V Panthers

[Crush]

The most concerning aspects from last nights effort.
* the lack of line speed when the Panthers upped the ante, we just couldn’t go with them.
* the lack of creativity in attack, does a plan B even exist?
* the inability of our forwards to hit back when the opposition forwards start getting over us.
* the inability to have one player to pull the side together & decide kick long chase hard & defend with some sting for 15min to earn the right to play some footy.

In short, extremely dissapointing the last 3 weeks.

All 4 points here are bang on.
Points 3 and 4 really resonates with me.
Why is it once we start to get dominated by opposition packs we just go into our shell, lack any creativity, put the offloads away and start running one out?
And you are right, we don't have that player that can pull the side together and bring us back into a game. Widdop should be that player but he clearly is not.

 

[Crush]

It's our coach who looks very suspect.

In 4 plus seasons at the club he has never produced post May results, let alone post August/September.

Straight Shooter

I already know your stance on the coach.
What do you think about our depth though?
Or is absolutely everything that is negative about our team McGregors fault?
Don't answer that, I know your response already.

 

[Old Timer]

Take aways form last nights game

1. Far too much whinging about Penrith this Penrith that which allows people to miss the fact that they scored 28 easy points against our much heralded defence.
2. People who say we have had the harder draw so not surprising we lost to a team that supposedly played nobody are deluding themselves. They spanked our arse good and proper and the scary part is they had plenty left in the tank and can still improve.
3. Our "big" forward pack is now very leg weary and busted and was easily outpointed by a much busier and more mobile pack. All those that denigrated RCG really have no idea.
4. Graham is a very questionable purchase in respect of what he offers on field especially in attack. I remember people saying how good it is that he chases attacking players to the try line, well he might get plenty more of that before the year is out.
5. Hunt is great when he is on but when ordinary is very ordinary in attack and defence. He is pivotal to our attack, so needs some really high quality mentoring and he wont get anything from our coaching staff (where is Jamie Soward)
6. Sims lasted 1/3rd of the season as an 80 minute player and if he is kept as that he will be totally burned out by Rd 19.
7. Vaughan no where near as effective this year and is well down on offloads and tackle busts.
8. The notion we can keep playing injured players is just ridiculous and belligerent behaviour.
9. Our 3/4 line 2-5 has got absolutely nothing and is totally incapable of inspiring our team if the rest of the side is having a bad hair day.
10. We played some classy football as a team early on, people ignored the fact that it was starting to wane, people then confused individual brilliance in winning games with a team that was going well and now our flaws are exposed for all to see and unless adressed immediately we will become an easy target for all those teams sitting just outside the 8 if in fact not for all the teams below us. Selection policy including the bench, game tactics are yet again being failed to be addressed.
11. Those that hang the Roosters & Storm scalps on their belts and offer those games as the reason why we might be a bit down are over rating those sides in an effort to justify how good they think we are. They are competitive for sure but the hatred for them is clouding the value or toughness of those wins, there is real competition out there from other teams this year and we have looked very poor against 3 of them so don't get confused or offer lame excuses.
12. The position is retrievable however if Mc Fookknuckle refuses to see the obvious right now, then this year will be pissed up against the wall very quickly and we will be left lamenting what could have been.

 

[Bests Golden Boots]

