The Rumours Thread

[redv13]

Perhaps you might like to have a crack at answering these and give some insight as to where the "team" has improved other than on the ladder.

Are we a smarter team?
Are we a defensively better team?
Are we a better attacking team especially in the opposition 20?
Does the team have a better kicking game?
Is Ben Hunt less influential in respect of his ownership of the team?
Are we a better disciplined team in respect of dumb penalties, 6 agains etc?
Are we faster team and finally scoring long range tries?
Are we a team that is blooding a raft of younger players in a beneficial manner?
Are we in fact a fitter team that doesn’t have blow outs in the 2nd half?
Do we now select our best team every week?

A couple of others I thought of

Have we stopped having coach's pets selected?
Have we stopped recruiting aged pensioners, journeymen and never quite was's?
Have our forwards become a dominating pack?
Have we dispensed with the "power play" game plan?
Have we dispensed with the 5 hit up and mid field bomb play book?

I think most would agree that these were failings under previous coaching regimes and needed quantifiable improvement so I am happy to listen to any logical input / explanations other than our position on the ladder is the indicator of the alleged improvement.

Whilst I am not 1,000% sure and a bit too lazy to do the analysis I remember that poor goal kicking was perceived as a cause of some close losses last year so maybe that individual skill might have some bearing on outcomes thus far this year.

C’mon OT. We are 9-8 going into a bye which then leaves 7 games to go and 5 of which are at home. If we win 4 of those we could be playing finals footy for the first time since 2018. Let’s enjoy the moment and the next 2 weeks and be happy.

The good thing is it’s clearly in the teams hands in the run home and if they are hungry enough and want it bad enough then they should find those 4 wins required.

Last year it was season over by the start of the origin series, this year we’re up to our eyeballs in it at the end of the origin series. Strap yourself in and cheer the red V on all the way home.

 

[JubileeJeffro]

Perhaps you might like to have a crack at answering these and give some insight as to where the "team" has improved other than on the ladder.

Are we a smarter team?
Are we a defensively better team?
Are we a better attacking team especially in the opposition 20?
Does the team have a better kicking game?
Is Ben Hunt less influential in respect of his ownership of the team?
Are we a better disciplined team in respect of dumb penalties, 6 agains etc?
Are we faster team and finally scoring long range tries?
Are we a team that is blooding a raft of younger players in a beneficial manner?
Are we in fact a fitter team that doesn’t have blow outs in the 2nd half?
Do we now select our best team every week?

A couple of others I thought of

Have we stopped having coach's pets selected?
Have we stopped recruiting aged pensioners, journeymen and never quite was's?
Have our forwards become a dominating pack?
Have we dispensed with the "power play" game plan?
Have we dispensed with the 5 hit up and mid field bomb play book?

I think most would agree that these were failings under previous coaching regimes and needed quantifiable improvement so I am happy to listen to any logical input / explanations other than our position on the ladder is the indicator of the alleged improvement.

Whilst I am not 1,000% sure and a bit too lazy to do the analysis I remember that poor goal kicking was perceived as a cause of some close losses last year so maybe that individual skill might have some bearing on outcomes thus far this year.

You have highlighted some of the issues which we know are still there. Sadly you are incapable of acknowledging we have improved in many areas, that are not outlined in your ‘leading the witness’ survey questions.
Have a break mate and enjoy the win. Turn those sour grapes into wine and put your feet up and rejoice we are in the 8 with a bye next week.

 

[TheRev]

We won 5 games all year in 2023, with (imo) the worst roster in the competition.. resulting in a near impossible task to actually attract quality players.... we have every right to be fighting for the wooden spoon (I thought we would be).

But somehow the anti-flanno brigade who have been sh*tting on him all pre-season... have set their expectations that this apparently useless coach should have the worse roster in the comp playing consistent Top4 football, anything less is proof of his failure.

There is no way to appease someone who has this mindset.. the better we go.. the higher they set their expectations, there is no meeting them.. and we are so many years from being able to form a genuine Top4 or Top8 roster its not even funny.

 

[Crush]

Perhaps you might like to have a crack at answering these and give some insight as to where the "team" has improved other than on the ladder.

Are we a smarter team?
Are we a defensively better team?
Are we a better attacking team especially in the opposition 20?
Does the team have a better kicking game?
Is Ben Hunt less influential in respect of his ownership of the team?
Are we a better disciplined team in respect of dumb penalties, 6 agains etc?
Are we faster team and finally scoring long range tries?
Are we a team that is blooding a raft of younger players in a beneficial manner?
Are we in fact a fitter team that doesn’t have blow outs in the 2nd half?
Do we now select our best team every week?

