The thing is that they're not even close games. They are utter capitulations.
Yeah, you're right in a sense, even if it is a little overstated
They are not necessarily "utter capitulations" if you think about the Eels capitulating to the Sea Eagles.
But it is appropriate to discuss the Raiders as "fading" rather than just losing close ones.
A team can be outplayed, but hang on all game and still be within striking distance, but just not have enough artillery to actually win, and lose a close one. That is not the Raider's issue.
Two teams can go back and forth, swapping leads, and it is almost arbitrary when the 80 minutes ends and decides the winner. The other team loses a close one. That is not the Raider's issue (mostly, though these sorts of games can come down to game management at the right times, and that is certainly a problem for the Raiders).
You are right in that the "close" games where a team has a defend-able lead with a few minutes left, but manages to pull out several very poor plays in a row and lose should probably be called capitulation. If it becomes a pattern it is a capitulation rather than "losing a close one", at least compared to the other two types of "close" loss. And that is certainly the issue for the Raiders.
I agree. I think the reality of the Raiders’ team that causes their crumbling in tight games is the makeup of the squad.
Ricky has moulded a team that is massive - he seems to have sought out the biggest forwards he could get his hands on. Papalii, Paulo, Boyd are all giants. He also has serious size in the centres with BJ and in other positions in the backs. I could be wrong but my visual impression of the Raiders pack is that it is one of the largest in the competion.
Equally, however, those big boys don’t seem particularly well conditioned.
I think this has the consequence that they inevitably fade in tight games - by 80 minutes it just isn’t possible for those big boppers to be defending well or making good decisions. Fatigue does that to you. Not in the very limited interchange regime the game now has.
Hence they fade out near the end of tight games and you have results like today.
I also think there are a lot of very dumb players in the side - fatigued or not. BJ for example must be up there as one the dumbest players in the league. You don’t need too much brains to play league well but BJ barely cuts the mustard in that department.
Ricky blames the referees for it - and no doubt there have been some bad calls along the way - but Ricky also doesn’t seem to have realised that the game has moved on from the player selection and coaching methodology that might have worked back in the early 2000s and Ricky hasn’t kept up.
I agree with Tripster here that a massive squad that fatigues towards the end of a game, and some inherently stupid players are contributing factors.
Even in 2016, when they had a great run with more or less the same squad, and could easily have won the competition with some "luck", they faded out of the finals in the same fashion.
So even when they are in peak form, their weakness is falling apart at the end. The current team still seems to have that weakness, and is not going to have the same strength as the 2016 team while Hodgson is out, so it is tough to know how they can improve.
Their halves certainly need to take more responsibility for closing out games, and their "rotation" is probably both a disruption to them, and a sign that Stuart is not satisfied with their ability to do this, but hasn't worked out a fix yet.
Maybe they need to ask Issac Luke about his diet and fitness regime for 2018!
