Tigers V Bulldogs

[Bricey]

1/2 time..... down by 2

Happy with the effort in defence, they dont look like they are gunna crack us too close to the line. It was always gunna be a long range effort that would open us up.

Having said that, benji and rob lui both look intent on kicking when inside the 30m zone on final tackle. Looking to them to change it up and run at the line a bit, thats where I think we will open them up in the 2nd half.

We have heaps of points in us, expect us to go on with it from here

 

[N.C.]

Just hope they don't leave it too late...

 

[wade77]

Fulton needs to go. Also ironic the golden boot winner continues to have the worst kicking game of a half in the comp.

 

[N.C.]

Stupid Tigers...

 

[wade77]

Why does this prick do the majority of our kicking? Just run forget kicking, goalkicking he has been trying this since Princey left and IT DOESN'T WORK

 

[macnaz]

Things i noticed !!

*Benji tried his arse off.

*Our kicking game was woeful

*Mckinnon is a waste of space

*Moltzen isnt a fullaback "fmd are we gunna do that experiment again "

*Lui is overated , under pressure he always f**ks up

*Where the hell was Farah

*Woods looks the goods

*Fafita did some good things

*Big red was in the same place that Farah was hiding in

* we lacked enthusiasm

They are just a few that come to mind

 

[37916319]

The entire team looked flat and uninterested, not a good way to be for round 1.

Woods and fafita were our best tonight. There was one point I thought Farah was on the bench. Marshall tried a little too hard at times but at least he was trying.

For anyone who does not rate Gibbs, watch tonights game again, his defence was surely missed.

I hate losing to the dogs but rd 1is a good time for an attitude check.

Oh BTW get ready for the Ennis > Farah threads.

 

[DanOz]

If we are going to continue to have Ayshford try and cover Utai's wing spot in defense we are going to come unstuck. Mitch Brown is a better long term option than Utai in any event.

Goalkicking - it looks like it will bite us again this year. When it was 3 tries all, 18-14 I was pulling my hair out.

Why didn't Farah kick more? He is a much better option than Benji.

Lui - I have made no secret I am not a fan, I will admit he had the best game I have seen him play in the Foundation Cup against the Chooks, but tonight he again looked out of his depth alot of the time. I agree Moltzen is no fullback, but just to get him on the field I would rather that to help our attack because Lui seems to be a front runner, all confidence when things are going well and either error prone or missing when our backs are against the wall.

McKinnon is old. While I would rather Moltzen at 7 and Brown in the 1, I suspect Sheens will put Tim in the 1 sooner rather than later and Wade can play lowers unless we get an injury.

Woods and Fifita looked good imo.

 

[macnaz]

Oh BTW get ready for the Ennis > Farah threads.

Not that i thought pEnnis did much , but he deserves bragging rights after Robbies performance tonight. But I must say robbie did defend well even tho he was quite in attack.

 

[boonboon]

Just a little note on the Ennis v Farah battle - now the dogs fans and the commentators after the game said Ennis was clearly superior well I was just having a look at the stats (and I know they don't mean everything but they are interesting - especially as Farah was supposedly having his worst game in a while
Run Meters - Ennis 29 v Farah 43
Runs - Ennis 6 v Farah 5
Dummy Half Runs - Ennis 5 v Farah 5
Tackles - Ennis 32 v Farah 35
Missed Tackles - Ennis 5 v Farah 3
Off Loads - Ennis 2 v Farah 1
Errors - Nil Each
Kicks - Ennis 3 v Farah 1
Line Break Assits - Ennis 1 v Farah 0
1 on 1 tackles - Ennis 0 v Farah 2
Penalties against - this hasnt been updated but im fairly sure its Ennis -2 v Farah 0

Interesting collection of stats - mayby its just that we expect so much more from Farah then anyone expects from Ennis

 

[Marshall_magic]

My thoughts
-Too many key players went missing (Robbie, Galloway, Heighington, Payten among others)
-Benji still can't kick goals, which will probably cost us again this season
-Lui has some good plays in him, but makes some horrible decisions, especially under pressure. He looks to be a guy who will turn a 20 point win into a 40 point win, but won't turn a 1 point loss into a 1 point win. He has a lot of maturing to do.
-Utai is the least of our worries. He actually had a go out there, which helps considering point 1.
-Fulton was very very ordinary, and made a very bad miss which lead to their first try
-Woods looked strong out there, good debut for the kid, hopefully he can continue to develop into a quality player. Fifita also had a good game I thought, lets hope there's no second year syndrome there.
-Benji tried everything, but was just a bit off with some of his plays. Hopefully he can find his feet quickly and his off-field problems aren't weighing on his mind too much.
-Another year, after a knee reconstruction and Moltzen is still not a fullback. McKinnon was ordinary out there too, Mitch Brown should be first choice fullback.

 

[Tiger Crazy]

Things i noticed !!

*Benji tried his arse off.

*Our kicking game was woeful

*Mckinnon is a waste of space

*Moltzen isnt a fullaback "fmd are we gunna do that experiment again "

*Lui is overated , under pressure he always f**ks up

*Where the hell was Farah

*Woods looks the goods

*Fafita did some good things

*Big red was in the same place that Farah was hiding in

* we lacked enthusiasm

They are just a few that come to mind

awful kick chase
no go forward
dogs ground out yards
we were to side to side all night need to straigten attack
rating 3\10 (being nice)
Worse thing Warriors only 5 days away still hurting after last year

 

[leoc]

Can someone explain why the hell you would try and change the way we play the game?? The game plan was to keep it simple and complete sets. Why the hell would you start now?? Play the attacking football the other teams fear, that's why we are being tipped as favorites not because we play like the Sharks!!

