Four from Eleven, Griffin is a dead man walking.

[martielang]

If the sharks turn up to play they will do us easily, way to tough a team for us atm. Griffin will still be proud of the losing effort though.

And if we turn up, we will do them easily.

Sharks have been ordinary at best this year (similar to us), no reason why we can't win it.

 

[chrisD]

You are literally blaming RCG for the poor form of all of our middle forwards lol you have completely lost it. RCG has more tackle breaks then any of our forwards this season, and he is making more metres per run than any of our middle forwards, he is running hard and bending the line and is getting quick play the balls a lot more often this season, he's been our best prop easily.

You just live in alternative universe. Getting quick play balls, bending the line? When he gets put on his back more than half his f**king runs. His and Tamou's play the ball speed is choking us. He hasn't been our best prop, but he hasn't been too far from it because they've generally all been a wash of shit. At least he's not getting paid Tamou money for it.

 

[betcats]

You just live in alternative universe. Getting quick play balls, bending the line? When he gets put on his back more than half his f**king runs. His and Tamou's play the ball speed is choking us. He hasn't been our best prop, but he hasn't been too far from it because they've generally all been a wash of shit. At least he's not getting paid Tamou money for it.

Hahaha ok Chris, you are the one ignoring the facts but yeah im living in an alternate reality.

 

[betcats]

And if we turn up, we will do them easily.

Sharks have been ordinary at best this year (similar to us), no reason why we can't win it.

The sharks have been average but we have been worse. If both teams show up they will get us, we lack that hard edge to beat these tough teams. Our attack is shit, without Peachey we lack any real penetration. All our backs are now relying on great balls from the playmakers or defensive errors to get into space, none of them can break the line on their own consistently. Add to that we are poorly disciplined and error prone and not able to defend our mistakes consistently.

Like what does the last tackle play book look like? Run it(no matter how well set the defence is) or put up a bomb? We are being poorly coached. We run the ball so much on the last when its obviously not on that it has to be the coaches tactic, Moylan does it, the halves do it, Wallace does it.....I get not wanting to give away 7 tackles but f**king come up with something better that meekly handing the ball over 5 times a game.

 

[franklin2323]

When that tactic worked last year no one was whinging though. We got over the line 5 times against Storm with these shit tactics. Peachey passes it too Blake v Roosters we are 3-3

We have had a distrupted start. Will be fine once we get guys back TMM is leading the league for support runs. Bryce/Mansour's offloads would be perfect to use someone like that. The aim should be 5-5 after 10 rounds and start to build from that

 

[betcats]

I brought up running the ball on the 6th last year. We do it too much its completely predictable.

 

[franklin2323]

I brought up running the ball on the 6th last year. We do it too much its completely predictable.

Didn't Whare put Oldfield over from running it on the last? I agree it is a bad tactic but we are ordinary inside the 20 fullstop. It has worked before though so I can see why we do it

 

[betcats]

Yeah we scored off it once after trying it 5 times and it took a fantastic face ball from tmm and another fantastic bit of play from Whare to score, im not saying it never works, you try it as much as we do and you are bound to score off it. But before that when we had finally got to the other end after being starved of possession and field position we were dying for a repeat set and instead we get tackle 5 metres out without even looking like scoring. Next time we get up there Merrin gives it away. Was the oldfield try not off the back of the repeat set forced by MWZ? Repeat sets are so important but we dont value them at all.

 

[franklin2323]

They see it as better then giving up the 7 tackles. atm it would be right we are missing JFH and Cartwright big time. Merrin struggling. I don't think it will be a tactic all the time just atm to try to keep field position

 

[The yak]

Considering we have just re-signed Dean Whare, I think going forward we need to make a change with Tyrone Peachey. Up until now I think most of us expected that Blake and Peachey would be our centre pairing going forward and Dean Whare would move on. But with Whare staying that changes things.

So far Tyrone Peachey has been a poor hooker, but I think it's the position we need to try and groom him for.

