Rnd 16: Eels v Sea Eagles (Arthur Family Cup) GAME DAY THREAD

[IFR33K]

I really liked Arsey's game, his kicking game put a lot of pressure on Manly, particularly in the first half and they fumbled

he'll do me for a backup half

He’s a genuine half. Not like the other imposter we had.

 

[King-Gutho94]

Watching the replay and it seems Warren Smith caught stupid from Blocker.

Blocker how on earth have we ended up with him I reckon 8 times this year.

 

[Twizzle]

9 - Hands
14 - Asi
Assistant coach NSW Cup - Hodgson

surely BA is gonna think twice about what he does with Hodgo now

Asi at 14 could work well but I think BA will put Hodgo at 14 when he is fit again

Asi just seems a better option for me, he can play at 1, 6, 7, 9 or 14, whereas Hodgo is pretty limited

 

[eel01s]

Asi provides a genuine back up half option, and could even be the 14 we are after.

Very good performance by us, even though I thought we were robbed of two tries. Our defence looks much better, despite Manly not throwing much at us.

 

[Twizzle]

yeah, good point

Manly really were shit

 

[TheCrowe]

Everyone you’ve mentioned are decent except Staines who is poor man’s Luke Burt.

A faster version of our highest ever try scorer? Sounds good!

 

[Gazzamatta]

he shouldn’t be on the list. He’s not a winger. The coach should be there for playing his there a few times.

winger is a specialist position. Just like the rest of them.

The frustrating point is Superman was very good in the centres at the back end of last year yet when the season starts hes back to the wing again.
Injurys have been a massive plus for our team this year. Seems a ridiculous statement but its forced our coach to use players neglected in the past who have proved their worth. If we are smart going forward these players will continue to be given opportunities post the return of our "guns" thereby keeping the entire squad fresh. It should keep the pressure on playing positions if picked on form not salary.
Asi and Hands getting their chance and proving their worth is huge for our prospects going forward. We may finally have a decent 14.

 

[yy_cheng]

Asi provides a genuine back up half option, and could even be the 14 we are after.

Very good performance by us, even though I thought we were robbed of two tries. Our defence looks much better, despite Manly not throwing much at us.

The question is whether he has the effort plays to play hooker. Is he super fit? Hands and Yates are

 

[TheCrowe]

From the FoxSports interview Mal v Gutho

‘Took it personally’: Gutherson reveals Manly’s ‘soft’ taunts fuelled Eels’ revenge mission

Eels skipper Gutherson reveals Manly’s ‘soft’ sledge that fuelled Sea Eagles slaughter

www.foxsports.com.au

“Your middles were awesome tonight,” Meninga said.

“You played a simple game of footy and your middles were extremely good tonight.

“You ran 1,600 metres to 930, so you belted them up in the middle.”

Gutherson admitted post match his forwards were fired up after being labelled soft by Manly earlier in the season.

“We took it personally after Round 3,” Gutherson said.

“They came out and said our middles were pretty soft.

“When you say that to the likes of Reggie (Campbell-Gillard) and the big boys in the middle they are going to take it personally.

“I thought they were outstanding. Hopgood in the middle he just stepped up and played the game beautifully and that’s what we want.”

So that gives me an idea on what Gutho was saying when he barged over from dummy half.

 

[yy_cheng]

The frustrating point is Superman was very good in the centres at the back end of last year yet when the season starts hes back to the wing again.
Injurys have been a massive plus for our team this year. Seems a ridiculous statement but its forced our coach to use players neglected in the past who have proved their worth. If we are smart going forward these players will continue to be given opportunities post the return of our "guns" thereby keeping the entire squad fresh. It should keep the pressure on playing positions if picked on form not salary.
Asi and Hands getting their chance and proving their worth is huge for our prospects going forward. We may finally have a decent 14.

I think if we didn't have as many injuries bushy would not have trusted all these players who are now giving good services.

I reckon maka, emu and co would have limited minutes.

It's the injuries which forced his hand and the players delivered and now he had faith in them.

Now he can use his bench more effectively as he has more trust in the bench

 

[Gazzamatta]

The question is whether he has the effort plays to play hooker. Is he super fit? Hands and Yates are

Meni Luke in the 2s has been well below average these past weeks. Where is Rein? Another player frozen out by BA?

