Round 7 v Warriors at WIN

[Illusion]

Notice this as well ...... Big difference ........

The camaraderie is the standout for me. Seeing some of the new recruits like RFM and Sele grinning like Cheshire Cats through the whole game is just amazing. The whole team is just really enjoying playing with each other

 

[Dragon the chain]

My take on the game.
1. Good performance from all of the 17, minimal errors, of course spine and higher paid players earned their keep..but
2. Shout out to JDB and BMM (dont care how many minutes he played) they changed the game in the 1st half when come on with how hard they run, others made incisive good runs but those 2 had more impact.
3. Aside from penalties / 6 agains which goes both ways, I would love to get the 50 / 50's at home including forward passes as Egan / Johnson left a couple out there and bounce of the ball stuff. Was DWZ's a try ball on line?.
4. All in good defense when they came into our half
5. Sua prefers right side, so Luc back to left + Birdy for Nu Brown on bench are the changes I would made

Negatives -
1.we still allow too many metres in the middle for the opposition coming out of our end whether it is not strong enough contact or sitting back defensively (not sure that is our plan to come up a bit and slide.?)
2. I am being harsh but at 30-6 and Warriors on the ropes I did not think we went on with the performance and lost concentration last 15-20, not helped by Sutton decisions. F & A is important especially where we were a few weeks ago.

I think you're right in your observations (Tkake 4.) that we mostly defend the tryline pretty well, but (Negative 1.) we need to improve on defending at the other end. Sometimes the problem is contact, but the main problem is lack of line speed, lack of desperation to get back to marker or back into the line after tackling, and lack of commitment to complete the tackle and win the wrestle. But all of this is connected. The other thing that is connected is that a strong kick chase is needed first. Our kicking game was poor at the beginning of the Warriors game, but it improved after about 20 minutes.

 

[Wolfgang90]

very good and differing views on the game.

my General Observations:

- Our defensive line speed for the first 10-15mins was shit, allowed nz to roll up the field.
- Goal line defence was amazing, comes down to attitude & communication.
- Back 5 were great both with & without the ball.
- Bench impact was amazing

Player Observations

- Zac was amazing again.
- Su'a nailed his role.
- BMM offered impact in his limited mins
- Sele looked better

Areas to improve:

- Defensive line speed, back 5 do all the hard carries so it's on the defence to improve their line speed
- Better starts
- Let Kyle kick the ball a bit more (too hunt heavy & his kicking is inconsistent)

Future:

- Where does bird fit? IMO this back 5 was better.
- Where does Luciano play? Su'a has gunned it on the left & our team looks better with Su'a on the left.

 

[Wolfgang90]

Absolutely, Lawrie finding his front and getting the quick play the ball is part of why the next runner makes an impact, but let's not interrupt a Lawrie bashing party shall we.

Folks we are in the top 8. I like it here, let's stay a while. Happy Saturday!

I've noticed Lawrie has tried to find his front quicker in the last 2 games, imo under instructions from the coaches. If he can also incorporate his angled runs aimed towards the back of the markers then he could turn into an effective bench prop.

Please explain why some players can’t do shitty tough carries and why this is a skill? I think Lomax gets too involved & in the forwards way with shitty tough carries but I guess he takes some of their workload and as long as it doesn’t effect his game I guess it’s ok. Not being critical of your comment D&Y just interested why a Couchman or others we can promote can’t at least do this.

Panthers back 5 role is to do the hard/shitty carries to allow for their middles to conserve energy for defence (line speed & lateral movement). Imo our strategy is similar, our backs are doing the job while the middles are inconsistent with their line speed.

This is why Lomax makes multiple carries & he's got the fitness base to do it too.

