NRLW

[Apey]

Yeah the girls. Contact in defence was pretty woeful and is a major concern for next week though.

Highest standalone crowd for the women's game too.

 

[aqua_duck]

Yeah the girls. Contact in defence was pretty woeful and is a major concern for next week though.

Highest standalone crowd for the women's game too.

Luckily they don’t have to tackle Mele Hufunga next week

 

[Apey]

Luckily they don’t have to tackle Mele Hufunga next week

Haha I can forgive that, I was more concerned about the middle. To be fair though we did end up holding them out and they only scored in the corners.

 

[aqua_duck]

Haha I can forgive that, I was more concerned about the middle. To be fair though we did end up holding them out and they only scored in the corners.

Yeah Yasmin Clydsdale had some uncharacteristic misses in defence and we just seemed to really be a step behind in physicality. We seem to do well against teams that are good at football as opposed to teams that are just big and powerful

 

[aqua_duck]

Roosters in abit of trouble, both Corbin Baxter and Millie picking up injuries and Titans just scored

 

[Apey]

Damn was hoping they'd score again right before half time. Maybe we'd be better off against the Roosters though.

 

[aqua_duck]

Damn was hoping they'd score again right before half time. Maybe we'd be better off against the Roosters though.

That’s what I’m thinking too.

 

[Tom155]

Titans next week

Going to upset the Roosters

 

[Apey]

I enjoy watching the Roosters lose in any comp. Especially here where they were favourites ahead of us.

Now girls, don't be the team to let Titans win their first Premiership for the club.

 

[Lynoman]

Fantastic crowd and atmosphere at the game today. Like a men's game but funner.

 

[macavity]

Luckily they don’t have to tackle Mele Hufunga next week

Brisbane hardly used her. Kept waiting for it.

Yeah, poor contact and poor line speed.

Titans are a very well disciplined side, give you nothing. Will be a test.

 

[aqua_duck]

Brisbane hardly used her. Kept waiting for it.

Yeah, poor contact and poor line speed.

Titans are a very well disciplined side, give you nothing. Will be a test.

Titans are one of the better sides on paper, more than half the side are internationals or origin reps, they underachieved last season so not much was expected of them but they recruited heavily in the off season. On paper you could argue they have a better side than us.

 

[HarVeeGee]

Yeah they loaded up on rep players as much as the Roosters did, they just prioritised hard-nosed forwards (Mato in particular is sort of just a little bit worse version of Millie Boyle, Hale at lock never stops tackling) and backs who work really hard (Pelite for my money is better than Kelly and Sergis; Chapman busts her arse), where the Roosters went for flashy/luxury players (besides Boyle). The wisdom of the Titans approach was handily proven. Grit beat flash by unanimous decision, 12 rounds to 0.

 

[Yosh]

I feel with Upton in the side, we're always a chance of winning. I don't watch non-Knights games but Upton looks a class above everyone else.

 

[Lynoman]

I feel with Upton in the side, we're always a chance of winning. I don't watch non-Knights games but Upton looks a class above everyone else.

She is. Watching the other day, both my wife and I said she looked like she was having an off day. Then she pulls that try out from nowhere.

 

[aqua_duck]

Yeah they loaded up on rep players as much as the Roosters did, they just prioritised hard-nosed forwards (Mato in particular is sort of just a little bit worse version of Millie Boyle, Hale at lock never stops tackling) and backs who work really hard (Pelite for my money is better than Kelly and Sergis; Chapman busts her arse), where the Roosters went for flashy/luxury players (besides Boyle). The wisdom of the Titans approach was handily proven. Grit beat flash by unanimous decision, 12 rounds to 0.

To be fair the roosters on paper have a very well rounded team, they were also missing Sergis, Amber Hall, Pani Hopoate and Corben Baxter went down early in that half. The roosters full strength pack consists of 4 jillaroos and 2 kiwi ferns, they also handedly beat the titans earlier in the year. To me they just had an off day where as the titans collectively probably played close to their best especially in defence.

 

[HarVeeGee]

Why would you ever “be fair to the Roosters”? f**k them. I hope Allianz burns down with all the players, staff and all 17 of their fans trapped inside.

 

[HarVeeGee]

To be fair the roosters on paper have a very well rounded team, they were also missing Sergis, Amber Hall, Pani Hopoate and Corben Baxter went down early in that half. The roosters full strength pack consists of 4 jillaroos and 2 kiwi ferns, they also handedly beat the titans earlier in the year. To me they just had an off day where as the titans collectively probably played close to their best especially in defence.

To address this properly, no they don’t have a well-rounded roster, and pointing to those players doesn’t help an a argument that they do. Jess Sergis is a luxury player. Amber Hall is a very attacking second rower. Baxter is a former captain and a big part of the culture there so I get retaining her, but she’d have one of the lowest work rates of NRLW fullbacks. Pani is barely a loss, that’s like saying woe is me over the Knights losing Viena Tinao, like yeah she goes okay but isn’t a huge reason for wins/losses at this point. Aside from Millie Boyle and Keilee Joseph, and maybe Mya Hill Moana but that’s generous, they don’t have workhorse forwards.

