Team v Knights

[Meth]

1- Nicoll-Klokstad
2- Watene-Zelezniak
3- Pompey
4- Tuivasa-Sheck
5- Kosi
6- Walker
7- Johnson
8- Fonua-Blake
9- Egan
10- Maiu'u
11- Ford
12- Laban
13- Harris

Res- Barnett, Ale, Going, Martin

 

[Meth]

Berry needs to go back and work on defence. That side has been poor for a few weeks now.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

I’m a Warriors fan for life of course, but I’m dialling it back to ‘disenchanted fan of a shit club’ levels for a while. We have played like shit this whole year so far. Webster doesn’t have any special magic to offer and some of what he’s coaching is holding us back. SJ didn’t suddenly stop being SJ. We’re just not very good.

 

[JJ]

I’m a Warriors fan for life of course, but I’m dialling it back to ‘disenchanted fan of a shit club’ levels for a while. We have played like shit this whole year so far. Webster doesn’t have any special magic to offer and some of what he’s coaching is holding us back. SJ didn’t suddenly stop being SJ. We’re just not very good.

Seems very formulaic plod atm

need sone punch from the bench, obviously Niukore would help there, but like many I’d be keen on starting AFB or Barnett from the bench, and ensuring one is always on the field

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Seems very formulaic plod atm

need sone punch from the bench, obviously Niukore would help there, but like many I’d be keen on starting AFB or Barnett from the bench, and ensuring one is always on the field

Honestly maybe we do win with Niukore and one or two of our other injured players. We could’ve even won if we got a couple of calls. Regardless, with the team we had on the field the performance wasn’t good enough, it was very ‘12th place team missing a few players’ standard. I’m very disappointed with everything about the way we are playing, irrespective of whether we win close or lose close. I don’t see any signs of a good team there.

 

[JJ]

Honestly maybe we do win with Niukore and one or two of our other injured players. We could’ve even won if we got a couple of calls. Regardless, with the team we had on the field the performance wasn’t good enough, it was very ‘12th place team missing a few players’ standard. I’m very disappointed with everything about the way we are playing, irrespective of whether we win close or lose close. I don’t see any signs of a good team there.

Pretty strong agree atm

 

[Leber]

We actually don’t have the cattle right now to make wholesale changes. No CHT, capewell, jazz, metcalf, afoa, Niukore. Those players in the squad today and we prob get the win.

only thing I’d potentially do is swap Pompey for berry (to work on his D) and going in for roache. There’s no point in having roache on the bench. Laban looked gassed early on and having another second rower that could come on would have been helpful. Walker can be on the bench in case a half/hooker goes down.

also, we 100 percent can’t have Barnett and afb off at the same time. Lose all go forward. That’s why I’d start ale and have adb come
On after 20 min and play the whole game.

1 cnk
2 dwz
3 Pompey
4 rts
5 Montoya
6 tmm
7 Johnson
8 ale
9 Egan
10 Barnett
11 ford
12 Laban
13 Harris

14 walker
15 going
16 afb
17 maiau’u

that team might get us home against the knights, but not against a top team.

 

[Blair]

1- Nicoll-Klokstad
2- Watene-Zelezniak
3- Pompey
4- Tuivasa-Sheck
5- Kosi
6- Walker
7- Johnson
8- Fonua-Blake
9- Egan
10- Maiu'u
11- Ford
12- Laban
13- Harris

Res- Barnett, Ale, Going, Martin

I think Walker lacks pace and is too ill-disciplined to play such a pivotal role. He could use footwork and guise, I suppose, but that still leaves him prone to penalties and errors.

 

[Meth]

I think Walker lacks pace and is too ill-disciplined to play such a pivotal role. He could use footwork and guise, I suppose, but that still leaves him prone to penalties and errors.

I'll take footwork and guise.

I think he's the sort of character that will get the ball in hand and do something with it. Martin won't create anything- he's a support runner. We need to unlock RTS and I think Walker has a better chance of doing it.

 

[shinobi]

I'll take footwork and guise.

I think he's the sort of character that will get the ball in hand and do something with it. Martin won't create anything- he's a support runner. We need to unlock RTS and I think Walker has a better chance of doing it.

