Game Day - Sharks / Panthers

[DJDL]

Yeah I'll go along with that to a point. He got more minutes than I thought he'd have in him and had a lot more first contacts. Williams was the best prop

The rest

Kaufusi is a project player, keeping my powder dry on him.
Uele can never get fit enough but can be good
Rudolf is just a modern day Geoff Robinson and not as good. Wild man persona and budgerigar effectivesness
Hunt is stealing oxygen.

I would lump Royce in the same boat as BHU.
As soon as he starts to get match fitness he gets injured again.
Remember he was pulling 25-30 minute stints in the middle of the year when BHU, Toby and Dale were all out - admittedly only for a couple of games. Then he went and got himself injured.

Both of those guys are at the age where they should be at the sweet spots in their careers.
Aged 27, BHU nearing 100 games and Royce coming up on 50.

I'd be flogging them over the offseason to try to get them into shape to handle more minutes.
For better or worse, they are the closest things we have to intimidation up front.

We need to be seeing more from them both.

BHU is off contract at the end of '24 and Royce the end of '25.

I think it's time for some serious conversations with them both about their long term prospects and what is expected of them if they want to extend beyond their current deals. Or see their deals out for that matter.

 

[Stake Removed]

Yeah I'll go along with that to a point. He got more minutes than I thought he'd have in him and had a lot more first contacts. Williams was the best prop

The rest

Kaufusi is a project player, keeping my powder dry on him.
Uele can never get fit enough but can be good
Rudolf is just a modern day Geoff Robinson and not as good. Wild man persona and budgerigar effectivesness
Hunt is stealing oxygen.

Kaufisi - I think he is just a average bench player, the difference is at Parra he had two dominant middles Paulo and RCG here our middles don't lay a platform and Kaufisi can't win it back.
The rest I totally agree

 

[Stake Removed]

We seen Tracey is not a NRL standard fullback, he looks good at Jets as defensive lines no where near as good.
That pass he threw inside our own in goal desperation play

 

[jc155776]

McInnes making 80 odd tackles is a cool stat but he should never have been left in to become so exhausted and ineffective at the end. He was f**king wrecked and dropping the ball and giving away penalties near the end from exhaustion. Because the team has no other forwards putting in to help him out. Bad coaching rotation wise.

team has too much depth. We have no game breakers because we are not prepared to get a superstar and risk having a neveille nobody behind him in case of injury.

 

[Quicksilver]

McInnes making 80 odd tackles is a cool stat but he should never have been left in to become so exhausted and ineffective at the end. He was f**king wrecked and dropping the ball and giving away penalties near the end from exhaustion. Because the team has no other forwards putting in to help him out. Bad coaching rotation wise.

team has too much depth. We have no game breakers because we are not prepared to get a superstar and risk having a neveille nobody behind him in case of injury.

No game breakers in a team that has been near the top of the attacking stats all season?

 

[Quigs]

Morning All. Hope you are all well this fine morning and don't need to dwell on last nights expected score line.

We do have good news.

The Mighty Emu Park Emus defeated the filthy stinking fish Rocky Brothers in last nights final and are now on their way to the big GF next week.

Have not won one yet so hear is hoping.

 

[DJDL]

No game breakers in a team that has been near the top of the attacking stats all season?

The 'best attack in the comp' line is grossly misleading.

At face value, the stats are impressive.
459 points for the season at an average of 26 per game.
But break it down into who we score them against and it paints a different picture.

Against teams outside the 8 we have 331 points from 11 games, for an average of 30 per game.
Against top 8 sides it's 128 points from 8 games, for an average of 16 per game.

Defense tells a similar story.

425 against for the year, for an average of 22 per game.
Against teams outside the 8, 166 from 11 games for an average of 15 per game.
Against top 8 sides, 259 from 8 games for an average of 32 per game.

We are miles off the pace.

 

[Birdee_Num_Num]

Problem is no one in this squad knows game management

Tricky did just fine at the start of the season without nicho.

 

[2012....Sharks Year]

Well bit of a weird feeling when you get beat by 28 but feel like it was probably one of our best defensive performances of the season. Considering losing WK in the first 5 and the backline reshuffle and the glut of ball the Pennies had all game I thought they busted their arses. Could so easily have been 50-60 plus. Kudos to McInnes and Jack for their defensive efforts and Tom continues to improve as well. Reckon Nicho needs to go to fullback and take a breather while WK is out. On the downside the season is now officially on life-support.

 

[SharkShocked]

Well bit of a weird feeling when you get beat by 28 but feel like it was probably one of our best defensive performances of the season. Considering losing WK in the first 5 and the backline reshuffle and the glut of ball the Pennies had all game I thought they busted their arses. Could so easily have been 50-60 plus. Kudos to McInnes and Jack for their defensive efforts and Tom continues to improve as well. Reckon Nicho needs to go to fullback and take a breather while WK is out. On the downside the season is now officially on life-support.

