Match Discussion: Round 21 vs Brisbane @ Sunshine Coast Stadium

[Jono078]

This week we turned the ball back on the inside for our backrowers and we found some joy (Frizzell was very effective and both our left second rowers scored tries).

I just want to touch a bit further on this..

I love when we turn the ball back inside, but more often than not we do it and basically hope the guy receiving the ball is able to find a hole to burst through.

This is where it'd be perfect to have another player run onto the ball once the second rower has come back in.. Imagine we turn the ball inside and then get quick passes to a Watson or Ponga.. Would wreak havoc! But we seem to play like once the ball has passed me then my efforts are done for this set. Well our whole support play and bodies in motion is below average to non-existent.

 

[Zoidberg]

Barry Toohey on the twits seems to think Best is ok, just precautionary X-ray.

 

[Allstar Knights]

I wasn't really disappointed about the end when we let those tries in. The short turnaround probably had a bit to do with it as well.

It's just our attack that's really disappointing. It's so clunky as always. We definitely missed Brailey with his crisp service but even still I just get the feeling it would still be the same disjointed mess in attack.

I do like when we use two forwards going together near the line, one to hit short or one out the back as an option. Pearce hit Barnett short for a nice try and from what I remember Sue was out the back as an option as well. I think we did a similar shape a few weeks ago but instead we let the short runner run the decoy and went out the back to Jacob Saifiti to steam onto it and crash over. It's a pretty basic thing to execute probably but it's using our power game and strength to our advantage at least.

 

[aqua_duck]

I don’t think we were too bad tonight. Brisbane were very good and really had a crack.

Forwards were very strong particularly Friz, Barnett and Klemmer.

I disagree, I don't think the Broncos were good at all, they made a tonne of errors but our attack is so disjointed we didn't really asks alot of questions of their goal line defence which is notoriously bad, 3 of our tries were result of just terrible goal line defence and the Fitzgibbon try was very lucky to be awarded IMO. With the amount of ball we had on their goal line we really should've put them away in the 1st half.
I understand we won but I've seen them look as though as they might have turned the corner many times only to get smashed the following week.

 

[aqua_duck]

I also doubt there are "spots" in your own half.

We looked good last week, we've looked good previously with the majority of the top spine out there.

The next month will be the proof in the pudding as Perverse said.

Well yes, I think that sort of explained why we just don't offer much of a long range attacking threat. I know we were chasing Finucane but IMO what we really need is a middle forward who can ball play a little bit, perhaps someone like a John Asiata. I think we're kind of missing that bit of x factor Herman would occasionally provide

 

[perverse]

I disagree, I don't think the Broncos were good at all, they made a tonne of errors but our attack is so disjointed we didn't really asks alot of questions of their goal line defence which is notoriously bad, 3 of our tries were result of just terrible goal line defence and the Fitzgibbon try was very lucky to be awarded IMO. With the amount of ball we had on their goal line we really should've put them away in the 1st half.
I understand we won but I've seen them look as though as they might have turned the corner many times only to get smashed the following week.

Brisbane's defence, in particular their first contact and intent in defence, was several levels above what I expected from them for most of the match. I don't think you give them any credit for that, nor their resilience to not fold when they could have. The rest of what you said I agree with, but those 2 factors about their performance you undersell a bit for mine. We can talk stats and drop balls until blue in the face, but Brisbane showed some backbone against us and credit to them for doing so imo. Especially in the first half. There's no doubt it frustrated us and we were impatient.

I don't think we turned any corners, for what it's worth - I just think Brisbane were gritty and better than you suggest on the back of that alone - even if they are also largely incompetent otherwise. I wish we showed what Brisbane did tonight when we had most of our team injured, tbh. We've had all of the incompetance that Brisbane had tonight on show this year, but with none of the grit and competitiveness. Brisbane can actually build off that if they can bottle it and keep it in their game, and I'd kill for a dose of it in our game.

