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Sharks Team review 2019

Stake Removed

First Grade
Messages
9,676
A.Fifita – 5/10 – Has gone backwards big time this year, too busy going sideways, shows no grunt running with the ball, always good for a flop penalty

A.Gray – 4/10 – Failed to step up just backup player if that

A.Woods – 5/10 – Makes ground with ball, but too busy looking for a penalty, and lazy marker defence

B.Brailey – 6/10 – Looked good went got a chance but the coach decided wasn’t needed on bench, will be a key next year

B.Magoulias – 4/10 – 2 games off bench will get another chance next year

B.Nikora – 7/10 – Started great first year, struggled towards back of year, but did more than was expected

B.Uele – 9/10 – Came off bench and was damaging each game, showed the so called big name front rowers o the club how to run hard

B.Xerri -6/10 – Had some very good games, defence struggled now and then again long season for debutant

C.Townsend – 5/10 – Failed to progress, he needs everything going his way to make impact, he is a standard fg half back and no more, one trick pony

J.Brailey – 5/10 – Failed to develop tackles passes that’s it

J.Bukuya – 2/10 – Biggest form drop, needs to be moved on

J.Dugan -7/10 – Came good second half of season, tried to get team going forward on kick returns only to be let down by the forwards

J.Morris -8/10 – Great signing, ultimate professional, handled being moved around team nearly always one of the best

J.Williams -6/10 – Form struggled 2nd half of season, has dump penalty in him and misses tackles, again not helped by bigger name forwards not laying platform

K.Capewell -7/10 – When he was starting going great is not a bench player, the more minutes he gets the better

K.Flanagan – 5/10 – Probably will be better than CT but hard to guage, struggled with goal kicking

M.Moylan – 2/10 – No pride in jersey, does not put body on line, has problems with heartstrings

M.Prior – 5/10 – Like Woods & Fifita let down the team, no impact anymore

P.Gallen -7/10 – Still played his guts out, shame some other named players didn’t help

R.Mulitalo – 7/10 – Limited games but already best winger in club and can finish a try

S.Feki -5/10 – Like CT has ceiling and never improved

S.Katoa – 4/10 – Failed to take his chance, next year will be last chance

S.Johnson – 3/10 – For a star player it was awful, no organisiation, not there when needed, goal kicking awful

S.Sorensen – 3/10 – Does not play well when give chance, is ball player at Jets, battering ram in firsts

W.Graham – 6/10 – Out first half of year returns great, but showed nothing in last couple of weeks

W.Kennedy – 3/10 – Couple of games struggled will be backup next year


Coach J.Morris – 5/10 – Made finals but failed to get the big names to put in, seems to be able to get kids to perform though, struggled with use of bench, needs big 1st half of next year
 

Generalzod

Immortal
Messages
31,971
Missed opportunities not enough agro in the team, to many dance moves, to many silky smooth hands...
 

Chimp

Juniors
Messages
2,461
Dugan - Runs hard when he's in the mood, but makes too many silly errors and is mentally weak. The fact he's on social media within an hour or so of season ending talking about his true love of 'gaming', says it all. Happy for him to go and spend the money elsewhere.

Moylan - hardly played, complete waste of money. Even when he does play, it's a case of 'rocks and diamonds' - and that's being generous! Awful unforced errors, doesnt put body on the line, but can make something out of nothing every now and then. Desperate for him to go so we can spend his salary elsewhere

Feki - Standard Feki, minus his strong yardage drives, they've disappeared this year. Good time to go.

Xerri - Looks good in flashes, but doesnt impose himself on the game. We're terrible at giving him good ball, but he also doesn't go looking for it. Gotta remember he's a young kid - potential to be a star, but needs to learn lessons from Josh Morris on what it takes to make it to the top in this game.

Morris - Has been fantastic. Great pro, great output. I dare say if we got the same level of return on investment from the rest of our squad, we'd be right up the top challenging.

Ronaldo - Looks fantastic in all elements. Shame many of his more experienced and higher earners dont have the same commitment to the cause.

SJ - typical SJ. Hit and miss. You know you're gonna get 'rocks and diamonds' anyway, but our pack has been blasted most weeks, so he's not really had chance to play on the front foot often - happy to give him more time.

Chad - middle of the road at his best, garbage at his worst. Playing behind a beaten pack doesn't help, but he offers nothing to suggest he can pull something out of the fire when needed. More than happy for him to go and spend his salary elsewhere.

