Rd13: EELS v Cowboys GAME DAY THREAD @ Fortress Commbank 26/05/23

[TheRam]

If you take Lane, Cartwright and Hopgood as our starting backrowers then our expected bench of Matterson, Greig, Ofahengaue and Hands suddenly looks pretty good after looking like it would be a huge weakness coming into the season. Dare I say if maybe even better than last years grand final bench.

If that 17 is all firing they are way better then last season. The week link though is Geriatric man. He should get no more then 15-20 mins.

Also the fittest 3 players at our club (not Moses)are all play in the spine so that puts us in a great position and two of those players are the fastest in the 17, which is also very good to have that type of penetration in our playmakers too.

The only thing I fear is when we play the better teams, will players like Simonson and Russell be able to step up and play like they have and help support the boppers and ruck it out tough like they have been. If the can manage that enough then this might turn out to be a good year after all.

 

[TheRam]

We got the 2 points. Our differentials great and we have a bye.

We have unearthed Hands,Grieg,Russel and dare I say Morretti. That's 4 guys who we didn't know if they'd be first grade material. I think they all are. A massive possitive. Along with Bryce playing well. These guys have saved our season. Without them due to all our injuries and recruitment we'd be battling big time.

Hopgood has been a quality signing. All the others have been dissapointing. Doorey I give a pass. But if we can keep chipping away untill rnd 18 we should have one of the best packs going around. Could be hard to beat. Just need to scrape these wins whilst we wait on our troops to come back.

Exactly how I see it too little buddy. As long as we can stay relatively injury free from here on in and Hands and Greig keep improving in particular, we will have the best chance to win it since 2001.

Voodoo dolls out for Latrell, Cleary and Reynolds to all go down with a bad case of sprained dick during the playoffs. Needles poised and ready.

 

[TheRam]

Ok this. We got a scrum feed from it. Someone explain it to me please.

Because the ball is still in motion from the kick but hit the ground first, then By Gutho touching it with a foot over the line it is deemed the ball has gone out by the kicker and therefore Parras ball at the scrum.

Similar to when you see a player touch a ball on the full at kickoff over the dead ball line with a foot on or over it. In that case the kicker is penalised for it of course at the 50 metre line.

Or if the ball is touched when kicked on the full while the defending players foot is on or over the sideline then the ball is given to the defending side where the kick was taken from as it is deemed to have gone out on the full.

 

[TheRam]

Remember a couple of years ago Blake Ferguson did it and we all had a heart attack.

He was doing it on the full.

You may have been having a heart attack, I was clapping that we actually had a footballer that did his job and knew the basic rules.

The amount of missed opportunities is mind boggling and some of them can really turn the game.

 

[TheRam]

Is everyone happy with the current ‘advantage’ rule when the ball gets turned over to the opposition. From what I can gather it’s up to the ref to decide how long to let play go before making a decision. There was one instance in last night’s game where I found the decision questionable and it was in our favour. Overall, it needs to be looked at.

No it's fine, otherwise teams won't chance their arm. The ref got it right. If the ball had stuck then we would have gotten our advantage. Running sideways for 10-15 metres isn't really an advantage.

 

[TheRam]

It shouldn’t matter. We had it, ran and passed and made a meal out of it.

Exactly, made a meal out of it. No advantage. So where was the advantage? The ref got it spot on. Stop looking for issues where there are none. The refs almost always get this part of the game right.

The operative word is advantaged? The answer would be no, not at any stage, but if you gave the ball back to them for chancing our arm then the advantage would be all theirs ffs!

 

[lucablight]

If that 17 is all firing they are way better then last season. The week link though is Geriatric man. He should get no more then 15-20 mins.

Also the fittest 3 players at our club (not Moses)are all play in the spine so that puts us in a great position and two of those players are the fastest in the 17, which is also very good to have that type of penetration in our playmakers too.

The only thing I fear is when we play the better teams, will players like Simonson and Russell be able to step up and play like they have and help support the boppers and ruck it out tough like they have been. If the can manage that enough then this might turn out to be a good year after all.

Our forwards getting injured may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It has forced Brad Arthur to play his reserves for long minutes and now that they’ve shown they’re capable they can get more than just garbage time minutes and actually be an integral part of the rotation.

 

[Gary Gutful]

Exactly, made a meal out of it. No advantage. So where was the advantage? The ref got it spot on. Stop looking for issues where there are none. The refs almost always get this part of the game right

The operative word is advantaged? The answer would be no, not at any stage, but if you gave the ball back to them for chancing our arm then the advantage would be all theirs ffs!

You are suggesting that there was no advantage because they made a meal of it, but the advantage was the opportunity to play on and do something without making a meal of it.

If someone f**ks it the other team shouldn't be able to have a free crack without consequences. Thats the equivalent of being given the advantage twice.

 

[Gazzamatta]

I couldnt help but notice Carty on Friday night. Led the kick chase and nearly always got his man. Also was the stand out on the runs off the ball putting the defence constantly in two minds. Made some outstanding tackles that needed to be made. Ran very hard with the ball. Probably the best game Ive seen him play. Ice who?

