Charity Shield 2018

[latingringo101]

We played well for the first 20 minutes and then Souths' backs carved us up for the rest of the match.

Just gotta work on our defence but I thought it was a good all round performance by our spine and forwards

 

[giboz71]

I agree Tru....been saying it for some time now, except for Widdop and Hunt (who is still finding his feet in his new club) we are very very poor in the backs....Mcdonald tries hard (at times) but is found wanting in some games....Lafai and Aitken just dont do it for me...Nighty whilst a favourite of mind is staying on one year to long imo and Dufty whilst I love his turn of pace Im just not sure if hes up to it week in week out (I hope Im wrong) that leaves Mann who I believe should be in the starting side every week...Unfortunately after admittedly only 2 trial games I cant see us making a dent in the premiership in 2018

I agree mate.

We just look pedestrian again when faced with a team with fast backs. Saw very early evidence of the same thing in Round 2 last year against the Eels. And this was only Souths, imagine when we face Roosters, Storm etc??

Aitken, Nene, Nighty and Lafai will be exposed week in week out. Not only for lack of speed, but for basic defensive frailties and misreads as well.

Our forwards are great as are our halves but our shit slow backs will let us down time and again.

Oh and we have a problem at left edge replacing Thommo as well. Luc is looking very very average in the 2 games we have seen.

 

[Tuddy]

A lot of positives out of last night. JDB was better than Vaughan and Paul played good footy. Jack clearly wants a blue jersey this year. LAM really impressed me as well.

Coaching plan for clearing our twenty metre area is the same as last year and other teams know it. Nene running it from dummy half won't cut it. We need to adapt to Dufty being a completely different fullback to Dugan fast.

Mann/Lomax in for Aitken/Lafai.

Our halves look better than anything I've seen in a long time. McInness looked average, but average is still better than what we had.

 

[SaintPeter]

Not a bad start but glaringly obvious, (prob not to our coach though) but we have a real problem with Lafai and Aitken.

Lafai needs to go immediately! to make way for some else? probably Lomax.
Aitken, same misreads in defense he was making last year (remember the Storm game at WIN). Bring in Kurt Mann.

Worried about the dummy half. His service is poor and he turns his back on the play (e.g. Cooks break) when he runs back into the line??

 

[BrissyRedV]

Didn’t see any of the game so thanks to those for letting people like me know what went down. Just a question, I listened on radio & for the life of me not once did I hear Kerr’s name mentioned. Did he play & if so how did he go or was he left on the bench

You didn't hear Kerr's name because he barely got a run if at all. In fact, I don't recall him getting on at all.

 

[Bests Golden Boots]

Macgregors use of the bench has always been poor, we would be better off if when we take our starting forwards off we replace them with the actual bench, at least the opposition is a chance to trip over that.

 

[BrissyRedV]

Personally, I saw some good things and some bad things, but ultimately is was a solid hit out for a trial. Some good combinations are starting form particularly in the spine. Hunts kicking game was good and a huge improvement on McGrone. Some really good individual performances from JDB, Lomax (for his limited time, has me excited though), Sele, LAM, Dufty, Hunt, Widdop, Graham and Vaughan. We created some good attacking play that lacked a little polish which is to be expected in a trial. Better to have a poor game in a trial as it at least gives the side an indication of what to work on.

On the poor side of things, our ruck and ability to slow the ball needs work. Souffs were able to slow the ball more effectively than us (illegally several times however), which created the space behind the markers for them and led to several breaks for them. This space and speed allowed the to create the space out wide as we had to compress to defend. Defensive intensity certainly went down when Graham, Vaughan and JDB were off, but I wouldn't expect JDB to go off like this under normal circumstances. This is also why I am advocating for Sims to remain on the bench as he provides experience and impact.

McInnes was OK. He has obviously been told to run a little more often which he did to some effect engaging the markers. A little worrying was he on several occasions decided to run on the 4th leaving a part time rake or Widdop to take on the hooking duties for the last tackle, which decreases our kicking/attacking options and can lead to passes going astray.