Feefs - awful year, awful discipline, awful attitude. He's got runs on the board though, so I'm gonna be optimistic and put it down to not coping with being injured and reduced mobility. HAS to be be better in all areas next year.

Brailey - Steady Eddie. Not bad, not great, but a decent kid with a good attitude. Thanks for your efforts and goodbye, all the best for your future young man.

Prior - zero impact all year in attack or defence. Happy for him to move on.

Nikora - great a beginning of year, good in patches at back end, but also lots to work on. A good work in progress.

Wade - straight back into origin was the worst thing to happen for us. It stole the buzz he had about coming back from injury and playing for us. Came back from origin flat. I expect a big year next year with a full pre-season under his belt.

Gal - not the same level of impact, but a trojan, and still one of our better forwards. Sad to see him get dominated 1 on 1 a few times through the year, but still a living legend. Happy retirement big fella.

Woods - Decent yards, but cumbersome. Very lazy in defence, doesnt do the 1% 'just in case' plays. Another who I'm willing to stick with - maybe the injury took its toll. Like feefs, HAS to be better next year.

Williams - same as Nikora and Xerri. Lots of potential, needs to be more consistent. Some shit errors and penalties that he needs to cut from his game.

Capewell - great utility value, but am guessing he'll be able to get more money elsewhere than what we should be paying for the role he'll play for us.

Uele - The shining light of the season. Fantastic impact - similar to Feefs at his rampaging best. If he can build on this year, he'll be one of the standout forwards in the game next year.

Boogs - never the same after that illness thing he had last year. Again, has runs on the board, so may come good after a good pre-season. But probably time to move on.

Overall, a shit year where we didn't get anywhere near value for money from our highest earners. People moan about Feki/Xerri/Boogs/Williams etc, but out of our highest earners in Duges, SJ, Chad, Feefs, Wade, Moylan, only Duges gave any value really this year, and his value was nowhere near what he's actually being paid.

With that amount of cap being either sat in the stands or largely ineffective, it's no wonder we've struggled. Our most experienced and highest cap value players went MIA this year, and that's bullshit. Unfair on players like Gal and Morris (and Ronaldo in his games) who gave their all, week after week.
 

Weaponhead

Coach
Messages
10,169
Season Grade : C+ season of what ifs and near misses but ultimately a missed opportunity to give the comp a shake

Context
Up against it given the NRL dragged out the Flanagan investigation to de-register him a couple of weeks before the start of the season. This had to be a significant distraction and also a difficult way for Morris to take the job. First gig, not in charge during the pre-season. Naturally wants to put his own stamp but the squad been assembled and trained to play under Flanno.

Massive injury toll in the first half of the season in key positions made it difficult to establish combinations and bed down a style of play. This is mitigation and not excuse.

First Quarter of the Season
Up and down start to the season going 3 and 3 after 6 games. Poor loss to the Knights to start followed by solid wins against the Tits and Cows. Injuries showed in losses to Parra and Easts, with a win over Penrith.

Second Quarter
Smashed by the Donks followed by a courageous win against the Purple Scum. Beat the Tits and bad loss to Manly and it's still up and down. Solid win over St George going into the bye. Smashed Parra in a very good performance to be 7 and 5 after 13 rounds, 6th place and looking solid as the big players are starting to come back. being talked up as a dark horse.

Third Quarter
This is where is it goes to shit. Poor start against Canberra led to first of five consecutive losses. Backed this up with losses to Dogs, Donks, Storm and Warriors. Fallen from 6th to 11th with a record of 7 and 10. Wheels have fallen off and in big trouble. The expected consolidation with return of big name players has not materialised.

Fourth Quarter
Needing to go on a run to salvage anything fro the season. Squeak a win against the Cows and then smash the Bunnies in the most complete performance of the season. Expectations are rising again as the Sharks are back to 7th. Play an under strength Penny's team and get hosed in an insipid performance to be 9th with 4 rounds to play. Beat St George and NZ needing a win against the Clap to confirm a final and Gal's last home game. Piss away an early lead to lose and its down to the last game. Rise to the occasion and belt the Tigs to finish 7th.

Finals
Playing an under strength Manly, the Sharks are hot favourites and turn in an absolute stinker to get smashed confirming the Brookvale hoodoo.

Who enhanced their reputation
Uele - became a real weapon. Ran hard, tackled hard. Not the finished article but a real surprise packet.
Xerri - good rookie season to score 13 tries. Defensive issues to work out.
Nikora - great start to the season. Runs good lines and can hit. Defensive concentration needs to improve as got found out on the line too often.
Ronaldo - great find. Good finisher, strong and passionate.

