Since 73
First Grade
- Messages
- 8,157
"Defence wins big matches": The Wok (sometime in the 80s).
My favourite coach. Probably the smartest guy I've heard talk about rugby league.
Well, well, well. What a performance.
So that what it feels like - I'd forgotten.
Very very enjoyable.
So many questions...
Where has it been?
How did they recapture it?
Will it be there next week?
Can it last for 4 more weeks?
And the biggie...
Can the coach identify where it came from and more importantly - allow it to keep happening?
We actually started with business as usual.
A bit of back and forth before we found ourselves in great field position in their 20.
Within the first 6 minutes our halfback had
...thrown an intercept, if caught Burton is under the posts for 6 nil
...thrown a clanger that hit the turf
...been cleaned up running backwards toward his own goal line.
All in the attacking zone.
All pointing to 'here we go again.'
And then it happened.
Out of nowhere.
A few guys just took it on themselves to take the game away from the ballplayers and did a bulldogs on the bulldogs.
Toby.
JC
Burns
Wilton.
They upped the physicality. Began picking ball runners and carrying them backwards and just All round bashed the f**k out of them.
Then it started to spread...blokes who had lost the art found it again; katoa, Ronnie. Even Ramien.
Once you start that shit everything else falls in place.
The dogs led the comp for most of the season doing that shit.
And the kicker..everyone who came off the bench picked it up and ran with it.
Sifa.
FMD.
See the secret lies not in attack. But defence.
Defence wins big games.
Why does Tracey drop that ball for BB to score?
Why does kikau dog the tackle on burns to score?
Because theyve been belted.
Because we weren't looking for points. We went about winning the physical battle. We decided to win the middle of the park and when you do this the magic happens...the points come.
They come because you have physically broken the other side and they submit.
This was always going to happen when we got mcplod out of the lock spot.
It took a couple of weeks but its happening.
And last night we got the halfbacks out of the way. We only had one and he started in his usual panicky mode before the new breed took over.
Nicho is at his best when he plays wide of the ruck. His best skill is short side plays finding runners.
Leave the middle third to the men.
Even Nicho got into it. His defence was outstanding. Once you start hitting blokes the adrenaline takes you to a different level of performance. The best ever, joey Johns always talks about his approach to his game - he would get his defence right first from the kickoff, make good hard ta kles and his attack just flowed.
Now....next week. Do we go back to our 2 halfback model.
2 guys who dont compliment each other, over playing the attack so nobody is really in control?
Because last night all that shit disappeared and all these guys who have been symptoms of that problem were allowed to step up and do their thing.
Defence will allow us to beat anyone.
We have the muscle to do it.
The secret is to go out to win 2 nil. Make it a fight.
Once you've won that, the holes appear and the points come.
My favourite coach. Probably the smartest guy I've heard talk about rugby league.
Well, well, well. What a performance.
So that what it feels like - I'd forgotten.
Very very enjoyable.
So many questions...
Where has it been?
How did they recapture it?
Will it be there next week?
Can it last for 4 more weeks?
And the biggie...
Can the coach identify where it came from and more importantly - allow it to keep happening?
We actually started with business as usual.
A bit of back and forth before we found ourselves in great field position in their 20.
Within the first 6 minutes our halfback had
...thrown an intercept, if caught Burton is under the posts for 6 nil
...thrown a clanger that hit the turf
...been cleaned up running backwards toward his own goal line.
All in the attacking zone.
All pointing to 'here we go again.'
And then it happened.
Out of nowhere.
A few guys just took it on themselves to take the game away from the ballplayers and did a bulldogs on the bulldogs.
Toby.
JC
Burns
Wilton.
They upped the physicality. Began picking ball runners and carrying them backwards and just All round bashed the f**k out of them.
Then it started to spread...blokes who had lost the art found it again; katoa, Ronnie. Even Ramien.
Once you start that shit everything else falls in place.
The dogs led the comp for most of the season doing that shit.
And the kicker..everyone who came off the bench picked it up and ran with it.
Sifa.
FMD.
See the secret lies not in attack. But defence.
Defence wins big games.
Why does Tracey drop that ball for BB to score?
Why does kikau dog the tackle on burns to score?
Because theyve been belted.
Because we weren't looking for points. We went about winning the physical battle. We decided to win the middle of the park and when you do this the magic happens...the points come.
They come because you have physically broken the other side and they submit.
This was always going to happen when we got mcplod out of the lock spot.
It took a couple of weeks but its happening.
And last night we got the halfbacks out of the way. We only had one and he started in his usual panicky mode before the new breed took over.
Nicho is at his best when he plays wide of the ruck. His best skill is short side plays finding runners.
Leave the middle third to the men.
Even Nicho got into it. His defence was outstanding. Once you start hitting blokes the adrenaline takes you to a different level of performance. The best ever, joey Johns always talks about his approach to his game - he would get his defence right first from the kickoff, make good hard ta kles and his attack just flowed.
Now....next week. Do we go back to our 2 halfback model.
2 guys who dont compliment each other, over playing the attack so nobody is really in control?
Because last night all that shit disappeared and all these guys who have been symptoms of that problem were allowed to step up and do their thing.
Defence will allow us to beat anyone.
We have the muscle to do it.
The secret is to go out to win 2 nil. Make it a fight.
Once you've won that, the holes appear and the points come.
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