Match Discussion: Round 14 vs South Sydney @ Stadium Australia

[Jono078]

That was us going side to side? Good lord.

 

[aqua_duck]

We haven't adapted our attack to the new rules and pace of the game, we're still punching it one out up the middle on 90% of plays which a sprinkling of not very well executed block plays, we absolutely flat out refuse to even entertain the though of a quick spread

 

[ryana87]

Team next week?

1. Ponga
2. Enari Tuala
3. Kurt Mann
4. Bailey Hodgson
5. Dom Young
6. Jake Clifford
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Klemmer
9. Brailey
10. Daniel Saifiti
11. Brodie Jones
12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon
13. Mitchell Barnett

Interchange:
14. Connor Watson
15. Sauaso Sue
16. Jacob Saifiti
17. Jack Johns/Josh King

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

So hopefully next week looks like this;

1 Ponga
2 Hunt
3 Young
4 Mann
5 Toa
6 Clifford
7 Pearce
8 Klemmer
9 Brailey
10 Saifiti
11 Fitzgibbon
12 Jones
13 Barnett
—
14 Watson
15 Saifiti
16 Sue
17 whoever

Hopefully Best has just rolled his ankle and is OK.

 

[perverse]

We haven't adapted our attack to the new rules and pace of the game, we're still punching it one out up the middle on 90% of plays which a sprinkling of not very well executed block plays, we absolutely flat out refuse to even entertain the though of a quick spread

Yeah, this is something that probably isn't going to change much, because it's a coached thing. Having said that, I think we did actually give it a bit of a crack early on last week, and completely made a meal of it. We just don't have the talent out there to entertain it at the moment, even if we wanted to.

 

[slotmachine]

Hopefully Best has just rolled his ankle and is OK.

syndesmosis, could be 6-8 weeks

 

[General Knight]

The commentators were saying best's injurt was syndesmosis. I hope not otherwise hes gone.

 

[aqua_duck]

Yeah, this is something that probably isn't going to change much, because it's a coached thing. Having said that, I think we did actually give it a bit of a crack early on last week, and completely made a meal of it. We just don't have the talent out there to entertain it at the moment, even if we wanted to.

If you don't drill it at all in training ofcourse it's going to look clunky.

 

[perverse]

If you don't drill it at all in training ofcourse it's going to look clunky.

Yep, this is true. I don't disagree with you, I just think we're damned if we do, damned if we don't with blokes like Tex Hoy shitting it up in the team. You'll get no arguments from me that our coaching staff leaves a lot to be desired, and has a lot to prove to convince me that they are the right men for the job.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

syndesmosis, could be 6-8 weeks

Ouch.

 

[slotmachine]

Hoy and Mann can't make one pass, let alone a flowing backline move

 

[Alex28]

Team next week?

1. Ponga
2. Enari Tuala
3. Kurt Mann
4. Bailey Hodgson
5. Dom Young
6. Jake Clifford
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Klemmer
9. Brailey
10. Daniel Saifiti
11. Brodie Jones
12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon
13. Mitchell Barnett

Interchange:
14. Connor Watson
15. Sauaso Sue
16. Jacob Saifiti
17. Jack Johns/Josh King

Bailey Hodgson is what - 2 weeks in after a long-term injury? No chance.

Has anyone seen his play for us yet?

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

Bailey Hodgson is what - 2 weeks in after a long-term injury? No chance.

Has anyone seen his play for us yet?

In NSW Cup today. Mia a bit but went well. I'd only consider him if Ponga is out. Ponga is only 'possible'.
Sisagi went well at centre.

 

[Alex28]

In NSW Cup today. Mia a bit but went well. I'd only consider him if Ponga is out. Ponga is only 'possible'.
Sisagi went well at centre.

He’s young. He needs a bit of time. Dom Young has great potential but he’s a way away from being an 80 minute NRL player just yet.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

AOB is saying he was impressed with Mann and he'll get better at playing centre.
So it looks like, barring injury, we'll have Mann at Centre.

 

[perverse]

AOB is saying he was impressed with Mann and he'll get better at playing centre.
So it looks like, barring injury, we'll have Mann at Centre.

Did you ever doubt it?

 

[Old dog]

It was a frustrating game, we always seemed behind, still can’t believe Tuala and Young didn’t swap. JSaf has had better games but was the best forward, seemed to play big minutes. Barnett hot and cold, little use of Croker and Johns, Watson better as 14 than 6, Hoy got smashed but did keep getting back up

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

It was a frustrating game, we always seemed behind, still can’t believe Tuala and Young didn’t swap. JSaf has had better games but was the best forward, seemed to play big minutes. Barnett hot and cold, little use of Croker and Johns, Watson better as 14 than 6, Hoy got smashed but did keep getting back up

Hoy doesn't lack effort. I just don't think he's cut out to play first grade.
A few others could learn from his commitment though.

 

[Yosh]

Can't say I'm too disappointed with that. I'm really used to see us dish up crap week in week out but that was pretty good. I would almost say we were the better side out there today. We shut down their three tries down our right side and we are well and truely in that all game.

Some thoughts

- I don't want to start on a negative but Hoy needs to go. He got smashed every single time he brought the ball back. We got no go forward to start the set and that really set us back, every, single, time... He is not quick enough, not agile enough, not strong enough, not athletic enough nor cunning enough to be a first grader.

- I thought Mann had his best game for us. Not perfect but was much more at home playing centre. Poked his head through a couple of times with his carries and hussled well all game. I don't mind seeing him play there the rest of the season.

- If we are going to stick with the Mann and Tuala combination out on the right, we probably need Pearce out there to help in defense and organization. We are going to leak many, many points down that side unless something changes.

- Dom Young was fantastic. Stopped a bunch of their tries (our other side would have let them in) and was strong coming out of our half. I hope we see him play wing every minute for the rest of the season. Great finish and smile as well.

- Both Saifitis were great. Jacob was sensational. If both the boys keep their game simple and play hard and straight and get through a lot of work on defense, I can't see many sides beating us through the middle.

- Really like what Barnett offers through the middle but he needs to work on his decision making. Pushed a couple of offloads and it really blunted our attack.

- Brodie Jones. Get that man a contract (Wakandan accent). He needs to be here long term. He should be put into the leadership group and should stay here for a long and prosperous career. The sort of local product that we should look to hold onto.

- Watson is definitely a middle forward or impact bench player. Looked like Mann out there on the left edge.

- Really happy with our defense. Weird thing to say after conceding 4 or 5 tries but I think it was more a personell thing not a system thing. Line speed was top notch all game. Good discipline and great kick pressure. Seibold's influence is clear to see.

- Finally (wanted to finish on a high note): Clifford is a godsend. He has turned one of our biggest weaknesses (5th tackle options) into a super weapon. Won us repeat sets, got us a try with a nice chip kick and his bombs are as good as I have seen in 20 years of watching the sport. Young, big and exactly the sort of player we needed. When Pearce comes back, I hope he lets Clifford take control of our kicking game 90% of the time.

Bunch more things I want to comment on but this essay is long enough. Happy with that loss all things considered.

 

[Jono078]

It's going to be really interesting seeing how the Pearce/Clifford combo works.

We all can see we're a better off team letting Clifford get his kicks in and showing his variety - but the excitement can quickly come undone if Pearce overrides him and does the majority of kicks.