Regular Season Thoughts

[Jack_Napier]

Now the regular season is behind us and we're onto the business end of the season, curious to get other opinions on how our Home and Away season went down.

Finishing 2nd behind this juggernaut of a storm side could be looked at as a very good season, and it definitely is. Anytime you finish top 4 shows you've had a good regular season.

I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking we could've been so much better this season despite finishing second. Again I'd hardly be on my own in thinking we have barely strung 2 games of complete 80 minutes high level performance together.

The eels demolition would be our most complete performance imo with patches of the same level scattered throughout. 15 minute spell in the second half against the cows showed me just how well we can play, but for whatever reason, the players just never hit that level again.

I wonder if Robbo is trying to time the peak performances to hit this week against Brisbane. If there is one criticism of our 14/15 sides it's that I believe we peaked too early chasing the Minor Premiership.

How do other posters think we will go this final series? How do we all think the regular season played out? Where and how do we go to that next level? And are we a genuine shot at this premiership given the lack lustre performances the last few weeks.

Keen to hear everyone's thoughts

 

[Headless Chook]

A strange ole season so far, is has to be said. If some were saying last year was a soft comp then what does it make this years'? Aside from Melbourne no side, including us has played anywhere near the consistent footy usually required to win the thing. It's easy to see why most are saying the Storm have it sewn up.

The recent games against the Storm and then the Sharks I thought we had turned the corner with our defence but it was at a cost where our attack was ordinary. Last week we were indifferent in both departments. So hard to get a read on where we are even though the finals are now upon us!

Obviously it's been a great year compared to the abomination of last year. I think the two buys of the year are Keary and Gordon. Uncle Nick and the coaching staff sure know how to fill a gap or two in the player ranks with the right type of cattle. The younger blokes have come on well thanks in part to the forced exposure playing a lot of games last year. All good signs.

I can see no reason why we can't make the GF. If we can beat the Broncs we avoid Melb, assuming they continue on their merry way. Then it's anybody's game.

 

[Jack_Napier]

A strange ole season so far, is has to be said. If some were saying last year was a soft comp then what does it make this years'? Aside from Melbourne no side, including us has played anywhere near the consistent footy usually required to win the thing. It's easy to see why most are saying the Storm have it sewn up.

The recent games against the Storm and then the Sharks I thought we had turned the corner with our defence but it was at a cost where our attack was ordinary. Last week we were indifferent in both departments. So hard to get a read on where we are even though the finals are now upon us!

Obviously it's been a great year compared to the abomination of last year. I think the two buys of the year are Keary and Gordon. Uncle Nick and the coaching staff sure know how to fill a gap or two in the player ranks with the right type of cattle. The younger blokes have come on well thanks in part to the forced exposure playing a lot of games last year. All good signs.

I can see no reason why we can't make the GF. If we can beat the Broncs we avoid Melb, assuming they continue on their merry way. Then it's anybody's game.

Good post Headless, agree with all of it. You could almost safely say it's been consistently inconsistent this season. Outside of Melbourne, all the quality sides have slipped up plenty.

I have no doubt last season played a good role for the young guns. I think what stood out this season was how different a side we are with a competent and functioning spine playing a good amount of footy together. Keary has been great for us, his direct running opened up plenty of space for the outside backs, it's just such a shame our attack has been pretty clunky at times.

I have no doubt we can challenge but we have to be ruthless in defence and clinical in attack. We've seen glimpses, I just hope the players can put it together when it matters.

have been impressed with the way Isaac Liu has finished the season as well. His such a different prop to what we already have. Good late footwork at the line and can pop a ball. It's almost like he's hit that 100 game mark and will push on with his play.

I know the season isn't done but thoughts on who will get the Beetson Medal this season. I had cords an absolute lock for it but he basically missed the origin part of the season. Pearce was very good up until origin finishing and Keary has been pretty good all season only fading in a few games. I think Cords will get it even with missing those games, honestly wouldn't trade any forward in the game for him.

