Match Discussion: Round 9 vs Canberra @ McDonalds Park

[NoSchitSherlock]

We are in 8th, for now.

 

[Allstar Knights]

I liked what I saw from Crossland today at 7. Have to persist with him. I'm sure he'll get his hands on the ball more often with time there

 

[Jono078]

Probably because otherwise it would be the silky skills of Kurt Mann.

Would be nice if Bradman could be given the ball maybe twice in a game.

One positive was O’Brien finally got the bench rotation right. The fight was there second half. Enough at least to curb the ineptness of the first 40.

I was very pleased with his bench use this week! Barney is better as a balls to the wall (as someone else here once said) player for 50-60 minutes.

Watson off the bench is better for our team too. Even though he's been solid as a started, I think him off the bench is a better dynamic for the team.

 

[Loose Cannon]

The difference: commitment, stop the errors, stop giving them repeat sets.

Radical thinking, hey?

 

[Apey]

I can't believe we won that. Raiders 2nd halves are truly diabolical but we certainly played better in the second too.

 

[Jono078]

And also as Seage said, today does not mean too much if we can't build off it and put in a real good performance against the Tigers next week.

Well done to Conor, finally someone gets to celebrate a milestone game with us.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

I liked what I saw from Crossland today at 7. Have to persist with him. I'm sure he'll get his hands on the ball more often with time there

He has a huge kick. His gain with one of the penalty kicks was huge. I hate it when they just punt it over the sideline.

 

[Loose Cannon]

I was very pleased with his bench use this week! Barney is better as a balls to the wall (as someone else here once said) player for 50-60 minutes.

Watson off the bench is better for our team too. Even though he's been solid as a started, I think him off the bench is a better dynamic for the team.

Yep, that was me, following last week. It played out today, despite the rubbish start.

Klemmer, Dan, Barnett got 22-25 and all swapped out for Watson, Sue, Jacob within minutes of each other. They seemed to all come back in the same frame with 20-25 left.

Watson adds that dimension that compliments Brailey perfectly.

 

[Old dog]

Crossland went well, need Mann to stop kicking so much and let Crossland do more, first half was not so good, Brailey was very good, rotation of bench was better, don’t know why we didn’t start Jones for Fitzgibbon but can’t complain, Sue is all effort, Watson is so much better coming on after 20-25 mins, Friz was strong. Musgrove gave effort but if Hunt back then he can replace him. Ponga not at his best but still did very good things

 

[Burwood]

And also as Seage said, today does not mean too much if we can't build off it and put in a real good performance against the Tigers next week.

Well done to Conor, finally someone gets to celebrate a milestone game with us.

Hunt got a win in his 50 for us against sharks a few weeks back. He only lasted a few minutes before being injured, but a win’s a win!

 

[The Axe of Druss]

Mann at 6 isn't working though

We have few options though

 

[Apey]

Mann is the easy choice for me to get rid of when it comes to him vs Watson.

He's not a good enough 6 and I don't think he'd be a good enough 14 either. Like Axe said though we don't have a 6, so this is assuming we did.

 

[Yosh]

Just some thoughts

- Frizzell showed us he is a/the leader in the team. Really impressed how he stood up. Some great runs and what a try!!!!

- Second half we finally started to play football. Love the trick play to start the half. Lovely. Just lovely. Some great offloads and Watson needs more game time. So does Sue. Both offered great impact.

- Best needs some ball. Period. To'a was good also. Good to see him get heated for the knock on call and make a try saver. Then great strip to put the Raiders to bed. Tuala should be dropped next week for Hunt.

- Musgrove. Broken ribs but dives ribs first on the loose ball. I reckon he should get a contract just for that play. Those small effort areas will make our season.

- Mann should just play a supporting running role. Crossland was by far the superior half today. Better kicks, serviceable defense and some great support play. Also he would pass and wrap around the forward with the ball putting the defense in two minds. Did it all game. Should easily keep the 7 jersey and should partner Pearce when he is back. Really happy with Crossland today.

- Klemmer with a clanger forward pass but really appreciate the attempt today to vary his game with some more passing. Saw our forwards make some great supporting runs so we weren't hammered one out all the time. But support play after a break or sniffing for offloads need work.

- Ponga needs the ball in his hands all the time. Every set, two or three times. Even if it's just to pass it one wider to a forward. He is our magic man.

- I thought Fitzgibbon went okay. Barnett was great in the middle. Some great fake and spin moves to keep the opposition middle guessing. I hope he keeps trying to play more like a modern 13 than an enforcer. He suits a play making forward far more.

- Brailey, Brailey, Brailey. What a champion. Saves a try then goes on to score the nail in the coffin. Definitely our most important player after Ponga. We definitely got the better Brailey also.

- Pity we didn't see more Brodie. However, rotation looked better today.

Very happy. Hopefully we kick on and make a real push for the 8.

 

[GidleyTwinz]

Good to get a win, even if we never make it easy on ourselves.