 

[yy_cheng]

So that gives me an idea on what Gutho was saying when he barged over from dummy half.

I recon guth wouldve said, you think you're a fullback?

Just like joey saying to Tim smith, you're the next sterlo?

 

[emjaycee]

he shouldn’t be on the list. He’s not a winger. The coach should be there for playing his there a few times.

winger is a specialist position. Just like the rest of them.

While I agree Simmonson is looking good at Centre, his 76 game career has been mostly on the wing, both at Canberra and with us.

76 games - 8 starting from the bench, 4 at FB, 54 on the wing and 10 in the centres.

 

[yy_cheng]

Meni Luke in the 2s has been well below average these past weeks. Where is Rein? Another player frozen out by BA?

I would give asi the 14 for 3 games to test if he can do it.

He's they better option as he can cover the spine and centre.

He can kick from the ruck too

 

[yy_cheng]

While I agree Simmonson is looking good at Centre, his 76 game career has been mostly on the wing, both at Canberra and with us.

76 games - 8 starting from the bench, 4 at FB, 54 on the wing and 10 in the centres.

I like supermans efforts. He doesn't shrug away from the hard stuff even as a centre.

And he backs up breaks and uses his speed and he actually has good balance as shown in his last try

 

[Poupou Escobar]

You’ve been proven wrong on multiple occasions re Jakey, Hodgson

Have I really? Jake Arthur is an NRL level backup, proven right by his recruitment to Manly. And Hodgson is an experienced NRL dummy half, proven right by him starting every game he's been available.

The problem is you think every time we lose it proves all your whinging justified. But we haven't lost for over a month and your whinging is looking shaky again. Don't worry, we'll lose again before the season is up and you can go back to shitting on our club.

 

[yy_cheng]

Meni Luke in the 2s has been well below average these past weeks. Where is Rein? Another player frozen out by BA?

I watched meni and he seems really small.

Look, after watching a few nsw cup games and seeing the ones who are now backups in nrl, the nsw cup form isn't a good indicator as long as they player has a good foundation.

Did Hands, Emu, ogden really dominate in nsw cup?

In nrl, they have quality around them and if they just stick to the task that they have been given then they will go alright

 

[Obscene Assassin]

Every kick he put in we contested for, more than if Mitch and dyl where kicking. It must have been a function of how dominate we where in getting to certain positions on the field. Or is Asi just really good with the attacking bomb?

At the ground his high kicks just seemed to float and stay in the air a long time. The thing that stuck out to me he didn't just kick the bladder out of them like Burton does with very little accuracy. He sacrificed a bit of height to pin manly down in their 10 but gave enough for the chasers to either contest or be on top of them when the ball was caught.

Mid-60% possession definitely helps with all these effort areas

 

[Obscene Assassin]

surely BA is gonna think twice about what he does with Hodgo now

Asi at 14 could work well but I think BA will put Hodgo at 14 when he is fit again

Asi just seems a better option for me, he can play at 1, 6, 7, 9 or 14, whereas Hodgo is pretty limited

Can Asi play hooker? I've seen him play fullback, centre, halves.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Hey Avenger, i still don t see how barrett has changed our attack. Is there any plays u can outline from ydays game that shows this and where we havent done it in the past?

It's a bit different. 10% more decoys this year, 10% fewer support runs. Tries are up about 10% (from 4.1 per game to 4.5) but set completions are down (79.3% to 74.7%) which has put pressure on our defence. The biggest difference is we are making a lot more line breaks this year: 4.6 per game to 5.4, which is an increase of about 17% however that measures a change in outcomes and not necessarily a change in tactics.

The eye test says our attack is a bit different and this is supported by the increase in decoys and the decrease in set completions. We are definitely shifting the ball earlier.

The thing that i have noticed is that there are fewer offloads.

13.7 per game last year to 12.9 this year. Not much of a decrease but you're right. I only noticed by looking at the stats but well done to you for spotting a 6% decrease in offloads.

I dont think matto or hopgood or carty threw one. Joe o tried 1 and 1 other player thrrew one

We threw 13 in yesterday's game. Penisini topped the count with 3.