The run to the finals

[Thatwasnthighref]

So many permutations isnt there... bizarre that despite 1-3 being locked in and only #8 left up for grabs, we still have a last round where 5 of the 7 games could still influence the final order of things.

And with both the Storm and Dogs being close to full strength, incredibly we still have a reasonable chance of actually finishing 4th if we dont shit the bed again.

 

[Manurewa_Marlins]

Eyes up viewing this weekend!

 

[Meth]

Well, 5th or 6th it is

 

[Meth]

Roosters or Panthers, sudden death. Yeesh.

I guess we could cheer for Souths and the Dolphins to get up.

 

[Leber]

tuapiki and going and the only two left on the extended bench.

I wonder if we play both of them and rest cnk and Clark.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

tuapiki and going and the only two left on the extended bench.

I wonder if we play both of them and rest cnk and Clark.

Maybe not a bad idea, I still think the favourable outcome is we win and the Dogs win, we come 5th and play the Roosters (presuming they don't shit the bed)

Their second half in Melbourne last week now proving to be even more impressive and impactful

 

[Leber]

Maybe not a bad idea, I still think the favourable outcome is we win and the Dogs win, we come 5th and play the Roosters (presuming they don't shit the bed)

Their second half in Melbourne last week now proving to be even more impressive and impactful

I thought that… but then if we win, we would play dog instead of raiders and I think dogs would be easier.

but in all honesty, it actually doesn’t matter. It’s like choosing if you’d like to die of cancer or aids.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Roosters are looking dangerous but I still think we’d much rather play them than the Panthers so we should be all out going for the win tonight

 

[ozenzud]

Fell at the first Top 4 hurdle. Hard work now just getting to week 2 of the finals

 

[hitro]

There's no team in the 16 that NZW could def beat. I wonder if the best team to hope to play is Storm. Would have to be after getting through wk 1 of course

 

[Leber]

I highly doubt we beat either the panthers or the roosters.
What this season could have been with a fit Mitch and metcalf.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

There's no team in the 16 that NZW could def beat. I wonder if the best team to hope to play is Storm. Would have to be after getting through wk 1 of course

I 100% think the best team to play at the moment is the Storm. If only we'd nailed a couple more games at home, we could have had them in Melbourne and considered ourselves a red-hot chance.

I highly doubt we beat either the panthers or the roosters.
What this season could have been with a fit Mitch and metcalf.

Yeah...if I could choose to have one back, I honestly don't know which one. We lost our way leadership-wise when Barnett went, and lost our ability to break games open when Metcalf went.

I listened to Six Tackles with Gus today and he nominated JFH as a possible captain of the year contender. To me, that is so far off the mark. You could never do it, but I'd be very comfortable with Barnett as our sole captain going forward.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Team for next Sat night? I'd go this one: 1. CNK 2. DWZ 3. Capewell 4. Pompey 5. RTS 6. CHT 7. TMM 8. JFH 9. Egan (if fit) 10. Ford 11. Leka 12. Niukore 13. Clark 14. Healey 15. TSS 16. Demetric 17 - No idea. EIT is injured, I imagine? Kalani? Bunty?

 

[RHYTHM AND STEALTH]

DWZ deserves to be know where near a named Semi final team

 

[Izz]

Team for next Sat night? I'd go this one: 1. CNK 2. DWZ 3. Capewell 4. Pompey 5. RTS 6. CHT 7. TMM 8. JFH 9. Egan (if fit) 10. Ford 11. Leka 12. Niukore 13. Clark 14. Healey 15. TSS 16. Demetric 17 - No idea. EIT is injured, I imagine? Kalani? Bunty?

I'd be happy with Leka at centre. Wasn't great defensively to begin but got better as the game went on. In the post-match presser Webby said EIT would be okay for next week, but given the way he came off that has to be doubtful. I thought Boyd was okay, to be honest. One poor pass, but other than that it wasn't him making errors. His kicking game was decent and he showed a bit of creativity.

I know it'd be the dreaded small bench, but if EIT is hurt, I'd be tempted to go with both Healey and TMM on the bench, with TMM to play lock (and Healey and Egan to play 40 each - none of this bring on Healey for the last 10 when he can barely make an impact)

 

[Penrose Warrior]

DWZ deserves to be know where near a named Semi final team

I agree, but I am also realistic.

I'd be happy with Leka at centre. Wasn't great defensively to begin but got better as the game went on. In the post-match presser Webby said EIT would be okay for next week, but given the way he came off that has to be doubtful. I thought Boyd was okay, to be honest. One poor pass, but other than that it wasn't him making errors. His kicking game was decent and he showed a bit of creativity.

I know it'd be the dreaded small bench, but if EIT is hurt, I'd be tempted to go with both Healey and TMM on the bench, with TMM to play lock (and Healey and Egan to play 40 each - none of this bring on Healey for the last 10 when he can barely make an impact)

Good news if EIT might be OK.

Yeah I dunno on Boyd. He seems very formulaic, which I'm sure is OK in NSW Cup when you have somewhat unstructured defensive lines, but he can't seem to put people away. TMM can. Yes his kicking game is far superior.

I'd like to see Healey used more, as well.

I just hope Webby doesn't stick to what we've been doing because we've been doing it for 2 months and it's produced very little against decent opposition.

 

[nswarrior]

The reality has hit home unfortunately- we have strong forwards but a really slow backline without any creativity. Without Metcalf we have really struggled.

We have overachieved with the squad we have and I just hope we get more speed and creativity in the back line next year

The icing on the cake however would be to beat Penrith in a home final

 

[hitro]

watching the Panthers last night looked like they were running through their playbook for scoring on DWZ wing
if we select the same team and tactics again the Panthers will win easily with 4 tries on that side with DWZ touching no one
time to get desperate -TT to FB , CNK to centre, TMM in the halves

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

I just hope Webby doesn't stick to what we've been doing because we've been doing it for 2 months and it's produced very little against decent opposition.

I think we'll see more of the same. His comments after the game were pretty bullish, he seems convinced our style of play can beat teams if the lads execute properly. I think we all have our doubts there, but tbf its probably too late to try anything different anyway.

At this stage I just want us to defend well. We clearly lack x-factor but we dont need that to make good defensive decisions and stick our one-on-ones. If we do that, I can live with whatever else happens.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

I think we'll see more of the same. His comments after the game were pretty bullish, he seems convinced our style of play can beat teams if the lads execute properly. I think we all have our doubts there, but tbf its probably too late to try anything different anyway.

At this stage I just want us to defend well. We clearly lack x-factor but we dont need that to make good defensive decisions and stick our one-on-ones. If we do that, I can live with whatever else happens.

I get it, he's sticking to what he believes in. That's important as a head coach - being as emotive as we are on here wouldn't work so well.

I just don't see when our style of play has held up in the back half of the season. Tigers at home, Titans away, that's about it. Don't have to be a genius to realise the challenge on Saturday is a lot bigger than that