Eels in the media

[TheRam]

'The prawns are to small.' Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha...

 

[Gronk]

They don't train like the best teams do. Of that I am convinced. Anyone who thinks they do has rocks in their head.

Have you seen them train ? Again your speculation doesn't pass the pub test.

Maybe Moses just isn't very good at field goals and does practice a lot at training when they have full opposed sessions. See my statement is just wild speculation like yours.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

it’s crazy to think the eels don’t do attack at training as much as the other sides……

anyone notice, this year when we attack on the edge occasionally we now have the “ball player” and 2 runners out side him, and we hit the 2nd runner not by a sweep play but by passing infront of the middle player (who slightly behind the play)….seems to have happened to often to be a coincidence….

 

[Gary Gutful]

Players have stated in interviews before that they don't concentrate on attack much at training and that they don't do scenarios like if a player goes down and the like. We do the bare minimum in regards to offense and I have only heard our players once or twice mention that they concentrated on their attack this week due to having a shocking offensive game the previous game.

Now compare that to what Cooper Cronk keeps constantly stating that the Storm do. The Storm practice as a team each and every possible play that they can think of that may happen in a game. What formation that they all need to fall into quickly when X, Y or Z happens either in attack or defense. There is no make it up as you go along. They practice, practice, practice until they it becomes a robotic process. They don't leave a stone unturned and each player knows exactly what his role is and expected of him otherwise there will be consequences in the video review sessions(remember they each have to get up and explain why they did what they did own their cockup for letting the team down) and even worse if the player can't get it right.

Now you don't need to be a super coach to train and drill all your squad like that, you just need to do it.

I’d be surprised and disappointed if we weren’t running attacking drills. We looked like we had a very clear plan last week with Dylan Brown.

I feel we are structured and planned to a degree. Would be great if we could improve on this and get to the level of the Storm and the Panthers who seem to be able to adapt better during games.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

We are the only side to score 5 tries against the storm this year…..

 

[Gazzamatta]

Sorry, lots of joining the dots here coincidentally by posters who don't rate the coach. Walks and quacks like white-anting to me.

Why not turn speculation into facts by heading out to Kellyville and watching a few sessions when they get back from NT. We need your eyes and ears merkin.

As for not practicing attack at training, did those new shapes in the Newcastle game just appear organically ? Didn't look like eyes up footy to me.

What speculation? His words not mine Gronky. Dont go all Avengers mate. Did he say it or not? Are you inferring he didnt mean what he said?
Not sure a 9 year head coach needs assistance from a silly old merkin like me and nor should he. Its why he gets the big bucks. He also has a bunch of assistants and consultants for that. Come on Gronky. Does BA really need protecting from someone repeating his words?
Wrong side of bed Mate? You OK dude? Bigger fish to fry buddy. Hopefully we win Saturday night so you are in a better mood.

 

[TheRam]

Gee you're filling a lot of blanks in your story with your thoughts and representing them as facts.

It is what it is mate and the team plays the way I'm portraying them. They do tell us in interviews what and how they train mate. Just listen.

Sure we need to fill in blanks, but you just have to see how we play and it is obvious not to mention that if we did train like the Storm and we played out every scenario or trained all the different structures and strategies a million times over till we got them drummed into our players heads, don't you think that the media and players themselves would be harping on about it like the all do the Storm?

Think mate, don't just try to play cover for our failings. We play a very basic game that can easily fail and come unstuck when faced by a determined strong and well drilled opposition. Oh wait that keeps happening...Hmm.

 

[Gronk]

What speculation? His words not mine Gronky. Dont go all Avengers mate. Did he say it or not? Are you inferring he didnt mean what he said?
Not sure a 9 year head coach needs assistance from a silly old merkin like me and nor should he. Its why he gets the big bucks. He also has a bunch of assistants and consultants for that. Come on Gronky. Does BA really need protecting from someone repeating his words?
Wrong side of bed Mate? You OK dude? Bigger fish to fry buddy. Hopefully we win Saturday night so you are in a better mood.

I'm not angry if that's what you are suggesting. You side-stepped my question about the new shapes at Newie last week. You reckon they were made up on the spot by the players ?

 

[Gazzamatta]

it’s crazy to think the eels don’t do attack at training as much as the other sides……

anyone notice, this year when we attack on the edge occasionally we now have the “ball player” and 2 runners out side him, and we hit the 2nd runner not by a sweep play but by passing infront of the middle player (who slightly behind the play)….seems to have happened to often to be a coincidence….

I dont know whether they do or dont but I have seen differences this year. Im loving Drowns game and Gutho appears less involved which can be a possitive. I also notices a few subtleties in Rheeds work particularly V The Knights. As always, our D is the major issue. It can be very unreliable.

 

[TheRam]

BA said last week that they know they can score points when they need too.

Yeah except when they can't like when he had to admit to it last year.

God the guy is just so fixed in his basics and doesn't like to deviate out of those two or three fundamentals at all, even when it is obvious the squad needs tinkering and a new fresh approach to the way we play.

I am not talking about a radical change, just more awareness and finesse and just simple number counting. Oh and someone please tell Mahoney that it is ok to run occasionally.

 

[Gronk]

It is what it is mate and the team plays the way I'm portraying them. They do tell us in interviews what and how they train mate. Just listen.

Bullcrap, BA gives away nothin. He's been smashed early in his career by the media and now (if you actually take notice) he tells the media zip.

The players are no different, they just blurt out the same one game at a time clichés like the usual merkins.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

As always, our D is the major issue. It can be very unreliable.