Take aways form last nights game

1. Far too much whinging about Penrith this Penrith that which allows people to miss the fact that they scored 30 easy points against our much heralded defence.
2. People who say we have had the harder draw so not surprising we lost to a team that supposedly played nobody are deluding themselves. They spanked our arse good and proper and the scary part is they had plenty left in the tank and can still improve.
3. Our "big" forward pack is now very leg weary and busted and was easily outpointed by a much busier and more mobile pack. All those that denigrated RCG really have no idea.
4. Graham is a very questionable purchase in respect of what he offers on field especially in attack. I remember people saying how good it is that he chases attacking players to the try line, well he might get plenty more of that before the year is out.
5. Hunt is great when he is on but when ordinary is very ordinary in attack and defence. He is pivotal to our attack, so needs some really high quality mentoring and he wont get anything from our coaching staff (where is Jamie Soward)
6. Sims lasted 1/3rd of the season as an 80 minute player and if he is kept as that he will be totally burned out by Rd 19.
7. Vaughan no where near as effective this year and is well down on offloads and tackle busts.
8. The notion we can keep playing injured players is just ridiculous and belligerent behaviour.
9. Our 3/4 line 2-5 has got absolutely nothing and is totally incapable of inspiring our team if the rest of the side is having a bad hair day.
10. We played some classy football as a team early on, people ignored the fact that it was starting to wane, people then confused individual brilliance in winning games with a team that was going well and now our flaws are exposed for all to see and unless dressed immediately we will become an easy target for all those teams sitting just outside the 8 if in fact not for all the teams below us. Selection policy including the bench, game tactics are yet again being failed to be addressed.
11. Those that hang the Roosters & Storm scalps on their belts and offer those games as the reason why we might be a bit down are over rating those sides in an effort to justify how good they think we are. They are competitive for sure but the hatred for them is clouding the value or toughness of those wins, there is real competition out there from other teams this year and we have looked very poor against 3 of them so don't get confused or offer lame excuses.
12. The position is retrievable however if Mc Fookknuckle refuses to see the obvious right now, then this year will be pissed up against the wall very quickly and we will be left lamenting what could have been.

Frizells form worries me, sure he runs hard, but never seems to break the line, JDB has become convinced the last few weeks he is a halfback again, Graham never breaks and often fails to bend, the line, Vaughn similarly so, Simms has been down the last three weeks also.
Our much vaunted pack is crumbling, Proberbly as a result of playing injured.
Good team management I'd imagine.

 

[Old Timer]

Frizells form worries me, sure he runs hard, but never seems to break the line, JDB has become convinced the last few weeks he is a halfback again, Graham never breaks and often fails to bend, the line, Vaughn similarly so, Simms has been down the last three weeks also.
Our much vaunted pack is crumbling, Proberbly as a result of playing injured.
Good team management I'd imagine.

Yes I agree 100% with your points and I almost commented on Tyson (1 dimension only and no passing) but I thought there was enough there already.
Every year our "Optimists Primes" get very upbeat about out players and chances and ultimately over rate everything and make no allowances we have a very poor coaching team running the joint and we will become ordinary as a result of the "good management" you correctly identified.

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

Everyone here should turn off your computer and come back online 1 week before the finals....everything before the finals is just fairy floss. No one remembers the wins or losses of regular games compared to finals games.

I do - because if you don't win enough regular games, by the time you eat the fairy floss, you switch on your computer and you get a blank finals screen.

 

[hazzbeen]

I do - because if you don't win enough regular games, by the time you eat the fairy floss, you switch on your computer and you get a blank finals screen.

I don't know how people say its OK we are doing fine a loss here and there don't matter we are still duel leaders up till now . That's all good if it hasn't happened before , but for a Mary coached side that is renowned for leading after 6, 7 games then the wheels fall off I'd be very concerned ......

 

[Dragon Revival]

By the way in Jersey Flegg Knights beat Dragons 36-32 with DragonJason Gillard scoring three tries.

 

[2010Dragons]

Old timer,
Very well written.
We need you as our new coach.

 

[Life's Good]

The sense of déjà vu is concerning. I can cop a loss, heck I can cop us getting a belting if it will bring change. I’m afraid history under Mary shows it doesn’t. Again, that’s either a f*ck you, I know what I’m doing or he simply has no idea or both.

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

I don't know how people say its OK we are doing fine a loss here and there don't matter we are still duel leaders up till now . That's all good if it hasn't happened before , but for a Mary coached side that is renowned for leading after 6, 7 games then the wheels fall off I'd be very concerned ......

