Rumours and Stuff

[hindy111]

A bit soft too.

Strider?

 

[gaffer]

That whole play is the fault of the halves not having a clue or any symbiotic relationship with the rest of the team. None of them were aware of anything other then they instinctively knew that they had to scramble but how to actually capitalise on South's short comings was lost to them.

That again comes down to the spine players, and in particular the halves. I keep saying it, I don't know what they are practicing and rehearsing at training every day, because come game time, they are clueless and strangers out there most of the time.

Moses in particular needs to assert himself out there with purposeful plays that he is working towards with an eventual goal in mind and part of that should be a combination of bringing his backrowers and backline into play as proper weapons against the opposition, not just skipping to the outside and or shoveling it out with a hope and a prayer.

Then the adlib stuff that he is so good at and loves will present itself off of that. It isn't rocket science, but it take a controlled and calculating mind that has the guile, patience, talent and experience to pull it off.

Moses has most of that, but may lack one or two of those traits, which will prevent him from ever consistently achieving it. We may need to wait for Arthur to be ready.

Time is ticking...

maybe johns is filling their heads up with so much stuff that they get planned moves overload

 

[strider]

Good ... f**k of

 

[Poupou Escobar]

The more I watch that... is that opening part with Moses and Nrown a set play to set up the attack down the left? If so, how it unfolded is even worse because it did actually make Souffs line a bit jagged and Reynolds against Lane but noone f**ken notices? Also I’d have Rheed where RCG catches it (or Moses has to absolutely bust a gut there) that way RCG can time a run better. That’d give another option and give Drown/Lane even more room

I don't think it was intended as a shift play. The previous play-the-ball was on the sideline so that would've been a settler back to the middle so they could reset. But the offload was there so they took it, from there it would've been a case of playing eyes up. The first bloke to make a shit decision was Lane, who should've taken Reynolds on. At the very least there would've been a quick play-the-ball at the end of it.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Engagement of the markers from our D/H will ease defensive pressure as well. The opposition know Rheed has been instructed not to run and the only time it's even a thought in his mind, following a quick ptb, he is generally moved aside by Gutho. We need more from Rheed and a little less from The King. Defences seem to know exactly what our strategy is. Hopefully Joey has a plan to improve this because BA dosent think its an issue or hasn't these past many years.

Every game plan requires the spine players to make constant decisions. None of them are told to robotically follow a script. So if there's a problem with the game plan in that area it's requiring some players to make too many decisions or to make key decisions they aren't equipped to get right.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

You may as well concede to Pou’s winning percentage being the mark of if a player is good enough.

It's nothing to do with win percentage (Stone and Oldfield both have better win rates than many better players). WPYSA18 is the stat to look at.

 

[84 Baby]

I don't think it was intended as a shift play. The previous play-the-ball was on the sideline so that would've been a settler back to the middle so they could reset. But the offload was there so they took it, from there it would've been a case of playing eyes up. The first bloke to make a shit decision was Lane, who should've taken Reynolds on. At the very least there would've been a quick play-the-ball at the end of it.

I don’t know.... Moses could either be moving into position to receive the offload as a wraparound or he could just be settling back into his position on that half of field.
And disagree the first person to make a shit decision is Drown. He should’ve also run at Reynolds. His shit decision though is mitigated by Souffs defenders also making less than perfect decisions, that are then mitigated by Lane’s shit decision. That could’ve been covered up by Menko’s good decision to not to take the ball into touch (which mitigated his shit decision to run at the sideline), had Lane not followed it up with another shit decision by also running at the sideline.
It was almost like we absolutely wanted to score that set, just not on that exact tackle.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Down could've chosen to run as well, and it wouldn't have been a bad decision, but the better call was to catch-pass early ball to Lane. That's the merkin who needed to straighten up and not even think about passing until he had committed multiple defenders. Drown could've backed up on the inside or even wrapped around.

As for Nrown's offload, there was no guarantee it would happen, or give Moses enough time to shift the ball. No way was it part of a set play. It was just a good opportunistic offload on a settler, and a good decision by Moses to both be ready for it and to shift it to a receiver not under pressure.

 

[yy_cheng]

I remember an interview with i cleary last yr after the panthers beat us, he said they already knew how to defend against our attack.

It was offloads and 2nd phase which worried him but if they could limit that, they knew they would win

 

[yy_cheng]

I read in another press thing that if sivo stays 1 more year, he can get pr but if he takes the rugby offer, he'll lose it

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I remember an interview with i cleary last yr after the panthers beat us, he said they already knew how to defend against our attack.

It was offloads and 2nd phase which worried him but if they could limit that, they knew they would win

I'll believe him when he makes his predictions before the game, not after. They certainly didn't know how to beat us at Bankwest when the ref was willing to penalise them for holding down in the ruck.

 

[Soto]

I read in another press thing that if sivo stays 1 more year, he can get pr but if he takes the rugby offer, he'll lose it

Maybe getting $2-300k more a season for the next 4 or 5 years and then returning to Fiji and buying the village maybe more attractive...a 2019 Sivo version is worth plenty and worth keeping. A 2020 version is worth letting go asap

 

[oldmancraigy]

Because he is a lazy, disinterested merkin.