It’s over babbbbbbbbyyy

 

[Ozzi_78]

I feel like we actually need to miss the 8. No point losing another semi to add to the already poor record of late. Time for a reset.

 

[Quicksilver]

The 'best attack in the comp' line is grossly misleading.

At face value, the stats are impressive.
459 points for the season at an average of 26 per game.
But break it down into who we score them against and it paints a different picture.

Against teams outside the 8 we have 331 points from 11 games, for an average of 30 per game.
Against top 8 sides it's 128 points from 8 games, for an average of 16 per game.

Defense tells a similar story.

425 against for the year, for an average of 22 per game.
Against teams outside the 8, 166 from 11 games for an average of 15 per game.
Against top 8 sides, 259 from 8 games for an average of 32 per game.

We are miles off the pace.

That's mostly because we won't go toe to toe with the good teams in the hard work department. Nothing to do with our inability to play flamboyant or having players with the ability to break a game open.

We need to get better at the boring stuff.

 

[Craigshark]

That's mostly because we won't go toe to toe with the good teams in the hard work department. Nothing to do with our inability to play flamboyant or having players with the ability to break a game open.

We need to get better at the boring stuff.

perfect example being Hynes poorly executed 4th tackle kick for katoa 3 mins in to the second half when it was one of the first times we’d had the ball down their end

 

[Weaponhead]

So, where to from here. In the short term there is likely more pain to come. Their confidence is shattered and they have regressed significantly to the point whereas know that if they go after the Sharks physically, they will win.

Last season and at times this season they were able rack up scorelines through slick attack. This has masked the soft underbelly that is now their defining quality in the eyes of many.

Their mindset isn't ruthless. The first Warriors game showed a disgraceful lack of mental strength. That was supposed to be the wake up call. Then the Dolphins game, then the Melbourne game...... They haven't responded with the grit needed to progress. Now it has all unravelled. The downhill skiing against poor teams seems to have created a false sense of security. This mentality needs to be weeded out.

The middle forwards are the heart of the issue. There is no alpha leader who takes the others with him. We have a collection of middles that are mainly number 3 or 4 in a strong pack. BHU would be a decent number 2. Toby is a benchie at best in a decent side. Royce is a 4 or extended bench. Hazelton is a pup, so can't expect more than a 4. Same with Jesse C. Jack W is going well as a 3. I had high hopes for Kaufusi having watched him closely at Parramatta, especially in their finals run. He has been very underwhelming. He is still young but just shows no aggression.

Dale and McInnes are serviceable at 13. Dale is regressing and McInnes is limited but they work hard.

By all reports there is no money to get a quality middle. The plan seems to be to develop what we have and create a strong unit. This just hasn't worked. They don't have the mentality to hunt as a unit. Their focus and discipline is low.

Fitz is going to have to make some tough decisions to create any change.

On top of that Nicho has been all over the shop this season.

Interesting times ahead. The road to the top is rarely a straight line.

 

[Surely]

Pretty easy game to analyse, give Penrith 60 pussent of the ball anywhere but especially at home and you are going to get pasted.

As to our props yeah, they aren't fit, that's what injuries do during the season to big forwards.

 

[Stake Removed]

I think we were actually lucky last night.
The Panthers strong side there right which attacks our left, they did not attack a lot, when they did they scored.
There coach Cleary he used his left side attack and think this was on purpose to prepare them for finals as it's a new look attack.
It could have been a lot worse

 

[DJDL]

Yeah but it wasn’t.
And, as much as they sucked when in possession, the defence was a much improved effort.

 

[Feej 2: Electric Boogaloo]

I had a lovely dinner with friends at Harrington Park Country Club, where I only glanced at my phone once, and that was enough.

Without sounding like a broken record, I fear something rotten inside the club.

 

[Frenzy.]

Kaufisi - I think he is just a average bench player, the difference is at Parra he had two dominant middles Paulo and RCG here our middles don't lay a platform and Kaufisi can't win it back.
The rest I totally agree

I think he's still a raw, young and immature prop whose 88 game count gives a false impression of where he should be when most of them have been as a benchie. I don't know if he'll be with us when it happens but I reckon he'll be one of those Poly boys who doesn't peak well into his late 20s.

He doesn't have many on field mentors. He's had 17 games this year, many off the bench and most starting games have been because the mentors have been injured. He's like the silent victim of other people's injuries.

This fits in with what you have pointed out with JP and RCG. If he had 2 decent props playing big minutes and making significant impact he'd be far better than an average benchie. He's stuck behind a bag of cotton balls though. Hiding to nothing for that kid

 

[glenmoresharkie]

On the subject of forwards, how much of a bum is Toby? I know we don’t have much other choice but he is nowhere near first grade standard. Tommy H running rings around him at the moment just quietly