I don't think this is the disaster you're making it out to be. It would have been if we didn't bag the 2 points, for sure - but the result matters. We could have easily lost tonight, and we have in the past under similar circumstances. I'm willing to take a positive or two out of that and move on to next week.. At the end of the day, it's a valid point that we don't have a lot of game time with our spine. The 4 day turn around is relevant too, I doubt they got a single ball session in in that time. Do you think Brisbane were better or worse than the Cowboys when we pumped them 38-0? That's the only other game we've had Ponga, Pearce and Clifford together. What value do you place on having Brailey on the park too?

 

[aqua_duck]

Brisbane's defence, in particular their first contact and intent in defence, was several levels above what I expected from them for most of the match. I don't think you give them any credit for that, nor their resilience to not fold when they could have. The rest of what you said I agree with, but those 2 factors about their performance you undersell a bit for mine. We can talk stats and drop balls until blue in the face, but Brisbane showed some backbone against us and credit to them for doing so imo. Especially in the first half. There's no doubt it frustrated us and we were impatient.

I don't think we turned any corners, for what it's worth - I just think Brisbane were gritty and better than you suggest on the back of that alone - even if they are also largely incompetent otherwise. I wish we showed what Brisbane did tonight when we had most of our team injured, tbh. We've had all of the incompetance that Brisbane had tonight on show this year, but with none of the grit and competitiveness. Brisbane can actually build off that if they can bottle it and keep it in their game, and I'd kill for a dose of it in our game.

I don't think this is the disaster you're making it out to be. It would have been if we didn't bag the 2 points, for sure - but the result matters. We could have easily lost tonight, and we have in the past under similar circumstances. I'm willing to take a positive or two out of that and move on to next week.. At the end of the day, it's a valid point that we don't have a lot of game time with our spine. The 4 day turn around is relevant too, I doubt they got a single ball session in in that time. Do you think Brisbane were better or worse than the Cowboys when we pumped them 38-0? That's the only other game we've had Ponga, Pearce and Clifford together. What value do you place on having Brailey on the park too?

Definitely not a disaster but I think we missed the opportunity to really make a statement. Whilst the Broncos showed resilience I think we probably could've thrown abit more at them. Is it just me or did our left side look better after Fitzy got injured?

 

[perverse]

Definitely not a disaster but I think we missed the opportunity to really make a statement. Whilst the Broncos showed resilience I think we probably could've thrown abit more at them. Is it just me or did our left side look better after Fitzy got injured?

Yeah, I wish we made a statement too. There was a moment at 28-8 where I thought yeah ok, if we punch them in the balls right here then I'll be pretty happy with this game, and we inevitably let them back into it. It's f**kin painful.

Our left side definitely looked better with the ball after Fitz went off. He's such a one trick pony.

 

[perverse]

Actually I'm not even sure why Fitz made it back into the team in the first place? It's not like he got dropped, went and tore it up in reserve grade and earned his spot back. I didn't think King deserved to get dropped based on last week either. Bit of a head scratcher.

 

[aqua_duck]

Actually I'm not even sure why Fitz made it back into the team in the first place? It's not like he got dropped, went and tore it up in reserve grade and earned his spot back. I didn't think King deserved to get dropped based on last week either. Bit of a head scratcher.

NIB has to get some value for their sponsorship since they're not getting use of the corporate box perks.
Just once I'd like to see him do something aside from just running that one crash line

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Like many on here I was frustrated watching that performance as well. However now that I’ve had some sleep I’m feeling a bit more positive about it.

There are a few factors to take into account here.

- the 4 day turnaround is massive. Coaches normally complain when they have a few 5 day turnarounds in a season so I imagine a 4 day turnaround is a bit of a nightmare and based on AOB’s comments last week we would only have focussed on recovery without any actual ball sessions.

- the Broncos turned up to play, which is a lot more than can be said about most of their games this year. Their defence was great considering how much ball we had.

- we still have a continuity issue with our spine with Brailey missing from this game.

Based on all those factors I’m glad we got the win as this game could have been a banana peel for sure. While our attack wasn’t good we actually built pressure really well with repeat sets and smart kicking for the most part. The possession was 70-30 in our favour for most of the game but this wasn’t a fluke or a random stat, this was because we actually made good decisions with what to do with the ball at the end of our sets, and if we hadn’t done that then potentially we lose that game if the possession is around 50-50 so I’ll take that as a positive.

