Anthony Griffin

[jane the pain]

Didn't get tackled on last either once on Saturday.

Hook was a coach whod rather meekly hand possession over to the other side on last rather than make it contest for the ball because handing it over is lower risk.

I agree. We are seeing Nathan's true ability. I also believe he will now stay, I always thought that, and now I am more confident.

 

[OldPanther]

Didn't get tackled on last either once on Saturday.

Hook was a coach whod rather meekly hand possession over to the other side on last rather than make it contest for the ball because handing it over is lower risk.

Funny you mention that because the one time they ran it on the last Nathan shaped to kick and a Warriors defender slipped, he changed his mind on the run and passed it instead which resulted in a try. That kind of decision making hasn't been seen from Cleary since 2016.

 

[age.s]

Wasn't initially a fan of the timing re the sacking. 2017/18 off-season made more sense.

But at what point do we agree that it was 100% the right decision? A grand final win? Or will a semi win against our hard-nosed rivals the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks suffice? I choose the latter because in no world could Hook pull one over them in a semi-final.

Depends how we play for me. If we bow out this week, playing well and only going down to a team that plays a grand final worthy performance I'll be satisfied, if a bit disappointed. If we get clubbed while looking like a rabble again I'm back on the sceptical side of the bus. Similarly a sloppy win this week, followed by a blowout against the Storm will leave room for concern.

Basically, the longer we keep playing like we did on Saturday the better.

 

[Pomoz]

Since we are talking about kicking and coaches, I thought the kicking game was vintage Brandy and his influence was clear to see. The 40/20 didn't exist in his day, but his tactical kicking made the oppositions forwards have to turn around and march back to the 10m zone, time and time again. Ricky Stuart was also brilliant at it. Kick for the corners, chase hard and keep them in their own 20. Kick for the empty space and stop the fullback getting any time to get up speed.

Brandy rarely did a midfield bomb. It's a nothing option unless you're close enough to pressure the kicker. Cleary managed to kick a few massive spiral bombs where we were able to apply pressure a few times on Saturday, but he did it selectively, not ad nauseam.

Four goal line drop outs was also the best we have done all year. Nobody told the Warriors that CHN was a fullback in juniors and kept kicking to him for the short kick off and he duly enjoyed the catching practice.

We will need more of the same on Friday.

 

[Fangs]

We will need more of the same on Friday.

Not to Holmes please.

 

[GongPanther]

Since we are talking about kicking and coaches, I thought the kicking game was vintage Brandy and his influence was clear to see. The 40/20 didn't exist in his day, but his tactical kicking made the oppositions forwards have to turn around and march back to the 10m zone, time and time again. Ricky Stuart was also brilliant at it. Kick for the corners, chase hard and keep them in their own 20. Kick for the empty space and stop the fullback getting any time to get up speed.

Brandy rarely did a midfield bomb. It's a nothing option unless you're close enough to pressure the kicker. Cleary managed to kick a few massive spiral bombs where we were able to apply pressure a few times on Saturday, but he did it selectively, not ad nauseam.

Four goal line drop outs was also the best we have done all year. Nobody told the Warriors that CHN was a fullback in juniors and kept kicking to him for the short kick off and he duly enjoyed the catching practice.

We will need more of the same on Friday.

Great assessment. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. And the Panthers are not the same side as they were a month ago. This squad has undergone a transformation which to me is a serious threat to the premiership. The confidence is back,the dumb mistakes are out,their general play is gelling. All we need is for RCG to get his confidence back,and we are on course for big things.

 

[betcats]

Since we are talking about kicking and coaches, I thought the kicking game was vintage Brandy and his influence was clear to see. The 40/20 didn't exist in his day, but his tactical kicking made the oppositions forwards have to turn around and march back to the 10m zone, time and time again. Ricky Stuart was also brilliant at it. Kick for the corners, chase hard and keep them in their own 20. Kick for the empty space and stop the fullback getting any time to get up speed.

Brandy rarely did a midfield bomb. It's a nothing option unless you're close enough to pressure the kicker. Cleary managed to kick a few massive spiral bombs where we were able to apply pressure a few times on Saturday, but he did it selectively, not ad nauseam.

Four goal line drop outs was also the best we have done all year. Nobody told the Warriors that CHN was a fullback in juniors and kept kicking to him for the short kick off and he duly enjoyed the catching practice.

We will need more of the same on Friday.

Yep, you can see the halves and Katoa have the confidence to take these options when they see it’s on. That 40 20 was game changing for us. Clearys little half chip grubbers are something new probably from brandy.

Imagine a full season of the team training and playing this way.

 

[OldPanther]

Yep, you can see the halves and Katoa have the confidence to take these options when they see it’s on. That 40 20 was game changing for us. Clearys little half chip grubbers are something new probably from brandy.

Imagine a full season of the team training and playing this way.

Top 4 easily.

 

[betcats]

Top 4 easily.

You’d hope so.

 

[MrBlack]

Top 4 easily.

Come on guys. We were only 2 points behind the minor premiers this year.

 

[OldPanther]

Come on guys. We were only 2 points behind the minor premiers this year.

