with Mitchell.

Steamers coach Andre Bell said they got a call from the NZRU earlier in the week offering Tajhon's services.

"The NZRU's been trying to push [his clearance] through although it's a rare one _ a New Zealand player who has headed back from overseas at such a young age.

"Obviously, having been involved in Super 14 this season he comes with a good pedigree, and I think it's quite innovative of the rugby union to look to contract a guy like this."

The Auckland-born player, who has family in Bay of Plenty, moved to Australia with his family 10 years ago and attended Brisbane's Nudgee College.

In 2003 he won the Bronze Boot, awarded to the top Australian schoolboy representative. Last year he was part of the Australian under-21 team and also played for the under-19 sides in 2003 and 2004.

Bell watched as the 1.84m, 102kg fullback/midfielder was put through his paces this week.

"He's impressive. It's been three weeks since he last played so he's a bit out of shape but ... he's got some skills, complemented by a bit of size."

[fulvio sammut]

Tough break for Rockingham in the local comp.I suspect they were hoping he would get more game time with them next season.I indicated earlier this year that you can't build a team relying on crumbs from the Force and it's panned out that way for a number of clubs.
It will be interesting to see how things develop next year. Rugbywa have said, I believe, that they will not be allocating players and it will be up to the individual clubs to entice Force players to their club. Frankly, on this year's experience I can't see the cheque books being opened and the clubs falling over themselves to secure the possibility of only a handful of games at the whim of the Force hierachy.
More value, I suspect, in spending the limited dollars(even more limited next year with the shortened season) on securing quality club level players, if the Palmyra experiment this year is anything to go by.

As the clubs are likely to find out however, if their recruits are of sufficient quality they will lose them to the Force anyway.Whether they are called up to the Force or Academy, it will be Mitchell calling the shots, not the clubs.
Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but I'm not so blind or besotted by ARU and Rugbywa rhetoric and propaganda not to see that the downward spiral of club rugby next year is written on the wall in bold letters.

Interesting times in this era of professionalism.

[RugbyFan]

He played one game for the Western Force this season but it is understood he has returned home after falling out of favour with Mitchell.

Wow, thats a bold statement..

[GIGS20]

[QUOTE=fulvio sammut]Tough break for Rockingham in the local comp.I suspect they were hoping he would get more game time with them next season.

Yep I think Rocko would feel pretty short changed in the allocation this year gettin Sharpy, Pat O'Connor and Taj. It was awesome to see Taj play his first home game in the purple, he cut 'em up, but there just wasn't enough games in the allocated players for Rocko to think it would be worth paying a whole stack of dough. It'll be a shame to lose Taj as he seems to be a good future prospect for the club, and although he wouldn't have got a stack of super 14 time this season, he'd be a great prospect for the future.

BTW I don't represent the board of Rockingham Rugby Union club, I'm just an interested watcher.

[Burgs]

Welcome along GGST, hope you enjoy the ride!
I would think the biggest gains as a direct consequence of the formation of the Force in WA would be the swarm of "next tier" players who have come to WA from NSW, Qld, NZ and SA though?
This is what will have the greater impact on the standard of the local comp in the first few years in my mind.
I appreciate it must be tough for the affected Clubs, not knowing who they will have available, but you can hardly blame the Force or the players involved as the very reason they are here at all is to play at the higher level.
I would like to read some suggestions as to how TWF Members feel it can be made more fair for all though as we all seem to agree that the current situation isn't fair for all parties.
Is it in fact unrealistic to try and maintain a ten team Premier Comp in WA?
Would all parties be "better served" if it were only perhaps a six Club Premier with more players to lift the standard of the Seconds and Thirds?
Totally devils advocating and looking for your suggestions here so don't completly tear my head off in reply

[fulvio sammut]

I don't think anyone blames the Force for anything, they have their job to do and appear to be doing it well.

There are also some problems which lie at the administration level of the local competition, but again one can't blame the administrators; it has been a learning curve for everyone.

Where I do harbour resentment is at those in the Union administration who have been so totally focused on the Force and its issues that they have sold out the local competition by default.

There are a number of key areas here.

1.It is a cop out to say that it is up to the clubs to approach the Force players directly . this is akin to saying "devil take the hindmost".Strong, currently successful clubs, will secure the players from whom they will get the most game time and the others, especially the outer suburban clubs, will get nothing. How does that help the overall competition?
There must be a system of allocation whereby the weaker clubs get first pick.This may initially be seen as a reward for mediocrity, but improving the standard invariably improves enthusiasm and support and the benefits will follow.

2.The Union has to regain control over the Public School rugby system.We currently have the appalling situation that at least one of these Schools is directing its players to a particular club, with the penalty that if they don't play there they cannot play for the school. We have schools arranging their fixtures so as to make it impossible for their kids to play club rugby on Saturdays.Yet these same schools are milking the clubs for financial and practical support by provision of coaches, facilities etc.

3.The junior competition has to be given a sensible direction. With most clubs now having 200 plus juniors and at least two playing fields why can't there be home and away fixtures played on Saturday mornings and Sundays, with only the overflow directed to Britannia Park? Last year we had an absolutely farcical proposal seriously suggested at junior rugby level leading to an uproar of indignation from the adversely affected clubs. The compromise arrived at wasn't that much better. Convenience and expediency triumphed over common sense.

4.The financial life blood of a senior club is its bar . Forget about political and social correctness. Without members spending their 30 or 40 dollars at the club each Thursday night and Saturday match days clubs can't exist. In WA's climate you can't have trial games in February and match games in March without killing someone with heat stroke. In New Zealand the NPC has resulted in the shortening of the club season to finish in July to accomodate it. NZ summers are not particularly noted for searing temperatures. Yet Rugbywa, without reference to the clubs, goes along, indeed enthusiastically supports, a proposal which will likely have the effect of shortening the local competition to March to July. In a one team town why is this necessary?
If you read Mr O'Meara's spin on the Rugbywa website , he suggests this is a win-win situation for the clubs but doesn't specify how.He dismisses opposition by Sydney clubs (and I suspect they may know a thing or two) as a "...furphy perpetrated by two or three Sydney clubs hell-bent on protecting their little empires". Methinks it is more a case of him trying to build his own. All the "benefits"to the clubs that he propounds are benefits to the Force structure and the availability to them of the club' players and resources, not to the clubs.

It is not that there is an intention to harm the local competition, it is just that all decisions are being made in the interests of Super 14's and the effect on the clubs is being treated as "collateral damage".

No doubt someone out there will prove me to be totally wrong and an ignorant, troublesome whinger. I hope he can.