Corey Norman - turnstile

[strider]

Don't have to drop him to stop him playing a "middle half" style of play - clearly that is what Arthur is asking of him .... there were games earlier this year where Seph played a more non-ball playing role and he was solid ..... I can only assume Arthur is asking him to play the way he does

 

[Avenger]

When we beat the Dogs we had scored more tries in the NRL than any other club. What changed ? Manu Mau. His runs on the edges have been sorely missed. In addition our backs look pedestrian and our wingers are ineffective because Hopoate has been missing and Tonga's form has dropped. In the future I would like to see:

13. Gower/Edwards

12. Moeroa

11. Mau

With Pauli coming from the bench. There is simply no room for Paulo. He is surplus to our needs especially when you consider what Josh Alioia will become.

 

[Jake the snake]

well then Brad Arthur needs a good f**kin reality check - cos he's the one who keeps going with that gameplan involving Seph

Don't rate Paulo either but who do we replace him with ? We've got nobody in the reserves to come in. Matterson would be ideal but he'd be ready next year if we are lucky. We are stuck with Paulo.

 

[Jake the snake]

Don't have to drop him to stop him playing a "middle half" style of play - clearly that is what Arthur is asking of him .... there were games earlier this year where Seph played a more non-ball playing role and he was solid ..... I can only assume Arthur is asking him to play the way he does

He stifles the attack if he's not crabbing sideways he's so slow with his passing which put the defence in our faces.

 

[hineyrulz]

He stifles the attack if he's not crabbing sideways he's so slow with his passing which put the defence in our faces.

I remember last night on the 4th in their 20m and he runs sideways near the sideline pops to Hayne who can't do a thing and is trapped in the sideline. We put up a rushed kick on the 5th with was caught and they get a zero n20m restart. We were up 6 nil at the time and they scored straight after that play. he stifles the attack all the time. he should stick to being a link man and thats it.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

He was dropped to the bench

Coming off the bench doesn't mean he was dropped. Fui started but wasn't even in the team two weeks ago. Starting the match doesn't mean a player is better than the guys who come off the bench.

Arthur's said he wants Paulo playing more minutes. The fact he can't play 80 means he needs to be off the field for about 20 minutes each game. Starting on the bench means he available for the final 60+ minutes.

Joe Paulo played more minutes than all of our tight forwards last night except De Gois (who played 80). That means he played more minutes than all three starters.

He wasn't 'dropped' to the bench. It's just that his bench minutes were moved to the first quarter of the match when the opposition defence is still fresh and moving up quickly out wide.

and gower did a pretty good job the first 20mins. I can see why he is picked but the negatives outweigh the positives. As an experienced player he should be leading the way but he continually makers mistakes or gives away silly penalties.

The penalties are because he's trying to slow the ruck. The alternative is to concede more linebreaks.

 

[yy_cheng]

When we beat the Dogs we had scored more tries in the NRL than any other club. What changed ? Manu Mau. His runs on the edges have been sorely missed. In addition our backs look pedestrian and our wingers are ineffective because Hopoate has been missing and Tonga's form has dropped. In the future I would like to see:

13. Gower/Edwards

12. Moeroa

11. Mau

With Pauli coming from the bench. There is simply no room for Paulo. He is surplus to our needs especially when you consider what Josh Alioia will become.

I think it was the combo of edwards on one side and manu on the other

 

[Gazzamatta]

Have a look at how many times a Souths attacker was put on his back by the Eels defence then compare when the Eels are attacking. There in lies the majority of the problem. Our team cannot wrestle. The amount of time Souths took to play the ball was so much faster than Parramatta it was almost laughable. Parramatta react by trying to slow down the play the ball and get penalised. It all comes back to the wrestle and we are bloody hopeless at it.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Have a look at how many times a Souths attacker was put on his back by the Eels defence then compare when the Eels are attacking. There in lies the majority of the problem. Our team cannot wrestle. The amount of time Souths took to play the ball was so much faster than Parramatta it was almost laughable. Parramatta react by trying to slow down the play the ball and get penalised. It all comes back to the wrestle and we are bloody hopeless at it.

Spot on Gazza. It means everything we did was on the back foot - including defending out wide and kicking. Everything Souths did was on the front foot - moving up on the edges, final tackle options, spreading the ball, everything.