Assuming that starts to fire, Peachey needs to find a new way to contribute to the team. \ I think he's too small for the forward pack. He was never consistent there before. So far he hasn't been much of a hooker either, but then he has never been left there and allowed to develop. He's a very dangerous dummy half runner, so it's just a matter of teaching him to distribute the ball from dummy half and know which player he needs to get it to.

Not sure he is capable of that. But there's no place for him in the centres anymore and hooker is where he could offer the most for the team. We deadset need to try converting someone who is surplus to requirements in one position to hooker. It worked for Peter Wallace. So hopefully an even better player can also make that move.

I think the main thing that counts against Peachey at hooker is his weakness as a centre... he's a bit of a selfish player. If he thinks he is any chance at all he backs himself everytime even if there's a player in a much better position then him. Hell sometimes even he has to realise his chances are nearly non existent and yet he still backs himself. Not sure if you can coach that out of him.

Hooker no. Hasn't got the passing game or vision. Better as wide runner.

 

[The yak]

Don't think its panic stations yet. We should have been 3 from 6 but threw away a win standing down Moylan.
If luck have gone our way against the chooks we could have been 4 & 2.
Next 3 weeks will be vital.

 

[mxlegend99]

If we lose this week we can well and truly kiss the top 4 goodbye and will be doing well to scrape into the top 8.

This is why it's hard to buy into anything being better with this club... no matter how much things look to have improved. Our NRL side is inconsistent and regularly let's us down. All though the pre-season though it looked like we had finally found our backbone in defence. Come round 1 our defence is as bad as it has ever been. Even the games where we look to be busting our ass in defence. There are a lot of soft linebreaks conceded and pea hearted efforts.

I can handle our attack not clicking yet. But our attack being shit ontop of our defence being soft just isn't good enough. We aren't going near a premiership anytime soon unless there's a huge shift in attitude from the players. I think they hype has been bad for us. We do much better when we aren't rated.

 

[superpanther]

yeah I agree the team is struggling ;Moylan, hiku and blake were just dumb in breaking curfew. Tamou ran for over 150 meters last game plus made 40 tackles so its not like he is just sitting there doing nothing (this years scapegoat) Merrin has been below form I believe (still suffering his calf injury?). Don't forget carty, JFH peachy and Mansour were/still out (7 first grade players out, tell me what other team could survive with so many players out!) youngest half combination in the league (maybe 30 games combined).
This team is capable of winning 6-8 in a row but need to have the same players week in week out not changing every week.

 

[betcats]

Agree re Tamou being the scapegoat this year. He hasn't been living up to his price tag so it makes him an easy target but he has still been pretty good. He has only missed like 4 tackles all year. He is playing exactly the way he played for the cowboys, he is actually fairly consistent. Im not happy with the signing but he is far from our biggest issue, the bagging he got after the souths loss seems way out of place to me, he ran and tackled himself to a standstill on Friday in the second half when we were under the pump.

 

[chrisD]

Tamou is paid predominantly for his footwork, that's what set him apart from other front rowers and why he made a name for himself. His footwork has been non existent, he's been f**ked.

 

[billypilgrimnz]

This team is capable of winning 6-8 in a row but need to have the same players week in week out not changing every week.

We have won 6 in a row only once in the last five years (last year, in which we also went 2-4 to start), and we won 5 in a row in 2014, and the next best is 3.

More importantly, in the two seasons we actually made the finals (2014 and 2016), we never lost more than 2 in a row - if we lose to the Sharks, that is 3 in a row....

 

[Big Mick]

How do you know?

What has TMM done to deserve being dropped?

Moylan may be a good five-eight but TMM doesn't deserve to be dropped and actually puts his body on the line in defense unlike Moylan who uses the matador style of defense.

 

[betcats]

What has TMM done to deserve being dropped?

Moylan may be a good five-eight but TMM doesn't deserve to be dropped and actually puts his body on the line in defense unlike Moylan who uses the matador style of defense.

Why are asking me that? You're the one who knows TMM is better.


