What's new
The Front Row Forums

Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

what is our biggest issue?

biggest problem (within our control)

  • Coaching

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Backline

    Votes: 1 5.3%
  • Pack

    Votes: 2 10.5%
  • Spine

    Votes: 16 84.2%

  • Total voters
    19

macavity

Referee
Messages
20,318
We need athletes.

You can train an athlete to do most things pretty well.

All you need is a good dummy half and half back to steer them around.

Go to the USA and say to all the NFL cast offs, we will give you 250K a year to come to Australia and play a game.

http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2016/03/portland_steel_trade_for_forme.html

Colt Lyerla - 6'4, 110kg, would be one of the faster players in the NRL. Hands like catchers mitts and loves physical contact.

Was a star TE in college for Oregon, the Packers picked him up UDFA, and he did his ACL in pre-season and was let go.

Played RL prop in France for a year for a holiday, then went back to the USA to play Arena League. So he has played the game.

Exactly the type of guy worth offering a second tier contract - low risk, high reward.

And you wouldn't have to offer any of them $250k - if they don't make the NFL, NFL Europe pays about $20k a year, and Arena Football pays $830 a game... most end up selling cars or something like that as it pays more.
 
Last edited:

K-Man

Bench
Messages
3,113
Of those four?

Personally:

From the four, coaching is the least of our worries. Wayne Bennett couldn't name it work here (although I think he is massively overrated, and can only win when he has all the advantages already in place). I think Brown is up against it and is doing about as well as could be expected.

Our backline has points in them. They also leak points. With some space they could do better, but they never have it.

Our pack is capable of holding their own, in fits and spurts. We don't have a game breaker or anyone capable of creating much. A close second as our "biggest problem"

For mine, the spine is the biggest problem of the four. We have next to zero creativity or impact. Our 1,6,7,9 is the worst in the comp by a LONG way. I think Levi will be a good player - in about 3 years time. I don't think they rest are ever going to do much - Mullo is made of glass and goes missing. Hodko has a low ceiling and has proven incapable of doing anything unless he is behind a dominating pack. Gagai can't tackle and while a decent winger, is a sub-par fullback with little to no creativity.

None of the fill ins have shown anything worthwhile. Lamb maybe in a few years.

Ergo, we need a half and a fullback. Holmes and Hastings would both be big upgrades on what we have.

Everything else depends on those positions being filled.

Agree with everything. It's pretty much how I saw it playing out before the season. The spine is so far below the rest of the NRL. I think it could even be argued that in each individual position we have the worst 1, 6, 7 and 9. Not just the worst spine overall, but the worst player in all 4 spots. You can't really be competitive with that.

I don't know how we would do it, or if there's any chance at all, but somehow we need to replace as many of Gagai, Mullen and Hodkinson as possible. Homes and Hastings improves our team significantly.

We may have to wait until 2018 to make any progress. I can't see Mullen or Gagai (not at fullback anyway) here beyond next year. Hodko is the biggest problem, we're stuck with him and that's a nightmare.
 

Yosh

Coach
Messages
11,245
We should only work on defence for the rest of the season. Don't care if we don't win another game. Would be happy to concede less than 2 tries a game for once
 

KeepingTheFaith

Referee
Messages
25,235
Was having a discussion with a friend about the Knights earlier in the week, thought I'd get the viewpoints from fans who watch the team a lot closer than myself or him.

One of my big concerns for the Knights is that they've cut/lost so many experienced players. There's no doubt a lot of those players weren't up to scratch anymore, but is there a concern for you guys that while the young guys have far more potential, their growth could be limited without experienced players around to help them develop?

I feel that the Knights are treading that line between putting a broom through the place and cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Has management put forward any hints at recruitment? There isn't a lot of top shelf buys available, but there are some guys out there who might help to plug the gap in the team both talent wise and experience Getting that gamebreaker might prove impossible until some consistent competitive performances can be put together first.

Along a similar vein, surely the Knights won't let Ross/Rochow go? Are they close to re-signing or not? While they might not be stars, they're guys you can't afford to lose IMO.

