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Round 23 V Souths

kyussian

Juniors
Messages
33
some observations:

- best game for Kikau in a long time. he does seem to be putting his hand up & perhaps acknowledging his lack of input in recent times. He also looked to have plenty left in the tank towards the end of the game with those two massive defensive efforts on Koloamatangi & Tatola proving how much of a force he is when switched on! Im in the camp that he should be starting with a rest at 30 (swapping with Martin) however if leaving him on the bench is what brings the best out of him then perhaps this may be exactly what he needs

- possibly a controversial comment here (dont have any stats to back this up) however I'm not that convinced with both Capewell's & Martin's defence. I feel they have a lot of ineffective tackles in them. Having said that they are both scrappers & always put in, with Martin's front on defence lethal when he aims up

- how good is Yeo? doesnt get the accolades but he is a massive reason why we were able to hang in there in that initial onslaught with Sorenson ably lending assistance when he came on. These players need more credit!

- hopefully Api finds some match fitness. He was pretty solid defensively but dont think he's 100% physically or mentally. It was good he scored at the end to build some confidence for himself & the team whom he's let down massively. Let's hope he peaks at the right time too

- happy with TPJ's first hitout. As others have mentioned i hope the coaching staff use him wisely because he's a massive x-factor. A good sign was his ragdolling of Api at the end. He's another confidence player & needs to feel part of the team - not just a mercenary that is being 'used' to get a title. If he's emotionally invested & football is able to provide him the comfort & platform to help deal with his personal life then that's something to get excited over!

- so happy Nathan is back & gaining more confidence. unsure about anyone else but I'm definitely on edge whenever I see kickchase pressure or when he decides to run at the line. A relief every time he gets up as he does seem to be getting some extra treatment to rough him up. There is an obvious message being sent out to the rest of the comp that he's managing it fine & it's not hampering him. My hope is that the shoulder injury is actually a hoax & they've just had us all on a ride!
 

franklin2323

Immortal
Messages
33,546
some observations:

- best game for Kikau in a long time. he does seem to be putting his hand up & perhaps acknowledging his lack of input in recent times. He also looked to have plenty left in the tank towards the end of the game with those two massive defensive efforts on Koloamatangi & Tatola proving how much of a force he is when switched on! Im in the camp that he should be starting with a rest at 30 (swapping with Martin) however if leaving him on the bench is what brings the best out of him then perhaps this may be exactly what he needs

- possibly a controversial comment here (dont have any stats to back this up) however I'm not that convinced with both Capewell's & Martin's defence. I feel they have a lot of ineffective tackles in them. Having said that they are both scrappers & always put in, with Martin's front on defence lethal when he aims up

- how good is Yeo? doesnt get the accolades but he is a massive reason why we were able to hang in there in that initial onslaught with Sorenson ably lending assistance when he came on. These players need more credit!

- hopefully Api finds some match fitness. He was pretty solid defensively but dont think he's 100% physically or mentally. It was good he scored at the end to build some confidence for himself & the team whom he's let down massively. Let's hope he peaks at the right time too

- happy with TPJ's first hitout. As others have mentioned i hope the coaching staff use him wisely because he's a massive x-factor. A good sign was his ragdolling of Api at the end. He's another confidence player & needs to feel part of the team - not just a mercenary that is being 'used' to get a title. If he's emotionally invested & football is able to provide him the comfort & platform to help deal with his personal life then that's something to get excited over!

- so happy Nathan is back & gaining more confidence. unsure about anyone else but I'm definitely on edge whenever I see kickchase pressure or when he decides to run at the line. A relief every time he gets up as he does seem to be getting some extra treatment to rough him up. There is an obvious message being sent out to the rest of the comp that he's managing it fine & it's not hampering him. My hope is that the shoulder injury is actually a hoax & they've just had us all on a ride!
Good post

On Martin and Capewell they do miss a few tackles but make good 1st contact slow the attacker and cover well
 

Crashtest

Juniors
Messages
1,132
So you agree with Crichton getting moved to the wing?

You don’t know the reason nor rationale behind the change.

Maybe Ivan put him on the wing because he wanted Crichton to work on his tough carrries out of his own end for a couple of games. Maybe he wanted to give Momo more game time at centre as he will will be the back up centre to Crichton and Burton once Too returns, in case Momo is needed to play there in finals due to injury or suspension.

None of us know. So I am not going to continually put down our coach who was done a phenomenal job over the last 2 seasons.