 

[Dribble&Yarn]

Please explain why some players can’t do shitty tough carries and why this is a skill? I think Lomax gets too involved & in the forwards way with shitty tough carries but I guess he takes some of their workload and as long as it doesn’t effect his game I guess it’s ok. Not being critical of your comment D&Y just interested why a Couchman or others we can promote can’t at least do this.

it's a skill, because all good teams need someone who's going to do the dirty work, the shit carries to get hammered, all so the team can get a roll on. Lomax being so active really helps our forwards, realistically we need our middles to be better defenders, so allowing them more energy for this is essential.
Why would we want anyone else doing the shit stuff? Couchman x2 are both skillful and have lots of potential to do so much more, we shouldn't waste them doing that sort of stuff. It's a role perfect for the nut trucker in Lawrie.

 

[Dribble&Yarn]

There are several reasons why BMM is less suited to those tough carries. But for anyone who is curious have a look at his last couple of carries in the match- which aren't even particularly tough- when he is tiring and you'll get the idea. The main thing is the different roles. BMM comes on for a few minutes either side of halftime to have a few wrecking ball carries. He is big and fast and is a real handful with a head of steam. We don't want to waste his limited energy on the tough carries that he won't do better than Lawrie, the other middles, or the OBs.

100% agree. BMM at his best just running hard at tiring middles and being explosive. Lawrie doing all the shit ones makes complete sense given his limitations otherwise. It's just frustrating when people criticise Lawrie for this, without looking at the whole picture. Easy to do when we win, will be interesting to see comments on this exact topic if we are to lose.

 

[Hound of Dracula]

100% agree. BMM at his best just running hard at tiring middles and being explosive. Lawrie doing all the shit ones makes complete sense given his limitations otherwise. It's just frustrating when people criticise Lawrie for this, without looking at the whole picture. Easy to do when we win, will be interesting to see comments on this exact topic if we are to lose.

I've stayed well out of the Lawrie debate as I don't really have the examples, or argument, to sway either way. I can see both sides of the equation.

If he keeps the errors to an absolute minimum he's ok by me

 

[Dribble&Yarn]

I've stayed well out of the Lawrie debate as I don't really have the examples, or argument, to sway either way. I can see both sides of the equation.

If he keeps the errors to an absolute minimum he's ok by me

yeah fair enough mate. if he keeps giving stupid penalties and errors, then it definitely changes my thoughts and makes it harder to defend him

 

[Slippery Morris]

Great performance by the boys. I did not see that coming as I rate the Warriors highly and think they are a very well coached team but Saints definitely played the better footy and deserved the win.

Loved Sloan's try, how good was it to see a Saints long range try. Feels like I have not seen one in a while. Still scarred from last year or was it the year before when Moga I think it was took and intercept and looked like he was running on a treadmill (poor bloke) until a player from the opposition caught up to him near half way.

The Bench was great especially JDB and BMM. All 17 were great you could not really fault anyone.

We finally have a football team that is a chance of making finals. Took a while but we finally got one. Go the Dragons.

Looking forward to taking on the Chooks. This time last year I was expecting a flogging and not expecting much where as this year it is shaping up to be a cracker. Chooks loosing will make them hungry so Saints will need to be on their game.

 

[FlickFlano]

sharks in 2 weeks time may be a different beast too.

 

[Overseadragon]

Maybe now no Finucane and the 5/8 is off the scene for a few weeks time for the mighty gummy sharks to fall down a peg or two

 

[True_Believer]

Loved Sloan's try, how good was it to see a Saints long range try. Feels like I have not seen one in a while.

There were a couple last year. Suli's against the Roosters was probably the most memorable one.

 

[KogarahWarrior]

Team list same as last week although Bird is in the reserves. If he plays at centre I shall riot

 

[Dragon the chain]

Maybe now no Finucane and the 5/8 is off the scene for a few weeks time for the mighty gummy sharks to fall down a peg or two

Finucane is not a loss on the field for them. He was kind of done. Good leader aroun the group, though. Adam Dykes' son comes in for Trindall. He's a good player.

 

[Dragon the chain]

Team list same as last week although Bird is in the reserves. If he plays at centre I shall riot

We'll know at 4:05 this arvo when they drop 3 players.

Either way, the fact that he's in the 22 suggests that he's eligible (I don't understand the 11 day rule but he was on the cusp).