Round 18 v Easts

[souths_reborn]

I agree regarding the penalty goals. We definitely need to take them more often. The roosters just knew we weren't gonna take them. Outplayed mentally as well.

It seems to be a trend in the modern game that if you are behind by 4 or more points on the scoreboard then a penalty goal is not a viable option. I personally don't understand that logic. That line of thinking is almost based on the premise that you are never going to be down in the opposition half again for the rest of the game, which is completely nonsense of course. What I also find interesting is that teams are also reluctant to take long range penalty goals. Those from a by gone era will remember kickers, such as Ross Conlon, often opting to take the two points from 40m out and sometimes even further from goal. Now with a kicker of Adam Reynolds' caliber I don't see why we couldn't do that. We should never underestimate the value of two points. Moreover, even if he misses the kick he could more than likely put the ball dead from the kick, which means we get it back anyway.

 

[Souths Till I Die]

It seems to be a trend in the modern game that if you are behind by 4 or more points on the scoreboard then a penalty goal is not a viable option. I personally don't understand that logic. That line of thinking is almost based on the premise that you are never going to be down in the opposition half again for the rest of the game, which is completely nonsense of course. What I also find interesting is that teams are also reluctant to take long range penalty goals. Those from a by gone era will remember kickers, such as Ross Conlon, often opting to take the two points from 40m out and sometimes even further from goal. Now with a kicker of Adam Reynolds' caliber I don't see why we couldn't do that. We should never underestimate the value of two points. Moreover, even if he misses the kick he could more than likely put the ball dead from the kick, which means we get it back anyway.

The consistent 2 points is a viable option but for some reason we show no respect to opposition defence even when we fail to score after repeat sets.

 

[souths_reborn]

I guess.. but friends kick to manu was all class. You couldn't see that play coming but they executed it perfectly. Aidan guerra's try was also perfectly executed by friend. He thinks a few plays ahead that man. He knows how weak Souths lateral defence is because of how huge our forwards are.

You could also say that Bryson Goodwin may have been aware that Joseph Manu has had defensive problems that were most notably evident last week and decided to take advantage of them by running at him and forcing him to make a decision. I think we happens sometimes when we lose games that we should have won is that we start analysing things from a glass half empty perspective. If we had won tonight then I bet no one would be talking of flukes or having a whinge about errors and complaining that the players are rubbish etc.

 

[Curns13]

You could also say that Bryson Goodwin may have been aware that Joseph Manu has had defensive problems that were most notably evident last week and decided to take advantage of them by running at him and forcing him to make a decision. I think we happens sometimes when we lose games that we should have won is that we start analysing things from a glass half empty perspective. If we had won tonight then I bet no one would be talking of flukes or having a whinge about errors and complaining that the players are rubbish etc.

If we scored on fulltime and won, it wouldn't have changed my opinion of the game at all. I'd be happy that we won, but disappointed with how crap we were in doing it.

 

[doyen]

Our tries were not flukes. Robbie Farah caught the markers napping and Bryson Goodwin utilised some footwork to get past Joseph Manu and score. There is nothing flukey about them. The reason why those tries may appear fortuitous is because there has been a notable introduction of ad-lib play that has been implemented into our game over the last couple of weeks. I'm sure everyone has noticed that we are offloading far more now than when we ever have under Michael Maguire. I believe that this is probably the result of both the playing group and the coaching staff's desire to take advantage of the natural athleticism of a few of our players, most notably Crichton and Walker. Moreover, I think offloading helps our halves bust teams up open up the middle, instead of going wide all the time.

Overall, I'm really deflated about tonight's performance. I thought we were easily the better team and it was only our execution that let us down. The same could be said of the Roosters but I thought we bombed a number of potential try scoring opportunities during the game e.g. players getting pushed into touch inside the Roosters red zone etc, knock ons etc. Also, a few fundamental errors really cost us. For example, Braidon Burns not playing the ball properly when were inside the Roosters half and on top was a critical moment in the game. Similarly, the players not being behind Reynolds bomb, which Gordon spilled was also a critical error!!

In terms of positives, I think we have struck a good balanced between structure and ad-lib football in our attack and despite only scoring two tries, I think we asked plenty of questions of the Roosters defence. I've got no doubt that if we attack this way against other teams in the comp (with a bit more execution obviously) then we will get the results we need. I also thought our goal line defence and line speed in general throughout the game was really good. The other thing that stood out for me was the players attitude; whenever we faced a set back or adversity during the game we responded well and sustained our effort throughout the game.

