Like Wally Lewis, Sterlo was too naturally gifted to understand how lesser players work. Finding the right pass was easy for the likes of Sterlo. Less easy for a couple of halves with forty years and fifty NRL games between them. The reason defenders come hard at playmakers is because pressure forces errors. "Just pass the ball ffs" is shit advice from Sterlo. It's the kind of thing you'd say.
"Relatively simple and effective ways to respond to it" ffs. If it's so easy to beat it why do teams waste their effort with quick line speed, or even 'quick line speed'?
Relatively simple for a team that has the calibre of players that we do and are in the top 4. You know, SOO players, a captain that has at least shown that he isn't a total pot plant. Mammoth sized players that if they were to be drilled and trained for all scenarios that occur during games would know in an instant that they are getting belted up the middle and they need to go to plan "X" or "Y" or whatever else that they have been training all summer and during the season for just this case. You know like when the Dragons did the exact thing(which our coaches and players didn't learn a thing from) and use the ball instead of tucking it under their arm and getting belted or passing without purpose to no one that is in a better position them themselves.
In other words having a plan or two that they can execute that will break up the compressed defense. Our boppers are big, at the very least it would be smarter to run a Paulo type out wide with the better chance of an offload against an offside outside back like Croker to deal with and the possible offload then just running it one out in the middle third where we were being man handled or passing, passing, passing without purpose .
I'm not an NRL coach but just that play alone, executed quickly and effectively would have given us more space back on the inside if we kept at it because the defense in the middle would have had to go chasing and protect Croker. We then could have switched it up again and worked the middle with short inside passes and support, but this all needs speed and great execution that we need to have trained hours and hours and hours during the off season and during the season as well. Every man needs to know his job and do it well. It isn't all that hard if you train for it and they all know their role, decoys and so forth.
They need to be able to work out which player is the most vulnerable and work out ways to isolate and work on multiple plays to get to the point where they have that player exactly where they want him. Your telling me we have a top 4 team roster and we couldn't work out a way to exploit Sam Williams and without Wighton or Papalii on the field? FFS!
I don't care that Moses was out of the team. We were playing the Raiders without their best half. If we train properly, then it shouldn't matter, D. Brown and Gutho should have been able to execute simple plays to break up Canberra's stifling defense that was only dominant because we couldn't work out how to move the ball away from where the defenders were already anticipating us to run the ball before the play the ball was even executed. We are so predictable it just makes an enthusiastic defense even more prepared and committed because you aren't throwing any curve balls at them. They already know what you are going to do before you do it.
Mate I tell you what, go find B. Smith and see what he has to say about this. He may just surprise you. Maybe one pep talk wasn't enough. Maybe two might do the trick and then you can back and really school us all.
