Team list Tuesday: Rnd 12 vs Bunnies

[Gazzamatta]

The fullback organises the defence. No way do we want Fergo or Waqa charged with the role. Waqa just needs to get dropped. End of story.

So does that mean Gutho is doing a sh*t job?

 

[TheParraboy]

There's got to be a reason his defence got worse after coming to our club, especially since most players improve when they come here.

Confidence issue? Our inside men an issue? strategy issue? Reading the play issue?

All of the above?

We do need to address the issue, thankfully we are well placed and have some time to do so
Dare say DylanB will make a huge difference, the guy has been sublime defensively for a halves player, doing the 1% dirty work that goes unseen, but contributes hugely

 

[Noise]

So does that mean Gutho is doing a sh*t job?

He seems to do a pretty good job when Waqa Blake isn't in the side.

 

[84 Baby]

yeah its probably not as simple as "he sucks" .... he looks a frustrated chap, he is trying his balls off.

It puzzles me that he had a reasonably good game vs Souths in the semis last year .... he just got lucky?

This is the shit those lazy ass TCT hacks should be reporting on.
My takes last year were Menko was the defence leader on the left and Moses was on the right.
I believe this year it’s Moses on the left and either Drown or Matto on the right.
For most of our edge players, I don’t think the comms significantly impacts the decisions they make. The exceptions are Sivo on when to come in on shifts (he’s been better of late so I’m thinking comms are working on that side) and almost everything around Waqa. Either there is no comms (quite possible on Sunday) or Waqa isn’t following (also quite possible given the complete opposite decisions he and Fergo have made with one and other in past).
The headache with Waqa is those problems were less noticeable when Marata was there, which would indicate it isn’t a structural issue. But perhaps Drown is the leader there and when he is back, the issues happening around Waqa fade away.
But then (I’m stealing this from those TCT hacks) we should question is it right to have Waqa in the team if he requires Drown to be in the team for him to at least be competent defending? Otherwise every time Drown is injured/suspended/not playing, we may as well not pick Waqa as well

 

[IFR33K]

I'd say hit and stick is easier when you're only focusing on the attacker in front of you and you're happy to let them draw and pass. How would Niukore go if he had to babysit Jake Arthur? I think there'd be a lot more breaks on his inside shoulder, and if he didn't make last minute adjustments to defend them he wouldn't miss any low percentage tackles.

I would of just said hit and stick is easier if you actually do just that. Waqa runs, attempts to hit and misses everything. But it’s Paulo’s fault, JA fault and last season twas moses, fault. Blames everyone except the merkin that’s actually at fault. Makes sense

 

[84 Baby]

So does that mean Gutho is doing a sh*t job?

I thought he did on Sunday.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

This is the shit those lazy ass TCT hacks should be reporting on.
My takes last year were Menko was the defence leader on the left and Moses was on the right.
I believe this year it’s Moses on the left and either Drown or Matto on the right.
For most of our edge players, I don’t think the comms significantly impacts the decisions they make. The exceptions are Sivo on when to come in on shifts (he’s been better of late so I’m thinking comms are working on that side) and almost everything around Waqa. Either there is no comms (quite possible on Sunday) or Waqa isn’t following (also quite possible given the complete opposite decisions he and Fergo have made with one and other in past).
The headache with Waqa is those problems were less noticeable when Marata was there, which would indicate it isn’t a structural issue. But perhaps Drown is the leader there and when he is back, the issues happening around Waqa fade away.
But then (I’m stealing this from those TCT hacks) we should question is it right to have Waqa in the team if he requires Drown to be in the team for him to at least be competent defending? Otherwise every time Drown is injured/suspended/not playing, we may as well not pick Waqa as well

Have we seen Niukore defending at centre when Dylan Brown isn't there?

 

[TheRam]

I think Blake has been poor these past two games and the stats support this. But I trust Arthur's is doing the best for the team. I assume Blake will come good.

Look, my issue and others here with Blake goes beyond this season. He has repeatedly failed at his defensive assignment over his reasonably short time with us. He has had some decent games and one stellar moment last year against the Panthers, but overall, most reasonable judges would have to agree he is a major liability in defense if he is not on his game, which happens way to often.

With that in mind, I believe that a better coach with a more ruthless character, would have already given him his marching orders and tried to move him on. It isn't like he was a solid defender prior to his injury and he has come back and just needs to get his fitness and timing back.