Exactly. Imagine what a 5 or 10 percent improvement would achieve.

 

[MrBlack]

Exactly. Imagine what a 5 or 10 percent improvement would achieve.

Losses this year to

Bulldogs
Cowboys
Eagles and
Knights.

Just needed 2 of those losses to be wins.

 

[OldPanther]

Losses this year to

Bulldogs
Cowboys
Eagles and
Knights.

Just needed 2 of those losses to be wins.

You're right. I think we win them if not so conservative especially with the kicking game.

Maybe not the Dogs game as we lost Nathan mid game.

 

[MrBlack]

You're right. I think we win them if not so conservative especially with the kicking game.

Maybe not the Dogs game as we lost Nathan mid game.

The Dogs game - that was the one where the referee cost us the game. All Maloney had to do was take a dive and it would have been a no try to the dogs..... That and a dropped ball (or was it an intercept??) where they ran the length of the field.

Say what you will, but year on year we have improved over the last 3 years under Griffin. Maybe just a bit too slow for some, and maybe at the cost of him being unpopular/arrogant/whatever it is that he did to cost his job.

 

[martielang]

Great assessment. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. And the Panthers are not the same side as they were a month ago. This squad has undergone a transformation which to me is a serious threat to the premiership. The confidence is back,the dumb mistakes are out,their general play is gelling. All we need is for RCG to get his confidence back,and we are on course for big things.

Probably also helps having a consistent squad / 17. We didn't have that all year up until the last game of Hooks supreme reign. That would be a big factor behind our execution & combinations improving.

No doubt the change of coaching has done wonders for our kicking game though, which is helping us build pressure, score points etc.

While we've been good the last couple of weeks, i don't think either of those weeks get close to our game against the Dragons or Warriors earlier in the year. Shows we still have some immediate improvement in us.

 

[OldPanther]

The Dogs game - that was the one where the referee cost us the game. All Maloney had to do was take a dive and it would have been a no try to the dogs..... That and a dropped ball (or was it an intercept??) where they ran the length of the field.

Say what you will, but year on year we have improved over the last 3 years under Griffin. Maybe just a bit too slow for some, and maybe at the cost of him being unpopular/arrogant/whatever it is that he did to cost his job.

I think you've mistaken me. I'm not bashing Griffin. I said even before he re-signed he should've had a bit of help in certain areas. He didn't want it but look at the difference in style when some of his attributes are mixed with a few other ideas. The man had his strengths as a coach.

 

[age.s]

The Dogs game - that was the one where the referee cost us the game. All Maloney had to do was take a dive and it would have been a no try to the dogs..... That and a dropped ball (or was it an intercept??) where they ran the length of the field.

Say what you will, but year on year we have improved over the last 3 years under Griffin. Maybe just a bit too slow for some, and maybe at the cost of him being unpopular/arrogant/whatever it is that he did to cost his job.

Hard to say whether we improved year on year under Griffin. We looked exceptional for a month or two this year, we also looked like cellar dwellers for a month or two. The same could be said for 2017 and 2016 and in the end we finished in a similar spot on the table. The rest of the top 8 having consistency issues themselves makes the table look closer, but you could make a case that we've stagnated into an inconsistent, potentially premiership winning team.

I think we'll get more context on Griffin's influence as Ciraldo (or his replacement) has more time with the playing group. If we win several premierships with the core of this squad then "Griffin was holding us back" becomes a more accurate narrative. For now, the jury is out.

 

[MrBlack]

I think you've mistaken me. I'm not bashing Griffin. I said even before he re-signed he should've had a bit of help in certain areas. He didn't want it but look at the difference in style when some of his attributes are mixed with a few other ideas. The man had his strengths as a coach.

The comment was not directed at you personally, but more at the whole discussion around Griffin. He obviously had some faults, but in the end we did improve under him. He should at least get some credit for that. (not that I want to open up that old discussion again......)

 

[MrBlack]

Hard to say whether we improved year on year under Griffin. We looked exceptional for a month or two this year, we also looked like cellar dwellers for a month or two. The same could be said for 2017 and 2016 and in the end we finished in a similar spot on the table. The rest of the top 8 having consistency issues themselves makes the table look closer, but you could make a case that we've stagnated into an inconsistent, potentially premiership winning team.

I think we'll get more context on Griffin's influence as Ciraldo (or his replacement) has more time with the playing group. If we win several premierships with the core of this squad then "Griffin was holding us back" becomes a more accurate narrative. For now, the jury is out.

It really is a moot point.

Hypothetically if we win this year

1. Griffins sacking was the best thing as he was holding us back, or

2. We won a premiership on the back of the work Griffin did at the start of the year.

There is no conclusive argument or evidence for or against either statement.

 

[age.s]

It really is a moot point.

Hypothetically if we win this year

1. Griffins sacking was the best thing as he was holding us back, or

2. We won a premiership on the back of the work Griffin did at the start of the year.

There is no conclusive argument or evidence for or against either statement.

Yeah, that's fair enough I think. We'll get more evidence as time goes on though.