Match Discussion: Round 7 vs Penrith @ BlueBet Stadium

[Seage]

2019 we beat them by four tries I think

Oh yeah, haha. That had fallen off the back of a truck in my mind - buried under year after year of 40 point beltings at the SFS and SCG. I'd call our 38-12 win at McDonald Jones an outlier!

 

[slotmachine]

Chooks did have local super star Brock Lamb playing in the halves.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

Tough game and while the result wasn't the best the effort was at least there and is something to gain confidence from

Mann really stepped up, big time. Put in a few nice kicks, had the Panthers left edge guessing and made Kikau his bitch in defence. He deserves his #6 jersey

Our forwards held their own but were on a hiding to nothing with Penriths line speed and far superior kicking game coupled with their gunshot kick returns. To'o is a freak

I liked seeing Toa turn things around a bit, he's been unimpressive most of this year but he's starting to settle

Green looks like he should have retired after all. Far too slow for the current game and doesn't make up for it with a stellar kicking or passing game. We have few options though so we need to adjust for him.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

I feel as though the great strengths of the side are being wasted because of the glaring weaknesses. Almost every half in the league would dominate behind our pack except for every half we have at the club. Ponga has to do everything and gets heavily targeted. Best carts it up on play 2 and 3 like a mule. Being used totally wrong. Still lacking in crucial support play. If Adam Reynolds is our 7 we win tonight imo.

Agree with you on everything except Best. Credit where it's due, Penrith kept us in our own half for most of the game and the few opportunities we did have near their line they rushed Bradman and gave him no space. Staines was particularly good in that

 

[Yosh]

The line speed from the Penrith side was super impressive. They were up and in our face all night. On the other hand, it looked like we were basically waiting for them to make 10 metres before making contact. Hope we start to turn that around.

 

[Zoidberg]

I got to see a replay and just on that try from the scrum, I get it’s difficult to penalise but they definitely planned to obstruct our forwards from breaking from the scrum.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

I got to see a replay and just on that try from the scrum, I get it’s difficult to penalise but they definitely planned to obstruct our forwards from breaking from the scrum.

And it looked like the last pass was forward.

 

[Jono078]

I got to see a replay and just on that try from the scrum, I get it’s difficult to penalise but they definitely planned to obstruct our forwards from breaking from the scrum.

Absolutely. I have more issue with that try than the one most here were saying was forward from Luai

 

[Knight76]

Absolutely. I have more issue with that try than the one most here were saying was forward from Luai

Same, I noticed that they put on this huge push to take our forwards out of it.

Considering generally they tell the forwards not to push in scrums, its a clear tactic to cause an obstruction.

 

[ryana87]

Didn't know where else to post this.... But the latest Toohey's news savages knights attitude around giving pats on the back for gritty defense when the loose by 18 points and doing one out foward runs for 4 tackles followed by a below average 5th tackle kick.

No one mentions that panther had good/gritty defence because it's the norm for them. We have a long long way to go

 

[Jono078]

Yep it’s a pattern AOB doesn’t want to fall into.

at some point a win has to be the only thing accepted.

but let’s be real, we came up against the bar and we know we’re not close to it.

 

[Knight Tales]

I’d be real tempted to switch Bradman to the right and put him with Toa. That could be a solid partnership. Mann to left centre.

Baz is right. AOB needs to say losses are just that and they are unacceptable for a squad with three origin forwards and a superstar fullback who is left on his own to create magic.

 

[perverse]

Yep it’s a patter AOB doesn’t want to fall into.

at some point a win has to be the only thing accepted.

but let’s be real, we came up against the bar and we know we’re not close to it.

That point has pretty much arrived as far as I'm concerned. It's all well and good for the fans to be happy with the effort, the coach needs to demand more. You'll never find excellence in being happy enough with mediocre - with keeping the players comfortable. I'm still on the fence about AOB, and ~18 months into his tenure that may not be a good sign. There's a lot of problems... but the way we use the football is so bland and pedestrian, there's still a huge question mark every week about which team will get off the bus and I'm not sure he's using the bench effectively.

He says a lot of the right things, so I feel like he gets where we need to be... I'm just not 100% certain if he really knows how to get us there. I get the feeling he's going to get another pass this year, but he's gone next year if we don't go deep into the finals for mine. You can poke holes in the roster all you like, people will talk about the halves and whatnot, but overall we do have the cattle to compete. We need to go on a real run of form when Pearce gets back, because honestly there's no excuses at all once he's back on the field.

