Parramatta trial

[slotmachine]

I also think we have overlooked just how good Parra have been...

Eels are a very well coached side. Our first 25 minutes were good but after that very sloppy

 

[Noname36]

Eels are a very well coached side. Our first 25 minutes were good but after that very sloppy

We dropped way too many balls, Eels got too much possession, we got more and more sloppy.

We seem to want to be very ambitious in attack but errors galore.

 

[Hardcore_Fan]

We look like we have done a 2 hour sand hill session before the game.

 

[Bartwah]

26-6 against a top 4 team isn’t that bad. Especially with our roster overhaul. On the plus side, Ponga reeks of class. Superstar written all over him

 

[Frederick]

We look like we have done a 2 hour sand hill session before the game.

Heat will have played a factor in that. Still 28 degrees here in Maitland but feels more like low 30s

 

[Noname36]

A few personal observations:

- Ponga looks great. I thought it would take him a long time to get the positioning part of his game right but he’s a lot closer than I thought he’d be. Has class written all over him.

- Speaking of class, Dan Saifiti looks to have improved even more.

- Despite one bad miss Sione looked very strong in defence.

- I rate Levi higher than Griffin.

- I have the utmost respect for Buhrer but his size is an issue.

- Moga was giving me scary BJ flashbacks. Lazy in defence and brain snaps galore in attack. I’m hoping it was just a once off because I doubt Brown would have signed him if this was his normal standard.

- Watson impressed me in attack but he’s tiny and a speed hump in defence. I thought his and Guerra’s combination would be a bit better considering they’re both from the Roosters.

- Loved seeing Pearce’s long kicks. Haven’t had anyone able to find the dirt with them since Mullen.

Nobody else really stood out for me. I suppose the most disappointing part is that we couldn’t hold onto the ball and had zero possession so there wasn’t really any chance to work on combinations which they desperately need. The defence was obviously poor but I’m putting it into perspective with a brand new team and zero possession and not starting to cut my wrists just yet. I’ve always held that it will take us a while into the season before things start to click.

 

[Spot On]

26-6 against a top 4 team isn’t that bad. Especially with our roster overhaul. On the plus side, Ponga reeks of class. Superstar written all over him

How many conversions did Parra miss though?

They should have put close to 40 on us shouldn't they.

 

[BuderusIsaBeast]

A bit dissapointing but only a trial and we have a lot of new combinations. Parra were very good tonight, there line speed in defence was outstanding.

Ponga looked very good and Pearce kicking game was great. A few issues in the edges but hopefully they will fix them up before round 1

I think Buhrer is an out and out second rower unless u play him as a hooker/bench utility to spell Levi. Griffin looked solid and I think it is betweeen him and griffin for 9/14.

Moga struggled but he has had a very short preseason and it will take some time for him and Ross to get there combination up.

 

[Bartwah]

How many conversions did Parra miss though?

They should have put close to 40 on us shouldn't they.

If you want to look at it like that. Glass half empty kind of guy aren’t you Captain Positive

 

[Pedge1971]

I watched the game but 1st half was on small screen and even then my eyes are not so good these day (ntm beer goggles). Thanks 9701 for at least doubling my 2nd half vision!

Correct me if I am wrong but Browney:

- played Dan about 30+ mins in first stint.
- gave Lillyman who was going great 20 mins to start and then only last 10 to 15.
- Griffin first half, Levi 2nd.
- Ese ese not sure.
- Parra seemed to play a pretty standard nrl rotation?
- we made heaps of errors and had little ball after 20 mins.

We were beaten by a team badly on the scoreboard that was playing its 1st and last trial before nrl game 1.

I dont think it was that bad but as I said I stand to be corrected.

 

[Swarzey]

Bit copy pasta at this point but tonight was a sobering result that should simmer expectations. I didn't see it all and I'll breeze through a VOD if one is available but from what I saw, I saw what you would expect from a team with at times a completely new spine and at best 3/4ths with several other new additions including new edge combinations. Some individual moments that showed reasons to be excited but ultimately fell apart because of the whole "new teammates" factor.

Basically, lets not start prepping the noose just yet.

Shit takes time. Its easy to be pessimistic but it's a trial. We smashed Canberra by 40+ last year and look where that got us.

Ponga will be an absolute superstar. f**k that kid is magic.

 

[Dave_]

Oh well, at least my expectations are low again. Can't fall far from here

 

[Mr_Knightside]

My thoughts about the game tonight:

- Ponga looked great, some touches of real class in there and showed us that he's also got a passing and kicking game. Very exciting to see what this guy can do in a Knights jersey.

- Watson looked ok with very limited opportunities, threw a nice pass for SKD to score but barely saw the ball after that which was mostly a product of our poor handling and limited possession.

- Pearce was impressive especially with his long kicking game. We didn't force any line drop outs which is concerning but then again I can only remember us getting one or two opportunities on their line and one of those we scored off so maybe I'm being harsh.

