Game Day: Rd2 Eels v Sharks @ Commbank Mar 10, 2023

[Noise]

I don't think we can afford to have Matterson on the edge. We can't continue to play the middles, 9, and interchange the way we are.

Our current edge forwards are dog shit. Between the 2 of them in about 160 minutes of football they have:
zero line breaks
Zero line break assists
Zero tries
And only 7 tackle busts (between them!!)

 

[Chipmunk]

Our current edge forwards are dog shit. Between the 2 of them In 160 minutes of football they have:
zero line breaks
Zero line break assists
Zero tries
And only 7 tackle busts (between them!!)

Fair call

One of them we have basically indicated to him for 2 seasons though that the way he naturally plays is shit, and he won't be getting a game if he wants to pass the ball. He is just filling in for someone who is injured in reality.

Doorey isn't a great player, but he isn't terrible. He probably needs some more time, he hasn't played in a while either.

If Matterson plays on an edge, we don't resolve our issues around too many minutes for the middles and 9, and ineffective use of the interchange.

We're essentially playing a 17 man game with 14 players at the moment.

 

[Noise]

Fair call

One of them we have basically indicated to him for 2 seasons though that the way he naturally plays is shit, and he won't be getting a game if he wants to pass the ball. He is just filling in for someone who is injured in reality.

Doorey isn't a great player, but he isn't terrible. He probably needs some more time, he hasn't played in a while either.

If Matterson plays on an edge, we don't resolve our issues around too many minutes for the middles and 9, and ineffective use of the interchange.

We're essentially playing a 17 man game with 14 players at the moment.

With average edge players your halves suffer. But agree that Hopgood and Hodgson need more rest. I’d use Brown to rest Hopgood.

Hodgson should never have been signed…let alone as an 80 minute proposition

 

[Chipmunk]

With average edge players your halves suffer.

Also fair points. We really should've prioritised the signing of Taupau. He should've at worst initially been on a train and trial deal until we knew a bit more about the salary cap. We sort of just left him to his own devices. I doubt he felt he was too wanted.

I think we're f**ked this season to be honest. We'll lose too many games with our starting middle forwards and 9 to play too many minutes at this stage.

 

[Chipmunk]

But agree that Hopgood and Hodgson need more rest. I’d use Brown to rest Hopgood.

Hodgson should never have been signed…let alone as an 80 minute proposition

Do we know how long Brown is out for? We really need him firing. He probably doesn't really feel wanted either.

The majority of the forwards that aren't in our starting 13 I can't say the coaching staff fills with any confidence the way that they treat them. It is little wonder Cartwright just hits the ball up at the moment, because he knows if he does anything but run and tackle he won't be getting a game.

It can't be good for your mental ability to play when it is very clear that the coaching staff has very little confidence in your ability to get the job done. It is very clear to me that the coaching staff doesn't really want to pick Makatoa and Greig, and the players know they're only being in the 17 because they have to pick 17 players. I don't get the Moimoisea signing, he doesn't even look like an NRL player.

We're obviously trying to convert an edge forward in Murchie to the middle, because we failed to prioritise the signing of a middle to replace the interchange middles that we lost.

Hodgson is a difficult one, given his return from injury, he shouldn't be playing 80 straight away, but we have zero options to allow him not to play 80. Maybe Hopgood for 10 minutes at some stage?

Hodgson was a real impulse buy after losing Mahoney. We were probably better off just waiting, but I'm not sure who we would've bought instead. Marshall-King is the obvious one. Egan from the Warriors was probably more Mahoney-clone than most other options. Koriousou in hindsight would've been handy, but I suspect we'd have to pay him more than we offered Mahoney.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

I dont know what it was with the attack last night and the week before but the outside backs dont seem to stand deep enough to get a good ball. At times they stood too flat and were expected to get a tackle from their opponent. I dont know if they communicate well enough, there was a play where Penisini was near the sideline and tried to flick it to Bailey but he was already in the stands. Then there was that stupid flick pass from Waqa, even though they still got the ball back, but that was an opportunity missed with Sivo unmarked. And FFS Blake shouldve taken the tackle with a minute to go instead of trying to pass to Cartwright who wouldve got tackled anyway.

