Trial v souths

[chiana]

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury. For those of you that could not make tonights game count yourselves as lucky.

My only hope is that due to it being our first game of the season we were very rusty, although my first impressions are that there was a lot more wrong tonight than that. Sure it was "only a trial", and we were missing lots of first graders, but we were very poor tonight.

Without going in for a blow by blow of the match, The Sharks were never in the contest (as a 44-0 hiding might suggest). After 15 minutes we were already down 16-0. On three occassions Souths had received a penalty, which brought them into out half only for them to score each time. Our goal line defense was nonexistant during this first 15 minutes. In fact our defence didn't seem to hurt Souths all night.

From the start Souths cut us to pieces in the ruck. Their play the balls were fast and with purpose. Their dummy half running constantly gained ground without effort. Souths little guys were just killing us straight up the middle. Sadly when we received penalties, we never placed Souths under pressure, as our dummy half running was no where to be seen. When we did attempt to move the ball wide it either went behind the expected target or bounced off a dummy runner who was not expecting it.

The only bright spot in the dummy half running was Misi Talapapa. Misi has talent and did some good things, but also has a habit of self destruction, dropping a ball cold from a drop out knocking it on and I felt sometimes getting lost in defence.

Yet as it comes to defence he was not alone. As stated Souths play the ball was swift and we were constantly on the back foot. Yet even when the Souths forwards were hitting the ball up, our defence waited for them to come. It looked more like the defence of Stuart Rapers coaching than the defence we had last year. Souths defence on the other hand was never really threatened, but I'm not sure if that's because they were good, or because our attack was so bad. Mostly both I think. Constantly Souths players had three defenders on them, only to get an offload away. We didn't appear to hurt in defence at all.

Blake Green needs more experiance. Tonight I felt he looked like a deer in headlights at times. His passing was off and he looked a bit lost. There is a lot of work for Green and Kimmorley to do together, but if our forwards had have gotten going, things might have been better. Kimmorley went off with 20 minutes to play and Green did look more comfortable with Seymour at half.

Seymour didn't seem suited to dummy half. We really did miss Issac De Gois tonight. Missed his speed and unpredictability. Seymour seemed to come into the game in the last 20 minutes.

Brett Kerney was our shinning light for the first 20 minutes. Twice he pulled off try saving tackles. Hung off the hip on any forward that was running to the line and looked safe under the high ball. Alas after 20 minutes he did not return to the field, and out best attacking option evaporated.

As you would expect with a 44-0 scoreline Souths did everything better than we did. I only hope that we were rusty. I realise we have lots of players to return, and as a result we would want to look much stronger in our next trial. If there are injuries though we might lack depth. Norrie and Peek played hard and did ok, but the rest of the forwards went AWOL.

At least those are my thoughts from what I saw tonight. If we don't show a lot of improvement in our next trial, we might be in for a long season.

 

[BatteredFlake]

"bounced off a dummy runner who was not expecting it. '

iN ANY team ball sport- First thing any player needs drummed into their head from coach is you ALWAYS EXPECT the ball as soon as you put on your boots and run out of the locker room ,Be it Training or game day Trial or Comp --EXPECT THE BALL. It is simply NOT an excuse .It should be drilled into them ALL by the time they reach this level.

 

[Wobbygong]

Did that peahearted filthy grub Gallen play?

 

[BatteredFlake]

The magic that the harlem globetrotters created was not simply individual brilliance ,nor was it structured plays and teamwork . It came from players always expecting the unexpected from their teammates .

 

[Foz]

Hip injury to Kearney,Selmes copped a heavy concussion.
Only a few of that side that started tonight would force their way into the starting line-up for the first game(thankfully).
8 tries to nil.
The only way is up.

 

[wittyfan]

The magic that the harlem globetrotters created was not simply individual brilliance ,nor was it structured plays and teamwork . It came from players always expecting the unexpected from their teammates .

Aye? :?

 

[Inferno]

Thanks for the detailed report Chiana, much appreciated.

To be fair though, what chance were we without Covell?

44 - 0?

Could have been worse, look what happened to the Kiwis...

 

[Frailty]

SACK STUART!!!!


I'm gettin the razor blades....

 

[shadowboxer]

We made the trip. The highlight was Filinga's hit on some souths dude that knocked him senseless. He is a big boy but needs more ball.

