I found these comments posted by a Shelly/Parrastew on TCT interesting about what when wrong last year:
“Thank you for this analysis. I would say an additional factor with these stats is the terrible influence referees in the first half of the season had on the game. The game was slower with more stoppages, this favoured teams like Panthers, St George, Warriors and the Tigers who liked to offload as this was the only way to make a break in the game. It was no surprise to me that when the referees backed off and more fatigue came into the game the above 4 teams dropped quickly down the ladder. It hurt teams like Parra and the Cowboys, even the Storm early on, who had in previous years relied upon momentum being created with quick play the balls to shift the ball wide with a retreating defensive line. In the first half of 2018 whenever a team got momentum the opposition stood offside to give a penalty so they could reset. The refs thought they were hurting the defensive team but in reality they were helping and rewarding them. For us this was disastrous. We could not generate offloads and with little fatigue in the game + missing a semi type back, our smaller pack got crunched and then we got injuries in the forwards to compound this. By the time the referees backed off and our forward pack got back on the park, the whole team, club really, was shellshocked and started playing not to lose. We had no confidence in attack, had all the gossip in the papers etc etc
I like who we have recruited + the type of players being elevated into the team. But as always the big elephant in the room is what instructions the referees will be given about the ‘ flow’ of the game. Hopefully we have planned better and are more balanced in our squad to deal with whatever decision the NRL make.”
“I completely agree with Shelly. Parra seemed to set up a fast and mobile pack for 2018 that could keep the pace up for 80 minutes. Which is what the NRL portrayed the 2018 game would be, then the season started and the refereeing made it into a very stop start game giving the big packs the rest time they needed and the opportunity to pound the smaller packs into the ground. This lead to injuries and lost confidence, it is an excuse for a poor season but would have been interesting to see Parras season if the game was fast flowing from the start of the season.”
https://thecumberlandthrow.com/2018/12/02/stat-attack-summer-edition-unlocking-a-key-statistic/
