To me if the attacking plan is just going to be to plays what’s in front of you, we need to do more to sort out the defence. Playing percentage footy needs structure at both ends, and our defence early on in games is pathetic. Particularly the left side.
Focus should go back to just defence, forget about attack, it’s not going to happen under Griffin.
I don’t think it is a defensive issue, so much as it is poor decision making and errors (both in handing and penalties) early in games and usually in back to back fashion, resulting in us handover ball in good field position to opposition teams .
The tries have come against a weight of possession - I actually think the circumstances we have weathered in the first few weeks show excellent defence, particularly given that we are doing it against fresh opposition who are coming out of the sheds with energy.
One of the most important aspects of good defense is good fitness - that’s the only way you can make tackle after tackle consecutively. The other is good decision making - we seem to mostly be getting that right but could still do with better defensive decision making out wide.
Teams are not busting us in the middle.
Our weakness is mostly limited to Mansour’s edge. I’d hazard a guess that he is responsible for a significant percentage of the tries we have conceded this season. His positioning and inability to turn and chase is costing us. He has lost one foot of pace since his ACL injury and it is exposing him in defence