We all know that even when he does get back into shape, he is a disaster waiting to happen at any given time. During games we are all sitting there(except for you and BA) with our hearts in mouths not knowing how he is going to react when the play shifts to his side under pressure.

I believe that when we lost MJ to his drug suspension, we should have moved heaven and earth to get a quality centre and trading WB out. Opacic was a very good and astute signing. But we still never addressed Waqa and the liability he presents. We have a slow but very capable centre on one side and a defensively bad centre on the other side. I suppose it could have been worse if Opacic had turned out to be a dud, which was a real possibility, especially injury wise and still could happen.

But, we need to address this and improve our centre stocks significantly. The only way I can see that happening without breaking the bank, is to raid the juniors of other teams. There is no one in our club even close to doing it at present. Who are the best centres/wingers in the lower grades? Anyone know?

We are currently a top 4 team. Surely it wouldn't be that hard to convince a quality junior centre that is being held back for whatever reason at their current club around that 19-22 yrs, that they would be elevated into a quality NRL team almost immediately if they signed with us.

Maybe we did try to address it, but failed. Who knows? But we need to really make a huge effort in this area for next season or nothing will be any different again. We have improved remarkably this year because of Moses and Mahoney's improvement on last year and the acquisition of two out of the box forwards in Papalii and Cartwright. We need a similar affect in our backline to happen if we want to keep improving with new blood coming in to add some spark, speed and stability in defense.

The players are always out there, we just need to identify them and then be good enough in negotiations to bring them over. But there are always players waiting to surprise.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

He seems to do a pretty good job when Waqa Blake isn't in the side.

*Jake Arthur

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Look, my issue and others here with Blake goes beyond this season. He has repeatedly failed at his defensive assignment over his reasonably short time with us. He has had some decent games and one stellar moment last year against the Panthers, but overall, most reasonable judges would have to agree he is a major liability in defense if he is not on his game, which happens way to often.

Nope, our defence has been excellent with him in the team, for 18 months now. What's different over the past two games is our teenage three defender.

 

[yy_cheng]

Nope, our defence has been excellent with him in the team, for 18 months now. What's different over the past two games is our teenage three defender.

Why didn't how great coach see this coming?

 

[TheRam]

Nope, our defence has been excellent with him in the team, for 18 months now. What's different over the past two games is our teenage three defender.

Oh pleeeeease! I am not referring to our overall defense, which has been good against most lower teams. I am referring to our defense out wide, especially in regards to Waqa, Fergo and Sivo...with Waqa the main offender.

Our defensive numbers stack up well due to the great cover and scramble that the rest of the team have to do because of those 3 having such bad reads at times under pressure. And sure our defense looks and is better when you have an A grade defender in the team like D. Brown, but that doesn't mean that those 3 know what they are doing. But Waqa is the main culprit that unsettles Fergo and others in the backline and then the second guessing begins. The team goes into scramble mode and our good defensive structures start to collapse.

If we can remove him and replace him with a more level headed defender with similar pace or better, then our defensive prowess will improve massively right across the board and the confidence will go through the roof.

Sure I can hear you now saying that to get such a player will cost way to much under the salary cap. Well yeah der!. But all great players were juniors once looking for their chance and opportunity. What do you like telling us like a one phrase parrot when we lose a junior to a rival club?

"We can't keep them all."

Well maybe you should heed your own advice sometimes mate.

 

[84 Baby]

Have we seen Niukore defending at centre when Dylan Brown isn't there?

Do you think Marata would have been as bad as Waqa with Jrthur? If so, how much worse? And if so, can you factor in the salary differences?
I know the salary component isn’t really fixable midseason but if the options are Waqa’s output or Marata bringing Waqa’s output at half the price...

 

[emjaycee]

Look, my issue and others here with Blake goes beyond this season. He has repeatedly failed at his defensive assignment over his reasonably short time with us. He has had some decent games and one stellar moment last year against the Panthers, but overall, most reasonable judges would have to agree he is a major liability in defense if he is not on his game, which happens way to often.

With that in mind, I believe that a better coach with a more ruthless character, would have already given him his marching orders and tried to move him on. It isn't like he was a solid defender prior to his injury and he has come back and just needs to get his fitness and timing back.

We all know that even when he does get back into shape, he is a disaster waiting to happen at any given time. During games we are all sitting there(except for you and BA) with our hearts in mouths not knowing how he is going to react when the play shifts to his side under pressure.