A couple of others I thought of

Have we stopped having coach's pets selected?
Have we stopped recruiting aged pensioners, journeymen and never quite was's?
Have our forwards become a dominating pack?
Have we dispensed with the "power play" game plan?
Have we dispensed with the 5 hit up and mid field bomb play book?

I think most would agree that these were failings under previous coaching regimes and needed quantifiable improvement so I am happy to listen to any logical input / explanations other than our position on the ladder is the indicator of the alleged improvement.

Whilst I am not 1,000% sure and a bit too lazy to do the analysis I remember that poor goal kicking was perceived as a cause of some close losses last year so maybe that individual skill might have some bearing on outcomes thus far this year.

I'll have a go here.

Are we a smarter team? YES, we play to our strengths, we know our game.
Are we a defensively better team? YES, I feel way more comfortable when teams are attacking than I did previous years.
Are we a better attacking team especially in the opposition 20? Not really, we rely on crash plays and running over the top of opposition, its effective though mostly
Does the team have a better kicking game? Not really, but it hasnt got any worse, Corey Norman wasnt flash
Is Ben Hunt less influential in respect of his ownership of the team? Yes, its more balanced now, KF is more experienced than Amone etc, and in the forwards we have some real leadership who take ownership
Are we a better disciplined team in respect of dumb penalties, 6 agains etc? Yes, Lawrie has been getting less minutes
Are we faster team and finally scoring long range tries? No, we are slower than ever
Are we a team that is blooding a raft of younger players in a beneficial manner? Yes, watching reserve grade the only players that I see worthy of playing NRL are Fegai, Couchmans, an argument could be made for Tamale but he's leaving.
Are we in fact a fitter team that doesn’t have blow outs in the 2nd half? 100% a fitter team, thats so obvious to me. Do the wheels fall off once we are getting comprehensively beaten, yup, its an issue, a mental one
Do we now select our best team every week? Yes, only argument is Lawrie and Bird but getting minutes, its not perfect I guess but a damn site better than previous coaches. Tim Lafai for 16 weeks injured anyone?

A couple of others I thought of

Have we stopped having coach's pets selected? Loaded question
Have we stopped recruiting aged pensioners, journeymen and never quite was's? Well yeah, all of our recruits have been playing well, who hasnt?
Have our forwards become a dominating pack? Absolutely
Have we dispensed with the "power play" game plan? No, its how we win games, look at the makeup of our roster! They are all powerful monsters!
Have we dispensed with the 5 hit up and mid field bomb play book? Last night we did, backline tries, shock horror

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

I'll have a go here.

Are we a smarter team? YES, we play to our strengths, we know our game.
Are we a defensively better team? YES, I feel way more comfortable when teams are attacking than I did previous years.
Are we a better attacking team especially in the opposition 20? Not really, we rely on crash plays and running over the top of opposition, its effective though mostly
Does the team have a better kicking game? Not really, but it hasnt got any worse, Corey Norman wasnt flash
Is Ben Hunt less influential in respect of his ownership of the team? Yes, its more balanced now, KF is more experienced than Amone etc, and in the forwards we have some real leadership who take ownership
Are we a better disciplined team in respect of dumb penalties, 6 agains etc? Yes, Lawrie has been getting less minutes
Are we faster team and finally scoring long range tries? No, we are slower than ever
Are we a team that is blooding a raft of younger players in a beneficial manner? Yes, watching reserve grade the only players that I see worthy of playing NRL are Fegai, Couchmans, an argument could be made for Tamale but he's leaving.
Are we in fact a fitter team that doesn’t have blow outs in the 2nd half? 100% a fitter team, thats so obvious to me. Do the wheels fall off once we are getting comprehensively beaten, yup, its an issue, a mental one
Do we now select our best team every week? Yes, only argument is Lawrie and Bird but getting minutes, its not perfect I guess but a damn site better than previous coaches. Tim Lafai for 16 weeks injured anyone?

A couple of others I thought of

Have we stopped having coach's pets selected? Loaded question
Have we stopped recruiting aged pensioners, journeymen and never quite was's? Well yeah, all of our recruits have been playing well, who hasnt?
Have our forwards become a dominating pack? Absolutely
Have we dispensed with the "power play" game plan? No, its how we win games, look at the makeup of our roster! They are all powerful monsters!
Have we dispensed with the 5 hit up and mid field bomb play book? Last night we did, backline tries, shock horror

A very complete answer. I was just going to say the answer is "YES" to all, but only when Ben Hunt isn't playing.

 

[Old Timer]

C’mon OT. We are 9-8 going into a bye which then leaves 7 games to go and 5 of which are at home. If we win 4 of those we could be playing finals footy for the first time since 2018. Let’s enjoy the moment and the next 2 weeks and be happy.