It was a terrible game for cronulla, great game for souths. Souths played really hard and the likes of their fullback and john sutton ran at the line flat out. To say there side was understrength was being generous, they had a pretty full side expect for say the kiwi connection, but still they were very inpressive. Unlike their fans, who carried on like complete knobs. The celebrations boarded on winning the superbowl or something, mix that up with a few bra boys looking for some action and it made for a really great enviorment. Good luck to souths it was a good win, but mate its only a trial.

On the sharks side of the ledger, they were pretty much woeful. Kearney was a good, got hammered plenty by souths and hopefully not badley injured. He only lasted short period and thankfully went off. Kimmorley was useless, but he didnt have much to play with as there was little go forward at all. Both blake green and Seymour seemed to work better late in the half when kimmorley went off, but there kicking games including kimmorleys was ordinary.

Attack?? not much of that at all. Simmons the catwoman, has bulked up a plenty and tried, a bit but not enough. At one stage he looked threatening but nothing came of it. Maybe play better with a full squad but he has to get involved. Misi who is not really up to 1st grade standard had a red hot go, but as mentioned is prone to brain explosions a plenty, he did work well with filinga early on but that was it. Dont get me started about Anderson though, what they do with him is anyones guess, he had nothin.

The younger players were out at sea, but to be fair there were players coming and going from all over the place. I think after kearney went off they used about 3 different fullbacks. Some of there forwards were totally out of their depth but then again some of them had played in the earlier game which they won comfortably.

Overall, dismal night but by the time we had gotten back to the shire you could have concluded that
1. it was a trial.
2. kimmorley is still as predictable as anything and has the be on borrowed time.
3. fraser anderson could be anything - ha
4. souths fans are souths fans.
5. gosford need a nrl team, that stadium is awesome.
6. id go with seymour and green - straight up. green might be a bit green, but kimmorley needs to run around for the gorillas, the property prices in gymea might go up.
7. I think by round 1 we might have a better idea were we might be heading this season.

Last night saw very little positives

 

[samshark]

How the fugg do you not score a try in a trial?
Now thats a worry.

 

[Frenzy.]

I didn't see it. But just the same I'm not in the least bit worried.

Like they say in racing. Early winners, late losers.

 

[Inferno]

Thanks for the report shadowboxer.

 

[cheese]

Nice to see Kimmorley is still as f*cked as ever ......

Should be a great year ....atleast on the forums anyway

 

[cheese]

what a laughing stock the guy has become though ....A "rep" halfback that can't construct a single point against a bunch of un-match-fit reserve graders.

 

[diggity]

I too made the trip up the F3, only to be disappointed with what the Sharks dished up. From the outset of the game it was clear that Souths were going to play an up-beat game, directing the majority of play straight up the ruck. Isaac Luke carved us up early, and our ruck defence (in particular) was woeful.....they made plenty of metres each time they got the ball, and our big forwards tired quickly.
The intro really set the tone for the game. We looked flat, and dropped a lot of ball. The ruck defence improved noticeably when Kingston came on - Seymour looked out of his depth at hooker as far as I'm concerned. We also looked a bit better when Norrie & Peek replaces Sua and Selmes. For mine, Sua doesn't look to have improved his fitness markedly, and will struggle to find a spot (given the new interchange system).
Kearney's injury was a major disappointment. As has been suggested he looked good under the high ball (diffusing two bombs under pressure) and was constantly seen running off the shoulder of the forwards. On a positive note, Stapleton (who replaced Kearney) looks to have a lot of ability. He was a stand-out in the NYC and looked dangerous with ball in hand.
Looking to the halves, I couldn't help but feel Kimmorley was terrible. Same tricks, same results. That is not to suggest that he doesn't try hard, which he clearly does. He just lacks spark. Green was quiet, and will need to inject himself a little more if he is to make the five-eighth position his own. I agree with previous posters that he looked better with Seymour at half.....this, too, would be my preference for Rd 1.
In regard to the other new guys, Millington was solid but not sensational. He appeared to work really hard in defense, and played big minutes. Filinga looks very raw. He was quiet in attack (the one half-break made ended up with him running straight over the side-line), and was caught out in defense on a couple of occasions. He is certainly big and strong, and looks to have good footwork, but I'm not sure that he'll be ready for round 1.
Overall, the game was most disappointing. We looked disjointed and slow and our ruck defense was of particular concern. Of course we have plenty of quality players to come back into the team but I think our depth was shown up a little (perhaps the squad isn't quite as strong as I had hoped). The highlight of the day for sharks' supporters was definitely the u/20's victory. For mine, Stapelton, Tohi Leha, Jason Bukuya, and Bosden were stand-outs. I am particularly excited about Bosden, who reminds me of a young Gallen (big call, I know).