 

[Spot On]

Can't compete, ie win more games than you lose, qualify for and win semis, without decent halves. Can't pay halves who lack game awareness, decent footy IQ, top notch long and short kicking game and the ability to attack when the side is on the back foot.

Still lacking quality in the backrow. Money must be spent upgrading Barnett's starting position.

 

[slotmachine]

but overall we do have the cattle to compete

With our 6 and 7 no way we're a top 4 side.

 

[Knight Tales]

That point has pretty much arrived as far as I'm concerned. It's all well and good for the fans to be happy with the effort, the coach needs to demand more. You'll never find excellence in being happy enough with mediocre - with keeping the players comfortable. I'm still on the fence about AOB, and ~18 months into his tenure that may not be a good sign. There's a lot of problems... but the way we use the football is so bland and pedestrian, there's still a huge question mark every week about which team will get off the bus and I'm not sure he's using the bench effectively.

He says a lot of the right things, so I feel like he gets where we need to be... I'm just not 100% certain if he really knows how to get us there. I get the feeling he's going to get another pass this year, but he's gone next year if we don't go deep into the finals for mine. You can poke holes in the roster all you like, people will talk about the halves and whatnot, but overall we do have the cattle to compete. We need to go on a real run of form when Pearce gets back, because honestly there's no excuses at all once he's back on the field.

It is quite possible Pearce is not the issue at all. His energy and ethic deserves reward. I believe he is over involved. Hence his injuries. He is nearly 32. He is as good as we are going to get and letting him ever leave is not an option. The coach needs to make the team suit him.

 

[Spot On]

With our 6 and 7 no way we're a top 4 side.

Lucky to be top 8.

 

[Jono078]

That point has pretty much arrived as far as I'm concerned. It's all well and good for the fans to be happy with the effort, the coach needs to demand more. You'll never find excellence in being happy enough with mediocre - with keeping the players comfortable. I'm still on the fence about AOB, and ~18 months into his tenure that may not be a good sign. There's a lot of problems... but the way we use the football is so bland and pedestrian, there's still a huge question mark every week about which team will get off the bus and I'm not sure he's using the bench effectively.

He says a lot of the right things, so I feel like he gets where we need to be... I'm just not 100% certain if he really knows how to get us there. I get the feeling he's going to get another pass this year, but he's gone next year if we don't go deep into the finals for mine. You can poke holes in the roster all you like, people will talk about the halves and whatnot, but overall we do have the cattle to compete. We need to go on a real run of form when Pearce gets back, because honestly there's no excuses at all once he's back on the field.

Yep, I agree with all of this.

I wan't to like AOB but he leaves me with lots of questions. As you said, he does say the right things so hopefully things will start to click soon, but I'm fearing he may have set a ceiling with his praises after losses.

I've said it all a long, I really do think we'll finish this season strong, but he's gotta manage this part of the season much better, especially with the bench. Klemmer, Daifiti and Frizzel will be shot come finals time. He needs to give them more rest and allow the likes of King and Jones to get more game time and experience, so when they are called upon they have confidence to get the job done.

 

[Spot On]

It is quite possible Pearce is not the issue at all. His energy and ethic deserves reward. I believe he is over involved. Hence his injuries. He is nearly 32. He is as good as we are going to get and letting him ever leave is not an option. The coach needs to make the team suit him.

A million a season for being happy with 'energy' from your playmaker and organiser is not good enough... and is a big part of the problem this club has.

We need halves who can win us matches with skill... and not just against the bottom 4 sides.

 

[perverse]

With our 6 and 7 no way we're a top 4 side.

We should be competing for the 4th-6th range. 4th would be a very good year, 6th is par. We should be sitting 5 - 2 this year, all that was missing was attitude. Not a reflection on the quality of our halves, but a reflection on the lack of quality halves across the board in the NRL.

If this team rocks up and competes with the right mindset every single week, we make the finals - and probably reasonably comfortably. That should be the expectation - the minimum to be honest.

There's probably only 4 or 5 halfbacks in the comp that you blokes wouldn't be whinging your tits off about every week.