I thought our best player tonight was Robbie Farah. I think he really showed why he is an asset to our team and I actually thought it was a mistake by Madge in taking him off because he was replaced at a period in the game when he was controlling proceedings. Those on this forum who criticise him simply don't understand rugby league or modern hooking play. Adam Reynolds also put in a decent shift even though a couple of his last tackle options were a bit off. One aspect that very few people talk about is his defence; for a little guy he puts his body on the line as much as anyone and makes good defensive reads as well. I think he can well and truly stake a claim to being the best defensive half in the comp! Lastly, Angus Crichton was again magnificent and as I stated above, he is really benefiting from this ad-lib style of football that were using on occasions as it enables him to use both his strength and speed against defenders when they are not set in orthodox defensive positions.

Overall, lets not rip into the team as we put in a fine shift. I think some people on here need to remember that they are South Sydney supporters and should stop taking pot shots at the team at every opportunity that they get.

We have struck a balance between ad-lib & structure & I agree with all you say!!

We are in a situation now,however,where we need to go all out to win games.
Therefore,IMO,ad-lib should be our major focus from now on!!

 

[doyen]

A good prop should be giving away a few penalties now and then. It's certainly worked for roosters, they are on their way to their 4th top 4 finish in 5 years.

A top prop should be a full-on enforcer which means he is going to attract the ire of referees.

JWH man-handled our pack!! Any penalties he gives are mostly worthwhile in the big scheme of things!

 

[souths_reborn]

We have struck a balance between ad-lib & structure & I agree with all you say!!

We are in a situation now,however,where we need to go all out to win games.
Therefore,IMO,ad-lib should be our major focus from now on!!

I wouldn't say that we need to go all out with ad-lib. Rather, I think only certain players who have the ability to excel with that brand of football should be instructed to play that way. With ad-lib football you either have it or you don't and if your not good at it and you try it, then it ends in disaster. Hence, the likes of Cody Walker, Angus Crichton and both of the hookers should be instructed to play ad-lib footy.

 

[souths_reborn]

A top prop should be a full-on enforcer which means he is going to attract the ire of referees.

JWH man-handled our pack!! Any penalties he gives are mostly worthwhile in the big scheme of things!

You are stuck in the era of Frank Farrell, Dallas Donnelly, Les Davidson and other enforcers who gave away penalties under the old five metre rule when penalties weren't so costly. In the modern game, excessive penalties are more costly than ever, particularly if they are in the middle of the field and on the last tackle. At the very least, they are going to force you to defend for another set of six which contributes to fatigue. At the most, they result in the opposition attacking your goal line which can lead to tries.

 

[doyen]

Pretty risky, but I like your thinking.

Here's a bit of info on how it works.

$500 @$67 returns $33,500, IF successful. It returns zero otherwise.

The odds for the premiership winner market will be suspended after the start of the first match in a round, and don't come up again until after the completion of the round. For any team that plays that weekend their odds will probably change, in Souths present predicament our odds will probably change dramatically. If the Roosters win you'll see $200+ for us. But our season will be over. If we have a narrow win, we'll probably come in to possibly as low as $34 (current price for raiders, panthers and dragons) but probably a bit higher. A big win we'll possibly drop into $20's.

A couple of other things to consider.

I'm unsure as to how you were planning on placing this bet. If you were going to open an online account, I'd consider Crownbet. They're paying $81 at the moment. IF your bet was successful, your return would be $40,500, not $33,500. Odds comparison website :

https://www.odds.com.au/rugby-league/nrl-futures/2017-grand-final-winner/

If you would like to mitigate your risk somewhat, you might consider placing the bet with someone that has an early Cashout option. Here's what I might do, I'll use $200 as an example. I would place 2 $100 bets, instead of 1 $200 bet. If I got on at $67 and we beat the Roosters and the Cowboys, we might come in to say $21. Because of the change in odds I'm now being offered a $300 cashout for each $100 bet. I have the option of cashing one out, banking my original $200 + $100 profit, and then riding the other bet home knowing you're playing with their money. Or I can let both bets ride if I'm feeling confident.

Hope this helps. Please gamble responsibly..

Thanks for that--I really thought we'd get up tonight--a disappointing result so may need to re-think!!

Maybe I need to put on the bet at the most opportune time--wait a bit!!???????????

 

[callmack1]

Tough game tonight lads. We really, really let ourselves down tonight. However, to those of you that were saying we were terrible, I disagree. We had some nice periods in the game, made decent metres through the middle and the effort was certainly there. However we were not settled in attack. Too much forcing the play. We go wide when we haven't earnt the right. Perfect example was Sam's knock on close to their line, it was off a tap and we just threw it wide, from there it's easy for the opposition to just number up and shut it down.