 

[macnaz]

Can someone explain why the hell you would try and change the way we play the game?? The game plan was to keep it simple and complete sets. Why the hell would you start now?? Play the attacking football the other teams fear, that's why we are being tipped as favorites not because we play like the Sharks!!

I think u'd find that the boring simple style was the way we played all last year as well, it wasnt until the semi's we seemed to move the ball and play a bit fancier. One could say that is why we made the semi's by playing boring St George like footy so lets do it again this year. I personaly think there is a happy medium we should be aiming for .

 

[Whos Ya Daddy]

Just a little note on the Ennis v Farah battle - now the dogs fans and the commentators after the game said Ennis was clearly superior well I was just having a look at the stats (and I know they don't mean everything but they are interesting - especially as Farah was supposedly having his worst game in a while
Run Meters - Ennis 29 v Farah 43
Runs - Ennis 6 v Farah 5
Dummy Half Runs - Ennis 5 v Farah 5
Tackles - Ennis 32 v Farah 35
Missed Tackles - Ennis 5 v Farah 3
Off Loads - Ennis 2 v Farah 1
Errors - Nil Each
Kicks - Ennis 3 v Farah 1
Line Break Assits - Ennis 1 v Farah 0
1 on 1 tackles - Ennis 0 v Farah 2
Penalties against - this hasnt been updated but im fairly sure its Ennis -2 v Farah 0

Interesting collection of stats - mayby its just that we expect so much more from Farah then anyone expects from Ennis

You conveniently decided not to include try assists.

Ennis 1 Farah 0.

 

[DanOz]

II personaly think there is a happy medium we should be aiming for .

Amen

 

[Blackdiamond]

The Tigers had their pants pulled down, by a more enthusiastic & better drilled side. A credit to the Dogs defence & their off-season to bring in their new recruits.

On a positive note, both Fafita & Woods showed their potential. Benji tried hard all night, but the miracle pass & kicking game eluded him. The risk you take, some weeks it’s on? Fulton was everywhere & gave it all.

Last year the Tigers were the dark horses, but now everyone will have done their homework. I like the set plays as they are always strong & great to watch. But going lateral before going forward will never work.

The aspiring NSW players got clearly shown up by their opposite number – Heignington, Lawrence, Galloway & even Farah. Perhaps they need to forget their own hype & prove why they deserve a blue jersey, not take things for granted. Hopefully this will serve as some inspiration for the boys.

I do believe that Ennis & Farah are on par, but the one area that Ennis prevails, is how he seamlessly moves & directs the team around the park (something the stats won’t show you). Often the Tigers attack looked disjointed with players standing flat footed & not knowing who was getting the ball.

McKinnon is surely passed his best – too slow. Moltzen deserves another chance to prove that he wants to play fullback, last year he showed nothing at fullback. If not, blood Mullaney as we surely need his goalkicking & is still a better option than McKinnon.

Utai did enough to hold his spot over Ryan. The only contender for right wing is Brown, who is also talented.

Lui also deserves to retain his spot & has proven what he is capable of. Close the book on this & let him get on with it.

Lastly, why does Farah pack into lock? The play where he picks up from the base of the scrum & passes to Lui, who is standing right next to him, seems to be pointless?

 

[Borat.]

You conveniently decided not to include try assists.

Ennis 1 Farah 0.

Also forgot the Douche-bag stats

Ennis 1 Farah 0

 

[Tigers Tale]

Certainly all is not lost with this loss to the Dogs....not yet anyway!!! I have no doubts the Dogs and Tigers will be playing in September so what the players and importantly Sheens learn and take away from this game is what counts.

Sure it was the first game of the year but this team is essentially the 2010 team that just missed a grand final...that wasn't reflected in last nights performance.

The forwards need to muscle up and work together, get some second phase play going. I don't think I have ever actually seen this pack of forwards really dominate other forwards, never smack some arses. Sure, they hold their opposition but the go forward and aggression is always just so so. With the backs, they are slick but impatient, especially our halves.

I think the most pressure placed on Lui is from Marshall. Lui MUST step up and take control of the game and be his own man. I thought he was a bit better than some say last night and he tried (and failed I know) with some facets but it is better he do something. If he can get into his own groove then finally Marshall can do what he does best and that is running the ball (and not kicking it). Marshall can not be the only passing option we have, especially when Farah is off his game like last night.

One thing I do know is this season is going to be much harder than last.

 

[gordsy]

My thoughts

Benji's kicking was awful, do we have another option when he is off the boil. The bulldogs kicks all seemed to find space or at least make our guys run for the call to catch it on the full. Our kicks either went dead in goal, or found the exact spot the winger or full back was standing. The Doggies had a great kick -chase, ours was awful. Our forwards really struggle to come out of our 20 -30. We rely on Lote too much because Galloway, Fulton, Heighno etc played like a pack of girls last night. In defence it seemed like we needed 3-4 four guys in every tackle, especially when Idris got the ball.

Benji's should not be our top goal kicker, too often four doesn't become six

We take too long to play the ball. If you are tackled at least make the effort to play the ball quickly. Some of our blokes just lie on the ground waiting for them other team to get off them rather then at least look for a quick play of the ball.

We really do miss Bryce Gibbs and his clean up work. I am still unconvinced by Lui. I'd rather see Moltzen at 7. Maybe Lui will become a great 7 in time {I personally don't see it} but right now Moltzen, imo is our best no.7 and that's what counts.

Wade McKinnon either needs to find a huge amount of hidden speed or go back to reggies.