That was a really poor performance. The Dogs are focused but very limited. Easts dealt wuth them fairly easily last week. The Dolphins loss was frustrating but they had the 5 day turnaround from Brisbane excuse for the slow start. Last night, no excuses. No origin disruption, not fatigued after the bye.
It's almost as if they have gotten bored with the disciplined, hard footy from early in the season and resorted to old habits of switching off so they have a lead to chase.
The mentality weaknesses are rearing their ugly heads again. Got in front against the Dolphins and Dogs and couldn't close either.
Hynes needs to get himself sorted real quick. The thing that irritated me most (apart from shaking the field goal) was off the back of the 2 very quick ptbs he puts in a steered kick straight down the throat of the Dogs winger. He had all the time in the world to execute and did the pop gun kick he known for to piss away momentum in an instant. He needs to find a hard edge. The mollycoddling has to stop.
If you're referring to the one early in the first half, agreed. That pissed me off no end.
We'd been under the pump from the get go, finally had a good set, and he comes up with that.
6 tackles later Burton puts up a bomb, Big Sexy spills it. The Dogs are camped inside the 10. 6 again. Try.
His game management has gone to shit.
He seemed to have improved leaps and bounds earlier in the year. I don't know where it's gone.
I was also unimpressed with his efforts, or lack thereof, mid way through the second half when the Dogs looked to be tiring. They were starting to open up everywhere. An elite 7 would have put them to the sword during that time, but we just ran the same old predictable plays and came up empty handed.
Trying to defend a 2 point lead for 20 minutes was never going to work.
As with the match against the Dolphins, I mentioned to my wife we were about to bring back the starting middles and, unless we put more points on, we're done for.
Et voila.
The other one that really got my goat was the "setup" for the field goal attempt.
When the opposition turns it over on their 40 metre line during golden point, you just have to get it done.
So the first few tackle are worked to set it up and McInnes gets tackled on the 20.
You want to get a little closer so what do you do?
On the next play give it to the one dude whose been trampling defenders all night so he can get within 3 metres of the line.
Pharquing genius move.
Now the defense only needs to retreat 3 metres and will have no trouble charging through and putting pressure on.
Not only that, but Brail's pass from dummy half was rubbish.
He passes better from right to left, but had to pass left to right there.
This is the shit you need to know, and work on.
Decide where you are comfortable taking the kick.
Where does Brails need to be to be passing to you from his preferred side?
And get the ball to someone who is going to get you there or thereabouts.
Not 15 metres past it, and 10 metres to the left of it.
Absolute garbage.
Again.
