Match Discussion: Round 6 vs St Geo Illa @ WIN Stadium

[macavity]

I remember the night he made his debut off the bench, played 13 minutes, did absolutely f**k all, yet everyone on social media sucked his dick so hard there weren't any bones left in his body

I JUST DONT GET IT??!!??!!

it was at a time we had literally zero hope for the club. He was a rookie half.

 

[ryan.a87]

No surprise….pretty much all the questions from the journos were around ponga which were shut down pretty quickly…but they kept asking them

we spent all week working on attack and our defence suffered apparently

 

[Jono078]

Plenty of players cop a bit here and usually it's deserved when questioned.

I'm adding a new one to the list today.

Jake Clifford.

Now before you jump on me, he was definitely not awful or anything today, but, I'm getting concerned about his involvement in the game.

To me he now looks like a guy that just puts up freak bombs on the last tackle. I need to see him taking more control and touching the ball more each set.

So I'm not overly critical of him but I did expect a little more at this stage to be honest. Anyone have concerns or is it just me for now?

 

[ryan.a87]

He also blamed the refs after being pressed by the journos

 

[perverse]

Plenty of players cop a bit here and usually it's deserved when questioned.

I'm adding a new one to the list today.

Jake Clifford.

Now before you jump on me, he was definitely not awful or anything today, but, I'm getting concerned about his involvement in the game.

To me he now looks like a guy that just puts up freak bombs on the last tackle. I need to see him taking more control and touching the ball more each set.

So I'm not overly critical of him but I did expect a little more at this stage to be honest. Anyone have concerns or is it just me for now?

No, you're right. His involvement is low at times. The touches he does makes are often quality, so he dodges criticism there, but our halves are the most invisible halves in the comp regardless who plays there at the moment.

 

[Yosh]

No, you're right. His involvement is low at times. The touches he does makes are often quality, so he dodges criticism there, but our halves are the most invisible halves in the comp regardless who plays there at the moment.

It's surely a coaching issue? Clifford is almost always the first to chase and challenge any kick we put through. His defense is also excellent, so I don't think it's an effort thing.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

You're just lashing out at the Dragons because you have the McCullough jells

Look out, there's some bread behind you

 

[God-King Dean]

Look out, there's some bread behind you

Reported

 

[Seage]

You're just lashing out at the Dragons because you have the McCullough jells

Well you've got us there.

 

[McLovin]

How AOB continues to escape scrutiny is beyond me. Considering his pedigree, he's done nothing since his arrival and continues to have the squad playing at a sub par level week in week out. I'd throw him in the Madge, Barrett, Brown basket. Surely his seat is warming up...

 

[PhilGould]

The most depressing part is the complete lack of alternatives in reserve grade. Dylan f**king Phythian is the starting halfback and captain. Krystian Mapapalagi is the only junior that’s close to first grade worth being excited about and they’ve got him running around in jersey flegg while local league call ups play centre in reggies.

We’re in desperate need of some young edge back towers that aren’t ‘generic un-athletic local that tries hard #12’. I would be doing what needs to be done to get Kai Pearce-Paul. Katoa from the Warriors is another I’ve mentioned. Leo Thompson has all the attributes to move to the edge. Just please don’t make me watch Brodie Jones anymore. Grim times when you’re counting down the days for Lachlan Fitzgibbon to return.

Clifford has gone back into his shell which happens far too often when the forwards aren’t dominating.

Crossland should be partnering Brock Lamb in the halves for Maitland next year. Simi earned that #14 jersey today and wouldn’t surprise me if he’s starting lock by the end of the year.

Hooker is a problem too. Randall is hit or miss as a backup and obviously not a solution long-term. Brailey has spent twice as much time on the sideline and fits the ‘generic un-athletic that tries hard’ description. Just watching his brother for the Sharks it’s very clear why they chose him.

Who knows what will happen with Ponga but he’s got more talent in his little toe than the rest of the team combined.

Likely to be 2/8 in a couple of weeks and then things will really get ugly. Hope I’m wrong. Just frustrating that the Nathan Brown rebuild to set us up for the long term has brought us right back to rudderless mediocrity.

 

[Seage]

Really interesting to know whether, privately, AOB thinks he's doing a good job.

 

[slotmachine]

Just frustrating that the Nathan Brown rebuild to set us up for the long term

Don't drink the Kool aid

 

[PhilGould]

Don't drink the Kool aid

I say it in jest. ‘We’re going to lose every game for multiple years and because of that magically become a powerhouse’ never made sense.

 

[perverse]

to be fair it is the injuries.

but “injuries” is another way to say “poor squad composition”

Well... yes... but it also glosses over the fact that the injured blokes aren't that good either for the most part. It's not like we've got James Tedesco, Cameron Munster and Jason Taumololo on the sidelines at the moment.

We're sitting around begging for the likes of Mitch Barnett, Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Adam Clune to come back ffs.

 

[Haffa]

I'm sure Crybaby Klems words will really hurt Zacs feelings whilst he's cleaning up all the puss in Wollongong

 

[Zoidberg]

Hobbies are supposed to make you happy. Supporting this team does not.

 

[perverse]

Hobbies are supposed to make you happy. Supporting this team does not.

I generally support this team now to keep myself grounded and not enjoy life too much, tbh.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

That loss just reeks of a lack of leadership on the field doesn’t it? We had two opportunities with about 7-8 mins left on the clock to go for the field goal and no one was screaming for the ball and there seemed to be no plan at all. Instead we went for a half arsed and low percentage attacking play. Clifford needs to be the man there but wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

I’ve defended Crossland on here before but the only thing he does well is he’s a good defender. With the ball in hand he offers nothing at all.

The fact is that our top 30 squad is pretty much mostly reserve graders. We’ve got probably 12-13 actual first grade quality players in our top 30 and that’s it. Once a few injuries hit (which is inevitable) we’re relying on guys who wouldn’t be anywhere near a first grade jumper at another club.

The Roosters had more injuries than anyone last year yet basically have an entire back up first grade team waiting in the wings ready to call up when needed.

This club sucks.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Plenty of players cop a bit here and usually it's deserved when questioned.

I'm adding a new one to the list today.

Jake Clifford.

Now before you jump on me, he was definitely not awful or anything today, but, I'm getting concerned about his involvement in the game.

To me he now looks like a guy that just puts up freak bombs on the last tackle. I need to see him taking more control and touching the ball more each set.

So I'm not overly critical of him but I did expect a little more at this stage to be honest. Anyone have concerns or is it just me for now?

His chase when they went down the left leading to the try with the Frizell-Lomax incident was either wheelchair worthy or just lazy. Couldn’t believe how slow he was.