The good thing is it’s clearly in the teams hands in the run home and if they are hungry enough and want it bad enough then they should find those 4 wins required.

Last year it was season over by the start of the origin series, this year we’re up to our eyeballs in it at the end of the origin series. Strap yourself in and cheer the red V on all the way home.

Please understand I'm not unhappy that we are winning.

Also please understand that if we play finals footy that would be good for the club, the players, the fan base.

But please understand I like to also understand if we are improving in the real sense or more as a result of other's decline and I like to be a realist about where we are actually at in respect of being a contender.

I firmly believe we will learn more from the 7 games that we have left to play than anything we have learned to date.

4 top 5 sides, 1 improving middle of the road side, 1 hard side middle of the road side and 1 spoon contender.

We will be coming off a bye and have everything to play for so would you agree that will tell us a lot about how far we have "improved"?

 

[Nutz]

C’mon OT. We are 9-8 going into a bye which then leaves 7 games to go and 5 of which are at home. If we win 4 of those we could be playing finals footy for the first time since 2018. Let’s enjoy the moment and the next 2 weeks and be happy.

The good thing is it’s clearly in the teams hands in the run home and if they are hungry enough and want it bad enough then they should find those 4 wins required.

Last year it was season over by the start of the origin series, this year we’re up to our eyeballs in it at the end of the origin series. Strap yourself in and cheer the red V on all the way home.

It's none of my business but gee your club has turned it around since Flanno has joined you lot.
Go back to my earlier post on here when you guys were contemplating appointing Flanno and I said he's exactly the right man for the job.....I know, it's hard to to be right and humble all the time. Actually it sounds more like my missus than me

It's hard for any club to recruit marquee players atm so I think your roster is pretty good considering.
In the pre-season I said Saints and the Titans will go well this year.....well wasn't I thrown some insults from my mates.
However with both teams settling down they are showing what they are capable of.
Brimson was a big loss for the Titans and the transition of Flanno as coach and the unsettling uncertainty of the future of Hunt and Zac Lomax didn't help Saints but now that's put to bed (for now) you guys are going to give this comp a real shake.
Jacob Liddle was touted as Wests Tigers next gun hooker but we mis-managed him like no other club could. If he can stay on the paddock come finals time then look out.
The other player that a lot of you may ridicule me for talking him up is Luciano Leilua. If this guy can get back to playing his best footy again, consistently, then he'll be one of your best.
He also has the potential of doing the opposite, but under Flanno, I think it will be the former.
A lot of you guys are snapping up these free golf ball position markers I'm giving away so I've only a few left. Refer to my earlier post #34,138 and DM me if you want some free stuff...no gimic or catches as I'm not running a business, I gave up knitting so this is my new hobby

 

[Old Timer]

I'll have a go here.

Are we a smarter team? YES, we play to our strengths, we know our game.
Are we a defensively better team? YES, I feel way more comfortable when teams are attacking than I did previous years.
Are we a better attacking team especially in the opposition 20? Not really, we rely on crash plays and running over the top of opposition, its effective though mostly
Does the team have a better kicking game? Not really, but it hasnt got any worse, Corey Norman wasnt flash
Is Ben Hunt less influential in respect of his ownership of the team? Yes, its more balanced now, KF is more experienced than Amone etc, and in the forwards we have some real leadership who take ownership
Are we a better disciplined team in respect of dumb penalties, 6 agains etc? Yes, Lawrie has been getting less minutes
Are we faster team and finally scoring long range tries? No, we are slower than ever
Are we a team that is blooding a raft of younger players in a beneficial manner? Yes, watching reserve grade the only players that I see worthy of playing NRL are Fegai, Couchmans, an argument could be made for Tamale but he's leaving.
Are we in fact a fitter team that doesn’t have blow outs in the 2nd half? 100% a fitter team, thats so obvious to me. Do the wheels fall off once we are getting comprehensively beaten, yup, its an issue, a mental one
Do we now select our best team every week? Yes, only argument is Lawrie and Bird but getting minutes, its not perfect I guess but a damn site better than previous coaches. Tim Lafai for 16 weeks injured anyone?

A couple of others I thought of

Have we stopped having coach's pets selected? Loaded question
Have we stopped recruiting aged pensioners, journeymen and never quite was's? Well yeah, all of our recruits have been playing well, who hasnt?
Have our forwards become a dominating pack? Absolutely
Have we dispensed with the "power play" game plan? No, its how we win games, look at the makeup of our roster! They are all powerful monsters!
Have we dispensed with the 5 hit up and mid field bomb play book? Last night we did, backline tries, shock horror

Try pink text next time.

