Parra v Manly LIVE game day thread, March 18, 2018

[Sphagnum]

Moses should be dropped. Two sin binnings in two weeks is totally unacceptable.

 

[strider]

OMFG. I am 5 pages behind ... not a chance i wanna read all that

 

[Gary Gutful]

How did supporting the Tigers go last year? It was a lot better after you guys took Moses of our hands. Sure we didnt win a lot of games but I cant tell you how much more satisfying it is watching a team of men playing who are all committed and putting in rather than one prima donna screaming at David Nofoaluma for not backing up when he had a broken leg, two games of zero running metres, many flamboyant dives so it looks like he is trying to make a tackle when in reality he just ensuring his body isnt in the way. For me supporting a team isnt only about premierships won, top four finishes etc, its about pride in the players and the efforts put in.

Last year for us was all about cutting out the cancer, it was painful treatment but the benefits were apparent almost straight away. You guys were one of the lucky transplant recipients and if you believe he got you to top four, good luck to all of you.

As far as this year goes and whether we will finish above Parra? Only time will tell of course but I already know I will enjoy the season because the Tigers now a committed team playing their guts out for each other and that is what a successful season looks like to me. Think of me and every thankful Tigers fan every time you watch Moses scream abuse at a team mate, shake his head when one of them make an error, pretend to make a tackle or stand and point for others to do something when things are tough.

There is no denying he was instrumental in getting us to the Top 4 last year. That’s irrefutable.

Maybe he won’t be great for us this year. Who knows, who cares?

Either way I am sure that there will be a bunch of ill informed arm chair critics ready to cut him down with bad logic, bad analysis and thinly veiled agendas - just like they are with every other high profile playmaker in the NRL.

 

[Glenneel]

Anyway it's four in the morning. I have to get up at lunchtime!

Ninite merkins. Good chat.

Pou, really, you're defending the indefensible. We were poor 2 weeks in a row and you blame the heat. Memo to Pou, the other teams also played in the heat and they didn't fold like we did.
Either our fitness is poor, which it looks like, or we read all the reviews and believe the hype that we're a top 4 team so don't have to work for it. Something is wrong, really really wrong atm and BA needs to fix it and fast!

 

[strider]

Moses should be dropped. Two sin binnings in two weeks is totally unacceptable.

Bullshit!!

At least he cared enough to go off .... all the other f**kers were just thinking about beaches n shit

 

[Gronk]

Pou, really, you're defending the indefensible. We were poor 2 weeks in a row and you blame the heat. Memo to Pou, the other teams also played in the heat and they didn't fold like we did.

Actually no other teams played in that heat yesterday.

Canberra played at 6:30pm last night and it was 24 degrees.

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/australia/canberra/historic

 

[Glenneel]

Actually no other teams played in that heat yesterday.

Canberra played at 6:30pm last night and it was 24 degrees.

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/australia/canberra/historic

Learn to comprehend what you're read Gronk, you missed '2 weeks in a row'. So Penrith and Manly!

 

[Poupou Escobar]

If all the things being tossed up 'aren't the reason we are losing'. Than what do people think are the reason/s we are losing?

A few merkins have said attitude already.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Hayne looks like he is built to play in the forwards these days. Just without the work ethic to play there.

That's called the wing.

 

[Eelectrica]

I think, based on Wenty's form yesterday, it would have been a close-run thing.

The very resistable force meets the very moveable object?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

No other team was doing it to the extent we were doing it. Teams had 2-3 players playing the ball incorrectly, if you go back and look at the game our entire forward pack, including reserves and outside backs were all doing it. It was a deliberate tactic.

Perhaps other teams are able to more easily adjust to having to play the ball properly.

Perhaps we looked good last week because our opponents couldn't hold onto the ball. Once they did we weren't even in the contest.

I think you're just experiencing more confirmation bias about our 'small forwards'. Every team was coached to roll the ball rather than touch it with their foot. If they didn't they slowed their own play-the-ball and their coaches would've been pissed.

Every play-the-ball in this grand final highlights package is a roll ball:

I would be very surprised if you could find a highlights video of any game last year where a player played the ball with his foot. That sort of thing was coached out of players by 2017, hence all the penalties so far this year.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Who was the last team to win an NRL competition playing complicated footy?

Probably Manly

 

[Poupou Escobar]

We smashed the Knights because our depth of forwards in a 23 man unlimited rotation is better than what the Knights 23 man unlimited rotation. We struggled in the first 20 minutes against the Knights Top 17, until we could bring on fresh players.

We didn't struggle. But our bench definitely outplayed theirs. And we didn't use more than 17 players until we were already well in front, so the 23 man squad was irrelevant.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I think that's just stupid.

When has Slater ever played in a team going backwards? Or more to the point, has he ever played well when Melbourne got flogged?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Teams with that attitude aren't ever going to be Premiership contenders for mine. A team from the Western Suburbs of Sydney should be able to cope with a 40 degree day better than a team from the Northern Beaches.

On a day when you've brought a shit attitude that sort of weather will always work against you. It doesn't matter where you're from.

 

[Chipmunk]

They did play at 5.30, so it was cooler (and the day was not as hot as yesterday )

Also they did end up with 54% of the ball and while I didn't watch the first half, I doubt the panthers only had 1 set in the first 13 or so mins.

Anyhow we were crap!! Just saying the heat probably played a factor in the score blow out!!

I'm talking about last week against us...everytime they touched the ball in the first 20 minutes they dropped it on the first tackle.

 

[Chipmunk]

I think you're just experiencing more confirmation bias about our 'small forwards'. Every team was coached to roll the ball rather than touch it with their foot. If they didn't they slowed their own play-the-ball and their coaches would've been pissed.

Every play-the-ball in this grand final highlights package is a roll ball:
I would be very surprised of you could find a highlights video of any game last year where a player played the ball with his foot. That sort of thing was coached out of players by 2017, hence all the penalties so far this year.

We definitely changed the way we played the ball after Origin last season. Up until that point we played it slowly, just like we have done for over a decade.

 

[hineyrulz]

Bullshit!!

At least he cared enough to go off .... all the other f**kers were just thinking about beaches n shit

Agreed, at least he showed he gives a f**k.

Unlike his dopey space cadet halves partner who looks like he Couldn’t give a f**k.

 

[Chipmunk]

We didn't struggle. But our bench definitely outplayed theirs. And we didn't use more than 17 players until we were already well in front, so the 23 man squad was irrelevant.

That's bullshit. It was 2 tries to 1 when it was 17 on 17 and we ran away with it when we bought on fresh replacements.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

So why didn't the Panthers fall apart last week in the heat with a similar amount of possession to what we had yesterday?

Because we let them back into the game.