Writing's been on the wall for a few games now.
Penrith was just the culmination.
I am dreading another 2017 finish where we won 6 from 17 to finish outside the 8.
Still should make the 8 this year but can we win the comp under McGregor?
That is the only question that matters.
If the answer is NO we can't, it is time to move on.
My concern that any middle of the road result like finishing 5th or 6th will still be touted as a successful season and McGregor may be extended.

 

[widddds]

Jesus everyone needs to calm down. The only sides we've lost to are 2nd, 3rd and 4th which are obviously gonna be tough games. And remember we did also beat one of those teams. We haven't let any games that we were 'supposed' to win slip away and we've won games which we weren't supposed to win. Yeah we've played quite terribly the past few weeks but I think we're just a bit burnt out. This bye is gonna be great for the team and they're gonna hit back this second half of the year.

 

[Pomoz]

As a Panther fan, I hadn't picked up before that McGregor doesn't play the juniors. You have good juniors, I don't get it.

It is so frustrating and I have watched the Panthers do similar for years until Gus took over. It does take time though to get the production line working so that it consistently produces first graders. It has taken five years for us to get to that point. It doesn't win you a premiership (many other factors involved that can lead to that, such as the quality of your halves) but it helps keep you competitive over a long season. You need that, a junior pool of talent, or a big Rooster's style cheque book to keep buying players.

I'll be honest, I don't think Griffin has any more clue about tactics than McGregor, maybe less so and if he was coaching St George he would have had you kicking to DWZ as well (on the off chance he had dodgy hands), but he does love bringing the kids through. I think we have had five this year already (debutants from our juniors).

 

[redVbull]

Issues run deeper ... our gameplan of forward pack one-up off the ruck is too predictable and has been effectively neutralised by teams like Souths & Penrith with a compress ruck defense of 3x blocking forwards, plus a wider rushing defense to cover any offload play... especially now the 10m is not as rigidly enforced as start of season.

Also we don't capitalise on what go-forward we make with backs in pursuit for any offloads. Instead one-up running and when offload opportunity is received flat footed and improvised.

If we aren't dominating on our forward attack we need to switch to an agile gameplan that moves the ball fast and wide early in the tackle count ... but not seeing much of that. Some RL coaching fundamentals hopefully in the grasp of our main man!

 

[getsmarty]

Take aways form last nights game

1. Far too much whinging about Penrith this Penrith that which allows people to miss the fact that they scored 28 easy points against our much heralded defence.
2. People who say we have had the harder draw so not surprising we lost to a team that supposedly played nobody are deluding themselves. They spanked our arse good and proper and the scary part is they had plenty left in the tank and can still improve.
3. Our "big" forward pack is now very leg weary and busted and was easily outpointed by a much busier and more mobile pack. All those that denigrated RCG really have no idea.
4. Graham is a very questionable purchase in respect of what he offers on field especially in attack. I remember people saying how good it is that he chases attacking players to the try line, well he might get plenty more of that before the year is out.
5. Hunt is great when he is on but when ordinary is very ordinary in attack and defence. He is pivotal to our attack, so needs some really high quality mentoring and he wont get anything from our coaching staff (where is Jamie Soward)
6. Sims lasted 1/3rd of the season as an 80 minute player and if he is kept as that he will be totally burned out by Rd 19.
7. Vaughan no where near as effective this year and is well down on offloads and tackle busts.
8. The notion we can keep playing injured players is just ridiculous and belligerent behaviour.
9. Our 3/4 line 2-5 has got absolutely nothing and is totally incapable of inspiring our team if the rest of the side is having a bad hair day.
10. We played some classy football as a team early on, people ignored the fact that it was starting to wane, people then confused individual brilliance in winning games with a team that was going well and now our flaws are exposed for all to see and unless adressed immediately we will become an easy target for all those teams sitting just outside the 8 if in fact not for all the teams below us. Selection policy including the bench, game tactics are yet again being failed to be addressed.
11. Those that hang the Roosters & Storm scalps on their belts and offer those games as the reason why we might be a bit down are over rating those sides in an effort to justify how good they think we are. They are competitive for sure but the hatred for them is clouding the value or toughness of those wins, there is real competition out there from other teams this year and we have looked very poor against 3 of them so don't get confused or offer lame excuses.
12. The position is retrievable however if Mc Fookknuckle refuses to see the obvious right now, then this year will be pissed up against the wall very quickly and we will be left lamenting what could have been.

