Wtf is wrong with soward?

[Mr Red]

since this thread is supposed to be about Soward, i will keep my thoughts to his performance:

pros:
- seemed to be having a dig in defence, still missed a few one on one tackles but did enough to slow them down until Scott and Nightingale got there to assist.
- looked to be interested in the game, previous weeks was like he didnt even want to play

cons:
- still doesnt get his hands on the ball enough, and doesnt run enough. the very few times he actually ran was because he was forced to run because he didnt get a kick away, but when he did run he looked dangerous at times, getting outside the defender and created 3 on 2 chances. he needs to run a LOT more....
- extremely poor positioning for the kick on the last tackle - often too shallow and on the wrong side of the field, leaving himself no angle to kick and giving the markers too many chances to get to him...

overall i would give him a 6.5/10 for his game last night, but needs to be getting 8/10 or more for us to have a chance in the finals

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

since this thread is supposed to be about Soward, i will keep my thoughts to his performance:

pros:
- seemed to be having a dig in defence, still missed a few one on one tackles but did enough to slow them down until Scott and Nightingale got there to assist.
- looked to be interested in the game, previous weeks was like he didnt even want to play

cons:
- still doesnt get his hands on the ball enough, and doesnt run enough. the very few times he actually ran was because he was forced to run because he didnt get a kick away, but when he did run he looked dangerous at times, getting outside the defender and created 3 on 2 chances. he needs to run a LOT more....
- extremely poor positioning for the kick on the last tackle - often too shallow and on the wrong side of the field, leaving himself no angle to kick and giving the markers too many chances to get to him...

overall i would give him a 6.5/10 for his game last night, but needs to be getting 8/10 or more for us to have a chance in the finals

Good post Mr.

I'd probably give Soward a 5 though. That was the worst game I think I have seen him play.

Im a big fan of Sowie but he definately struggles under pressure. He's having a dip and is trying hard in defence but was cracking up with the ball in hand.

The persistence with the bomb really gave me the shits. It wasn't working, Melbourne have always been very sound under the high ball, why couldn't we try a grubber and force a drop out?

 

[Dragonwest]

Soward has got as much confidance at the moment as a virgin with braces on prom night!

 

[j0nesy]

Poor Soward , I feel for him, but the facts are he was shit last night. I agree that he puts a lot of pressure on himself, and perhaps that is conributing to his form issue. However, he needs to run to the line more, even if he is going to pass, its no good to stand flat footed, or crab sideways and throw long balls down the left side all night. Oh well, he'll come good I think.

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Soward has got as much confidance at the moment as a virgin with braces on prom night!

Bad memories:lol:

 

[dubopov]

The only thing that is a laughing stock is our own fans death riding us after keeping Melbourne to less than ten for only the 2nd time this year. They were off the pace because we FORCED them to be with muscle in defense, not because Cronk was missing.

complete and utter bullshit

 

[Breathingfire]

complete and utter bullshit

Agreed. Anyone who thinks Cronk wouldn't have made a difference hasn't been watching the Storm play the last few years. Gaz and Moz would help us also.

 

[Hooch]

Soward's confidence is shot... it doesn't take much with Sowie. He is as soft as rotted fruit.

Just wait until next year when Bennet is gone. You think it's bad now...

 

[Minh]

I am certain that Soward is still nowhere near 100%, he is not putting his body on the line in attack and defense, he only puts it on the line when it is absolutely needed like when slater made that long break in the second half. Fully fit he has a go believe me he may get beaten sometimes but does not back away. We should cut him some slack he holds the key to our premiership hopes at least one of the major keys.

 

[BigNormProvan]

Beau Scott reminded me of Shaun Timmins in his twilight when he'd get a start in the centre's. Bad case of crabbing across the paddock and giving his winger not much to work with. I always thought Timmo crabbed because of his kooky eye alignment and he actually thought he was running a straight line, Beau hasn't got that excuse.


Big Norm

 

[greeny12]

Regardless if Cronk was there or not, the guys can't be thinking "oh we only kept it close because of Cronk's absence", we'll be back to the bullshit we were dishing up last 3 games. Soward coped with pressure fine last year in the finals series, and in Origin this year. He's had a bad run the last few weeks with an injury and because of that his form has been bad, confidence drops, etc etc. He'll come right.

I agree with you Minh, Hornby did a lot more kicking (during game play) last night than he usually does. I still don't think Soward is 100%.

 

[Minh]

We had Gaz and Morris out too and the lack of speed out wide was obvious to see last night especially after Goodwin left the field. Nighty and Coops were our only go to men in the speed department along with Boyd.

 

[TheRev]

we shouldnt be so dependent on a few missing players, but its a bit like 2009, with Scott at right centre, or prior, there is nothing doing (in attack). Gaz will be big shoes to fill next year, even though hes nowhere near 100% of his game.

Again though, we did enough, its just dropped ball costing us big-time, 3 or 4 went over that left touchline, though granted Boyd had no choice but opt for a bat-on.

 

[nrlnrl]

Good post Mr.

I'd probably give Soward a 5 though. That was the worst game I think I have seen him play.

Im a big fan of Sowie but he definately struggles under pressure. He's having a dip and is trying hard in defence but was cracking up with the ball in hand.

The persistence with the bomb really gave me the shits. It wasn't working, Melbourne have always been very sound under the high ball, why couldn't we try a grubber and force a drop out?

Agree.

Despite the error in judgement of not running enough over the past few years & backing himself, he's normally mistake free. Recently he's had a few bad ones - intercept he threw straight to a Roosters player last week, the fumble & rushed "volley" ( kick while the ball was in the air ) & also a simple knock-on last night.