Aitken gave up his mandatory try assist to the opposition again. His up and in rush defence is almost guaranteed to lead to a two on one for the winger and opposition points. Would really have liked to see Lomax get more time, as I do not think Aitken is up to it. Leilua was unimpressive and looks to lack fitness and intensity. Sims was OK but did not stand out. A pity Host did not get another chance.

All in all, there is work to do, but the side is not completely hopeless. If we had a decent coach in place, I would think this items would be fixed quick smart in time for round 1, but alas, we are stuck with McWreckor.

 

[hazzbeen]

Didn't see the game , can anyone tell me if Mann got much game time ?

 

[BrissyRedV]

Didn't see the game , can anyone tell me if Mann got much game time ?

Mann injured his calf in the warm up.

 

[hazzbeen]

Mann injured his calf in the warm up.

Ok Thanks Brissy .......

 

[FlameThrower]

Saw the game at a pub, so thankfully no volume.
Reading some of comments on here, looks like season is over already!! While others are more balanced and actually have something insightful to say.
Concerning is the goal line and edge defence has fallen away in the last few seasons. Who is the defensive coach? We always look too compressed and I think that gives other teams an advantage if they spread the ball quickly.
Nighty ‘ had a shocker’ I fear won’t be the last time we read that this year.
I think Hunt is finding his place within the squad, but would love to see him take the line on.
Nighty / Aitken / Nene & Lafai are weak links overall - all clubs know that by now. (Granted Nene is now scoring tries, but is slow to turnaround and defend)
Agree on Luciano promised so much but is not delivering, finally stop messing about and have Kurt Mann in the starting side.

 

[blacksafake]

I am pretty sure that Kerr did not get any game time.

Unbelievable

 

[FlameThrower]

I never got to see the game, but no surprise for me as I predicted Souths would beat us thru the middle with too much speed around Damien Cook as dummy half.
I also thought that Souths new & talented Coach would have too much tactical skill and speed between the ears than our walking excuse of a bog average coach.
Welcome to Groundhog year again!

Hang in there mate... it’s only a trial ... it’s only a trial..... I keep saying..

 

[blacksafake]

You didn't hear Kerr's name because he barely got a run if at all. In fact, I don't recall him getting on at all.

Well if he’s not using his bench properly in trials L plate can’t be expected to use it properly in games when he needs to actually count. The idiot hasn’t learnt a thing in 2 years

 

[FlameThrower]

One more thing - can’t afford to have JDB / Graham / Vaughn and Frizzel all off at same time - that’s giving away 6 to 12 points right there - in my opinion.

 

[hazzbeen]

Hang in there mate... it’s only a trial ... it’s only a trial..... I keep saying..

Lets hope things click , Mate the problem is we have all been hanging in there for a long time , just hoping things will get better and we can challenge the top sides . So when you get excited about a new season and what we as fans expect , then we dont beat Souths again ( I know its only a trial ) you think to your self here we go again . If we could have come away with a win yesterday again (it is only a trial) , I might be thinking a little more confident ...... Any way its all in Marys hands for us to have a big year . Lets Hope ...

 

[SackMaryNow]

That old familiar feeling. Another loss under the great one.

 

[RufusRex]

It’s a f**king boys club
Offensive coach - Hornby
Defensive coach - young
Head coach Mary

CV of achievements that demonstrate why these three are in their roles

.........

 

[gitano]

Lol@meltdown after a trial. Classic.

 

[Dragsters]

Hang in there mate... it’s only a trial ... it’s only a trial..... I keep saying..

Indeed it was.

Interestingly, if you go back to last year's CS, the forum response was very similar, yet we managed to turn it on come round one and dominate the early part of the season.

For mine, individual performances and positional selections are of lesser a concern than he make up of the bench and Mary's use of the interchange.

These were major contributors to the teams downfall last season and will potentially have the same effect again this year, regardless of the recruitment of key players...