Rumours and Stuff

[Poupou Escobar]

What have I told you about picking on outside backs, in particular in defense, when they are playing in a bad team?

You should know better. Is he a good defender. No idea. He isn't in a good enough team at the moment for me to give you a definitive answer on that.

But if I had to make a guess at this stage, I would say he is average for a centre, but not bad and at least he isn't prone to make absolute meals of assessing the situation or repeated hit but not stick attempts.

He is just a suggestion if we could get him at the right price. He is just coming into his best years, has a bit of toe and with a better team around him who knows he could end up a quality centre. The point though is we need change out wide and speed is the missing magic ingredient. Savage though is the one I would really like us to have a shot at. He could be anything.

Just don't go thinking fast players are without weaknesses. Remember we used to have Bevan French in our team. High quality players with speed are very expensive. The Bulldogs have paid a fortune for JAC ffs.

 

[T.S Quint]

Parra fans in 2013: “Gee it would be awesome if we were a consistent top 4 team.”

Parra fans in 2021: “NOT f**kING GOOD ENOUGH!”

 

[TheRam]

If you're complaining because we don't have the best team in the comp with zero weaknesses you should apply for a job with all of the clubs who also don't have such a team. I'm sure they'd love some easy solutions, which is all you offer.

You definitely are not a can do kind of man. The point little Pou is that we should always be striving to be the best team in the comp. Only loses don't. Most things generally call for simple and or easy solutions. No need to reinvent the freakin the great Australian pie mate.

Just add sauce.

 

[TheParraboy]

Talking to people much more experienced in tactics than me, suggest that the real issue is that we play a compressed defence wherever we are on the field.

The compressed defence played in their half works as it makes the opposition have to try and go wide to get distance. Then the tactic is to fan out wider as you move back into your own half, if you continue to play compressed then quick shifts wide can get the defence caught in an overlap problem. Seems to me it’s probably not that simple, but if your defence coach preaches compressed wherever you are, then it makes sense that you can get caught out wide more often than you should.

No doubt there are other opinions, but I tend to trust the coaches that have pointed it out.

Thats a fair point

When we tried to go around Manly it looked like they had 3 on 2 on the edges, so the play went nowhere. We did try a lot of inside ball trying to catch them out , id say maybe 10 inside balls in the match, to runners inside Manlys 20, all got read and tackled easily

Sitting behind the goal posts, our compressed defense stands out like a sore thumb. Manly didnt attack the edges on tackle one or two like we probably would have done, they went up the middle with a power game first few tackles, suckered defenders in on an already compressed defense, then away they went to their left , with breaks at ease with an over lap each time

As a few have already mentioned on here, it was better coaching

 

[Poupou Escobar]

You definitely are not a can do kind of man. The point little Pou is that we should always be striving to be the best team in the comp. Only loses don't. Most things generally call for simple and or easy solutions. No need to reinvent the freakin the great Australian pie mate.

Just add sauce.

I'm sure we are striving to be the best team in the comp, no different to any other club. Whether a club gets there is a matter of resources.

As for me, nothing I do is going to make Parra the best team in the comp. I focus on making myself the best Pou I can be. One way I can be the best is by understanding the things that interest me, rather than whinging about them.

 

[Happy MEel]

True, but Waqa only played in Round 1, 10 & 11.

...and we’ve conceded an average of 20.7 points across those three games, as opposed to just 13.5 points without the turnstile. Smallish sample size but that’s quite a difference.

 

[TheRam]

Just don't go thinking fast players are without weaknesses. Remember we used to have Bevan French in our team. High quality players with speed are very expensive. The Bulldogs have paid a fortune for JAC ffs.

Never said they didn't mate. But there are some in the lower grades that stand out, so we need to be ruthless and identify one or two of the better ones and almost ready for NRL, since we don't seem to have any that are close to ready right now and try to bring them here.

That is what the better clubs do when they have identified a weakness in their roster.

