Raiders v Roosters *spoiler*

[legend]

WTF was that in the first half? I'm convinced we are not even a top eight side this year. 22-0 at half time and not even a solitary line break to speak of. Every time the Roosters shift it wide they score on both sides of the park. We had four sets of six on their line and did not even come close to scoring.

Elliotts "game plan" is non existant and McLinden is having his worst ever game for the Raiders. Good work having Davico, O'Hara and Croker off the field at one time.

Drew is a useless imbecile who has absolutely no idea on how to lead a team around the park.

The Roosters haven't even raised a sweat yet and they could well put 50 on us this afternoon.

We have shown absolutely nothing in attack. No running to the line. McLidnen kicks the ball whenever he can but his kicking game is pathetic.

There needs to be massive changes against the Broncos because on form they will give us a hiding as well.

What I saw today was far worse than anything I saw in the entire 2001-02 seasons and we all know how bad we were in those two seasons.

I pray the Roosters show some mercy in the second half because we need a miracle to post one try, let alone four or five.

WE SUCK!

 

[Mal Meninga]

Tyran Smith's game just always seems to stick out. Gets infront of Finch when Jimmy was a good half an inch out and gets held up when a harder runner probably would've put the ball down for 4.

We're just getting out muscled. As soon as Statue came off we've lost all control.

First try gave me flash backs of the Trent Waterhouse try a few weeks back where Choc was walking to save the try.

 

[edabomb]

In Tyrans defence he couldn't do much there, but hes had a shocker. Its with great displeasure i say Drew doesn't even belong on the same footy field as Finch

 

[xwizit]

the roosters gave taken theyre foot off the pedal in the 2nd half :evil: :evil:


cant hold onto the fricken ball

 

[Mal Meninga]

We'll make the top 8 -- But the top 8 in recent seasons show mediocre teams can still make it, and we'll most likely be one of them based on this performance.
For anyone that isn't watching the game, just imagine those lapses in concentration we've had throughout this season, except for 60+ minutes longer.

Where the f**k is Ben Cross? He's probably one player that wouldn't have landed on his back every tackle. And speaking of other youngsters, Campo needs to get some experience. We need a kicking game FFS! Drew is useless, last season he could come up with a good kick and chase which would give us some unpredictability but take that away he's got nothing. And he's not that much of a defender eiether, something which impressed me about Campo.

And what about that Flannery try? Did Evans see a sheila in the crowd that he had to slow down and have a perve at?

 

[Edwahu]

We should have a go at signing Johns. Might only be for a couple of seasons but he would be the ultimate quick fix for our side.

I havent seen a stack of games this season, been oveseas, but it seems to me that the refs are not letting us get away with nearly as much in the rucks as we did last season.

 

[Poida_Raider]

i was just about to go down to the pub and watch this game before it started. unfortunately at the time i realised i had no fuel in the car. and now i think of it, that was a blessing in disguise.

i did hear that our completion rate in the first half was 19/19. so i guess thats a good thing.. too bad everything else sucks at the moment!!

 

[Edwahu]

We have completed 12 more sets and are losing by 20.
40 sets and 1 linebreak.

At least this is happening before June 30.

 

[Poida_Raider]

yeah, true. they'll probably pick up someone with experience and SKILL!!
haha johns would be awesome. and just release drew... nah thats a bit harsh.
apparently phil graham is the best payed reserve grader in the whole of the nrl.. and apparently he should have stayed there, but thats just a couple of the reports i've heard.

 

[legend]

Well at least the carnage is over and the game finished up 28-20 and the last ten minutes we looked ok but there has to be wholesale changes otherwise the Broncos will put double that on us next week.

Campo needs to come in for Macca. Never thought I would say it but Macca has been terrible lately and might be an option off the bench.

Mick Hodgson was the standout today and the other major area of our game that needs improving is our goalkicking. Maybe Joel can step in for a while because Clinto is currently averaging about 65% which would be close to the worst in the NRL. As a result of his poor kicking, I believe the rest of his game is suffering badly. He looks to be playing without any level of confidence at present.