Our own worst enemies tonight.

Walker: Wasn't bad. Had a few poor moments of communication with Burns at the back but other then that, wasn't bad. You could see he was really trying to create something and he almost did a few times.

Burns: Not great. He had some strong runs but made an error at a crucial time and some of the balls he let bounce out the back were inexcusable.

Gray: Not bad. He tried. Aggressive running and was always looking for an opportunity.

Goodwin: Good. Made the poor read which led to their first try but he made up for it. Good runs with that late footwork of his and his try was amazing.

Johnston. Quiet. He had some decent runs and didn't get rag dolled as much but I can't see why we didn't give him the ball more.

Sutto: Dissapointing. Didn't add much tbh. The play where he kicked it dead was the killer. We were doing well until that point but after that the game changed and the Chooks did the damage.

Reynolds: Wasn't bad but I want more from him. Hot and cold with his kicking and creating opportunities but it is good to see he is taking the line on.

T.Burgess: I thought he was good. Had some damaging runs. Getting there but still a while to go.

Farah: Probably our best tonight. He probed all night and we was recorded with a good try. Put in effort and created chances, we just couldn't finish it off.

Tyrrell: Quiet but still did his job. We look better defensively in the middle when he's on.

Fuimaono: Was good. Effort was there and had some explosive runs. He's really starting to grow.

Crichton: Good. As per usual he ran good lines and made plenty of metres. The lead up work to Goodwins try was sweet.

Sam: Very quite by his standards. Still not bad but nowhere near his usual. He looked a bit flat tonight and we missed the usual Sam Burgess.

Cook: Had limited opportunity and tbh, didn't do too much with it. Some quick scoots which caught th am a few times but that's it.

Clark: Was good. His leg drive has got so much better. Did his job.

Musgrove: Again, less impact than usual. Ran well but didn't have enough of them.

G.Burgess: Was good. He looked better, running hard and bumping off defenders. I hope he's finally realised he needs to lift.

I'm so gutted by that game and I'm so deflated (as you can probs tell due to my lack of detail in this post). Season over??

Anyone else thought the Roosters really got the rub of the green? A lot of 50/50 calls against us.

Should've won so it's frustrating. Just that execution letting us down. If we settled, could've got it done.

It's clear to see we're playing more freely which is awesome! It shows in our attack. However, today was a perfect example of not earning the right to play that way.

So keep the style the same but earn the right to play that way.

Heads up boys. That's footy. It's a rollercoaster, unfortunately we are on the downer atm but it'll turn around.

 

[callmack1]

It's no excuse at all but the five day turn arounds do hurt us.

Hate the NRL for giving us so many.

 

[foreverinourshadow]

BRING BACK CAMERON MCINNES AND LETS MAKE THE TOP 8....Shadow...

 

[Dogmatix]

Souths did fine in the arm wrestle tonight. But as with several other games this season the backline was no threat inside the opposition 20m

Souths need better players across No 1 to No 7. Cody Walker plays for himself not the team and this is not a good characteristic for a spine player to have. Souths should let Gray go the Sharks too

 

[foreverinourshadow]

Souths have a shiiit team but only the dont knowers dont know it...Shadow...

 

[foreverinourshadow]

R20 WHERE ARE YOU MATE??IM OFF TO GET 40 WINKS....Shadow...

 

[foreverinourshadow]

oi r20 we really needed cameron mcinnes tonight mate but but but cough cough cough...Shadow...

 

[CAFPOW]

poor madge. it looks like he aged in the space of 80 mins. for a 43 yr old fella, he looked like 70+ in the post match interview.

is our season over?

 

[alien]

It looked like they don't practice set plays enough at training! When attacking the try line, it looked like they didn't know what they were doing! People complain about them being too structured - well they didn't look structured enough, and when they tried to be, the execution was shizenhausen! The halves have to take control!

 

[Rabbits20]

We have struck a balance between ad-lib & structure & I agree with all you say!!

We are in a situation now,however,where we need to go all out to win games.
Therefore,IMO,ad-lib should be our major focus from now on!!

Doyen jungle ball doesn't work!!!!!

You have to win the forward battle and do the tough stuff then you have the right to play with freedom!!!!......

We didn't do that!!!!!

We shirked away from the tough stuff!!!!!!!

 

[Rabbits20]

With all the rumours that are circulating around Aaron gray right now I reckon he definitely needs to make an impact at centre. Give Souths an incentive to offer him a decent contract.

He was poor tonight!!!!!

He didn't lift!!!!!!!!!

I expected better!!!!!