Also whilst it was frustrating that we let them back into the game, once the score was 28-20 we actually managed the final 5 mins quite well. We held the ball and didn’t do anything silly then we bombed into a corner and tackled hard and didn’t let the Broncos play footy. Whilst we should have put them away and probably won by 30+ I was pleased that we kept calm in the final minutes to seal the deal.

The best bit is we now have a 10 day turnaround to recover and hopefully spend some time ironing out the rust in our game.

 

[Tom155]

Best officially cleared of serious injury

 

[Knight Tales]

Last night could see the dominoes fall our way now. There was a lot of apprehension to push our luck. The Broncs started strong and that rattled us. We were a team after a result regardless of how ugly. The worry is we are not finishing off sides when we should be. Too much trying to defend leads. That left side attack is improving every week. If we can get it near perfect then we can do anything.

 

[perverse]

Last night could see the dominoes fall our way now. There was a lot of apprehension to push our luck. The Broncs started strong and that rattled us. We were a team after a result regardless of how ugly. The worry is we are not finishing off sides when we should be. Too much trying to defend leads. That left side attack is improving every week. If we can get it near perfect then we can do anything.

Honestly, if we make the finals then week 1 is our grand final for mine. I think if we can earn our way there and win our first game, that will salvage the season somewhat and provide something to build on. Not that I want the team to be thinking like that, but I think that's pretty much our peak potential this year. It'll be an additional win if our spine can make it through that period and go into the pre-season injury free. We need them training together and playing together from now until round 1 next year... some firm ground to build on. You've then got the young ones like Best, Young etc with another pre-season and Hodgson is the big unknown at this stage too. We also might pick up another cheeky signing or two between now and then. Gagai comes in too to help the backline out a bit more, and it's a matter of just being better every game, every year from now on.

 

[Yosh]

If we win the next four games, we will be team everyone wants to avoid week one of the finals. I can realistically see us winning the next four. I reckon we will out 50 on the Broncos when we play them next.

If we do finish 7th, do we play Parra, Roosters or Manly?

 

[Knight Tales]

Honestly, if we make the finals then week 1 is our grand final for mine. I think if we can earn our way there and win our first game, that will salvage the season somewhat and provide something to build on. Not that I want the team to be thinking like that, but I think that's pretty much our peak potential this year. It'll be an additional win if our spine can make it through that period and go into the pre-season injury free. We need them training together and playing together from now until round 1 next year... some firm ground to build on. You've then got the young ones like Best, Young etc with another pre-season and Hodgson is the big unknown at this stage too. We also might pick up another cheeky signing or two between now and then. Gagai comes in too to help the backline out a bit more, and it's a matter of just being better every game, every year from now on.

All of the above. A finals spot means we are on right track. However the fact you can lose more games than you win and get finals spot is a bit of BS really.

 

[AusKnightRKO]

If we win the next four games, we will be team everyone wants to avoid week one of the finals. I can realistically see us winning the next four. I reckon we will out 50 on the Broncos when we play them next.

If we do finish 7th, do we play Parra, Roosters or Manly?

Parra or The Roosters would be the best bet, if it happens to be The Roosters, do we get 3rd or 4th if they lose, as if it’s Parra, i think that too is very winnable.

 

[Knight Tales]

Praying the Raiders and Dragons draw tonight. If they do the script is perfect for us. Titans are 8th and Sharks are 9th.

 

[slotmachine]

Honestly, if we make the finals then week 1 is our grand final for mine. I think if we can earn our way there and win our first game, that will salvage the season somewhat and provide something to build on. Not that I want the team to be thinking like that, but I think that's pretty much our peak potential this year. It'll be an additional win if our spine can make it through that period and go into the pre-season injury free. We need them training together and playing together from now until round 1 next year... some firm ground to build on. You've then got the young ones like Best, Young etc with another pre-season and Hodgson is the big unknown at this stage too. We also might pick up another cheeky signing or two between now and then. Gagai comes in too to help the backline out a bit more, and it's a matter of just being better every game, every year from now on.

Yeah you don't become a contender overnight unless you have been massively underperforming (which isn't really us, we probably should have 2-3 more wins this year really).
First step is making the finals every year. Then to start finishing top 4.