Walker seemed to be playing first receiver and trying to actually set people up more so than Te Maire

 

[Wheeled Warrior]

01. CNK
02. DWZ
03. Pompey
04. Leiataua
05. RTS
06. TMM
07. SJ
08. AFB
09. Egan
15. Ale
11. Ford
12. Laban
13. Harris

14. Walker
10. Barnett
16. Maiu'u
17. Going

18. Roache

19. TSS
20. Halasima
21. Montoya
22. Berry

 

[Meth]

Not sure Capewell will be back so soon.

 

[Leber]

Off topic, but Pompey is currently playing 2nd row for the NSW cup. I wonder if he's planning a move there. They are winning too atm. Against the top of table, unbeaten Panthers.

 

[Meth]

Off topic, but Pompey is currently playing 2nd row for the NSW cup. I wonder if he's planning a move there. They are winning too atm. Against the top of table, unbeaten Panthers.

maybe wanting him to be able to play there off the bench

 

[Wheeled Warrior]

Not sure Capewell will be back so soon.

True my bad. Going to bench. Laban to starting.

 

[Hov]

Don't understand a lot of the opinions re dropping Berry. Our problem is our defensive intent in our forwards once we get past the 20 min mark. We just don't have good defensive forwards available for the interchange bench due to injury. When you think Jazz bunty capewell and niukore they are great defenders who can control that ruck and slow it down. Just gotta ride the injury wave and expose the likes of Laban and Maiuu to what is required at 1st grade level. I just don't understand dropping a centre to fix our forwards D issues. Fix that and our attack will improve naturally as we will have better territory and less fatigue.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

maybe wanting him to be able to play there off the bench

He certainly has the tools, size, attitude, fitness, can run hard. His only issue is lack of speed for a centre.
id consider playing him in the forwards rather than dropping Berry.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Don't understand a lot of the opinions re dropping Berry. Our problem is our defensive intent in our forwards once we get past the 20 min mark. We just don't have good defensive forwards available for the interchange bench due to injury. When you think Jazz bunty capewell and niukore they are great defenders who can control that ruck and slow it down. Just gotta ride the injury wave and expose the likes of Laban and Maiuu to what is required at 1st grade level. I just don't understand dropping a centre to fix our forwards D issues. Fix that and our attack will improve naturally as we will have better territory and less fatigue.

Yes and no. Our defensive intent is poor, but that doesn't just mean that by default we should be conceding tries because we're on the backfoot. Stats have been posted on another thread that we have an exceptionally poor record at defending inside our own 20. It is clear, and the stats reflect this, that we are very poor at defending against "good ball". It's not just that good ball leads to tries generally, it's that we are exceptionally bad against good ball. Any time the opposition gets on the front foot and throws a bit of shape at us we capitulate. That DOES come down to individual decision making and missed tackles on the edges.

This all comes back to this bad vibe I get from Webster that he's so "process focused" he's almost defeatist about actual outcomes. It's mirrored in how poor we are at both attacking and defending in the respective 20s. All Webster can talk about post-match is everything in the middle of the field leading up to the clutch moments, never the clutch moments themselves. Those clutch moments and big plays are not just inevitable outcomes of "who is winning" in the lead up, they are significant moments in and of themselves that make or break results. It's almost like Webster wants to pretend they don't exist.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

This systems-focused approach is probably the right one, I've just been waiting 30 years and am impatient....

 

[Meth]

Don't understand a lot of the opinions re dropping Berry. Our problem is our defensive intent in our forwards once we get past the 20 min mark. We just don't have good defensive forwards available for the interchange bench due to injury. When you think Jazz bunty capewell and niukore they are great defenders who can control that ruck and slow it down. Just gotta ride the injury wave and expose the likes of Laban and Maiuu to what is required at 1st grade level. I just don't understand dropping a centre to fix our forwards D issues. Fix that and our attack will improve naturally as we will have better territory and less fatigue.

yeah fair enough, I suppose. I didn't want it to be a punitive action, as much as just giving Berry a chance to take a step back and fix something up. I still see him as our best centre, but he's had a couple of bad weeks on a trot now.

I do see Pompey as a defensive centre and a handy depth squad member.

With our injury list, our options are limited.