The Raiders poor attack

[Kris_man]

- You know what baffles me? the sharks. they have a back-rower playing 5/8 in paul gallen, and a nobody jason kent playing half. i know they've got sullivan off the bench (who i think usually plays dummy half anyway, doesn't he?), but how do they get by?? how did they beat the roosters??
- on the broncos: i only today saw footage of the broncos v warriors game, and all 4 tries they got were awesome. too many ppl in the raiders, elliott included, think u can just play tough in the forwards and you'll get tries. this is the NRL, it's not easy to score tries, you have to do something special to get over the line(unless you're playing manly, souths, or us). i saw those broncos tries, and i just couldn't imagine the raiders doing the same thing. couldn't imagine it. same goes with the sharks tries i saw (and i didnt see all of them), we have no outside back even close to the attackinh ability of Vagana. No offence to our blokes, but they don't even come close (except phil, he IS special). no wonder we can't score tries. Even Moggy relies mainly on his size, not skill, and to be honest, I don't think he showed much form for us until midway this year.

 

[I Bleed Green]

We have no penetration... at all.

I don't know the stats, but I'd bet the bank that we'd be close to last on line breaks as a team.

Even our "hole runners" like Hindmarsh and Croker can't penetrate the link. The only real line break from recent memory that I can think of is when Weyman killed about 4 Warriors. And by real line break I mean running over the top of someone.

It's very frustrating.

 

[Walt Flanigan]

Well McLinden is the only one in the top linebreaks list, and Schif is pretty high up on the tackle break list. But apart from that no one is to be seen. We don't really have those sort of players, Mogg makes his own holes and is probably one of the best draw-and-pass players in the game, Monaghan is good at neither and I'm not being bitter, but really what can he do? Robbo (bless his heart) can only make good metres off kick returns and Smith and Graham have proven excellent finishers but not line breakers. Most of these players are of good quality, they just need some quality service from the halves. There are many tries to be had if Phillip G could be put into gaps, he should be able to slip through tight defensive holes with ease considering his size and speed.

 

[thickos]

Good point Walt but who is going to put Phil through the gaps? No one gets it out to him #-o

 

[Walt Flanigan]

Yeah well that's case unfortunately. But what I've seen from glimpses of Carney's game, I think he can do it.

 

[Um Jammer Lammy]

I'm not the biggest Mogg fan but he gave a good performance a few rounds back but I believe he's not what the team needs, In 2005 I'd like to see some real flair in our backline, with Frawley in and Jermaine Ale and Fransicus coming through I wouldn't mind if Mogg was dropped to second grade. Because as much as McLinden is failing to create metres with good offensive plays he isn't being helped by players that can't get past one or two defenders. You could do the longest and fastest bullet cut out ball in history but if you haven't got a back with attacking flair to put that pass to good use then the half can't be blamed for the failure of the play when the player is unable to beat the defenders and gets tackled.

 

[hrundi99]

Mogg in 2nd grade? Tell him he's dreaming.

 

[Um Jammer Lammy]

Well put him where you want. I would like to see Ale, Fransicus or Milne for a while to see if they pull a Willie Tonga and play like demons. It couldn't hurt we a tenth on the table and we need to go up next year.

 

[hrundi99]

I'd like to see Franciscus in for Boogas but I fear for all the attacking spark he will add, he'll be a sieve in defence.

 

[edabomb]

I hardly think the way to get out of a slump is to inject numerous unproven backs. They should be introduced 1 by 1, and not at Moggs expense.

1.Schif
2.Graham
3.Mogg
4.Frawley
5.????
6.McLinden
7.Smith

Is how my backline would go next year. In saying this, I'm pretty sure Matty will give Gafa the start. I wouldn't have any problem with him running with one of the younger players in 5 though, with Gafa off the bench.

We do have a problem with having a lot of average outside backs and no real dynamic ones. I'm hoping Ale and Frawley can begin to change this....

 

[Um Jammer Lammy]

1. Schifcofske
2. Graham
3. Ale/Fransicus/Mundine/Milne or Mogg I just want to see one or some of these younsters given a shot next year even for a short time to see if they got somthing special to contribute to the team
4. Frawley
5. Gafa
6. Mclinden
7. Carney

 

[Kris_man]

- The thing is, Elliott continues to select defensive players over attacking players. The reason I like guys like Kahler and Graham is that they can attack.

Smith and Graham have proven excellent finishers but not line breakers.

- The reason they don't break the line is because they're on the wing. Put Phil in the centres, and you'll see line breaks. I've seen him make heaps of line breaks on his own, usually by out-pacing his opposing centre, sort of the way Tonga does, without the step. The only real time wingers make "line breaks" is when the men inside them make use of an overlap.
- I wouldn't drop Mogg, but I certainly wouldn't count on him to create attacking opportunities. To me, he's still primarily a defensive centre, and despite opinions otherwise, a very good defensive centre.

 

[Brimmer]

Phil in my opinion is a winger... unless he adds about 10 Kgs....

His defence I believe is poor due mainly to his stature....

Perhaps we could move him to the wing in defence for kick returns and what not.... and play offence in right centre?