 

[Chipmunk]

The penalties are because he's trying to slow the ruck. The alternative is to concede more linebreaks.

He gave away a simple penalty for a head high tackle. He wasn't trying to slow the ruck. Do you even watch the game?

 

[Twizzle]

I agree Sef isn't ideal but no one else has his hands and passing game to play Arthur's style of footy.

Look at our roster, there is no one else. I like Sef's attacking game but it ends there and until we get someone better who can be a ball playing back rower, like perhaps Matterson, we just gotta suck it in.

I'd love a Glen Lazarus and a Brad Clyde as well but we dont have them either, we just have to play the hand we are dealt atm.

The other option is to change our game plan but I think he current one works when we have the cattle. Unfortunately it also relies on good halves but Sandow cannot play a structured game, his game is instinctive and I really dont think he will be part of our long term plans.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

I agree Sef isn't ideal but no one else has his hands and passing game to play Arthur's style of footy.

Look at our roster, there is no one else. I like Sef's attacking game but it ends there and until we get someone better who can be a ball playing back rower, like perhaps Matterson, we just gotta suck it in.

I'd love a Glen Lazarus and a Brad Clyde as well but we dont have them either, we just have to play the hand we are dealt atm.

The other option is to change our game plan but I think he current one works when we have the cattle. Unfortunately it also relies on good halves but Sandow cannot play a structured game, his game is instinctive and I really dont think he will be part of our long term plans.

Maybe it's time to change our game plan? I also reckon gower/Edward could play the role as well but also provide a straighter running game

 

[Chipmunk]

Have a look at how many times a Souths attacker was put on his back by the Eels defence then compare when the Eels are attacking. There in lies the majority of the problem. Our team cannot wrestle. The amount of time Souths took to play the ball was so much faster than Parramatta it was almost laughable. Parramatta react by trying to slow down the play the ball and get penalised. It all comes back to the wrestle and we are bloody hopeless at it.

You make a great point Gazza. But, we have consistently lost this area of the game for more than a decade. The lack of attention to detail in this area from all the current and previous coaches in the club is appalling.

Until we get this aspect right we will continue to rely on flashes of brilliance from players. We're not going to move forward until we change.

I've never been able to watch our junior rep teams, but I'm guessing we've not been pretty successful in these age groups because we have won the battle for play the ball area. I'm guessing it's because we have bigger and faster players than the other teams in these age groups. Can people who are in the know with the junior reps confirm my suspicions?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

He gave away a simple penalty for a head high tackle. He wasn't trying to slow the ruck. Do you even watch the game?

I thought you were talking about the 'silly' penalties in the ruck every merkin whinges about. The head high was straightforward and of no concern. It's not like he's a serial offender.

 

[Chipmunk]

I agree Sef isn't ideal but no one else has his hands and passing game to play Arthur's style of footy.

Look at our roster, there is no one else. I like Sef's attacking game but it ends there and until we get someone better who can be a ball playing back rower, like perhaps Matterson, we just gotta suck it in.

I'd love a Glen Lazarus and a Brad Clyde as well but we dont have them either, we just have to play the hand we are dealt atm.

The other option is to change our game plan but I think he current one works when we have the cattle. Unfortunately it also relies on good halves but Sandow cannot play a structured game, his game is instinctive and I really dont think he will be part of our long term plans.

Unless we can offload Sandclown we're pretty much stuck with him for another year. We cannot really afford not to be playing him in the top grade and with the salary cap issues at the club I expect there will be no Option B for next season.

 

[Twizzle]

unfortunately I agree, no other option

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Unless we can offload Sandclown we're pretty much stuck with him for another year. We cannot really afford not to be playing him in the top grade and with the salary cap issues at the club I expect there will be no Option B for next season.

Before we lost some key forwards and began losing the ruck every week, Sandow was in the top ten for Dally M voting.

 

[Maroubra Eel]

Before we lost some key forwards and began losing the ruck every week, Sandow was in the top ten for Dally M voting.

Good post.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

All my posts are good posts, merkin. Don't f**king single one out as if the rest if them are shit you prick f**k you.

 

[Maroubra Eel]

All my posts are good posts, merkin. Don't f**king single one out as if the rest if them are shit you prick f**k you.

Splendid post.