 

[Captain Apollo]

This season has been a massive improvement on 2016. Granted having all our players available (bar SST) at the start of the season was a big help, but Keary and Gordon fitted in like they'd been here for years.

One thing this season has shown, once SKD was let go, was how short we were for three quarters if injuries struck. I mean we've spent the past 2-3 weeks with Mitch Aubusson and Ryan Matterson in the centres as both Joseph Manu and Latrell Mitchell have issues in their defence which needs work. Whilst Matterson and Aubussson helped solidify our defence out wide, it made our backline in attack far less potent. Hopefully this will be partly rectified if Tupes is available for Friday night, as Latrell is wasted on the wing - he needs early ball to be more effective. Tedesco at fullback gives our side a lot more strike power and unpredictability, and if we put Gordon on the right wing outside Fergo, it should help cover up the defensive issues out wide.

A few media pundits have pointed this out in recent days, our attack is somewhat easy to read. You know if the sweep to the left hand side is on that more often than not the ball is going to Cordner. As such it makes us easier to defend against. We need to use the sweep but throw the cut out pass to a sweeping Gordon chiming into the backline outside Cordner. That is why we had so much trouble with Gold Coast, they knew where the ball was going.

Defensively was a big area of improvement. Thing is if we lose Cords and/or Friend for extended periods, we appear a lot more vulnerable around the rucks. The games where one or both were missing were games where teams exploited our middle (e.g. Manly at Lottoland). We need a plan b there.

Also Robbo's bench use puzzles me. How many games have we gone this year with one bench player getting 0 minutes? In this day and age it is a 17 man game, so to tie your hands into only using 15-16 players seems like poor planning. I often wonder had Connor Watson played a 5-10 minute burst against the Warriors in NZ whether it would have lead to a fresher Jake Friend not making a couple of mistakes late in the game which contributed to our defeat in a game we should have won, as he would have been less fatigued. Same on Sunday, Victor Radley was available yet played 0 minutes. Could a fresh mind and body have helped us? Only two examples but that man management aspect is something which worries me a little.

We can make it if not win the GF. Personally I think, after last season, anything from now on is a bonus. 2018 is when I expect the team to be real contenders.

 

[Tommy Smith]

It's certainly been a bizarre season in the sense that we're coming off a 6 win season in 2016 and turned it around with a 17 win season and a 2nd place finish.

Which in itself is remarkable.

And yet we've barely put together a single 80 minute performance so it's been hard to put our finger on just how good we are.

I think Friday will be very telling.

Will it be more of the same, with silly errors holding us back?

Or have we been itching for the finals to arrive which will see us go to another level?

I have a sneaky suspicion that it'll be the latter and we'll put in our best performance of the season which will see the Storm start to shit themselves.

I would LOVE to play the Storm in the GF with them on the back of a 10 game win streak.

All the pressure would be on them and I reckon we could pull off the heist.

 

[Valheru]

You can't go from 2nd last to 2nd and call it anything other than a successful season. Having said that we have done the bare minimum most weeks to win games and we more often than not win on talent alone as opposed to consistent performance.

Our best performance of the season was the 48-10 mauling of Parramatta which was the closest to an 80 minute performance we had. The next best was ironically the loss in Melbourne which was the only other occasion we were switched on for the full 80.

The biggest positive is, even though stupidity and errors put us in the position more often than not, we have seemed to come through in the tight ones when it matters with only the warriors and the storm away games being the exception.

At this stage I think our defence has really come along and is good enough to win the comp, it is the attack that hasn't been up to scratch in the last couple of months. We must have bombed 8 tries in the last 3 games which we can't afford to do in the finals so we will see what happens.

 

[adamkungl]

Softest comp I've ever seen. Teams 2-6 who are usually peaking at this time of year playing more like fringe 8 sides.