 

[Gary Gutful]

I couldnt help but notice Carty on Friday night. Led the kick chase and nearly always got his man. Also was the stand out on the runs off the ball putting the defence constantly in two minds. Made some outstanding tackles that needed to be made. Ran very hard with the ball. Probably the best game Ive seen him play. Ice who?

Amazing what BA has been able to do with him. He was on the scrap heap when we signed him.

 

[strider]

You are suggesting that there was no advantage because they made a meal of it, but the advantage was the opportunity to play on and do something without making a meal of it.

If someone f**ks it the other team shouldn't be able to have a free crack without consequences. Thats the equivalent of being given the advantage twice.

What you are describing is exactly what it is. You have a chance to have a free crack within a certain limit ... it happens regularly .... you dont have to just get tackled

i think they tried To make it more black and white years back saying you had to go 10m forward, but its still a judgement call ..... i would say this one was line ball

 

[Bandwagon]

Amazing what BA has been able to do with him. He was on the scrap heap when we signed him.

The one thing a coach can control most is the development of individual players, the mark of a decent coach is that players improve and reach their potential under their systems.

 

[TheRam]

You are suggesting that there was no advantage because they made a meal of it, but the advantage was the opportunity to play on and do something without making a meal of it.

If someone f**ks it the other team shouldn't be able to have a free crack without consequences. Thats the equivalent of being given the advantage twice.

As you yourself are stating, an opportunity for advantage is just that, an opportunity, but which was never taken advantage of.

End of.

I want the team that is afforded an opportunity to take an advantage, to be given that opportunity without fear of losing the ball if they were to try something audacious. Otherwise they will simply play negative football and just do FA with it.

Where is the excitement in that ffs?!

Like I said the refs got it right. It is a great rule for the game and fans to enjoy and not be hell bent on negativity and dullness. Leave that for the Pous of the world. We have enough of those.

If you want to change a positive attacking rule maybe you should go and write to V'Landys. I'm sure he will give you a friendly ear.

In the mean time the rest of us will enjoy the opportunity for an unexpected spark in the game if we can manage it.

 

[King-Gutho94]

I couldnt help but notice Carty on Friday night. Led the kick chase and nearly always got his man. Also was the stand out on the runs off the ball putting the defence constantly in two minds. Made some outstanding tackles that needed to be made. Ran very hard with the ball. Probably the best game Ive seen him play. Ice who?

Good on him but is it because he is playing for a contract.

Or has it taken him 3 years to get parrafit.

Just imagine if Bryce had this mindset last year he would have been in the side and a possible point of difference in some crucial games.

Well done Bryce for turning his life and footy around.

 

[yy_cheng]

Our forwards getting injured may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It has forced Brad Arthur to play his reserves for long minutes and now that they’ve shown they’re capable they can get more than just garbage time minutes and actually be an integral part of the rotation.

Yup, it's like tuhe forced hia last year that made a difference. Was it lane?

 

[lucablight]

Yup, it's like tuhe forced hia last year that made a difference. Was it lane?

Yes. I think we won because of that.

 

[yy_cheng]

Amazing what BA has been able to do with him. He was on the scrap heap when we signed him.

I agree. It was basically. Effort and no stupid stuff or you won't be in the team

But that's what bryce needed

 

[King-Gutho94]

Yup, it's like tuhe forced hia last year that made a difference. Was it lane?

Lane and Papali'i both had to go off for 15 mins in the 1st half of that prelim for a HIA assessment.

And I reckon it was a blessing in disguise Lane was massive and influential in that last 15 mins.

 

[TheRam]

Amazing what BA has been able to do with him. He was on the scrap heap when we signed him.

I think that that is Potato Heads greatest strength. He is tough but fair to the players that have talent but need that tough love to get the best out of them. They see that he is genuine and means what he says and if they are at the right stage(crossroads) of their career they tend to respond positively.

But it is all the other stuff he still struggles with, like tactics other then collision and how to use his bench. Injuries though this year may have given him a new insight that the Assistant coaches never could. Maybe now it might be easier for them to get their points across to potato Head.

We will see hopefully when our top 17 are all back that he has finally nailed it and the minutes are spread out correctly. If any of them are getting less then 20 mins then he hasn't learnt a thing. Paulo and RCG should be used no more then 50-60 mins if he gets it right.

Hell if we can we should give them 40 mins where possible. Players like Grieg would only be better for the extra mins too. They should be protected from burnout from here on in. We need them fresh and keen come playoff time, not worn out physically and mentally going in. Then they can rev up a gear or two, not idle or totally tank out like has been the case most other times.

We have been blessed with a bye in the last round too. We couldn't get it any better from a freshening up point of view. We just need to stay injury free from here on and balance the workload correctly. If we do that who knows our defense might even show a marked improvement. Fresher players means less missed tackles. Surely even Potato Head can see that can't he?

 

[Gary Gutful]

What you are describing is exactly what it is. You have a chance to have a free crack within a certain limit ... it happens regularly .... you dont have to just get tackled

i think they tried To make it more black and white years back saying you had to go 10m forward, but its still a judgement call ..... i would say this one was line ball

Yeah - it was fiddy/fiddy.

Will always be grey around whether an advantage has been taken.