Still really lack a playmaker that can take control of organising the team. I hope Adzy gives Crossland a bit more of a licence over the next few weeks - if we're a chance to do anything this year, it's with a Pearce/Crossland halves combo and Mann in the centres. I don't know if he has it in him (and the coaches seemingly don't think he does), but you need to know for sure.

Team looks much better with Barnett in the middle and not playing 80 minutes. No idea why we've tried to force that for as long as we have. Watson back to coming off the bench is also a better fit.

There has been some real red flags in Klemmer's performances all year - he gets through a bit of work, but his carries are really low impact and he's lost his offload. Add that to the mental lapses today, and you almost want to reduce his minutes further - but he's the opposite of a bench impact forward, so that doesn't really work either. Rule changes have really reduced his value in a team.

Thought the little effort areas were much better today. Kick pressure was a good example. Tuala was also clearly on a last chance, thought it was probably his best game this year. I can't quite understand where his form from the start of last year has gone.

 

[Walk On Home Boy]

I liked what I saw from Crossland today at 7. Have to persist with him. I'm sure he'll get his hands on the ball more often with time there

Agreed. No idea why he hasn't been used more often and in one consistent position. Young halves need time in first grade and he was a gun in the lower grades. He looked keen and alive out there and that's more than we can say about our other options.

 

[perverse]

There has been some real red flags in Klemmer's performances all year - he gets through a bit of work, but his carries are really low impact and he's lost his offload. Add that to the mental lapses today, and you almost want to reduce his minutes further - but he's the opposite of a bench impact forward, so that doesn't really work either. Rule changes have really reduced his value in a team..

It was the same last year, but no-one wanted to have a bar of it at the time.

Here's a reminder of the David Klemmer we bought:


I'm not sure I'm even that happy with just blaming the rule changes, tbh. I don't know what his go is, but he's not the barnstorming prop that we thought we were getting unfortunately. I can't knock his work ethic, but he's way slower now and has far less venom in him in general. As you said, offload is gone too.

 

[Jono078]

That’s a very different looking Klemperer.

maybe the workload has caught up with him. This guy has been top 3 forwards for runs and meters for the last several years I’m pretty sure. I remember OMeley was great and all of a sudden had a fair decline, but he was also a bit older.

Maybe Klem needs a break or a stint on the bench, something to reinvigorate him. Maybe needs to be told to try and hit and drop and you don’t have to use leg drive with each run, sometimes a quick play the ball is better.

 

[Willie Ray]

I liked what I saw from Crossland today at 7. Have to persist with him. I'm sure he'll get his hands on the ball more often with time there

absolutely....keep him there and coach him...

 

[GidleyTwinz]

It was the same last year, but no-one wanted to have a bar of it at the time.

Here's a reminder of the David Klemmer we bought:


I'm not sure I'm even that happy with just blaming the rule changes, tbh. I don't know what his go is, but he's not the barnstorming prop that we thought we were getting unfortunately. I can't knock his work ethic, but he's way slower now and has far less venom in him in general. As you said, offload is gone too.

Tbh, I've been disappointed in Klemmer since his first game here. That clip package you posted is actually quite interesting, because it highlights the deficiencies in his game that we're seeing at the moment were always there. With one exemption, every single one of the play the balls it highlights is slow.

He's never been an explosive athlete that can break the line or score a try, he's never had any sort of short passing game near the defensive line. What he brings is the ability to play 70ish minutes and keep tackling well, and the ability to get into contact, twist, and slowly carry the defenders an extra 5m.

With the new rules, both of those positives are significantly less valuable. It's easier for smaller guys to defend in the middle - so his endurance doesn't matter as much. And he doesn't have the footwork or passing game to isolate defenders - so he struggles to generate set restarts because he's almost always in 3v1 tackles.

 

[Rod]

Klemmer hasn't been up to speed this year but to suggest he hasn't been great in his previous seasons with us is amazing to me. His stats were insane last year and he wasn't stat-padding either.

Anyway, positive stuff. Great to get the win and the boys showed some mettle to chase the lead down. I loved the short kickoff, that showed some intent and they went on with it. It was still very scrappy in parts (Mann) but overall we showed some intent and imagination on attack through passing wide more often and just throwing the ball around in general.

The balance of the team looks instantly much better with just a couple of changes. Crossland was solid, and even though he's not the most popular on here I think Fitzgibbon provides something different on the left side with Barnett in the middle.

Get our wingers back (To'a was ok today, saved a try but made some errors), and we can stay in touch with the eight for sure.

- Ponga needs the ball in his hands all the time. Every set, two or three times. Even if it's just to pass it one wider to a forward. He is our magic man.

I fully agree. This is a small thing that Joey used to do that I loved. Wasn't unusual for him to touch the ball 4 times a set, even if it was mostly just to pass the ball on or turn someone inside. As soon as someone that the defence respects has the ball (Ponga is in this category also) it makes the defence hesitate and have to make a decision. When it's just one out all the time the defence doesn't need to make any choices.