Their bench/depth forwards look like the biggest afterthought on the roster, and their lack of quality was a big part of us smashing them 2 weeks ago and the Titans beating them yesterday. There was no version of that game where the Roosters win, and on the strength of that game Millie being available wouldn’t have won them the game against us either.

If the team’s pattern is that they either blow every other team away with their attack, or they get into a grind and lose comfortably (Parra prelim last year, Canberra, Newcastle and Titans losses this year), then it’s not an off day anymore. Can’t be a once in blue moon off day if it has happened in 4 out of your last 11 games. At some stage it’s what you are.

And going on the post match presser, where Izzy Kelly and John Strange bemoaned the finals system as being unfair (though it was fine when they won the comp from 4th with a losing record in the regular season ofc), blamed the referees, and expressed frustration that they got no reward for playing the most exciting and attractive attacking football all season, doesn’t look like this “we’ll just get all the biggest stars and then smash everyone” arrogance is gonna change any time soon. Hope it doesn’t! It’s funny watching them fail.

If I was them, then this year when they piss off half the roster and replace them (as they seem to do every season), I’d prioritise middle forwards more (and halfback, that girl they’ve tossed in there stinks) and not cling to having Kelly AND Sergis AND a strike back rower (though I hope Kelly never leaves and keeps leading them astray, what a terrible captain).

 

[aqua_duck]

To address this properly, no they don’t have a well-rounded roster, and pointing to those players doesn’t help an a argument that they do. Jess Sergis is a luxury player. Amber Hall is a very attacking second rower. Baxter is a former captain and a big part of the culture there so I get retaining her, but she’d have one of the lowest work rates of NRLW fullbacks. Pani is barely a loss, that’s like saying woe is me over the Knights losing Viena Tinao, like yeah she goes okay but isn’t a huge reason for wins/losses at this point. Aside from Millie Boyle and Keilee Joseph, and maybe Mya Hill Moana but that’s generous, they don’t have workhorse forwards.

Their bench/depth forwards look like the biggest afterthought on the roster, and their lack of quality was a big part of us smashing them 2 weeks ago and the Titans beating them yesterday. There was no version of that game where the Roosters win, and on the strength of that game Millie being available wouldn’t have won them the game against us either.

If the team’s pattern is that they either blow every other team away with their attack, or they get into a grind and lose comfortably (Parra prelim last year, Canberra, Newcastle and Titans losses this year), then it’s not an off day anymore. Can’t be a once in blue moon off day if it has happened in 4 out of your last 11 games. At some stage it’s what you are.

And going on the post match presser, where Izzy Kelly and John Strange bemoaned the finals system as being unfair (though it was fine when they won the comp from 4th with a losing record in the regular season ofc), blamed the referees, and expressed frustration that they got no reward for playing the most exciting and attractive attacking football all season, doesn’t look like this “we’ll just get all the biggest stars and then smash everyone” arrogance is gonna change any time soon. Hope it doesn’t! It’s funny watching them fail.

If I was them, then this year when they piss off half the roster and replace them (as they seem to do every season), I’d prioritise middle forwards more (and halfback, that girl they’ve tossed in there stinks) and not cling to having Kelly AND Sergis AND a strike back rower (though I hope Kelly never leaves and keeps leading them astray, what a terrible captain).

Gees that’s probably the strongest take I’ve ever seen on NRLW. I do agree with you regarding their inability to grind out a tough win, I mentioned as such when we beat them but in terms of playing ability I don’t know how you can have that take. You bemoan Amber Hall’s work rate and sure she’s not a big work rate player but she’s the closest thing there is to a David Fifita in NRLW. I personally have never rated Keeley Davis nor Corban Baxter but they’re rated by experts who watch way more NRLW than I do. For me their problem is psychological rather than playing ability, they have a lot of big, powerful girls who are probably used to rolling over everyone and just don’t know how to grind, they also seem like a team with a great plan A but not much of a plan b or c

 

[HarVeeGee]

I kind of feel like we’re saying the same thing in a different way really hahaha. Everything from roster construction to mentality to how they train just looks like “we’re gonna get over the top of them and just smash ‘em”, rather than starting at defensive attitude as the #1 guiding principle and building from there. That should be the approach no matter how much talent or ability you have in the roster and I see it as an internal failing that they have this issue rather than just, well they only struggle in these tough, grinding games because their players are so good they’re not used to it. Contrast with the Knights, who I reckon had the most stacked roster last season, but went in with a defensive, effort-based approach.

Amber Hall is a bit of a sneaky blind side bludger, that’s what I meant. She does run well, and run a fair bit yeah, but Broncos did well to upgrade to Tazmin Gray in her spot. Yeah she’s really good but she’s been surpassed by a few back rowers running around nowadays. Honestly think Kernick is the better of the two edges they had on the roster this year.

And yeah I bring the heat on the NRLW takes because these girls work hard and I think deserve to be talked about seriously, like you would with men. And yeah a men’s team with the talent and hype that the NRLW Roosters have every season which keeps failing in pretty much the same way would cop it from NRL media.