R9 // Knights 10-32 Panthers @ Hunter // Sun 2pm

[whistler]

I think the game has gotten faster and left our forward pack behind. We would have to have the slowest and least athletic forwards in the competition. Not only does this lead to us getting chopped up behind the ruck but they then struggle to get back into their defensive formation after even minor breaks. I believe the needless penalties we give away are a flow on effect of this.

Imo they are also the reason our defense has looked fragile out wide. Our backs are constantly being outnumbered as the forwards in the middle 1/3 too easily let the opposition get on their outside. Guys like Segeyaro and Peachey looked they could tear us up at any time yesterday. Leg speed and athleticism is becoming increasingly important and I can't see things changing with Snowden, Mason, Houston, Cuthbertson, Smith, Gidley etc controlling the middle of our defence.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Wayne can't catch the dropped balls, either. Our ball control has been absolutely pathetic today. Our spine can't do much about it when we don't have the ball for more than 1 or 2 tackles.

I knew running out we were in for a flogging, players heads where down and zero enthusiasm heck they didn't even want to look at eachother.

But yeah 3 years in supercoach has been worth every penny.

After all no other teams have injuries and off field dramas to contend with.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

And Leilua has shown us last year what he is capable of producing, which makes it very frustrating to see him come up not just with mistakes (which everyone does), but with coachkillers such as the no-look pass straight to a Panthers player who scores the try, putting the result beyond doubt.

I remember when the Broncos got absolutely creamed by the Storm 10 years ago or so, and Wayne took his players to some sports psychologist, church or something like that...nek minnut...48-0 at half-time vs Parramatta.:lol:

Lets hope his not Wes Naiqama mark II for us

 

[K-Man]

I still stand by that our one demential play this season is just a symptom of an underlying problem. I don't think I it really matter what style you give these blokes at the moment, they're still not going to perform. Even struggling with basics like tackling properly seems to be a challenge. I reckon Bennett is of the mindset that if we can get back to the basics and then grow on that like we did last year then we'll eventually see success. We can't even handle to basics at the moment though.

I would consider having the highest completion rate in the comp over the past month to be "handling the basics". Yet we still look like and are the least threatening attacking team in the comp. That tells me there is a massive issue with the way we approach the game.

I reckon we could get up to 100% completion rate and still lose, we're that lacking in adventure and creativity. We simply do not set even a basic platform before shifting the ball wide. Nothing. We do nothing with the football, we create no uncertainty around the ruck at all.

Sometimes the best form of defence is attack. If you can get on top in key areas then you limit your opponent's ability to build pressure on you because you're dictating terms. It's the same theory as the Roosters giving away penalties yet still controlling the speed of the game. You have to risk something to gain something, and Bennett is as low risk as it gets. But it's not working at all.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

The team really appears to be lacking support runners and players running with pace and hoping for an offload. I lost count of the amount of times that we played the ball, almost to know one as there wasn't anyone close enough to slot into dummy half. The team appears to spend 80% of the time setting up the play, rather than letting it unfold. We are basically doing 4 hit ups with no support plays. Then one backline shift. Then on the last tackle we are doing that chip bomb thing that almost never works.

Bennett has said in the past that he teaches the basics at the start of the year and then builds on it over the year as the team improves. That approach may work on occasions, but when you are 2 from 9, all you are building for is a 10-12 placed finish.

 

[K-Man]

Lets hope his not Wes Naiqama mark II for us

Surest thing in the game is that even classy backs need some time and space created by a platform up the middle. Leilua is a damaging runner with low intelligence, but a damaging runner nonetheless. Gagai has footwork and skill. Uate is a proven finisher with half a chance and McManus the same. Even Boyd, who I can't stand, has not suddenly lost his ability to pick out the right pass.

What do they all have in common? Their old, slow forward pack is getting utterly smashed in every facet of the game. The team's one-out philosophy sees us get dominated and our forwards don't have the mobility nor the skill to get a roll on.

We're like a touch footy team whose players all try to eke out that extra yard by running their hardest but getting tapped easily and having to go back to the mark, killing all momentum because they don't understand that the whole point is to take the touch when you know it's coming and get quick ball to the dummy half.

We don't try any of the things that unsettle defences so we never have that momentum. You never see our opponents retreating, scrambling, struggling to read numbers when the ball gets shifted to Gagai because we've relentlessly attacked through the centre with speed and athleticism, a clever dummy half and intelligent short passing.

Basically, it all comes back to the same things - our forwards are the worst in the comp and our game strategy doesn't suit the interpretation of the rules.

A lot of people have vastly overestimated the quality of our forward pack since Bennett arrived. I don't rate it at all.

 

[K-Man]

The team really appears to be lacking support runners and players running with pace and hoping for an offload. I lost count of the amount of times that we played the ball, almost to know one as there wasn't anyone close enough to slot into dummy half. The team appears to spend 80% of the time setting up the play, rather than letting it unfold. We are basically doing 4 hit ups with no support plays. Then one backline shift. Then on the last tackle we are doing that chip bomb thing that almost never works.

Bennett has said in the past that he teaches the basics at the start of the year and then builds on it over the year as the team improves. That approach may work on occasions, but when you are 2 from 9, all you are building for is a 10-12 placed finish.

I agree with every part of that. And aren't these things the responsibility of the coach? Nobody can use the "he doesn't drop the ball and miss the tackles" when it comes to these points. This is the coach's bread and butter - the way we are set up, our structure, our philosophy, our attention to detail. This is Wayne's job to get right, and he's not getting it right.

 

[undertaker]

Lets hope his not Wes Naiqama mark II for us

BJ has more talent than Wes, but I fear he will be heading down the same path as Wes very soon if he doesn't get his act together. Talent - with too many distractions, and without motivation, the right mindset, and putting in the hard yards - means nothing. BJ is 22 and has time on his side, but the time is not going to last forever.

You said "Lets hope he's not Wes Naiqama mark II for us". I'm also reminded of Owen Craigie. He could've easily been one of the best centres of his era had he not succumbed to the things he did. Talk about a talent being pissed down the drain when you self-destruct and are only 26 when your first-grade career ends (although, jokingly speaking, it doesn't help when your career finishes at Souffs and the LOL@5(c)uff$ curse strikes. Souffs had one of the worst teams on paper in RL history from their reinstatement back in the NRL until Crowe/Holmes a Court took over and made the finals in 2007)......He was one of the most electrifying backline players we've had - cracked first-grade whilst he was still in high school, and was the youngest player in our '97 premiership side. Even Buderus described him as the most freakish talent he came across in his junior days, hence quite appropriate he named his autobiography "Talent is not enough".

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

I'm not going to underestimate what effect Bedsy had and how much we need that.
Bedsy could get the fwds organised behind him and get them going forward. He could sight where we needed to go. At times he'd run out of Dummy Half with a fwd in tow and point him right at the spot. Often the opposition didn't know whether he would pass or take them on himself.

Often Bedsy would be sent on right when we needed what he could deliver. We'd be going nowhere and then with him on we'd start to get our act back together.

We need that type of organisation and respect. Gidley does't have it. Clydesdale is promising but is a way off.