Our forwards are intimidated and outplayed by any reasonable pack let alone the likes of Easts who have put 100 on us in 2 games but somehow you think they are a dominant pack FMD there wouldn't be a pack that wouldn't relish lining up against our lot. 2nd stringers from the Broncos smashed holes in us during the 2nd half.

You are really struggling with your argument to have to go back to Lafai & Norman we all know Bird is protected and K F is barely adequate but has a lock in for 2 if not 3 years in our halves and Lawrie should have been dropped long ago and has still avoided that fate.

Wheels fall off when we are comprehensively being beaten FMD we have turned up our toes with big 1st half leads if that's not a fitness issue then nothing is.

Hunt still runs the show and there is no more balance by having K F there. Last weeks brain fades on 5th tackle options underpin the problem. J D B lucky not to have lost an eye or been stood down for a concussion protocol due to our new found "balance".

Were your eyes closed yesterday as to how our defence capitulated at critical times or were you comfortable?

Smarter team. We play to our strengths. We know our game. That tops it all off.

 

[Crush]

Try pink text next time.

Our forwards are intimidated and outplayed by any reasonable pack let alone the likes of Easts who have put 100 on us in 2 games but somehow you think they are a dominant pack FMD there wouldn't be a pack that wouldn't relish lining up against our lot. 2nd stringers from the Broncos smashed holes in us during the 2nd half.

You are really struggling with your argument to have to go back to Lafai & Norman we all know Bird is protected and K F is barely adequate but has a lock in for 2 if not 3 years in our halves and Lawrie should have been dropped long ago and has still avoided that fate.

Wheels fall off when we are comprehensively being beaten FMD we have turned up our toes with big 1st half leads if that's not a fitness issue then nothing is.

Hunt still runs the show and there is no more balance by having K F there. Last weeks brain fades on 5th tackle options underpin the problem. J D B lucky not to have lost an eye or been stood down for a concussion protocol due to our new found "balance".

Were your eyes closed yesterday as to how our defence capitulated at critical times or were you comfortable?

Smarter team. We play to our strengths. We know our game. That tops it all off.

Haha, anything less than NO we aren’t better to answer every question you were always going to fly off your rocker, lol.
Don’t ever change OT.

 

[redVinme]

Perhaps you might like to have a crack at answering these and give some insight as to where the "team" has improved other than on the ladder.

Are we a smarter team?
Are we a defensively better team?
Are we a better attacking team especially in the opposition 20?
Does the team have a better kicking game?
Is Ben Hunt less influential in respect of his ownership of the team?
Are we a better disciplined team in respect of dumb penalties, 6 agains etc?
Are we faster team and finally scoring long range tries?
Are we a team that is blooding a raft of younger players in a beneficial manner?
Are we in fact a fitter team that doesn’t have blow outs in the 2nd half?
Do we now select our best team every week?

A couple of others I thought of

Have we stopped having coach's pets selected?
Have we stopped recruiting aged pensioners, journeymen and never quite was's?
Have our forwards become a dominating pack?
Have we dispensed with the "power play" game plan?
Have we dispensed with the 5 hit up and mid field bomb play book?

I think most would agree that these were failings under previous coaching regimes and needed quantifiable improvement so I am happy to listen to any logical input / explanations other than our position on the ladder is the indicator of the alleged improvement.

Whilst I am not 1,000% sure and a bit too lazy to do the analysis I remember that poor goal kicking was perceived as a cause of some close losses last year so maybe that individual skill might have some bearing on outcomes thus far this year.

No one is gonna sit there and answer your clearly loaded questions lol. You'll forgive me for not wanting to spend multiple hours sourcing the data for you but considering the burden of proof is on you to prove we are going to poorly (the ladder you keep choosing to ignore says otherwise) you'll forgive me for not participating in your quiz, feel free to bring back said data though to prove your case and id be happy to talk to your points.

Many of them are valid and I agree with but I don't argue feelings I argue facts.

I also think our defence sucks, we should never of hired Dean young etc etc but I'm not gonna blame a bloke wanting a job and a career for saying yes to a opportunity. Im also not gonna act like I was in the room and understood the negotiations that went on.

It's not like I agree with a lot of what's happening at the club I just choose to not let my overarching feeling about the club or team ruin the short term joy of winning and I dont have a unrealistic timeframe of the turn around which you seem too.

Wins have been hens teeth for years, given your name I'd remember and cherish that and stop hate watching every week.

We have a bottom four roster and improvement isnt linear but if I told you at this stage of the year we would be over .500 win rate and ahead of the Rabbitohs, Broncos, eels and warriors you'd take it no matter how we got there.


