Redneck Redfaces

[POPEYE]

How hard could it be to coach SOO. Presumably you've been given the best 17 players available from
your State and all you have to do is turn up and hope for the bounce of the ball to favour your side.

Ok, you've got to make sure every player's mind is on the job. Maybe a couple might have problems
at home, an injury that they don't want to tell you about or just out of sorts. You certainly don't have to
tell them their job on the field, especially if the team has been together for yonks.

All you can do is remind them to concentrate on possession. No penalties first of all. Learn the ref's
idiosyncrasies quickly and crawl up his arse. Next, complete every set of six, no fancy stuff unless what they do
at club level is staring them in the face. Lastly, make sure after 5 the ball is either heading for a 40/20,
the opposition in-goal or coming down from the heavens a metre out

How hard is that. No team can beat you with 40% of the ball and that's all their going to get if your blokes just keep it simple.
Does help if your team would prefer to keep their minds on the job rather than put up with being harassed at half time.

Of course, there is just one little hurdle that you can't do a f**king thing about. The players on the other team might be better
at doing what your blokes are expected to do. All you can do in that case is thank whoever your god is the ball is a funny shape and it's capable of doing the unexpected

 

[POPEYE]

One player that was a standout this round was Josh Reynolds. If he had played against any other fullback
he probably would have been man of the match and the Dogs might have won. It wasn't so much how
close he came to scoring but his attitude during the game that was impressive.

Brought back memories of the '80's when Bulldog players would rather lose a limb than a game.
Hasler has obviously talked him into believing he's an integral part of the grand plan. Could do a lot
worse than make him captain if his refusal to take shit from anyone permeates through the rest of the team

 

[Hutty1986]

Gosh, that's interesting

 

[POPEYE]

Gosh, that's interesting

Glad you thought so. A comment from you that takes more than one line in 100mm of space you take up could have made it more interesting. Don't be afraid

 

[sensesmaybenumbed]

 

[POPEYE]

Yes, I'm afraid we can't give you a score if you get stage fright. Audition again next year sbn . . . you never know

Sorry . . . you weren't marking Hutty were you

 

[Hutty1986]

Dong him Red!

 

[sensesmaybenumbed]

Dong him Red!

I have. He hasn't figured out how to replace the batteries in his hearing aid...

 

[Hutty1986]

I have. He hasn't figured out how to replace the batteries in his hearing aid...

I think he's put the batteries in his ear instead

 

[POPEYE]

I think he's put the batteries in his ear instead

Be careful Hut, sbn's got about 40mm on you. Why don't you quote me to make up the difference

 

[POPEYE]

Why do you blokes keep reading my posts if you don't want to talk to me

 

[POPEYE]

If a survey was to be taken asking why the Storm is the leading team in the competition knob jockeys
would say it's because they're cheats. Most would say it's because they are a well disciplined team with
three superstars in key positions.

That may well be but it's only half the reason. Sure, they have the superstars but they also have them
for the whole season give or take. Because the three rarely miss a game the combination they created
is never under pressure. The rest of the players are allowed to concentrate on their game knowing
they won't be asked to compensate through positional changes.

Slater, Smith and Cronk are consequently even more valuable. While there are great players in every
team they are devalued if they can't make the field every game. Asotasi, Burgess, Coote, Payne,
Hodges, Dugan, Campese to name a few not only disrupt the team when they don't play but they also
shortchange the salary cap.

The League doesn't recognise these players as part timers and their team's deficited whether they play
or not. Maybe it's time to divide a player's salary by 26 and for every game he doesn't play the club
gets a credit on the following year's cap. If not that at least let a club sign a replacement without
affecting the cap.

The Storm would be severly tested if it lost their 5/8 and fullback as has Canberra or if they lost their
fullback and #12 together as has the Cowboys more than once. Paying big money players only to
watch them sit out a large part of the season is not what the cap was designed for. The Storm's
superiority should be taken into perspective

 

[POPEYE]

Not sure what Bennett has in mind for Mason. He's probably the most popular player amongst team mates the
game's seen for many years and he might be used to grow some sort of camaraderie at the Knights.