 

[Jake the snake]

We are doing a Canberra after their GF loss. The Good teams show improvement the following year and go on and win the comp. The other ones head to the abyss. If we don’t cut BA we will not make the 8 for several years. We are receding quicker than BA’s hairline.

HIRE FLANNO!

 

[Poupou Escobar]

And none of those teams have had a full strength spine. At our home ground. There’s a good chance Manly will have their preferred 1,6,7,9 at Brookvale.

The replacement spine players they've had have been effective though. Meaney and Trindall both gave good output, so the missing player mattered less. Anyway it's not all about the spine. It's a team game.

 

[hineyrulz]

Our current edge forwards are dog shit. Between the 2 of them in about 160 minutes of football they have:
zero line breaks
Zero line break assists
Zero tries
And only 7 tackle busts (between them!!)

Doorey is a rep player in waiting, what are you talking about???

 

[the phantom menace]

I think we're f**ked this season to be honest. We'll lose too many games with our starting middle forwards and 9 to play too many minutes at this stage.

Exactly - why not give the forwards you name on the bench decent minutes while we're so far understrength (Matterson, Lane) that we're not going to compete with top sides? This is the tiem of the season where those guys might f**k up etc, but the impact is small and potential benefit of them playing decent minutes in first grade and learning from it to be better later in the season is huge.

More minutes for Maka, Emu, Rodwell, Ogden etc!! Help them become guys that can fill in better later on. But BA is stuck in a time warp system and seems inflexible to changing circumstances.

 

[the phantom menace]

In the types of benches he's selecting (no utility player), every one of the 17 should be playing minimum 20mins (and some up to 60mins), but he needs to not underuse what he's selecting to the detrement of the game at hand, and the future of the season/players' development.

 

[Legal Eel]

N

If only the team could defend like Pou ffs!!

No point arguing with him…at these times he is like a pig in shit! Probably take a week’S leave to revel in a heroic and inexhaustible defence of the truly indefensible….

 

[hindy111]

The replacement spine players they've had have been effective though. Meaney and Trindall both gave good output, so the missing player mattered less. Anyway it's not all about the spine. It's a team game.

Bryce and Doorey also have had good output but

 

[Poupou Escobar]

No, the key is to give your best players a breather when they need it

So who knows best when they need a breather? You?

 

[emjaycee]

I don't think it works that way I'd you have a spot available in your Top 30.

I think what Happy Meel means is that if Russell is out for the year, we might be able to apply to remove him from the top 30, which means we have to re-fill spot 29. Give that to Cini and we still have spot 30 remaining.

 

[emjaycee]

Some fools on here should hang their heads in shame more than Blake and Simonsson. Give yourself an uppercut you f**king idiot. You know who you are. Let’s see if they stick their neck out.

Sorry for upsetting u @Avenger
I have given myself an uppercut.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Wow. Decisions were smart, but just poorly executed by Waqa then?

We were outnumbered so whatever decision he made, it was up to the playmaker to read it and react. If he stopped those tries it would've been the playmaker's fault for making the wrong play. This is why they get paid the big bucks - to convert opportunities.

And what injury did Waqa play with, other than mental deficit...

Well he went into the game with one arm heavily bandaged and after 31 minutes (at 10-0 up) he hurt his other arm. Maybe you need to watch the game instead of gleefully putting shit on the team.

 

[JokerEel]

I think what Happy Meel means is that if Russell is out for the year, we might be able to apply to remove him from the top 30, which means we have to re-fill spot 29. Give that to Cini and we still have spot 30 remaining.

The dogs recently did that with Bailey Biondi-Odo.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

5mins before halftime and 20 min after.

Yep, and most tries involve some fatigue. That's only two that we conceded due to fatigue. Cronulla also conceded tries in the ten minutes before half and full time. It's a normal part of the game, and not something to blame on coaching.

 

[Avenger]

Sorry for upsetting u @Avenger
I have given myself an uppercut.

Smartarse.

But I did tell you about Simonsson immediately after the Darwin game last year.