 

[Twizzle]

we're definitely too compressed close to the line or defending in out half, you only had to see how easy it was for Manly to run around Fergo with a 1 and 2 men overlap, even when Paulo was on the bench, so yeh, its still Paulo's fault tho

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Thats a fair point

When we tried to go around Manly it looked like they had 3 on 2 on the edges, so the play went nowhere. We did try a lot of inside ball trying to catch them out , id say maybe 10 inside balls in the match, to runners inside Manlys 20, all got read and tackled easily

This isn't a problem in itself. A defence forced to do this over and over will eventually make a mistake. Against our pack they will invariably run out of juice, but not if we lose patience and change tactics.

Sitting behind the goal posts, our compressed defense stands out like a sore thumb. Manly didnt attack the edges on tackle one or two like we probably would have done, they went up the middle with a power game first few tackles, suckered defenders in on an already compressed defense, then away they went to their left , with breaks at ease with an over lap each time

As a few have already mentioned on here, it was better coaching

Arthur's has a winning record vs Hasler. Perhaps he's just consistently had better squads than Hasler?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

...and we’ve conceded an average of 20.7 points across those three games, as opposed to just 13.5 points without the turnstile. Smallish sample size but that’s quite a difference.

In two of those games we had Jake Arthur in the line rather than Dylan Brown. Might that have been a factor?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

we're definitely too compressed close to the line or defending in out half, you only had to see how easy it was for Manly to run around Fergo with a 1 and 2 men overlap, even when Paulo was on the bench, so yeh, its still Paulo's fault tho

The defenders covering for Paulo don't lose their fatigue when he leaves the field.

 

[Twizzle]

The defenders covering for Paulo don't lose their fatigue when he leaves the field.

not as fatigued as the merkins covering for Blake

Paulo is the least of our concerns

 

[84 Baby]

As for me, nothing I do is going to make Parra the best team in the comp.

Not with that attitude, you won’t.

 

[gaffer]

Merkin is a noun.

i thought it was an adjective

 

[TheRam]

I'm sure we are striving to be the best team in the comp, no different to any other club. Whether a club gets there is a matter of resources.

As for me, nothing I do is going to make Parra the best team in the comp. I focus on making myself the best Pou I can be. One way I can be the best is by understanding the things that interest me, rather than whinging about them.

Well you certainly are a great Pou. Most on here would say you couldn't of done any better.

Job well done mate.

I enjoy having a critic on football which interests me too. You may think that is me just whinging, but for me it is a release and gives me an avenue to enjoy the game even further. And boy after a performance like last weekends by our team don't we all need to blow off some steam?

Oh not you of course, you can just go back to lighting your pipe and having a good puff or two to settle those nerves good man.

The rest of us humans need a little help from our mate Johnny(Walker) and a few well said expletives along the way to settle us down.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

not as fatigued as the merkins covering for Blake

The only one who could possibly cover for Blake is the bloke outside him. Defensive work rate isn't a problem out wide.

Paulo is the least of our concerns

Why do you think he played so few minutes in Origin?

 

[yy_cheng]

In two of those games we had Jake Arthur in the line rather than Dylan Brown. Might that have been a factor?

Well it shows that Wonga is shit with JA.

Maybe have Marata this week at Right Centre and rest Wonga.

Next week, he can come back and play next to Dyl

 

[Twizzle]

Defensive work rate isn't a problem out wide.

did you watch the Manly game at all ?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Oh not you of course, you can just go back to lighting your pipe and having a good puff or two to settle those nerves good man.

 

[Happy MEel]

In two of those games we had Jake Arthur in the line rather than Dylan Brown. Might that have been a factor?

Probably had a bit to do with it, but we still conceded 16 points against the f**king broncos in the other game where Drown was in the line.

regardless of who is defending inside him, he shouldn’t be in no man’s land marking no one and missing that many tackles when you get decent initial contact. That’s purely on him, which IMO makes him a reserve grader. Flashy footwork, though rarely used as an attacking advantage, and no idea in defence.