Can't see him as a miracle cure using his skills as a footballer. He became ordinary only a few years into his
career once players realised that although he was the size of Mark Carroll he only had one tenth the ticker.
The backs he made his name running against have bulked up enough to take him one on one and opposition
forwards wouldn't be concerned even if he did run at them.

Not like Benny to be grasping at straws but the impression is he's struggling to find a common denominator
in a bid to get his team firing as a unit. Could be his normal routine of creating players has been thrown out
of kilter by having to work with ready made ones. His record at the Dragons was only slightly better than Brown's
and that's because he won a cup.

I remember when Jack Gibson brought Stumpy Stevens to the Eels and everyone had a giggle. Stumpy was at the
end of his career but Jack wanted him as a steadying influence in the mighty group of youngsters he had.
All he needed was to sign Steven Edge to captain the side. Great coaches seem not to like being burdened with
players not of their making. Benny looks uncomfortable imo

 

[POPEYE]

Matty Johns suffers from the same misconception that Vautin does. They're both convinced a boost in
popularity brings with it an increase in IQ. It's a complete nonsense blaming coaches for devising ugly ways of
winning. Great coaches will find ways of winning but they will always go with the obvious first.

Next to maintaining possession slowing down the play the ball is the next obvious. Not hard to understand
if the opposition forwards are always fresh there's no other way to slow them down. To those that bleat
about the game becoming defence orientated all that has to be done is go back to 4 substitutions.
Let old fashioned tiredness slow the forwards in attack and defence.

League used to be about progressing from softening up to tiring out. No amount of miniscule video
stoppages will overcome only having 4 subs. Let the backs run the forwards around instead of holding
them down in the knowledge that being nimble is an advantage as the game goes on. Tell the refs to man
up when a player's momentum has been stopped or he can't legally pass the ball.

Tired players won't want to waste energy f**king around in tackles. Backs will need that wasted energy
for when the forwards tire. No need to drain the precious salary cap by having highly paid players sitting
on the bench waiting their turn. Coaches will then have to turn to more attractive ways of winning games

 

[firechild]

You should write a book. Then it'd be far easier to avoid your ramblings.

 

[POPEYE]

You should write a book. Then it'd be far easier to avoid your ramblings.

Easier way than that. Never look for my posts as I never look for yours.

 

[firechild]

Don't flatter yourself. I just read through the unread threads and occasionally the ramblings of some of the resident straight jacket brigade like you, Galeforce and DunniesGimp come up.

 

[POPEYE]

Don't flatter yourself. I just read through the unread threads and occasionally the ramblings of some of the resident straight jacket brigade like you, Galeforce and DunniesGimp come up.

Not only do you talk like a redneck you have the IQ of one. You know this is the only thread I post in now
yet you can't help yourself. What's more you keep bringing a toothpick to a knife fight.

 

[POPEYE]

Gallop gives free reign to Harrigan to sort out the mess that coaches are wreaking on the poor dumb League supporters.
I can only guess what men who are paid to win games will think of being attacked by such intellectual giants.

I've said previously what I think is needed to speed the ball playing up but I didn't dwell on the obvious.
The blokes with the whistles can solve the problem without reducing the number of substitutes. All they've got to do is count to three after 'held'.

All this crap about 8 or 9 seconds . . . where does that come from. Next time you watch a game listen for 'held' and then count 9 seconds.
Better still, count to yourself now. When was the last time you saw a player wrestled with that long.
Maybe 9 seconds between a player being grabbed and getting to his feet on rare occasions.

If the League wants each game finishing with 14 fresh, alert players a side then the referees are going to have to practice
recognising when a player can't do any more with the ball, call 'held' succinctly and the hard part . . . count to three.

 

[Hutty1986]

Gosh, that's interesting