TomRedVRiver
Bench
- Messages
- 3,693
Okay, I have a few things to vent about our season so far so apologies in advance...
Attack - Non existent. I'm not really sure what we're doing with our attack this year and to be honest with you i'm not even sure the players know what they're doing either. When you look at clubs like Melbourne or Canberra they are ALL deep, running onto the ball at speed. They know their plays, they've got them nailed and all players are communicating efficiently and effectively. If you watch our structures, we look SO flat. Nobody is running onto the ball, no-one is running to the line and it's giving the defence enough time to slide and pick us off easily. The players don't look comfortable with the plays either. 4 out of 5 plays close to the line is a forward hitting it up, there's no creativity, and even when we try and spread it, the play is either defused by a sloppy pass or there's no depth. It's maddening, and it NEVER changes. When you look at our backline there's actually some skill and speed there now with our centres and players like Frizell and Thompson on the edges, but that's not translating into points because the players aren't gelling and don't seem comfortable. And for f**k sake can somebody please tell McGregor to stop using Jack De Belin as a halfback and just let him have a dig at the line.
We're also missing a ball-playing fullback. Dugan is awesome, we can all admit that, but the top teams all have that ball-playing element at the back and it just provides so much more than a damaging running fullback. So many times we could have created an overlap in spread plays if Dugan knew how to pass, but didn't.
Defence - We're giving away too many metres in the middle. We are susceptible to an offload which is what teams have picked up on. Big forward packs tend to dominate us and so do skilful forward packs who hit-up in pairs and throw an offload to pick up more metres. Our defence on the line can be quite good, we've actually got some heavy hitters in the middle and on the edges, but through the middle third we just leak too many metres. The players heads tend to go down when they're trailing as well. If momentum shifts (which I admit is hard to get back), we have no answer. Points tend to pile up on us when things aren't going our way, there's no fight back and no heart. This is an attitude thing I believe which leads back to the coach.
Coaching - Paul McGregor is not a first grade standard coach. He seems to consistently shift blame onto others when things go wrong and he doesn't seem to be getting the best out of his players. As much as it pains me to say this, players like Euan Aitken, Jack De Belin, Gareth Widdop and Tyson Frizell would all EXCEL at other clubs. We seem to be the team that everyone thinks player's development goes to die, and you know what, that's not too far from the truth lately. Our attacking structures are flat and predictable and not only that, they're not changing at all. Our defence in the middle third is sloppy and nobody is working for each other.
Our Board will deny it, but it's obvious that they're a jobs for the boys kind of Board. With McGregor, Head, Hornby and Young all picking up jobs. Yes sure, Head is doing well with the 20s, but you have to admit a lot of you probably rolled your eyes when you heard he got the job, and it's important to note that our 20s team this year is very good roster. We need a COMPLETE overhaul, Board and Coaching staff. If we can somehow pick up Ivan Cleary and just let him bring in his staff and do his thing, it will honestly be the best thing that has happened to this club.
Nothing has changed all year, nothing. We have glimpses of what this team can be but it's never consistent, we can never back it up. Some big decisions need to be made next year and I fear those in charge don't have the balls or the intelligence to make them. So for now, it's been real guys. See you next year.
Attack - Non existent. I'm not really sure what we're doing with our attack this year and to be honest with you i'm not even sure the players know what they're doing either. When you look at clubs like Melbourne or Canberra they are ALL deep, running onto the ball at speed. They know their plays, they've got them nailed and all players are communicating efficiently and effectively. If you watch our structures, we look SO flat. Nobody is running onto the ball, no-one is running to the line and it's giving the defence enough time to slide and pick us off easily. The players don't look comfortable with the plays either. 4 out of 5 plays close to the line is a forward hitting it up, there's no creativity, and even when we try and spread it, the play is either defused by a sloppy pass or there's no depth. It's maddening, and it NEVER changes. When you look at our backline there's actually some skill and speed there now with our centres and players like Frizell and Thompson on the edges, but that's not translating into points because the players aren't gelling and don't seem comfortable. And for f**k sake can somebody please tell McGregor to stop using Jack De Belin as a halfback and just let him have a dig at the line.
We're also missing a ball-playing fullback. Dugan is awesome, we can all admit that, but the top teams all have that ball-playing element at the back and it just provides so much more than a damaging running fullback. So many times we could have created an overlap in spread plays if Dugan knew how to pass, but didn't.
Defence - We're giving away too many metres in the middle. We are susceptible to an offload which is what teams have picked up on. Big forward packs tend to dominate us and so do skilful forward packs who hit-up in pairs and throw an offload to pick up more metres. Our defence on the line can be quite good, we've actually got some heavy hitters in the middle and on the edges, but through the middle third we just leak too many metres. The players heads tend to go down when they're trailing as well. If momentum shifts (which I admit is hard to get back), we have no answer. Points tend to pile up on us when things aren't going our way, there's no fight back and no heart. This is an attitude thing I believe which leads back to the coach.
Coaching - Paul McGregor is not a first grade standard coach. He seems to consistently shift blame onto others when things go wrong and he doesn't seem to be getting the best out of his players. As much as it pains me to say this, players like Euan Aitken, Jack De Belin, Gareth Widdop and Tyson Frizell would all EXCEL at other clubs. We seem to be the team that everyone thinks player's development goes to die, and you know what, that's not too far from the truth lately. Our attacking structures are flat and predictable and not only that, they're not changing at all. Our defence in the middle third is sloppy and nobody is working for each other.
Our Board will deny it, but it's obvious that they're a jobs for the boys kind of Board. With McGregor, Head, Hornby and Young all picking up jobs. Yes sure, Head is doing well with the 20s, but you have to admit a lot of you probably rolled your eyes when you heard he got the job, and it's important to note that our 20s team this year is very good roster. We need a COMPLETE overhaul, Board and Coaching staff. If we can somehow pick up Ivan Cleary and just let him bring in his staff and do his thing, it will honestly be the best thing that has happened to this club.
Nothing has changed all year, nothing. We have glimpses of what this team can be but it's never consistent, we can never back it up. Some big decisions need to be made next year and I fear those in charge don't have the balls or the intelligence to make them. So for now, it's been real guys. See you next year.
