There were a number of sets tonight where we were making quite a lot of metres around the ruck but instead of then moving the Dragons forwards around when we had a roll on we kept just going one out. The Dragons pack is big but they’re not very mobile, not trying to move them around at every opportunity is dumb.
I’m not sure if that’s more on AOB or Blake Green or the senior players (I’d imagine all of the above) but the squad seems incapable of adjusting the plan online during the game based on what’s happening.
Exactly.
We’ve watched Penrith be the most dominant side in terms of field position ever for the past five years in spite of what under AOB would be the crippling issue of not having a great power runner through the middle (besides 20 mins of Spencer Leniu for a few years). You watch Fisher Harris or Leota take a run off the kick off, you’d wonder how this could be the most dominant side ever. It’s all based on how well they move opposing middles around and make each tackle in yardage just that little bit harder and more fatiguing. And of course Cleary’s kicking game helps massively, and back five yardage… but even then players like Turuva, Tago, Edwards, To’o these are not big boys. To’o has got spiders on him, but they maximise that back five yardage with constant late footwork, changes of angle, they’ll throw offloads, etc.
It’s all easier said than done of course but while they’re known as a “grinding” team, the game plan is all about asking constant small questions which add up over the 80, rather than chasing the big plays constantly. The big plays come off the back of the small questions.
Whereas with AOB it’s the opposite. Never ask the “smaller” questions, just try to win the middle by running hard and holding the ball, and then in VERY specific circumstances put one of our boring and predictable block plays on. The way we train it’s like they’re told “and then you’ll score a try”, and they shit themselves when they don’t.