Also his skills stand against him.

He is the biggest unit of big units and could be the best 2nd rower in the game if he wanted. But he doesn't want to. He wants to pretend to be a half - and he has good hands and nice skills, buuut

Run first.
Run second
Run third

No surprise his best games are when he is mentally up to running the ball.

 

[TheRam]

I just don’t feel you can burden any one player with dictating his teammates attitudes. If Moses is running around with shit in his pants, it’s his teammates jobs to realise he’s shat himself and bring him back in line, just as much in that video play he’d have every right to bring Drown and Lane back in line. Moses’ role is in decision making; responsibility and communication is everyone’s role

You may not feel it, but that is the reality of a professional team in the big leagues with a salary cap in place. Most teams only have one true playmaker that is the main orchestrator of that team. If he is not performing then the team will be out of key and you will find a trombone in the string section happening way to often, so to speak.

The players around Moses can't will or force Moses to play better, that is what I am referring to here. He has to find it within himself to be the cool, controlled professional playmaker when the going is tough and the stakes are high. He needs to have bedded down all the plays, calls and strategies that the rest of the players have practiced with him so many thousands of times that it is instinctive and seamless for them to fall into place when called.

So far he has not been able to sustain a consistent enough quality from season to season. He has had some great little stretches where he has been good to amazing and the team has flourished during those spells. But then he has regressed again and the team too has gone backwards. It is not a coincidence. He is the barometer of the team. Our fortunes lie with his ability to get it all right on the field during game time, just like the other top 4 or so teams as well.

Any of the top 4 teams have a chance of winning it, if their main playmaker ignites the rest of the team to play their best footy.
Ours so far has failed on the big stage every time. I'm really hoping that this is his year or we may have to go in another direction after all.

The clock is ticking.

Is it to much pressure put on the shoulders of one man? No that is what they are paid for to deliver and besides he wanted that roll if you remember? If he can't cope then he isn't the right man for the job. His job is to find ways around that pressure and overcome it and orchestrate well so the rest of the band can play to their potential.

 

[TheRam]

maybe johns is filling their heads up with so much stuff that they get planned moves overload

Then they are just dumb arses that will never advance or Johns is a lousy teacher. But considering we were a yo yo type of team before Johns got here, I don't think we can put all the blame on him.

If high quality players can't remember moves that they have performed countless times over the summer, then they shouldn't be in 1st grade. There are no excuses at this level of professional sport.

You can either cope or you can't. If there is a problem in the technique/method or teacher it is soon found out and adjusted. Clubs tend to try and solve issues that may arise concerning their quality playing personnel.

In other words, if there is a dumb arse or two among them, they find simpler ways to fit them into their plans, if they are worth the trouble that is of course.

 

[84 Baby]

You may not feel it, but that is the reality of a professional team in the big leagues with a salary cap in place. Most teams only have one true playmaker that is the main orchestrator of that team. If he is not performing then the team will be out of key and you will find a trombone in the string section happening way to often, so to speak.

The players around Moses can't will or force Moses to play better, that is what I am referring to here. He has to find it within himself to be the cool, controlled professional playmaker when the going is tough and the stakes are high. He needs to have bedded down all the plays, calls and strategies that the rest of the players have practiced with him so many thousands of times that it is instinctive and seamless for them to fall into place when called.

So far he has not been able to sustain a consistent enough quality from season to season. He has had some great little stretches where he has been good to amazing and the team has flourished during those spells. But then he has regressed again and the team too has gone backwards. It is not a coincidence. He is the barometer of the team. Our fortunes lie with his ability to get it all right on the field during game time, just like the other top 4 or so teams as well.

Any of the top 4 teams have a chance of winning it, if their main playmaker ignites the rest of the team to play their best footy.
Ours so far has failed on the big stage every time. I'm really hoping that this is his year or we may have to go in another direction after all.

The clock is ticking.

Is it to much pressure put on the shoulders of one man? No that is what they are paid for to deliver and besides he wanted that roll if you remember? If he can't cope then he isn't the right man for the job. His job is to find ways around that pressure and overcome it and orchestrate well so the rest of the band can play to their potential.

That is ancient thinking. Leadership GROUPS are where it’s at. Yes he probably has more sway than a Opacic or Sivo but the likes of Gutho or Matto would be as influential.
And I guess Moses is the barometer. A barometer doesn’t dictate what the pressure is to the weather, it measures the weather for pressure. If Moses is playing unconfidently, it’s because the team is either playing unconfidently or the leadership group is not doing it’s job in leading Moses.
If we lump everything on Moses, we completely live and die at his whim. Thankfully it is obviously not the case because we finished 3rd in a year where he played fairly crap

 

[84 Baby]

Then they are just dumb arses that will never advance or Johns is a lousy teacher. But considering we were a yo yo type of team before Johns got here, I don't think we can put all the blame on him.

