Round 21 V Sharks

[PANTHERMIKE]

Didn't the Gus fans say he was the one that got rid of Jennings and co? Now it was Ivan... Yep

Dude, I like you.

But you need to fu(kn let it go..

 

[Pomoz]

My favourite win for the last two years. To have so many debutants and young players in the team just makes it all that bit more special. Brilliant! A couple of points:

• Once again we made more metres than opposition. We had faster play the balls and more post contact metres. Our forwards were on top, but this time it was the back row who made the metres. Tamou, Leota and RCG didn't make 100m this week. In fact Tamou and Leota made 60 and 67m respectively. Our forwards do the job for us every week. We just need backs that can finish teams off.
• JFH 188m, 40 tackles albeit with 9 missed and his usual couple of penalties. 80 minutes of gut wrenching effort and inspiration. He does it every week. Simply outstanding.

• Our line speed and aggression in defence was superb. This is where Kenny is a step above Egan and Katoa. He just rips in aggressively and tries to pummel blokes. He helps set the tone of our defence and Woods, Fifita and Gallen just couldn't get going. Woods and Gallen made 7m a run. Fifita 9m. They were unable to bend our line until the end when we were gassed and it was too late.

• Burton probably made Luai's agent very nervous. He seems to be very cool under pressure, isn't scared of getting hit and also ripped in with some good aggressive tackles. Once he has a few pre seasons under his belt and strengthens up a bit, he will be an outstanding player. Is it me, but does he look better than Luai? A different type of player, but more likely to get a team to win games. Imagine a Luai/Burton combination with Cleary at hooker. In a few years could this be a GF winning spine? It couldn't possibly happen, could it?

• What a difference it makes when your backline have a semblance of pace (Ivan please take note. No more f%cking back rowers in the centres). Although not super quick (an ageing Morris is still quicker than any of our players), they are at least fast enough to cause the opposition issues in attack so they are harder to defend against and to prevent too many line breaks by being run around.

• Too is a beast. He is only a rookie winger, but when he left the field for an HIA, we missed him.

• As others have said, it was a lot closer than it needed to be. Two players on the bench played a combined 11 minutes. That made no sense especially since the debutants were looking gassed (Burton had cramp). Ivan's only black mark.

• Ivan got Z- last week for what I can only describe as a sh%t on a stick performance. I have to give him A+ for this week. He has handled the debutants admirably. They all handled their first game with aplomb even against such a hard, experienced team like Cronulla.

• What about Martins hit on Prior? He just cut him in half. Awesome and you could hear Hook getting excited about it in the commentary box. The Sharks just realised they were in for a tough game and were going to get bashed. Some of them clearly weren't up for it. As Hook pointed out, some players started to run away from him!

 

[Dave's mate]

Has Burton played any fullback? Has the size for it

 

[OldPanther]

Just watching the replay. To'o going off and Burton looked like he got cramp is what changed the game. Without that we win by 30 - 50.

What happened to Lenui? Did he ruin his shot?

 

[mxlegend99]

Just watching the replay. To'o going off and Burton looked like he got cramp is what changed the game. Without that we win by 30 - 50.

What happened to Lenui? Did he ruin his shot?

I didnt notice anything happen to Lenui.

Looking at stats though he made 9/9 tackles. Including a nice solid hit on Gallen. So i doubt he ruined his chance. Only blemish was a penalty. My guess is Cleary just decided we needed more experience in the pack considering how little we had on the field elsewhere.

 

[franklin2323]

Just watching the replay. To'o going off and Burton looked like he got cramp is what changed the game. Without that we win by 30 - 50.

What happened to Lenui? Did he ruin his shot?

He was always going to get limited time given the makeup of the pack

 

[franklin2323]

Has Burton played any fullback? Has the size for it

In bush yes. In juniors here no

 

[franklin2323]

Dude, I like you.

But you need to fu(kn let it go..

One of my annoyances is coaches getting praised or blamed for the rosters of teams. Des and Bennett didn't ruin Bulldogs and Knights rosters it was done by those above. As Gus was incharge of fixing the mess left behind well before Ivan came. Those incharge should know what style of player the coach wants and that is it

 

[OldPanther]

I didnt notice anything happen to Lenui.

Looking at stats though he made 9/9 tackles. Including a nice solid hit on Gallen. So i doubt he ruined his chance. Only blemish was a penalty. My guess is Cleary just decided we needed more experience in the pack considering how little we had on the field elsewhere.

He was always going to get limited time given the makeup of the pack

Makes sense. He's on now in my second watch and looks really good. Brings intensity and has a good quick play the ball. I can see why he's rated.