Must admit I've taken a bit of a fascination with the Knights this year. In the modern salary cap era I didn't think it was possible for a team to fall this far behind the others (not trying to troll, it's a genuine fascination that makes me curious to watch the Knights each week). Having said that, it's not all doom and gloom. Consider yourself lucky you're not a Warriors fan.
 

macavity

Referee
Messages
20,318
Was having a discussion with a friend about the Knights earlier in the week, thought I'd get the viewpoints from fans who watch the team a lot closer than myself or him.

One of my big concerns for the Knights is that they've cut/lost so many experienced players. There's no doubt a lot of those players weren't up to scratch anymore, but is there a concern for you guys that while the young guys have far more potential, their growth could be limited without experienced players around to help them develop?

I feel that the Knights are treading that line between putting a broom through the place and cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Has management put forward any hints at recruitment? There isn't a lot of top shelf buys available, but there are some guys out there who might help to plug the gap in the team both talent wise and experience Getting that gamebreaker might prove impossible until some consistent competitive performances can be put together first.

Along a similar vein, surely the Knights won't let Ross/Rochow go? Are they close to re-signing or not? While they might not be stars, they're guys you can't afford to lose IMO.

Must admit I've taken a bit of a fascination with the Knights this year. In the modern salary cap era I didn't think it was possible for a team to fall this far behind the others (not trying to troll, it's a genuine fascination that makes me curious to watch the Knights each week). Having said that, it's not all doom and gloom. Consider yourself lucky you're not a Warriors fan.

We aren't in the salary cap era, we are in the TPA era. Big difference. A few other teams are at risk of joining us at the back of the pack, and we sure as hell aren't moving up unless something changes with our circumstances.
 

orochimaru

Juniors
Messages
443
It's awfully painful to be a knights supporter, if I was a douchebag I'd folow another team, but sadly I am loyal and subjet to ridicule at work consitantly.
 

Mr_Knightside

Juniors
Messages
2,155
I feel exactly the same way, I get sledged by my work colleagues after every humiliating loss... So every week at the moment.
 

Still Nutty

Juniors
Messages
867
We should only work on defence for the rest of the season. Don't care if we don't win another game. Would be happy to concede less than 2 tries a game for once

Does anybody know if we have a dedicated defensive coach and who it is? (I hope its not Bedsy)

This was one of things I thought Brown would focus on for this squad but it doesn't appear that we (as a club) have gone forward on this front all year.

My understanding is that defensive structures and plays are implemented across all grades, so that regardless of who you need to draw on from within the club to fill FG, the patterns, structures and processes are all the same?

If that is the case at Newcastle, then the structural defensive issues we seem to identify are as much a product of poor coaching, as they are of poor execution and that is something that should be addressed, regardless of how individuals go from week to week.
 
Messages
3,663
Does anybody know if we have a dedicated defensive coach and who it is? (I hope its not Bedsy)

This was one of things I thought Brown would focus on for this squad but it doesn't appear that we (as a club) have gone forward on this front all year.

My understanding is that defensive structures and plays are implemented across all grades, so that regardless of who you need to draw on from within the club to fill FG, the patterns, structures and processes are all the same?

If that is the case at Newcastle, then the structural defensive issues we seem to identify are as much a product of poor coaching, as they are of poor execution and that is something that should be addressed, regardless of how individuals go from week to week.

Could be the case that we are getting it right at training but falling apart during the game. Bennet made mention of that last year.
This year it was brought up earlier how good were at line speed and in around the ruck in defence. Mention was made that we somehow just left that behind and needed to focus on it.
I reckon we have trained for t but the young guys aren't up to it during the game or we've been beat up so badly we fall back on old ways.
 

Burwood

Bench
Messages
4,769
Hard to blame fatigue the week after a bye and when the Dragons (the bloody Dragons!) score three tries in the opening 15 or so minutes. They just look completely lost out there.
 

Hello, I'm The Doctor

First Grade
Messages
9,124
The shittiness of the Pack and the spine feed into each other creating a cycle of poor performances...

Behind a dominant pack, any half can look like a world beater. Similarly, when being lead by great playmakers, any plodder can bend the line.

We have noone able to raise themselves above the teams mediocrity and break the cycle, so we get stuck with this shitstain of a season. And ill be surprised if next year is any different.

(Levi is great in broken play, but our forwards cannot offload to save themselves. Lamb is the other spark, but he is too young to carry a team as bad as us...)
 
Top