I'm being a negative merkin but I fully expect a straight sets exit in the finals. Our failures to put away Tigers and Titans in recent weeks, and going back further the flogging vs Cronulla, and losing to the Warriors and Manly - the way those games have gone give me limited confidence in our ability to go up a gear.
When you watch our games we look closer to 2016 than 2013 despite our place on the ladder.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

Softest comp I've ever seen. Teams 2-6 who are usually peaking at this time of year playing more like fringe 8 sides.

I'm being a negative merkin but I fully expect a straight sets exit in the finals. Our failures to put away Tigers and Titans in recent weeks, and going back further the flogging vs Cronulla, and losing to the Warriors and Manly - the way those games have gone give me limited confidence in our ability to go up a gear.
When you watch our games we look closer to 2016 than 2013 despite our place on the ladder.

I'm feeling a bit like you, Adam. We lost a bunch of games by 6 or less last year. This year we won those. About the only difference between 2016/17.
Anyway if we make it to the GF, we're just Storm fodder

 

[adamkungl]

Glad my straight sets prediction was proven wrong lol

 

[Jack_Napier]

It's legit already a successful season regardless of what happens in a few weeks.

Super coach Robbo makes another Prelim final as well.

 

[Better_Dead_Than_Red]

Harden up pussies. We going all the way

 

[rabbitohs95]

Successful season for you guys and it almost proves that last year was a fluke and just bad luck.

Keary and Gordon are great buys but I'm not sure they'll be the catalyst; I think you guys lack an X-factor like you ha with Maloney and SBW.

In typical Roosters fashion the team has played well for 70% of games and poorly in 30%, but they've made sure that they put in that effort at the right time of the match most of the time, if that makes sense.

The scary thing is the side isn't firing on all cylinders, imagine if they were...

Anyway I think the Roosters are in a prime position; they're not raging favourites and are somewhat flying under the radar.

Like Tommy said, the perfect heist could come.

 

[Jack_Napier]

Successful season for you guys and it almost proves that last year was a fluke and just bad luck.

Keary and Gordon are great buys but I'm not sure they'll be the catalyst; I think you guys lack an X-factor like you ha with Maloney and SBW.

In typical Roosters fashion the team has played well for 70% of games and poorly in 30%, but they've made sure that they put in that effort at the right time of the match most of the time, if that makes sense.

The scary thing is the side isn't firing on all cylinders, imagine if they were...

Anyway I think the Roosters are in a prime position; they're not raging favourites and are somewhat flying under the radar.

Like Tommy said, the perfect heist could come.

Nice to hear from an outsider R95

I think you're underestimating keary by saying jimmy was an X Factor and he isn't. Keary has been great for us and as influential in our attack as jimmy was. They're both quality 5/8's and have and are doing very well with us.

Keary gives the ball to danger men at the right time but also attacks the line himself very well. He's combine very well with Pearce all season and it's a shame Pearce has gone off the boil since origin 3.

Madge must've been quite annoyed that Crowe essentially opened the door for Keary to walk from you guys. Cody walker has done well but Keary has definitely been better this season.

Cheers for the input

 

[adamkungl]

Pearce is due for a big game.

At the moment he's... workmanlike. He's giving Keary space (Pearce is undervalued in his role in making Keary look good) and controlling the game well enough, but he's not showing the timing in attack and strike power that we know he's capable of.

Just seems to have gone into his shell a bit since Origin.

 

[Jack_Napier]

Agree Adam, it seems only Easts fans see what Pearce brings to our side. He knows our patterns and processes better than anyone and controls us. If he found that polish then he and Keary would have the attack firing big time.

Just think this it's the decision making at the right time which has been off since origin finished.

 

[Headless Chook]

I reckon Pearce has fallen victim to the structured approach at the cost of playing what's in front of him. That's not necessarily a bad thing as halves are supposed to move and direct the side around with the required fluency in attacking sets but it's becoming a little too predictable. That short ball to Cordner at the line should be limited to every now and then. He seems to have two obligatory runs a game at the defence and teams seem to know when he's going to do,it and is picked off every time. Mix it up a bit more.

Keary on the other hand, to my mind doesn't seem to be restricted with structure and game management as much which is one reason why he is having such a great year.