I’m sorry but this team won’t be doing anything until it makes some ballsy decisions with team selections. No player should keep on getting selected as a default because they were in a Grand Final winning team or because they are a household name.
It’s why the Melbourne Storm are always high performers and at the pointy end of the ladder year on year. If a players form drops they get dropped no matter who it is. Here is a team Minor Premiers and they drop Brodie Croft because they think they can be better with Papenhuyzen & Hughes. If we were in the same position we would keep Croft because he’s been in the team most of the year.
I just watched Chad Townsend put in one of his most shit kicking games and all round performances in awhile on a Club legends special day. Don’t give me he kicked two field goals bull shyte that’s what a half should do it’s nothing special. The fact is we were in that shyte position because of his play and that upstart Flanno Junior who is a Townsend clone of mediocrity. When a game is on the line these two weak merkins have got nothing.
Until some tough decisions are made at the Club on personnel and standards required we will never emulate the class of 2016 which was led by Maloney, Lewis, Graham, Gallen,Ennis & Barba on being winners and focused on the job for the whole 80minutes.
What will it take for the Club to realise this?
Losing to the Tigers next week and failing to make the Semi’s with a roster capable of finishing top 4?
Might be the best thing for the Club to go forward.
Shocked into taking action.
Because falling into the finals will be actually papering over the cracks of the real problems with the team now.
Chad is the easy scape goat when the team loses.
the guy has short comings, sure. which player doesn't?
to apportion the line share of the blame on one person's shoulders in a team sport is bordering on lunacy.
if you are to watch the first half again Chad was in everything.
His setup for shape and direct engagement of the line particularly at the edges was pretty spot on in the first half.
he was responsible for the overlap on right edge for mulitalo's try.
he slots two critical field goals.
we lose doogs to HIA who has been chewing metres for us in recent weeks and then the softening of the middle sets in as the game went on.
this is what killed us.
you're then left with a half not necessarily kicking off the back of fast play the balls, or from the back foot or from less than ideal positions on the field.
this is no coincidence.
the performance from the middle at crucial stages of the game is the bigger issue at the moment than shit kicking Chad because you want to ignore his positives.