I believe that when we lost MJ to his drug suspension, we should have moved heaven and earth to get a quality centre and trading WB out. Opacic was a very good and astute signing. But we still never addressed Waqa and the liability he presents. We have a slow but very capable centre on one side and a defensively bad centre on the other side. I suppose it could have been worse if Opacic had turned out to be a dud, which was a real possibility, especially injury wise and still could happen.

But, we need to address this and improve our centre stocks significantly. The only way I can see that happening without breaking the bank, is to raid the juniors of other teams. There is no one in our club even close to doing it at present. Who are the best centres/wingers in the lower grades? Anyone know?

We are currently a top 4 team. Surely it wouldn't be that hard to convince a quality junior centre that is being held back for whatever reason at their current club around that 19-22 yrs, that they would be elevated into a quality NRL team almost immediately if they signed with us.

Maybe we did try to address it, but failed. Who knows? But we need to really make a huge effort in this area for next season or nothing will be any different again. We have improved remarkably this year because of Moses and Mahoney's improvement on last year and the acquisition of two out of the box forwards in Papalii and Cartwright. We need a similar affect in our backline to happen if we want to keep improving with new blood coming in to add some spark, speed and stability in defense.

The players are always out there, we just need to identify them and then be good enough in negotiations to bring them over. But there are always players waiting to surprise.

We have the following young centres/wingers, all reputedly with some speed.
Hayze Perham
Haze Dunster
Solomone Naiduki
Will Penisini

2 of them have been selected in the 21 this week.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Why didn't how great coach see this coming?

Sometimes teams lose unexpectedly. Sometimes by a lot. You'd be stupid to judge anyone by one game, or just by the games they lose. Bennett's team has conceded fifty multiple times in recent weeks. Does it mean he can't coach? There are so many codependent factors in a team's success is impossible to blame one person, including the straw that broke the camel's back. If it wasn't that straw it would've been a different one.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Oh pleeeeease! I am not referring to our overall defense, which has been good against most lower teams. I am referring to our defense out wide, especially in regards to Waqa, Fergo and Sivo...with Waqa the main offender.

Our defensive numbers stack up well due to the great cover and scramble that the rest of the team have to do because of those 3 having such bad reads at times under pressure. And sure our defense looks and is better when you have an A grade defender in the team like D. Brown, but that doesn't mean that those 3 know what they are doing. But Waqa is the main culprit that unsettles Fergo and others in the backline and then the second guessing begins. The team goes into scramble mode and our good defensive structures start to collapse.

If we can remove him and replace him with a more level headed defender with similar pace or better, then our defensive prowess will improve massively right across the board and the confidence will go through the roof.

Sure I can hear you now saying that to get such a player will cost way to much under the salary cap. Well yeah der!. But all great players were juniors once looking for their chance and opportunity. What do you like telling us like a one phrase parrot when we lose a junior to a rival club?

"We can't keep them all."

Well maybe you should heed your own advice sometimes mate.

The flipside of can't-keep-them-all is that you can't poach them all either. There's a market, and everyone has to make hard choices with their budgets. The Roosters just lost the upset of the season with their two teenaged superstars on the field together for the first time. Is it because Robinson can't coach or is there another scapegoat? Should Walker or Suaali not have played? Sometimes teams just lose. There's no need to demand someone's head. Judge teams over a season. Judge players over a career.

 

[Gazzamatta]

Confidence issue? Our inside men an issue? strategy issue? Reading the play issue?

All of the above?

We do need to address the issue, thankfully we are well placed and have some time to do so
Dare say DylanB will make a huge difference, the guy has been sublime defensively for a halves player, doing the 1% dirty work that goes unseen, but contributes hugely

DB was the guy who made the tackle prior to covering others defensive issues by almost getting Hutchinson and causing himself grief. DB is amazing and we miss his efforts massively.

 

[Gronk]

Fun fact: The Rabbitohs are named after the red neck merkins who used to sell trapped / shot feral rabbits on the streets in Chippendale etc.

 

[Gronk]

Hayze Perham

Pulled off an amazing chase down and tackle Eric Growthe style to stop a 70m try in reggies on Sunday. He's got some toe.

 

[Gronk]

We have the following young centres/wingers, all reputedly with some speed.
Hayze Perham
Haze Dunster
Solomone Naiduki
Will Penisini

2 of them have been selected in the 21 this week.

Sean Russell too.