Bring on next week. It can only get better!

 

[Dave Q]

We made the trip. The highlight was Filinga's hit on some souths dude that knocked him senseless. He is a big boy but needs more ball.

It was a terrible game for cronulla, great game for souths. Souths played really hard and the likes of their fullback and john sutton ran at the line flat out. To say there side was understrength was being generous, they had a pretty full side expect for say the kiwi connection, but still they were very inpressive. Unlike their fans, who carried on like complete knobs. The celebrations boarded on winning the superbowl or something, mix that up with a few bra boys looking for some action and it made for a really great enviorment. Good luck to souths it was a good win, but mate its only a trial.

On the sharks side of the ledger, they were pretty much woeful. Kearney was a good, got hammered plenty by souths and hopefully not badley injured. He only lasted short period and thankfully went off. Kimmorley was useless, but he didnt have much to play with as there was little go forward at all. Both blake green and Seymour seemed to work better late in the half when kimmorley went off, but there kicking games including kimmorleys was ordinary.

Attack?? not much of that at all. Simmons the catwoman, has bulked up a plenty and tried, a bit but not enough. At one stage he looked threatening but nothing came of it. Maybe play better with a full squad but he has to get involved. Misi who is not really up to 1st grade standard had a red hot go, but as mentioned is prone to brain explosions a plenty, he did work well with filinga early on but that was it. Dont get me started about Anderson though, what they do with him is anyones guess, he had nothin.

The younger players were out at sea, but to be fair there were players coming and going from all over the place. I think after kearney went off they used about 3 different fullbacks. Some of there forwards were totally out of their depth but then again some of them had played in the earlier game which they won comfortably.

Overall, dismal night but by the time we had gotten back to the shire you could have concluded that
1. it was a trial.
2. kimmorley is still as predictable as anything and has the be on borrowed time.
3. fraser anderson could be anything - ha
4. souths fans are souths fans.
5. gosford need a nrl team, that stadium is awesome.
6. id go with seymour and green - straight up. green might be a bit green, but kimmorley needs to run around for the gorillas, the property prices in gymea might go up.
7. I think by round 1 we might have a better idea were we might be heading this season.

Last night saw very little positives

As I understand it, Souths didnt field 8 players, most of which are first graders.

Blokes like Ben Lowe (who hasnt played NRL yet) and young gun bear Issac Luke went on the rampage.

Before they went on, they were instructed to practice their attack that was found somewhat wanting last season.

The Souths players had a bit more footy over the off season and we are told, several weeks ahead in training.

Losing Kearney is tough. Joining the Sharks has been the making of him as a footballer.

Signing him was like buying what you thought was a standard subaru impreza but when you hit the road, you happily discover that youve actually bought a WRX.

 

[Ausguy]

all of that aside..... we are here saying it was onlya trial yep and i agree. however what do u think ricky is thinking, i reckon he is the type of guy that would say trial or no trial it was ordinary, i think this could be a very good result for us, especilly considering kimmorley played had he not played then it could be said when he does play he may make a difference... anyway best way to put it is the players that played last night did not do their own chances much good.... roll on the next trial to see who can redeem themselves and who can step up to the mark...

 

[ghoti]

I'm surprised at the attitude of some who are glad that Kimmorley played poorly. Why would anybody be happy with that? I'm aching to see him return to form so I don't have to watch him fail to perform at number 7 all season...he'll start the season regardless of trial performance, and he'll be there for 6 weeks at least. Don't we want him to play well so that we won't be as f**ked as we were last year with him at half?

Seymour is the best halfback we've got in the squad. I'd like to see him partner Green or Bird for majority of the season, but the fact remains that Stuart likes Kimmorley in the 7 for one reason or another...we might as well pray for him to come good, not pray for another injury or several poor performances.

 

[cheese]

sarcasm meter broken is it?!

 

[coolumsharkie]

Auuuuuuugh!!!!

TTG...

Another year of heartache and pain...another year of boring predictable nightmares... another year of me screaming at the tele for all the wrong reasons... another year of THE SAME to come after that.. I think I might be over it by then.