Agree except for point 4...Graham has been a valuable addition to the squad.

 

[Old Timer]

Agree except for point 4...Graham has been a valuable addition to the squad.

He is a leviathan in attack and gets way too much ball in critical positions.
Yes he does help the line speed in defence but that is not the reason he should be selected.
His non playing contribution is without a doubt his greatest asset and is much needed by our club which in itself is a sad indictment of the coaching staff, captaincy and senior playing group that was so inept that it needed Graham to help rectify it.

 

[MILEY CYRUS]

There was no second phase play from the Dragons last night. No offloading. I think this is why they struggled in attack and Penrith could shut everything down.
Where as at the start of the season this was the Dragons strength.

 

[mxlegend99]

As a Panther fan, I hadn't picked up before that McGregor doesn't play the juniors. You have good juniors, I don't get it.

It is so frustrating and I have watched the Panthers do similar for years until Gus took over. It does take time though to get the production line working so that it consistently produces first graders. It has taken five years for us to get to that point. It doesn't win you a premiership (many other factors involved that can lead to that, such as the quality of your halves) but it helps keep you competitive over a long season. You need that, a junior pool of talent, or a big Rooster's style cheque book to keep buying players.

I'll be honest, I don't think Griffin has any more clue about tactics than McGregor, maybe less so and if he was coaching St George he would have had you kicking to DWZ as well (on the off chance he had dodgy hands), but he does love bringing the kids through. I think we have had five this year already (debutants from our juniors).

Two great rosters with poor tacticians coaching them. But we have Gus to help Hook. Mary hasnt got that.

What's impressive is we have had a lot of longterm injuried.

1. Dylan Edwards - gone for season
2. Josh Mansour - 3+ months out
3. Waqa Blake - 10+ weeks out
4. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak - missed 6 weeks
5. Tyrone Philips - unavailable opening 8 weeks
6. Tyrone May - unavailable opening 8 weeks
7. Nathan Cleary - missed 6 weeks
8. Tim Browne - gone for season
9. Peter Wallace - busted. In and out of team
10. Sam Mckendry - gone for season

Bolded guys out right now. The others have just tested our depth. Ridiculous to get through 12 weeks of a season with that many disruptions and be equal first with the Dragons.

Dragons were average last night. But they are still a fantastic team. Panthers had some shockers too. But you cant accidentally be sitting at the top of the ladder after half a season.

Dragons have no reason to fear missing the 8 this year. Theres only 6 or 7 decent teams and you barely face any of them again.

 

[Rabbits20]

Tonight's disappointing loss can be broken down into a few parts:

1. Ben Hunt's injury was terminal to SGI's chances (call me Captain Obvious)

2. With his absence, the side reverted to the 2017 monstrosity we'd all like to forget.

3. As demonstrated over the past four--years, Widdop cannot do everything by himself.

4. The attack was stifled by a truly shocking display from dummy half.

(Insert "flogging the dead horse" meme here - the truth is usually unpalatable though)

5. Dufty only performs well against lowly teams (again, another truism)

6. Flicking Nightingale simply because he's "too old" - never mind Graham - won't do a ficking (sic) in strengthening the Dragons' weaknesses.

7. Saints should still reasonably, comfortably make the semis but there are real doubts whether it can stay in the top four.

Just on point 4 yeah I thought Cam's passes weren't fast and crisp. Kudos though for tackling his backside off which is his strength!

 

[ALSGI]

ALSGI...........Do you mean, "we were simple sh!t" or "Sh!t, we were simple"?
............ and besides, can you stop sitting on the fence and tell us what you really mean, thank you!

Sorry OKB1.
They were shit.
Simply shit.