Phil Graham offered nbothing today. You would think with such a fast player on the wing one of the halves would use him as an option but that would resemble some level of common sense.

Finally, out last tackle options are easily the worst in the NRL.

Let's see if Elliott can dig out of this form slump otherwise it will be a very long season. :evil:

 

[edabomb]

I can't see why Johns would want to come to Canberra. Hes staying at Newcastle or heading to the Roosters I reckon

 

[ball boy]

who gives a shit about johns i wanna see campo and even carney in the team next week

 

[Edwahu]

Yeah, Johns coming is just a pipe dream.
Orford can be chased though.

 

[greeneyed]

I thought Graham was OK when given the ball. He was just never given the ball. Joel Monaghan thinks it is still season 2003 and is resting on his laurels. Evans isn't of first grade standard, and showed no heart in defence.

Our forwards were outplayed. Out halves were hopeless and the three quarter line useless.

For a while there, the forwards matched it with the Roosters in the first half, but it wasn't for long.

And it was 28-8, not 28-20. The only good thing was we "won" the second half...

God knows why I felt any confidence at around 2pm.

I said last week that if we played like that again this week we would be thumped. We were.

 

[glasper]

Ok, so that wasn't.... anything...

Some positives: Croker looked fit, while he was on. Shifkofske once again shows he's the best defensive fullback in the league. The completion rate is good. The warriors-style passing practice will come in handy in last-ditch situations.

Negatives: The forwards provided no forward progress the whole game. There was no platform for attack. Endless offloads to flat-footed players. But above all, no kicking game. If we could have just gotten the kick away, and put a decent chase on, we would have been in much better touch with the game.

Every time Drew kicks the ball, it looks like the ball has been replaced with a wet lettuce. Stupid grubber options from both Drew and McLinden, low in the tackle count. We started playing catch-up footy well before the stage where we needed to. Arguably, from the opening whistle.

And what's the deal with Shifcofske's goal kicking? Is he feeling rushed?

 

[Mal Meninga]

A few more thoughts...

*I thought Graham added more muscle in the off-season? He just doesn't have the frame to play first grade at the moment. Ryan Cross and TODD BYRNE ran past him and Monas like their was no tommorow. He made an okay line break which resulted to nothing but if anything give him a few more oppurtunitys in the upcoming weeks. If Graham is going to be cut based on this performance, than so should half the team, including our immortal Toots.

*No way should we get in a bidding war with any clubs reguarding Joel Monas. He's got Luke Rooney size and speed, and last year he played at an awesome level but clearly he's playing well below his standards.

*How much do we need Muss? Hodgo was head and shoulders above any bar Statue who did a mountain of work early on. Ruben just makes our forward pack look better than it really is. He gets the 10 every time, never ever gets driven back(ok well maybe once this season) and takes the pressure off Rhino and Hindy who do make valuable contributions without having to carry a great load.

*Boogas isn't that bad off the bench, not a fan of his but his combination of physical ability and size in the backrow would really be a major addition once he fully settles in. His great footspeed gets some yardage as opposed to some other forwards who take footsteps into the defense.

 

[thickos]

What a dire, dire performance. I've been unfortunate enough to be at all 3 losses this season and its not enjoyable to watch the team get pounded. Last yr when we earnt our 'respect' we did so because we played hard and were in every game, we only lost by more than 12 ONCE. Now we've been lapped by 3 teams this season. WHERE IS THE TOUGHNESS!

Some points:

* the attack has fair dinkum no idea. It is frustrating to watch Campo and Carney really hitting their straps in PL and do some exciting things with the ball, then see the three stooges (macca, drew and germ) have no idea on tackle 5. No strategic kicking, no options, nothing. Where is it going to come from?

* defensively we're a mess out wide. If its broken play we fall apart. Ryan Cross is a very ordinary player but he ripped us to shreds today because he ran strong lines. Jimmy has to go on that performance. Graham was ok and at least had a dig with the ball.

* we need to come up with something to help combat rhino and statue getting subbed. We lose all go-forward and it hurts what little attacking ability we have.