You were even bagging him out for playing Kenny out of position last night. Despite Edwards concussion causing three instant position changes and having to change the planned bench roles and rotations to cover for Edwards. And the fact that despite all of that, we still won the game against a hot team that had won 10 in a row

Our top 3 spot is secure, wins are not as important right now as gettting whatever the coaching staff feel we need to get out of the few remaining games left this season before the play offs.
 

age.s

First Grade
Messages
6,920
My observation (for what it is worth) of what was happening in the first 25 minutes, was that Souths have a larger and more powerful pack than us, who came out fired up. As the game wore on, our slightly smaller, but fitter and more agile pack wore them down.

Guys like Sorensen and Hopgood would never have been able to play successfully in the middle 2 seasons ago - with the wrestle and slower game, big forwards were able to catch their breath a lot more, and you needed big middles to win games. Number 13 in many teams (including our own - that being JFH's position for many seasons) was just another prop.

However, given the game has now sped up and there are far fewer opportunities to have a breather, cardiovascular endurance is even more important than it was in the past - slightly smaller, fitter and more agile guys are now the prototype middle forward. Teams struggle to maintain line speed over a game, and if you are quick, you can be gaining 7-8 metres before you even meet the opposition defence.

I think a big part of our success has been the fact that - for years - Phil Gould was saying that the number of interchanges were going to decrease to bring more fatigue into the game (he was ultimately wrong about that, but the NRL did do the same thing a slightly different way) and that Penrith were preparing for it in the type of players they developed and how they trained. That probably counted against us a few seasons ago, but when the six again was brought in, we were ahead of the curve. Ivan also realised ahead of other coaches the sort of players that were now going to be effective.

Coaches like Nathan Brown who went and signed the biggest forwards on the market have made a massive blunder. I think it is also no coincidence that Jason Taumalolo is having his worst season since debuting in first grade. I suspect we are going to see a lot of rebuilding in other clubs over the next 2-3 years, with the giant prop slowly fading out of the game.
Spot on, and its the same reason I dont think the blow-outs/high scores are that big of a deal. The game has changed, most rosters weren't pre-calibrated for it and blow-outs are happening as a result. It'll even out and the faster game will be more enjoyable to watch imo.
 

franklin2323

Immortal
Messages
33,546
You don’t know the reason nor rationale behind the change.

Maybe Ivan put him on the wing because he wanted Crichton to work on his tough carrries out of his own end for a couple of games. Maybe he wanted to give Momo more game time at centre as he will will be the back up centre to Crichton and Burton once Too returns, in case Momo is needed to play there in finals due to injury or suspension.

None of us know. So I am not going to continually put down our coach who was done a phenomenal job over the last 2 seasons.

You were even bagging him out for playing Kenny out of position last night. Despite Edwards concussion causing three instant position changes and having to change the planned bench roles and rotations to cover for Edwards. And the fact that despite all of that, we still won the game against a hot team that had won 10 in a row

Our top 3 spot is secure, wins are not as important right now as gettting whatever the coaching staff feel we need to get out of the few remaining games left this season before the play offs.

Kenny could of played lock ( his natural position ) Yeo prop ( which is is same as same as lock these days) and ran TPJ or Sorensen at 2nd row both positions they are used to.

The fact we have gone so well is even less reason to try and be too tricky. May named at centre only to play 7 is another one.

Just do what has got the side into that position
 

WestyLife

First Grade
Messages
6,086

Crashtest

Juniors
Messages
1,132
Kenny could of played lock ( his natural position ) Yeo prop ( which is is same as same as lock these days) and ran TPJ or Sorensen at 2nd row both positions they are used to.

The fact we have gone so well is even less reason to try and be too tricky. May named at centre only to play 7 is another one.

Just do what has got the side into that position
So your response to multiple Injury forced position changes is to do more position changes?
You dont move Yeo from his vital link role unless there in another ball playing option on the bench to replace him.
 

franklin2323

Immortal
Messages
33,546
So your response to multiple Injury forced position changes is to do more position changes?
You dont move Yeo from his vital link role unless there in another ball playing option on the bench to replace him.

That is what Yeo does though May comes on usually for Fish. Plays lock while Yeo goes to prop
 

BxTom

Bench
Messages
2,566
some observations:

- best game for Kikau in a long time. he does seem to be putting his hand up & perhaps acknowledging his lack of input in recent times. He also looked to have plenty left in the tank towards the end of the game with those two massive defensive efforts on Koloamatangi & Tatola proving how much of a force he is when switched on! Im in the camp that he should be starting with a rest at 30 (swapping with Martin) however if leaving him on the bench is what brings the best out of him then perhaps this may be exactly what he needs

- possibly a controversial comment here (dont have any stats to back this up) however I'm not that convinced with both Capewell's & Martin's defence. I feel they have a lot of ineffective tackles in them. Having said that they are both scrappers & always put in, with Martin's front on defence lethal when he aims up

- how good is Yeo? doesnt get the accolades but he is a massive reason why we were able to hang in there in that initial onslaught with Sorenson ably lending assistance when he came on. These players need more credit!