Where you will have be agreeing is recruitment but I have no idea how the club is perceived behind the scenes and o have no idea what Flano walked into. Right now the club are a big F in this space and not even having someone in the role for this long is a joke.

 

[Old Timer]

You have highlighted some of the issues which we know are still there. Sadly you are incapable of acknowledging we have improved in many areas, that are not outlined in your ‘leading the witness’ survey questions.
Have a break mate and enjoy the win. Turn those sour grapes into wine and put your feet up and rejoice we are in the 8 with a bye next week.

I'm happy to look at the areas we have improved so by all means enlighten me?

I'll start

Result wise we are winning more games than last years anus horribilis (but the jury is still out on the overall 2022 result).

Result wise we are winning some tight contests that we might have lost last year (probably due to better goal kicking and a couple of 2 point field goals well done Zac).

We / Zac I should say has had some truly spectacular individual moments the type that brings a crowd to their feet and they will be a very sad loss for Big Red V supporters going into 2025.

Over to you now

 

[Mojo]

Just a statistical fact that I think is valid: in a competition in which points are given for a binary result (ie; either a win or a loss), if a team improves its position another team‘s position must deteriorate.

 

[Mojo]

I'm happy to look at the areas we have improved so by all means enlighten me?

I'll start

Result wise we are winning more games than last years anus horribilis (but the jury is still out on the overall 2022 result).

Result wise we are winning some tight contests that we might have lost last year (probably due to better goal kicking and a couple of 2 point field goals well done Zac).

We / Zac I should say has had some truly spectacular individual moments the type that brings a crowd to their feet and they will be a very sad loss for Big Red V supporters going into 2025.

Over to you now

You mean ‘annus horribilis’ (anus horribilus refers to my Labrador viewed from the rear).

 

[Old Timer]

Haha, anything less than NO we aren’t better to answer every question you were always going to fly off your rocker, lol.
Don’t ever change OT.

At least you know how damaging a bad red wine can be (let alone a Penfold's VO Invalid Port) to one's perception of the world.

I would love to catch up with you and watch a replay of our games and do an analysis of them with you whilst doing some wine appreciation.

In fact the club should sponsor such an event for all on the forum and after it they should show their faces so we can ask them what they think of our analysis.

Imagine if we had our new auditorium with a movie theatre and we replayed 2 of our games in full each week during the off season.

The oohs, aahs, f**k you's, f**k him's, applause and boo's would be hilarious.

 

[Mojo]

At least you know how damaging a bad red wine can be (let alone a Penfold's VO Invalid Port) to one's perception of the world.

I would love to catch up with you and watch a replay of our games and do an analysis of them with you whilst doing some wine appreciation.

In fact the club should sponsor such an event for all on the forum and after it they should show their faces so we can ask them what they think of our analysis.

Imagine if we had our new auditorium with a movie theatre and we replayed 2 of our games in full each week during the off season.

The oohs, aahs, f**k you's, f**k him's, applause and boo's would be hilarious.

There’s a reality TV pitch In there!

 

[Old Timer]

You mean ‘annus horribilis’ (anus horribilus refers to my Labrador viewed from the rear).

Nice work Mojo but having just seen the rear end of my young kelpie Max I might have inadvertently got it right.

 

[Old Timer]

Just a statistical fact that I think is valid: in a competition in which points are given for a binary result (ie; either a win or a loss), if a team improves its position another team‘s position must deteriorate.

A truly objective person would evaluate who the wins and losses were against as to understanding if "real improvement" has been achieved.

I for one believe that a team can actually win more games but have "played" as bad or worse overall in achieving that result.

 

[MONGO]

Christ, I'm glad we didn't lose !!

 

[redv13]

A truly objective person would evaluate who the wins and losses were against as to understanding if "real improvement" has been achieved.

I for one believe that a team can actually win more games but have "played" as bad or worse overall in achieving that result.

FMD. You don’t get 2 competition points for a wonderful performance but just fell short but you can play dog shit and find a way to scratch out a win no matter how ugly and get the 2 points. Cheer up mate and enjoy the ride

 

[Crush]

A truly objective person would evaluate who the wins and losses were against as to understanding if "real improvement" has been achieved.

I for one believe that a team can actually win more games but have "played" as bad or worse overall in achieving that result.

My uncle is a Sharks supporter. In the 2016 season before every game he told me sharks would lose. Before the grand final he said they were no chance, they’d lose.
After the win I said how does that feel mate?
He said, they won’t be able to back it up, next year they’d lose.
I get the feeling that you and my uncle would be great mates.