Moylan put his body on the line when defending at 6 in origin, he couldn't stop Cooper from scoring but he still got in front and put his body into it. Moylan has shown he is as good as the best play makers in the Comp when given the same ball they get, TMM is a very talented kid with a lot to learn. Like I said in the other thread TMM and Cleary are two seasons away from leading us into the top four without someone like Moylan actually running the show, carving up Newcastle doesn't prove anything.

 

[Big Mick]

Why are asking me that? You're the one who knows TMM is better.

Moylan put his body on the line when defending at 6 in origin, he couldn't stop Cooper from scoring but he still got in front and put his body into it. Moylan has shown he is as good as the best play makers in the Comp when given the same ball they get, TMM is a very talented kid with a lot to learn. Like I said in the other thread TMM and Cleary are two seasons away from leading us into the top four without someone like Moylan actually running the show, carving up Newcastle doesn't prove anything.

Well I'm asking you what TMM has done to deserve to be dropped though? If, as you think, Moylan is a better five-eight...what has TMM done to deserve to be dropped? Moylan may well be a better five-eight. But right now I wouldn't have him there. He is a liability defensively and his attack would be impacted by defending there.

Moylan has been ordinary this year to be honest. In every game aside from the Tigers one. Even Newcastle he wasn't great.

Moylan got trampled for a try on the goalline last year in origin and had SOO capable defenders inside and outside of him. I don't see how that game can be used as proof he can defend?

This year has continually not put his body on the line. We can whinge about the Roosters forward pass...but if Moylan had done his job properly....it wouldn't have been a try anyway. Another case was the Ross break. After the kick was put in Moylan had chance to stop Ross in the in-goal but instead just watched him go by. Who was there busting a nut chasing and got there? TMM.

His positional play this year has been awful as well. i.e. Cleary getting back to clean up a grubber 2-3 times this year already.

For mine he has been way down on form this year aside from one flukey pass against the Roosters and a good game against the Tigers. He has looked lost. If he can't throw a long pass then he is just moving sideways and has been zero threat running the ball so the defense is just waiting for him to pass because they know he's not a threat. TMM has at least shown to be capable to taking the line on and has been solid in defense.

I don't know 100% if Moylan isn't a better five-eight as TMM. I never said I knew 100%. It was just my opinion that TMM was a better pure five-eight right now.... Moylan should have been given a shot at some point last year...but they have trailed it in pre-season and TMM seems to have won out so I guess that means he's better all round five-eight right now, no? Moylan as such is able to float around acting like a five-eight without the defensive load...so I guess it's a perfect situation for him, no?

If we are just talking passing....then yeah...Moylan is a better five-eight - of course...but there is more to being a five-eight than that...and in those categories...I'd give the upper hand to TMM...defensively and running the ball and being a foil for Cleary....TMM fits those categories better than Moylan in my opinion.

But hey...it's all just my opinion...just like yours is yours.

But end of the day...imo we are lacking confidence and aggression across the board at the moment despite what commentators blow up our ass on a weekly basis.

 

[Big Mick]

You are literally blaming RCG for the poor form of all of our middle forwards lol you have completely lost it. RCG has more tackle breaks then any of our forwards this season, and he is making more metres per run than any of our middle forwards, he is running hard and bending the line and is getting quick play the balls a lot more often this season, he's been our best prop easily.

Agree with you 100% mate. I could understand last year after Round 6 some of the hate for RCG but imo this year he's been aggressive.

He put Napa on his ass and proven his status as fake tough guy. RCG has been good this year imo.

The issue in the forwards has been Merrin looking a shell due to poor fitness and Latu taken a step backwards....but that could be down to poor bench rotation from Griffin...I am not so sure.

CHN and Yeo have been very effective on the edges....both running great lines.

I don't think the issue has been so much getting metres but what we do with it down the other end. Against the Dragons/Roosters/Storm...if the ad hoc, throwing it around shit doesn't work we seem incapable of doing anything. We looked good against Roosters/Storm when he played direct, at the line and had great lines run off that...but for some reason we revert back to unstructured crap all the time. I don't get it.