 

[franklin2323]

Makes sense. He's on now in my second watch and looks really good. Brings intensity and has a good quick play the ball. I can see why he's rated.

If Yeo wasn't sick then he too would of played 80mins but yeah these guys are 2-3 seasons away from being proper FG

 

[betcats]

His two best plays were his running game. The first half try assist for Edwards & the try he scored himself. That’s the strongest part of his game.

Whatever position he plays he needs to do more of that.

He’s been running the ball consistently all year, I’ve been waiting all year for a game like last night where he actually gets through the line a couple times. Cleary st hooker is interesting but it won’t happen under Ivan. With Players like Luai or Burton outside of him he will fine, he controls the team well when he’s on form especially without Jimmy. Not knocking Jimmy at all but wearing 6 or 7 Jimmy is s dominant personality and half and Nathan defers. Once Nathan really starts owning the team I think the talk of moving him will go away.

 

[betcats]

Double

 

[OldPanther]

 

[Vicpanther]

If we play like that again next week. We will put a cricket score on the broncs

 

[Coast panther]

Super happy with the win and super happy with our young blokes

 

[herbert henry1908]

He’s been running the ball consistently all year, I’ve been waiting all year for a game like last night where he actually gets through the line a couple times. Cleary st hooker is interesting but it won’t happen under Ivan. With Players like Luai or Burton outside of him he will fine, he controls the team well when he’s on form especially without Jimmy. Not knocking Jimmy at all but wearing 6 or 7 Jimmy is s dominant personality and half and Nathan defers. Once Nathan really starts owning the team I think the talk of moving him will go away.

It’s unusual for a 7 for their best attacking attribute to be running the ball. Traditionally that’s more of the 5/8 or hookers role. Can’t think of many like that. I think that’s why some of us see his better position somewhere else.

Again, that’s not to say he can’t have a pretty good career at 7. I expect if he stays with Penrith he’ll be our first player to reach 300 games. (Although maybe Yeo will be)

 

[herbert henry1908]

Has Burton played any fullback? Has the size for it

Interesting point. He certainly looks like he could play there, maybe our solution for a ball playing fullback?

I think I heard he was playing on the wing only a few years ago

 

[maple_69]

Leniu came on at exactly the wrong time. I feel like the momentum flipped the tackle before he came on which i believe was a huge relieving penalty. He crunched Gallen first up, tackles for 10 minutes, had one or two runs under pressure and went off. The penalty was because we were getting slaughtered up the middle and it was probably the right play. He’d have been much better if we were in an arm wrestle or on top.

 

[betcats]

It’s unusual for a 7 for their best attacking attribute to be running the ball. Traditionally that’s more of the 5/8 or hookers role. Can’t think of many like that. I think that’s why some of us see his better position somewhere else.

Again, that’s not to say he can’t have a pretty good career at 7. I expect if he stays with Penrith he’ll be our first player to reach 300 games. (Although maybe Yeo will be)

Plenty of 7s have been great runners, they had other great attributes also but running as 7 adds another dimension to the attack. Nathan just needs to continue developing his kicking game and most importantly continue to lead the team as it sounds like he did last night and he will be a great half. I know he’s highly paid and fairly experienced now but I still think patience is required, he is young and he is showing enough now that he can turn into a very good attacking half, he is already the best defensive 7 which is a lot less important I know but it’s worth a mention. He has great composure already and he seems like a person who will keep working on his game. I’m far less worried about that contract than I was before the season began.

 

[mxlegend99]

One of my annoyances is coaches getting praised or blamed for the rosters of teams. Des and Bennett didn't ruin Bulldogs and Knights rosters it was done by those above. As Gus was incharge of fixing the mess left behind well before Ivan came. Those incharge should know what style of player the coach wants and that is it

Coaches have control over their rosters. Some moreso than others. Not always for the best either. But their job is dependent on results and they try to build the roster they want to get those results

You think Ivan Cleary had nothing to do with bringing the likes of Elijah Taylor, Lewis Brown, Mat Robinson, Nafe Seluini, James Fisher Harris, Corey Harawira-Naera etc..from Warriors?

Or that Bennett had nothing to do with Darius Boyd, Jeremy Smith, Alex McKinnon etc. Following him from Dragons. Or all the old experienced players he was obsessed with bringing in.

You think Des Hasler wasnt responsible for all the big money Bulldogs kept throwing at players? He went for Keiran Foran year after year until they got him.

Coaches identify players they want to sign. Players they dont want on their roster. Players they want to promote and so on.