Who provided good value
Morris - leading tryscorer with 15. Quality player who always put in
Dugan - much maligned but really put in.

Who did not enhance their reputation
Johnson - poor consistency from a marquee player. Undoubted talent but questionable application and mental toughness.
Fifita - not a great season. The body is starting the show the effects of carrying the big frame into contact. Its time to modify the game. Still a quality player who needs a rest to get back to his best.
Moylan - moved to fullback to accommodate Johnson. At his best he is a matchwinner. Question marks of physical and mental application to be an elite player.

Who needs to step up
Chad - in the prime of his career. Can steer the team but really needs to tighten up his option taking. Steady player who needs to execute better.
B2 - club has thrown their eggs in the B2 basket. He will have to deliver to provide the attacking threat that B1 did not.
Wade - quality player who just needs to get fit and strong in the off season. Played some amazing games early in the comeback. Injury in Origin screwed him up. Lower impact at the back end of the season.
Woods - needs to show more urgency. Goes forward OK but seen as lazy in defence.
Prior - mad his reputation leading the line and smashing blokes. Has lost that edge in last year or so. Running game just OK


Attack
4th in tries scored, 2nd for try assists and 3rd for line breaks showed the change in style from Flannoball days.
14th for completion rate and 1st for errors made. Errors were a constant thorn in the side and have been for years. Completion rate isn't everything (Dogs were #1) but it does illustrate a level of discipline that hurt in close games.
70% goal kicking was 15th. Missing crucial kicks had a massive impact on the season.

Defence
Conceded 2nd fewest line breaks (Storm were best).
Mid table for run metres conceded and missed tackles.
Well documented issues in defending through the middle third.

Coaching
Tough first season for Morris. Got the team into a good position at half-way despite injury toll and lack of pre-season. The 5 game slump was a killer and he just couldn't find a way to get the team to play near their best often enough. The talent is there but the application wasn't good enough.

Next Season
The squad is talented but a bit thin. Lack of back up hooker will have to be addressed.
Adding Ramien provides more punch out side but it is in the position we are best covered for. That means 4 NRL quality centres on the books.
Need improvement from emerging forward to cover the loss of Gallen. Need fresh legs in the pack to up the intensity.
There are significant questions over the spine. Does B2 have the physical ability to play a full season? Can Moylan's play a full season at fullback? He needs to get very fit and sort out the hamstring issues. Can Johnson aim up and deliver more consistently? Like Moylan he needs to get fit. Can Chad get the team around the park and get the ball to the right players at the right time?
 

snout

First Grade
Messages
5,517
A.Fifita – 5/10 – Has gone backwards big time this year, too busy going sideways, shows no grunt running with the ball, always good for a flop penalty

A.Gray – 4/10 – Failed to step up just backup player if that

A.Woods – 5/10 – Makes ground with ball, but too busy looking for a penalty, and lazy marker defence

B.Brailey – 6/10 – Looked good went got a chance but the coach decided wasn’t needed on bench, will be a key next year

B.Magoulias – 4/10 – 2 games off bench will get another chance next year

B.Nikora – 7/10 – Started great first year, struggled towards back of year, but did more than was expected

B.Uele – 9/10 – Came off bench and was damaging each game, showed the so called big name front rowers o the club how to run hard

B.Xerri -6/10 – Had some very good games, defence struggled now and then again long season for debutant

C.Townsend – 5/10 – Failed to progress, he needs everything going his way to make impact, he is a standard fg half back and no more, one trick pony

J.Brailey – 5/10 – Failed to develop tackles passes that’s it

J.Bukuya – 2/10 – Biggest form drop, needs to be moved on

J.Dugan -7/10 – Came good second half of season, tried to get team going forward on kick returns only to be let down by the forwards

J.Morris -8/10 – Great signing, ultimate professional, handled being moved around team nearly always one of the best

J.Williams -6/10 – Form struggled 2nd half of season, has dump penalty in him and misses tackles, again not helped by bigger name forwards not laying platform

K.Capewell -7/10 – When he was starting going great is not a bench player, the more minutes he gets the better

K.Flanagan – 5/10 – Probably will be better than CT but hard to guage, struggled with goal kicking

M.Moylan – 2/10 – No pride in jersey, does not put body on line, has problems with heartstrings

M.Prior – 5/10 – Like Woods & Fifita let down the team, no impact anymore

P.Gallen -7/10 – Still played his guts out, shame some other named players didn’t help

R.Mulitalo – 7/10 – Limited games but already best winger in club and can finish a try

