Riddle me this. We have an absolutely gun team on paper- completely underperforming.
Graham, Dugan, Johnson, Moylan, Fifita and Woods are out and out hyped superstars of our game.
Nikora and Xerri are pencilled in as future rep superstars.
Gallen and Morris have a tonne of rep experience.
If you were to allocate a dollar value to every player based on their achievements, a la supercoach, you can make a good argument that this is the best team (on paper) we have ever had. Yet we are middling.
Traditionally when we have done well it was on the back of plenty of local juniors and a couple of guns. The 2016 squad one upped that and were team took a bunch of unfashionable rejects and moneyball style players like Leutele and Beale and Ennis who gave maximum bang for your buck.
I cannot remember a squad like this for the Sharks- and despite all the talent in the world it feels like we are destined to be frustrated.
A team of champions perhaps?
Footnote- for those saying throw Kyle back in- it was him who said he wanted out and now has the bottom lip out deluxe. Doesn't want to be here. Think the world owes him a favour.
1. Mistakes are killing this sides chances big time. Where’s the worst place to make a mistake? In your own half. Moylan & Dugan are dropping balls from bombs, General play kicks every game. I have lost count how many of those have led to tries the following set to the opposition.
Incidentally they are the two players I despise in this team as they are mentally weak. If they make a mistake get your wallet out and bet they’ll make another because 9 times out of 10 you are sure to be right. On a side note Moylan is not a fullback anymore. Dugan can’t play there either as he’s too slow. One of the most important positions in a team these days and we have a stop gap fullback.
2. Slow starts are killing us. My take on it. Our starting props. Prior now has no effect in bending the line. Zero. Fifita runs too sideways and looks for the offload too much. The best thing in the opening 20minutes a Prop can do for the team is run hard and STRAIGHT with a quick play the ball. We are getting zero momentum in the first 20mins of games. When Uele comes on we get that momentum and when Woods was fit he was giving us the same momentum.
3. No decent goal kicker. Our best goal kicker is Flanno but he isn’t our best half. (Oh and I picked up earlier on this that the kid is a little upstart with his attitude. The fact he wanted to go to the Roosters mid season tells me a lot about his character. ) We have now lost the last two matches despite scoring more tries. Horrible statistic.
4. Attitude. Way too much flair plays. Need to put the body on the line more and play what’s in front of them. Sometimes a simple short ball is all that is required to break a defence open up the middle or on an edge.
5. We lack speed in the backs. The fact that not one of our backline players caught up to Williams when he made that break yesterday was telling. The bloke in support was Braden Uele! A prop. Yet Montoya and Remis Smith tackled him. Now if they caught up with Williams why didn’t any of our outside backs catch up with him?
Despite this I do think we can get our shyte together and make a run. But I do think we lack the mental edge to beat the Storm and Roosters in the end of season. Games.
