Embarrassment

[abpanther]

Well as we all expected, when we hoped that the boys would step up at crunch time they showed nothing, I have so many expletives to yell out and so much to complain about:

Elliot is a useful prick, team did not look ready to play (early penalties) and there was no gameplan and definitely no 2nd half adjustments at all. Decision to take Peanuts off for so long and take Graham off was puzzling.

Sammut is useless, positional play is beyond pathetic and has no pace at all.

Gordon was ok but showed no urgency when Burt was chasing and seems to have lost some pace.

Jennings was invisible, if he wants to get paid and become a great player he needs to lift his teammates and go looking for the ball, it seems like he hides when the going gets tough.

Walsh was sh*t, caught on 4th tackles too many times, decent kicks but no threat at all at the line with his repetitive inside balls.

Peanuts missing in action when we need him, what else is new.

Our forwards had no impact at all.

Very funny that the 2 guys that impressed me most (other than Huey and House who never stop trying and I actually feel sorry for them coz they deserve better) were the 2 most maligned guys on the team, Tighe never stopped trying and Blair tried his guts out, more than I can say for Jennings.

Another disappointing season...

 

[EELICIT]

Mate, i personally though waterhouse was as week as piss and when your big men get cut down by bloke like mortimer who is 5 foot nothing, the night is not going to end up healthy. Pritchard Lewis and Jennings didnt step up hence the scoreboard !

 

[abpanther]

I thought House and Lewis were strong and never stopped trying, they were definitely the best in a very poor side...

 

[Eelogical]

I actually felt for Sammut. I thought he gave it a shot a but was beat up on the night. He didn't get a lot of help from the rest of the team either. However, I don't think fullback is for him. Go and buy your boys a beer and share the pain.

 

[big boppa eel]

I thought House and Lewis were strong and never stopped trying, they were definitely the best in a very poor side...

I agree, though Jennings must have touched the ball two three times max, lot of potential though not alot of heart tonight.

 

[TheParraboy]

I thought wade Graham and junior Paulo were the worst performers for the panthers

Wade looks a couple of kilos overweight, very pedestrian with his passes and direction
Paulo missed 6 tackles, one that directly lead to a try early on

 

[abpanther]

Did Wade even play the 2nd half??

 

[Caged Panther]

Why is it that when every other team has had there finals aspirations on the line over the last few weeks they've turned up and given it there all, even if they've gone on to lose. Yet we, as we always do, turned up and produced a performance that is mildy discribed as beyond pathetic.

I had some prothetic words about sammut on drive to parrmatta tonight, saying I thought he was lucky coote was injured because his form hadn't been great. Did he try tonight? Sure, but that means nothing when your trying gives a red hot opposition that needed to be denied momentum that exact thing.

Jennings does definetely need to get more active and go looking for the ball but I have sneaking suspision that the coaches gameplan may have something to do with that.

Pritchard as usual had one outstanding game and felt his work was done for the next month. And what little he gave certainly wasn't helped by the decision to take him off early and leave him off until the game was gone.

Of course that decision is the coaches and what a complete myth we have as a coach. Stupid inside balls that are not only telegraphed when they are about to come but even if they weren't you'd still know they were coming because we do it every week. Unfathomable interchange decisions during the game as well as choices about who is on the interchange bench as well as a complete inability to get the best out of players.

It's our admininstration that really take the cake though. Nero sitting on the hill playing his harp or f**king fiddle or whatever the hell it was he was playing has nothing on these guys.

After two years of no results we decided our myth of a coach and proven himself afer a slightly above averge (for us) run to be worthy of another two year contract. Masterstroke.

We continue to lose players and sign either no one or nuffies to replace them and when we dare call into question the recruitment and retention poilcies we get a standard line about the salary cap and recruitment and retention being a complex balancing act.

Well yes it is but only if you have dunces in charge like the ones that seem to be running penrith. Because every other club seems to manage this complex issue in a way that they are able to fill the gaps where they exist in their playing rosters, retain the core of their team and lose the deadwood while we let the gaps grow, let everyone steal our core and recruit extra deadwood.

I mean for godsakes even Cronulla a club that has been touted as being potentially not able to field a team in the not to distant future because financial difficulties is capable of entering the player market.

While I'd like to sit here in say I'm going to boycott home games and not buy a season ticket as a protest against this complete and utter uselessness both on and off the field I know it won't happen. I know instead by the time the Grand final roles around despite every ounce of logic I can summon telling me otherwise I'll have born some new false beleif that next year might be the turning point and so I'll endure another year of schooling in what a dumb club we are on and off the field.

 

[Covellius Maximus]

Positive atleast you'll finish top ten. Best season under Elliot to date. Perhaps your not capable of any better with him as your coach.

 

[Avenger]

Your halfback should be shot. Jennings was absolutely starved of the ball.

 

[The Realist]

Your halfback should be shot. Jennings was absolutely starved of the ball.

Wow this opposition fan understands the game better then 90% of the hacks posting at PI, and oh...our coach.