Agree, that has cost us an undefeated start to the year (not attack), stop 1 try in each game we win….

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Bash and barge works well against the lesser teams. The trick is to do it for 3-4 weeks in a row against the better teams and up till now it hasn't been a success at all.

There’s no reliable way to beat the better teams 3-4 weeks in a row. That’s why they’re the better teams. There’s no tactical trick that will do it. The best you can hope for is to be as good as them and then you have a 50% chance of beating them. Over two games that’s a 25% chance of winning both. Over three games against equal opponents you’re a 1-in-8 (12.5%) chance of winning all three games. You think some sneaky tactic will turn that into 100% chance? You’ve been watching too many family movies from the 80s.

 

[King-Gutho94]

Not surprised at all. The players have alluded to the same thing in the past and I have mentioned it on occasion and the club 'Defenders' on this site come out in force showing more innovative attack then our team ever does.

All you have to do is look at some of the inept lines that our back rowers are putting in or the lack of nous our play makers show or as you say the unbelievably bad shape we get ourselves into or the amount of dead men and zombies in so many plays in each set of six.

As for concentrating purely on defense, we don't even do a stellar job on that half the time so whoever the 'D' coach is sucks too. I mean imagine training constantly on one aspect of the game and having the calibre of players we do and we still don't know when to come in, stay out, slide or go up and in as a unit. It should be like breathing. Not to mention our wrestle that sucks probably more then any other team, including the amount of times we have players still on the ground at the play the ball that allows the opposing team an opportunity to get through our ruck defense and on the front foot.

I have been holding back on saying to much on our defense this season because of all the injuries to our outside backs and unsettled team because of it, but you can still see many of the previous seasons issues are still there. A little better, but still there. Hopefully if and when we get our full compliment back most of those issues will disappear somewhat, well at least until we play 2 or 3 top teams in a row at the backend of the season that is, then I suspect we will see some of our old bad behaviours come back to haunt us.

Hope I'm wrong though.

Yeah look defense could be better but i think overall its been ok.

Not making excuses but a bad game can make the numbers look worse then what they are. Plus we have had a lot of day games which leads to higher scoring.

Like the Gold Coast home game defence was deplorable. Let them score 5 tries and 28 points.

And the tigers was disappointing but penisini looking lost out of position on the wing was the catalyst for 2 of there tries.

Keeping Melbourne to 4 tries is probably a good effort really in the grand scheme of things.

 

[TheRam]

Sorry, lots of joining the dots here coincidentally by posters who don't rate the coach. Walks and quacks like white-anting to me.

Why not turn speculation into facts by heading out to Kellyville and watching a few sessions when they get back from NT. We need your eyes and ears merkin.

As for not practicing attack at training, did those new shapes in the Newcastle game just appear organically ? Didn't look like eyes up footy to me.

Hahahaha...

Those shapes that you speak of are what we practice at training. That game was almost the perfect training drill ffs!

That's what old man BA has us doing over and over and over hoping that we will play like that all the time. Problem is you need to play a team like the Knights were they capitulate totally like that to get to play all your basic trick shots, if you can call them that and look real professional and a little fancy.

We won't get that type of opposition though come the business end of season and that is when we need plan B, plan C, plan D and so on. Outcomes, styles and situations that we haven't trained for much if at all that the Panthers and Storm have been training and using all the time throughout the season nailing the different plays and options down and winning GF because of it, while we flounder and get bundled out by week two.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Sorry, lots of joining the dots here coincidentally by posters who don't rate the coach. Walks and quacks like white-anting to me.

Why not turn speculation into facts by heading out to Kellyville and watching a few sessions when they get back from NT. We need your eyes and ears merkin.

As for not practicing attack at training, did those new shapes in the Newcastle game just appear organically ? Didn't look like eyes up footy to me.

Cronk said he was impressed that we didn’t go away from what works, which is what we usually do after getting a lead. So it’s not the tactics it’s the leadership and concentration from our senior players.

 

[Gazzamatta]

I'm not angry if that's what you are suggesting. You side-stepped my question about the new shapes at Newie last week. You reckon they were made up on the spot by the players ?

As I just replied to another poster, I have seen improvements. Never suggested otherwise. Making comments that his team can score when they need too though isnt what he should be saying.

 

[Gary Gutful]

I dont know whether they do or dont but I have seen differences this year. Im loving Drowns game and Gutho appears less involved which can be a possitive. I also notices a few subtleties in Rheeds work particularly V The Knights. As always, our D is the major issue. It can be very unreliable.

This. Our defence is not what it was last year. The Cows will throw plenty at us on the weekend.

 

[Gronk]

Hahahaha...

Those shapes that you speak of are what we practice at training. That game was almost the perfect training drill ffs!

That's what old man BA has us doing over and over and over hoping that we will play like that all the time. Problem is you need to play a team like the Knights were they capitulate totally like that to get to play all your basic trick shots, if you can call them that and look real professional and a little fancy.

We won't get that type of opposition though come the business end of season and that is when we need plan B, plan C, plan D and so on. Outcomes, styles and situations that we haven't trained for much if at all that the Panthers and Storm have been training and using all the time throughout the season nailing the different plays and options down and winning GF because of it, while we flounder and get bundled out by week two.

I'm done. Debating footy with you is very much like that interview by that UK journo with that former merkin. You don't see logic, you think that thoughts are facts and you are steadfast in your mind that anyone who has a different opinion must be intellectually inferior to you. Transparent, weird and boring.

 

[TheRam]

What the f**k did Bea learn down there??

That big forwards win games, but it seems he was out of the room when it came to tactics and play.