- I thought our front row looked pretty good throughout but I'm worried about our lack of offloads and second phase play. It seems like it's being coached out of us because I can't remember a single offload from any of our forwards which is a crime given we've got some really quick guys like Ponga, Watson and Levi hanging around the ruck.

- Sione looked pretty sharp in both A and D which was good.

- Moga had a bad game but I'm sure he was a bit rusty, he needs some time to gel with the others.

- Overall not a good performance from us but I'll give Parra a fair bit of credit too, they would have beaten most sides playing the way they did. Good for us to learn these lessons prior to round 1 so hopefully we'll be ready.

- All in all still plenty of positives so I'm very excited for the season to commence

 

[Spot On]

If you want to look at it like that. Glass half empty kind of guy aren’t you Captain Positive

Wow, this is what u come up with hey.

You disagree the score line totally flatters us?????

Parra put on 6 tries to 1 and missed 5 conversions. Even the PNG Hunters scored 12 points in their trial.

What the f**k is positive about that Captain Dunce?

Kalyn Ponga our only positive tonight tbh.

And yes a trial it was but there's a lot of work to do for the side

 

[Knight76]

Wow, this is what u come up with hey.

You disagree the score line totally flatters us?????

Parra put on 6 tries to 1 and missed 5 conversions. Even the PNG Hunters scored 12 points in their trial.

What the f**k is positive about that Captain Dunce?

Kalyn Ponga our only positive tonight tbh.

And yes a trial it was but there's a lot of work to do for the side

And this wasn't trial where we swapped and changed players around positions and ran out players to test for first grade. This was our NRL quality team for most of the game, we got owned.

Someone above said our sluggishness might be due to the heat, but Parramatta played in the same heat and they didn't struggle that I saw at all. Something wrong with our conditioning routines I just don't get it. We are out there gassed, hands on hips bent over. Parra were fine, blew us off the park in both skill and conditioning.

Barnett to start round 1 if fit to lock, Buhrer I just don't know where he fits in anymore with Griffin taking the second hooker spot, Buhrer too small for the pigs.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

People need to calm down, we lost a trial match and didn't play great but to be honest I'd rather we get those sort of performances out of the way pre season rather than during the season itself. The boys will learn a lot from that game, we were soundly beaten by a team that finished top 4 last year with a very settled roster. It's going to happen, and will probably happen from time to time during the season too.

It also doesn't point to all of our problems being systemic, sometimes you have a bad game and things don't click and there's not always a good reason for it. If we perform like that every week during the season itself then we should rightfully question the training methods but I have a feeling we'll use this as a wake up call and be much better come round 1.

Also I think as fans we need to temper our expectations a bit, we have a decent team this year but the reality is that there's a good chance we will still lose more games than we win in 2018 due to some inexperienced guys in key positions and combos not being formed yet. So there will be games when we play poorly and look like a rabble and I'm sure there will be games where it clicks and we blow teams off the park, I can see both of those things happening from time to time.

Let's just relax and accept the fact that there's going to be some poor performances from time to time and we need to live with that.

 

[Spot On]

I don't think anyone needs to settle down or stop wrist slitting. That's not what's being implied at all.

People are simply calling it for what it is - a pretty poor display of ball control that led to too much defensive work and edges that are pretty frail - again.

You can't sell it any other way.

A few positives - but not many.

Yes they will improve. Surely.

 

[Pedge1971]

People need to calm down, we lost a trial match and didn't play great but to be honest I'd rather we get those sort of performances out of the way pre season rather than during the season itself. The boys will learn a lot from that game, we were soundly beaten by a team that finished top 4 last year with a very settled roster. It's going to happen, and will probably happen from time to time during the season too.

It also doesn't point to all of our problems being systemic, sometimes you have a bad game and things don't click and there's not always a good reason for it. If we perform like that every week during the season itself then we should rightfully question the training methods but I have a feeling we'll use this as a wake up call and be much better come round 1.

Also I think as fans we need to temper our expectations a bit, we have a decent team this year but the reality is that there's a good chance we will still lose more games than we win in 2018 due to some inexperienced guys in key positions and combos not being formed yet. So there will be games when we play poorly and look like a rabble and I'm sure there will be games where it clicks and we blow teams off the park, I can see both of those things happening from time to time.

Let's just relax and accept the fact that there's going to be some poor performances from time to time and we need to live with that.

Voice of reason. Well said.

 

[slotmachine]

They've been training for 3 or 4 months, not sure how much better they'll be in another 2 weeks.

Manly looked red hot in their trial last night. We have lost our last 7 back to 2012 against them...

 

[Joel-22]

Side rd 1.

1.Kalyn Ponga
2.Nathan Ross
3.Sione Mata'utia
4.Tautau Moga
5.Shaun Kenny Dowell
6.Connor Watson
7.Mitchell Pearce
8.Dan Saifiti
9.Slade Griffin
10.Jacob Lillyman
11.Lachie Fitzgibbon
12.Aiden Guerra
13.Mitch Barnett

14.Danny Levi
15.Herman Ese'ese
16.Jacob Saifiti
17.Chris Heighington