Walsh is a terrible halfback useless POS.

I was copping a hiding at games and on the other forum, especially after we had won 4 from 4 with Walsh at #7.

But I stuck to my guns and was right....

 

[Covellius Maximus]

God you're bad. You all suck for being fans of Penrith.

 

[Parraren]

I thought Elliot hooking players was childish and achieved nothing.

You guys have got a very good squad of players but you'll get nowhere with Elliot in charge.

 

[Big Mick]

God you're bad. You all suck for being fans of Penrith.

You support Cronulla.

F*ck off.

Empty out your trophy cabinet.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Penrith really lack direction and leadership in every play maker position. Hooker no, halves no and fullback no. Sure our 9,7 and 6 arent superstars, but they know what needs to be done.

Also, Wade Grahame has had way too much pressure put on him this early in his career and I think it shows. Truely has been more of a hinderance in attack then a help. Good kicking game though.

 

[Big Mick]

Pure and simple.

The players didn't aim up.

They knew what they needed to do and they were so far off par it wasn't even funny.

They need to have a good hard look at themselves and think do they really want to be first graders because they are not playing like desperate, hungry players.

They are playing too content...and easy.

Fire...hunger...they are the things you need.

We are lacking both...very badly.

 

[thommo4pm]

Waterhouse had a dig for you blokes last night.

But there is no creativity in the halves...the amount of times Walsh just turns it back inside, reminds me of when Trent Barrett use to play for us.

I said to a couple of my mates who are Penrith fans after the game you played us, that Walsh has no creativity.
He kicks it or he turns it back inside.

In saying all that, I thought you were very harshly treated in the first 30 minutes of the match, and that sapped a lot of energy from you....due to the amount of defense you had to do.
Some of the calls that went against Penrith were a little baffling.

 

[Spitty]

To throw a little bit of credit Parra's way, we got smashed in the penalty count in the first half simply because Parra were playing the ball too quick for us and we just couldn't keep up.

100% of the time this year when we've been paraded in the media during the week we lost the corresponding game. Eg. The pink jersey week / Lost to Manly, 1000 game week / Lost to Dragons, Our biggest game of the year to qualify for the finals / Got smashed by Eels. Seems we just cant handle external pressure.

Can anyone tell me if Paul Aiton plays Oztag during the week? I swear he was going for Daniel Mortimer's tag when he missed the tackle leading the Mortimers solo effort just before half time. Terrible, Terrible effort.

 

[lsta5838]

I don't know if I can add much to this thread, as everyone has pretty much said it. Parra is hot to trot right now, and I do not think many teams would have beaten them. But, that being said, I am dissapointed in the boys that most of them did not really have a dig. A few examples - the first try, the ball bounces off the up rights, Walsh makes absolutely no attempt to hustle to the ball and dive on it, thus, Mortimer dives on it and scores. Gordon's hustle to help out Sammut was hopeless. On at least two occasions he showed no desperation to run down and stop him, just jogged heartlessly. Ations feeble attempt on tackling Mortimer towards the end of the game. The list goes on. Any coach will tell you it is those 1%er's that pay off in the end, and it shows they are switched on.

I really do not know where to from here. Sammut has not played well at fullback. He is not a fullback. I know everyone wants him out of first grade, but I think he should be in the 6. If he works on getting the mistakes out of his game (remember Billy Slater 4 or so years ago..) the he will be awesome.

The final thing I will comment about, is something that I have mentioned alot over the last 5 or so years, but partiuclary more this year. I think I will make another thread about it, because I really do not understand it. When tackling a player, why do we not wrap up the ball? The number of offloads killed us last night. How hard is it to hold the ball to the players chest until he is held, let go, get square at marker, and your done!

 

[Fibroman]

I don't know if I can add much to this thread, as everyone has pretty much said it. Parra is hot to trot right now, and I do not think many teams would have beaten them. But, that being said, I am dissapointed in the boys that most of them did not really have a dig. A few examples - the first try, the ball bounces off the up rights, Walsh makes absolutely no attempt to hustle to the ball and dive on it, thus, Mortimer dives on it and scores. Gordon's hustle to help out Sammut was hopeless. On at least two occasions he showed no desperation to run down and stop him, just jogged heartlessly. Ations feeble attempt on tackling Mortimer towards the end of the game. The list goes on. Any coach will tell you it is those 1%er's that pay off in the end, and it shows they are switched on.

I really do not know where to from here. Sammut has not played well at fullback. He is not a fullback. I know everyone wants him out of first grade, but I think he should be in the 6. If he works on getting the mistakes out of his game (remember Billy Slater 4 or so years ago..) the he will be awesome.

The final thing I will comment about, is something that I have mentioned alot over the last 5 or so years, but partiuclary more this year. I think I will make another thread about it, because I really do not understand it. When tackling a player, why do we not wrap up the ball? The number of offloads killed us last night. How hard is it to hold the ball to the players chest until he is held, let go, get square at marker, and your done!

Answer to you final poin = poor coaching. Simple.