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Nathan Cleary

mxlegend99

Referee
Messages
23,005
I think this Origin game will prove to be horrible for Cleary and Jimmy. They're going to be playing behind a small forward pack getting smashed in the middle for most of the 80 minutes.

We have a starting front rower that makes a wildly out of form RCG look like a reliable metre eater. Tamou should have been picked to start. Saifiti on the bench with another genuine front rower. With Wade Graham and Tariq Sims not picked.

Graham has played 88 minutes of footy in the past 12 months. Sims has been playing poorly in a losing side.i just don't see how Freddy has shit the bed so much on team selection. He has given his spine nothing to work with.
 

OldPanther

Coach
Messages
13,404
I think this Origin game will prove to be horrible for Cleary and Jimmy. They're going to be playing behind a small forward pack getting smashed in the middle for most of the 80 minutes.

We have a starting front rower that makes a wildly out of form RCG look like a reliable metre eater. Tamou should have been picked to start. Saifiti on the bench with another genuine front rower. With Wade Graham and Tariq Sims not picked.

Graham has played 88 minutes of footy in the past 12 months. Sims has been playing poorly in a losing side.i just don't see how Freddy has shit the bed so much on team selection. He has given his spine nothing to work with.

Nathan will have to bring that big boot of his and kick early and often. Play for field position. It'll be our only strength against this QLD team.
 

Dave's mate

Juniors
Messages
1,783
Johns was raving about his kicking at half time of game 1, A plus so far he said. All he’d done was bombs and one early clearing kick so I doubt he told him to change anything.
The high long NFL style kicks were definitely a plan
 

mxlegend99

Referee
Messages
23,005
Yep when your kicking to Ponga you go in with a plan. The plan was high kicks not grass finders.
Maybe the thinking is it gives us more time to have a wall of players to stop him rather than a staggered line?

Or maybe we thought Ponga would struggle to catch them. He did have one awkward take. But he seems safe to me.
 

betcats

Referee
Messages
23,469
Maybe the thinking is it gives us more time to have a wall of players to stop him rather than a staggered line?

Or maybe we thought Ponga would struggle to catch them. He did have one awkward take. But he seems safe to me.

I think its about getting a good defensive line as you have suggested as well as it doesn't give him much time to wind up and return the ball because of the hangtime(you sacrifice length of the kick to get the defensive line closer to where the ball is being caught it equals less room for Ponga to work with).

The further the kick chase has to run the more likely they will arrive at the ball carrier in a staggered line rather than a solid wall.
 

BxTom

Bench
Messages
2,566
Maybe the thinking is it gives us more time to have a wall of players to stop him rather than a staggered line?

Or maybe we thought Ponga would struggle to catch them. He did have one awkward take. But he seems safe to me.
I think that a lot of people still see bombs as attacking ploys only. I think that they are used more to put the opposing team as far back in their territory as possible with , as Mx says, a wall of players to ensure there is as little free space as possible. If the opposing team fumbles, it's a bonus.
 
Messages
21,867
I think that a lot of people still see bombs as attacking ploys only. I think that they are used more to put the opposing team as far back in their territory as possible with , as Mx says, a wall of players to ensure there is as little free space as possible. If the opposing team fumbles, it's a bonus.


This is a good point, but it’s hard to see how he doesn’t over do them.

Some games it’s just been bomb after bomb.

Maybe they’re not meant to get us a drop ball, but what are we getting from them? The field position we gain doesn’t lead to points.
 

Abacus

Juniors
Messages
2,093
If they weren't spiral bombs our chasers might try to catch them. At the moment it just hands possession over uncontested.
 

Fangs

Coach
Messages
11,202
Well if Corey Thompson signs on we will all have a hard time deciding who is the hardest worker in the team. Cleary and Thompson are those 110% effort guys, maybe even 111% but who is counting? (I am).

They are going to break the Telstra Tracker.
 
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