- hopefully Api finds some match fitness. He was pretty solid defensively but dont think he's 100% physically or mentally. It was good he scored at the end to build some confidence for himself & the team whom he's let down massively. Let's hope he peaks at the right time too

- happy with TPJ's first hitout. As others have mentioned i hope the coaching staff use him wisely because he's a massive x-factor. A good sign was his ragdolling of Api at the end. He's another confidence player & needs to feel part of the team - not just a mercenary that is being 'used' to get a title. If he's emotionally invested & football is able to provide him the comfort & platform to help deal with his personal life then that's something to get excited over!

- so happy Nathan is back & gaining more confidence. unsure about anyone else but I'm definitely on edge whenever I see kickchase pressure or when he decides to run at the line. A relief every time he gets up as he does seem to be getting some extra treatment to rough him up. There is an obvious message being sent out to the rest of the comp that he's managing it fine & it's not hampering him. My hope is that the shoulder injury is actually a hoax & they've just had us all on a ride!
Don't entirely disagree with your comments about Martin, but I think some consideration is needed as I think it's his job to run down kickers etc, which would be a major contributor to a higher number of missed tackles.
 

GongPanther

Referee
Messages
28,281
Wow, news reporters just make up constant dribble.
Crichton had a decent game at the back and now apparently he is Tom Turbo 2.0

Turbo has always been a good player, but that 1st SOO match, all he did was back up for the last pass and score. Same with the 2nd game. The media took away the spotlight of the play makers of those two games. Was glad we lost the third match being that Turbo was nowhere to be seen.
 

Girds89

Bench
Messages
2,852
Turbo has always been a good player, but that 1st SOO match, all he did was back up for the last pass and score. Same with the 2nd game. The media took away the spotlight of the play makers of those two games. Was glad we lost the third match being that Turbo was nowhere to be seen.
Game 1
3 tries
215m
1 linebreak
1 try assist
5 tackle breaks

Game 2
1 try
180m
1 line break
1 lnie break assist
7 tackle busts

Game 3
166m
1 line break
2 tackle busts

Id say overall he was very deserving of the wally lewis medal and was absolutley brilliant in game 1 and 2 and still strong in game 3 where the halfs were pathetic.

Latrell was our next best closely followed by nath.

I think if wed won game 3 with nath there itd have been a toss up for the medal between the three of them who were all great
 

Munky

Coach
Messages
10,193
Gets them where it counts. He's now acknowledged as the best 13 in the game, and there are some good ones. Got the better of Cam Murray last night.

Second most important player in our attacking scheme.

Tackles one to three in the opposition half he controls the attack. Run or pass and makes the right decision every time.

Has become the player Bryce Cartwright should be.
 
Messages
3,615
Yeah he is going terrible. Just won his 19th game, an equal Penrith record, from 22 starts this season. Will have the Penrith record for wins as of next round. Has beaten coaching greats Bennet 2 from 2, Robinson 2 from 2, Bellamy 1 from 2 this season as well. Has developed a fantastic team first culture, has the team believing in themselves and with a such a great attitude that allows for them to still come back from being outplayed and 12 points down to putting on 25 unanswered points.

Im surprised their are not calls or him to be sacked
The one thing that I am most in awe about with Ivan is that we have such a young, in many ways emotional team, and there are very rarely shockers. The level of consistency is amazing. Many people think we are too dour and Ivan is too conservative, but that consistency is based on a pretty simple game plan that revolves around a defender that is amazing.
 

franklin2323

Immortal
Messages
33,546
The one thing that I am most in awe about with Ivan is that we have such a young, in many ways emotional team, and there are very rarely shockers. The level of consistency is amazing. Many people think we are too dour and Ivan is too conservative, but that consistency is based on a pretty simple game plan that revolves around a defender that is amazing.

I don't mind him being dour. What I do mind is when he tries to be too clever
 
Messages
3,615
Wow, news reporters just make up constant dribble.
Crichton had a decent game at the back and now apparently he is Tom Turbo 2.0

Based on what Ennis said. The guy can’t remember what he says one week to the next; last week he was talking up Edwards.

He’s bad but not Blocker bad. Who is the best big man in league Blocker? It’s generally the one that took the last hit-up…
 

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