His kicking game hasn't been as decisive lately & also hasn't been helped by consistently poor kick chases. With the Warriors having 2 of the quickest in the comp ( Locke & Johnson ), the Dragons need to fix this up for next Sunday. I realise the go forward has been lacking over the past month & that makes it tougher for any kicker - hopefully the longer break will allow his back to be closer to 100%.

 

[God-King Dean]

Beau Scott reminded me of Shaun Timmins in his twilight when he'd get a start in the centre's. Bad case of crabbing across the paddock and giving his winger not much to work with. I always thought Timmo crabbed because of his kooky eye alignment and he actually thought he was running a straight line, Beau hasn't got that excuse.


Big Norm

rofl

 

[Saint Angelo]

since this thread is supposed to be about Soward, i will keep my thoughts to his performance:

pros:
- seemed to be having a dig in defence, still missed a few one on one tackles but did enough to slow them down until Scott and Nightingale got there to assist.
- looked to be interested in the game, previous weeks was like he didnt even want to play

cons:
- still doesnt get his hands on the ball enough, and doesnt run enough. the very few times he actually ran was because he was forced to run because he didnt get a kick away, but when he did run he looked dangerous at times, getting outside the defender and created 3 on 2 chances. he needs to run a LOT more....
- extremely poor positioning for the kick on the last tackle - often too shallow and on the wrong side of the field, leaving himself no angle to kick and giving the markers too many chances to get to him...

overall i would give him a 6.5/10 for his game last night, but needs to be getting 8/10 or more for us to have a chance in the finals

We all agree that Soward is not 100%. There were a few occassions where he had the opportunity to step around a defender and break the line (like he used to do so often last year) but failed to do so.

As far as missed tackles, I think everyone should take a closer look at Fein who has missed far more tackles than soward in recent weeks. We looked good in the first 20mins until Fein came on and then we fell apart.

 

[Father Ted]

Dismiss Red V at your peril, warns top psychologist ​

Adrian Proszenko ​

August 21, 2011 ​

A LEADING sports psychologist who has previously worked with St George Illawarra has warned the club's critics ''you'd be writing them off at your peril''.
Ray McLean worked with the Dragons for three years under Nathan Brown and also has extensive experience with four AFL teams, Super rugby franchises and also spent time alongside leading coaches, including Brian Goorjian.
The Dragons have struggled to maintain the consistency of last year's premiership run, with injuries, attitude and other factors conspiring against them.
However, McLean, from Leading Teams Australia, believes the Dragons can still be a genuine contender if they can block out the distractions and focus on the processes that have proven successful.
''At any club you work at you have to steer away from focusing on results; you have to focus on processes,'' McLean said.
''You usually have major key performance indicators you try to attack every week. The players need to look not on the winning and losing but the things they can control.
''That is a challenge for any team moving towards finals.
''Even on Friday's result - with Melbourne being the benchmark in the competition - a twist here or there and they could have won.
''For the average person, you'd say 'well that's another loss' but the really strong-willed teams would measure themselves against the benchmark team in the comp. They may very well see that as a reasonable turnaround in their form.''
One thing that McLean has learned from his previous association with the club is that external expectations will always be high. However, he said the squad could take confidence from the breakthrough premiership of last season.
''When you're consistently successful, you start to build a reasonably strong team and self belief.
''It certainly wouldn't hurt. If it was their first finals tilt and they suffered a bit of a form lapse, you might ask more questions of yourself.''
The Dragons have two home games to finish the regular season, against the Warriors and Panthers. ​

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...sychologist-20110820-1j3l1.html#ixzz1Vh1RJMqW​

 

[redvscotty]

Dismiss Red V at your peril, warns top psychologist ​

Adrian Proszenko ​

August 21, 2011 ​

A LEADING sports psychologist who has previously worked with St George Illawarra has warned the club's critics ''you'd be writing them off at your peril''.
Ray McLean worked with the Dragons for three years under Nathan Brown and also has extensive experience with four AFL teams, Super rugby franchises and also spent time alongside leading coaches, including Brian Goorjian.
The Dragons have struggled to maintain the consistency of last year's premiership run, with injuries, attitude and other factors conspiring against them.
However, McLean, from Leading Teams Australia, believes the Dragons can still be a genuine contender if they can block out the distractions and focus on the processes that have proven successful.
''At any club you work at you have to steer away from focusing on results; you have to focus on processes,'' McLean said.
''You usually have major key performance indicators you try to attack every week. The players need to look not on the winning and losing but the things they can control.
''That is a challenge for any team moving towards finals.
''Even on Friday's result - with Melbourne being the benchmark in the competition - a twist here or there and they could have won.
''For the average person, you'd say 'well that's another loss' but the really strong-willed teams would measure themselves against the benchmark team in the comp. They may very well see that as a reasonable turnaround in their form.''
One thing that McLean has learned from his previous association with the club is that external expectations will always be high. However, he said the squad could take confidence from the breakthrough premiership of last season.
''When you're consistently successful, you start to build a reasonably strong team and self belief.
''It certainly wouldn't hurt. If it was their first finals tilt and they suffered a bit of a form lapse, you might ask more questions of yourself.''
The Dragons have two home games to finish the regular season, against the Warriors and Panthers. ​

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...sychologist-20110820-1j3l1.html#ixzz1Vh1RJMqW​

I can't tell if you are pointing out the bit in red, or everything but. You normally post in red!

 

[Father Ted]

I'm highlighting the bit I find most interesting. The red in general is stuff I myself write.

 

[Divine]

Ironically his best game is very simple, so its hard to fathom how he's lost it. And remember its not just him. If tries were coming elsewhere his form loss wouldn't be so crucial. Anyway once he throws off the back problem and his tactical kicking gets back to where it was; he'll be right.