If high quality players can't remember moves that they have performed countless times over the summer, then they shouldn't be in 1st grade. There are no excuses at this level of professional sport.

You can either cope or you can't. If there is a problem in the technique/method or teacher it is soon found out and adjusted. Clubs tend to try and solve issues that may arise concerning their quality playing personnel.

In other words, if there is a dumb arse or two among them, they find simpler ways to fit them into their plans, if they are worth the trouble that is of course.

I think there’s some tweaking required between Johns’ coaching and the greater game plan. There was talk yesterday of our propensity to shift wide after an offload. That’s 100% Johns’ influence, he prattles on about it in commentary. Which in itself probably doesn’t help as he highlights to oppositions what we will do (unless it’s a con and really we want them to think that). But it doesn’t mean it’s always the right thing to do in terms of the game plan

 

[Obscene Assassin]

I think there’s some tweaking required between Johns’ coaching and the greater game plan. There was talk yesterday of our propensity to shift wide after an offload. That’s 100% Johns’ influence, he prattles on about it in commentary. Which in itself probably doesn’t help as he highlights to oppositions what we will do (unless it’s a con and really we want them to think that). But it doesn’t mean it’s always the right thing to do in terms of the game plan

We were shifting wide off an offload in 2019, before Johns started coaching us. I thought we shifted less from offloads in 2020 than we did in 2019

 

[hindy111]

You may not feel it, but that is the reality of a professional team in the big leagues with a salary cap in place. Most teams only have one true playmaker that is the main orchestrator of that team. If he is not performing then the team will be out of key and you will find a trombone in the string section happening way to often, so to speak.

The players around Moses can't will or force Moses to play better, that is what I am referring to here. He has to find it within himself to be the cool, controlled professional playmaker when the going is tough and the stakes are high. He needs to have bedded down all the plays, calls and strategies that the rest of the players have practiced with him so many thousands of times that it is instinctive and seamless for them to fall into place when called.

So far he has not been able to sustain a consistent enough quality from season to season. He has had some great little stretches where he has been good to amazing and the team has flourished during those spells. But then he has regressed again and the team too has gone backwards. It is not a coincidence. He is the barometer of the team. Our fortunes lie with his ability to get it all right on the field during game time, just like the other top 4 or so teams as well.

Any of the top 4 teams have a chance of winning it, if their main playmaker ignites the rest of the team to play their best footy.
Ours so far has failed on the big stage every time. I'm really hoping that this is his year or we may have to go in another direction after all.

The clock is ticking.

Is it to much pressure put on the shoulders of one man? No that is what they are paid for to deliver and besides he wanted that roll if you remember? If he can't cope then he isn't the right man for the job. His job is to find ways around that pressure and overcome it and orchestrate well so the rest of the band can play to their potential.

I don't think we can. We lack any sort of an X factor player. Our 2nd rowers seem more workman like. Our centres look barely serviceable. And if our wingers give us 2020 form then I doubt we even make the top 8.
You build a side you need atleast one forward or two who can bust the line. Look at the Panthers,Souths,Roosters,Storm,Raiders. They have forwards who bust the line. Ours are meter eaters with offloads.

Souths have Cook,Latrell,Walker and Murray who can bust the line. Panthers have Kikau,Too,Critchton,Korisau. Storm have Puppenhoosen,Grant,Kafusi,Ado Carr.....

Who do we have? Nobody really. A bunch of hard working players. I reckon the only way we win the comp is by having legit the best defense in comp and playing an extremely slow, repetitive,grinding style of game with a great kick chase and controlling game. And ramp up the offloads. Think how the Bulldogs had success many of times. Grit and hunger. I just don't think we have the talent tbh. Maybe others see something else in this squad.

Unsure why people rate LANE and MATTERSON so highly.

 

[Eelementary]

I don't think we can. We lack any sort of an X factor player. Our 2nd rowers seem more workman like. Our centres look barely serviceable. And if our wingers give us 2020 form then I doubt we even make the top 8.
You build a side you need atleast one forward or two who can bust the line. Look at the Panthers,Souths,Roosters,Storm,Raiders. They have forwards who bust the line. Ours are meter eaters with offloads.

Souths have Cook,Latrell,Walker and Murray who can bust the line. Panthers have Kikau,Too,Critchton,Korisau. Storm have Puppenhoosen,Grant,Kafusi,Ado Carr.....

Who do we have? Nobody really. A bunch of hard working players. I reckon the only way we win the comp is by having legit the best defense in comp and playing an extremely slow, repetitive,grinding style of game with a great kick chase and controlling game. And ramp up the offloads. Think how the Bulldogs had success many of times. Grit and hunger. I just don't think we have the talent tbh. Maybe others see something else in this squad.

Unsure why people rate LANE and MATTERSON so highly.

Fair points.

But I think it is fair to call Ryan Matterson one of the top edge forwards in the game; he doesn't bust the line like Kikau, but he can definitely make a line break.

He can offload.

He can kick.

He is a brilliant defender.

He has pace.

As for Lane, on paper, he is a great attacking player.