BONUS: Schuster's cat

At this point in time Josh Schuster is both a forward and a half.

Note: I know last week when I released the bonus newsletter about hip drops I said not to expect these all the time, but I realised I can do what I want, so here we are.

If you’re unfamiliar with Schrodinger’s Cat, it’s an imaginary experiment posited by physicist Erwin Schrodinger in 1935 in which a cat is placed in a locked box with a sealed vial of poison that is triggered to explode at a random time, killing the cat. The idea being that while the box is sealed, the cat is considered both alive and dead.

Layman physics aside, right now it feels like that’s where we’re at with Josh Schuster. Supremely talented and with enough sauce to put MasterFoods out of business, Schuster is right now caught in that dreaded no mans land. Is he a classy edge forward with silky ball skills, or is he a big, rough and tumble five-eighth picking on smaller defenders?

Right now, it’s both, and yet it’s neither.

Ever since Schuster became a full time first grader in 2021, he’s been earmarked as Manly’s long term number six, and it was easy to see why, with his fluid movement and nonchalant style, Schuster plays with a disposition more commonly found in a lazy kick around at the local park, a confident bravado where it’s almost an insult if you look at the man you’re about to pass to, because looking is for cowards.

Schuster fanned those hopeful flames of his potential as a playmaker with a stirring performance for Samoa in last year’s mid-year Test against the Cook Islands.

The tears were flowing down the burly star’s cheeks during an emotional rendition of Sāmoa Tulaʻi, but it would be the Kukis crying soon after as Schuster and his Samoan brigade delivered a 42-12 thrashing at Campbelltown.

That Samoan outing whet the appetite for what was to come for Schuster, with Kieran Foran halfway out the door to the Gold Coast Titans at the end of the year, the countdown was on for Schuster to claim his spot as the heir to the stand off throne.

Sure, Schuster will face sterner tests moving forward than what the Cook Islands provided that night, but it was impossible not to let a smile escape your lips as you saw a young man playing with reckless abandon and carefree belligerence as he laid on try after try for Toa Samoa.

After biding his time as a bench forward, and sacrificing being part of a historic World Cup run with Samoa to prepare for a full preseason as a half, hopes and expectations were high for Schuster moving forward.

That’s where the doubts began.

A calf injury cruelled him of the opening round of the season, before a quad injury after a marathon golden point loss to Souths has held him out of Manly’s last two games, and will keep him out again this week against Melbourne.

These muscular injuries only serve to validate the doubt that crept into the discourse around Schuster. Could his body handle the rigours of playing in the halves for 80 minutes a game, rather than being that impact forward, a role that served him well over his first two seasons?

Schuster is a rare prospect, the kind that only comes around once in a blue moon. His swagger and fluid movement with the ball, his sleight of hand and his twinkly footwork all contravene his size.

He’s the sort of prospect you make time for, because the pay off of Schuster hitting will make even the highest investments worth it.

But in the fast-paced world of professional rugby league, time is a precious commodity that very few are granted. The history of the sport is littered with tales of miscast prospects and undelivered potential, like waiting for a train that never comes.

The book is not yet written on Schuster at six, and with Manly still very much in flux and given Schuster’s tender age, time is on his side to sort out his injury issues and develop into a long term playmaker.

The allure of the mystery box is an ever present in rugby league. People are always looking for the next big thing at the detriment of the known product. We know Josh Schuster is an effective edge forward, especially in that impact role off the bench. He hasn’t shown the ability to play big minutes in tough, grinding games yet (but very few big boys do at that age).

Manly have an interesting season ahead of them when it comes to their future. Kaeo Weekes and Cooper Johns have both appeared in the six during Schuster’s absences, to varying degrees of success, and while neither has the overt flair and rugby league charisma of Schuster, both have shown, at a baseline level, the durability to play in the halves.

Then there’s Latu Fainu, who at 17 years old, is ineligible for the NRL until late May (unless an exemption is granted), but has been tabbed as a future superstar of the game in the halves, to the point where Manly signed him to a four year deal just after he turned 16.

Daly Cherry-Evans is 34 years old, and while his game ages well due to not relying on raw athleticism, the succession plan for Manly is, you would think, firmly in place with the likes of Weekes, Fainu and yes, maybe even Schuster.

Josh Schuster is a supreme talent, and on his day he’s one of the most exciting players in the NRL. His style of play has the potential to attract the people to Brookvale in their droves.

But in this early stage of his career, his body isn’t allowing him to be the electric playmaker we all know he can be, and the one we all want to see.

Is Schuster doomed to be out to pasture in the forward pack as his body fails to withstand the demands of playing in the halves?

Is Schuster the first in a new species of supersized halves, ushering in a new era of jumbo playmaking over an obsession with “smallball”?

It’s only by opening the box we’ll find out.