S.Feki -5/10 – Like CT has ceiling and never improved

S.Katoa – 4/10 – Failed to take his chance, next year will be last chance

S.Johnson – 3/10 – For a star player it was awful, no organisiation, not there when needed, goal kicking awful

S.Sorensen – 3/10 – Does not play well when give chance, is ball player at Jets, battering ram in firsts

W.Graham – 6/10 – Out first half of year returns great, but showed nothing in last couple of weeks

W.Kennedy – 3/10 – Couple of games struggled will be backup next year


Coach J.Morris – 5/10 – Made finals but failed to get the big names to put in, seems to be able to get kids to perform though, struggled with use of bench, needs big 1st half of next year
Yep...some spot on points.
 

snout

First Grade
Messages
5,517
Dugan - Runs hard when he's in the mood, but makes too many silly errors and is mentally weak. The fact he's on social media within an hour or so of season ending talking about his true love of 'gaming', says it all. Happy for him to go and spend the money elsewhere.

Moylan - hardly played, complete waste of money. Even when he does play, it's a case of 'rocks and diamonds' - and that's being generous! Awful unforced errors, doesnt put body on the line, but can make something out of nothing every now and then. Desperate for him to go so we can spend his salary elsewhere

Feki - Standard Feki, minus his strong yardage drives, they've disappeared this year. Good time to go.

Xerri - Looks good in flashes, but doesnt impose himself on the game. We're terrible at giving him good ball, but he also doesn't go looking for it. Gotta remember he's a young kid - potential to be a star, but needs to learn lessons from Josh Morris on what it takes to make it to the top in this game.

Morris - Has been fantastic. Great pro, great output. I dare say if we got the same level of return on investment from the rest of our squad, we'd be right up the top challenging.

Ronaldo - Looks fantastic in all elements. Shame many of his more experienced and higher earners dont have the same commitment to the cause.

SJ - typical SJ. Hit and miss. You know you're gonna get 'rocks and diamonds' anyway, but our pack has been blasted most weeks, so he's not really had chance to play on the front foot often - happy to give him more time.

Chad - middle of the road at his best, garbage at his worst. Playing behind a beaten pack doesn't help, but he offers nothing to suggest he can pull something out of the fire when needed. More than happy for him to go and spend his salary elsewhere.

Feefs - awful year, awful discipline, awful attitude. He's got runs on the board though, so I'm gonna be optimistic and put it down to not coping with being injured and reduced mobility. HAS to be be better in all areas next year.

Brailey - Steady Eddie. Not bad, not great, but a decent kid with a good attitude. Thanks for your efforts and goodbye, all the best for your future young man.

Prior - zero impact all year in attack or defence. Happy for him to move on.

Nikora - great a beginning of year, good in patches at back end, but also lots to work on. A good work in progress.

Wade - straight back into origin was the worst thing to happen for us. It stole the buzz he had about coming back from injury and playing for us. Came back from origin flat. I expect a big year next year with a full pre-season under his belt.

Gal - not the same level of impact, but a trojan, and still one of our better forwards. Sad to see him get dominated 1 on 1 a few times through the year, but still a living legend. Happy retirement big fella.

Woods - Decent yards, but cumbersome. Very lazy in defence, doesnt do the 1% 'just in case' plays. Another who I'm willing to stick with - maybe the injury took its toll. Like feefs, HAS to be better next year.

Williams - same as Nikora and Xerri. Lots of potential, needs to be more consistent. Some shit errors and penalties that he needs to cut from his game.

Capewell - great utility value, but am guessing he'll be able to get more money elsewhere than what we should be paying for the role he'll play for us.

Uele - The shining light of the season. Fantastic impact - similar to Feefs at his rampaging best. If he can build on this year, he'll be one of the standout forwards in the game next year.

Boogs - never the same after that illness thing he had last year. Again, has runs on the board, so may come good after a good pre-season. But probably time to move on.

Overall, a shit year where we didn't get anywhere near value for money from our highest earners. People moan about Feki/Xerri/Boogs/Williams etc, but out of our highest earners in Duges, SJ, Chad, Feefs, Wade, Moylan, only Duges gave any value really this year, and his value was nowhere near what he's actually being paid.

With that amount of cap being either sat in the stands or largely ineffective, it's no wonder we've struggled. Our most experienced and highest cap value players went MIA this year, and that's bullshit. Unfair on players like Gal and Morris (and Ronaldo in his games) who gave their all, week after week.
Spot on mate.
Paints a a very unprofessional picture for a club that should definately be playing nek week.
 

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