We Can Still Do It

[Rod]

Ok so obviously I'm as pissed off as the next person by this judicial decision, but forever being the optimist, I am pretty confident we can still be there come the second week of the finals. I have once again fiddling around on the finals calculator and this is what I've come up with:

Storm 46
Bulldogs 40
Eels 32
Dragons 32
Knights 30
Raiders 30
Broncos 28
Sea Eagles 28

In that scenario I've got a few key matches that will have to happen:

- We win one match out of Cowboys/Panthers
- Broncos lose to Bulldogs and then Eels
- Sea Eagles lose to Bulldogs and then Storm
- I've actually got Dragons winning their remaining three, probably won't happen.
- Raiders shouldn't be a problem they have the Storm which I have them losing, and then the Sharks which I have them winning.

All in all for the last three rounds it's a pretty favourable draw for us from what I can see. Basically if we can win at least one (obviously preferably 2) we should be fine. Then as long as the Storm and Bulldogs do their job in the first week of the finals, we're away laughing to take on whoever it is with Joey back in the side, pissed off and ready to inflict some damage.

 

[RABK]

What a pathetic end to a season when we are relying on results and other teams.

Why doesn't Johns call his boot a effin c? If he kicked a bit better we'd be sitting pretty on third without all this crap.

 

[Rod]

I agree with that but we've just got to do what we can with the situation I suppose.

 

[RABK]

Mullen outplayed Johns for a good month. Slot him into halfback and ensure he gets the bulk of the play making duties and we can beat the Cowboys and Panthers.

Along with the bye that should see us finish 3rd - 5th. Joey would be sweet for the second week of the finals.

Wish everyone would stop panicking.

 

[CJKnight]

If we can finish 3-5 then we are sweet I think. Even if we lose 1st week of finals we should still get a second chance.

The Key: Give MULLEN the halfback role... kidley is hopeless. If Hagan gives Kidley the "Sherrifs" role then Hagan is dumber than dumb.

 

[Yosh]

yeah would love to see mullen at 7 and chris baily at 6... or is that just me?
kidley should just come off the bench and provide supporting ball play.

how good would if be if this is finally the games where we lose the 'cant win without joey' tag. if we do win all the games where joey isnt there. if we show the world that we can win without him. if hagan puts on a half decent team. this should also hype up the team and we will go into the last couple of games of the finals with moral higher than anything. i believe...

 

[katestar676]

I still think we can do it, if he comes bak in the second round of the semis if we finish above 7th or 8th because i cant see the storm and bulldogs getting beat which means if we loose we will still b in it and joey will b bak for the next game. Those of u hoping for mullens and bailey to b the halfs i agree but does anyone really think hages will do it?

 

[Boxer]

Yosh, your right. IF Hagan puts Mullen & Bailey in the halves and the boys keep playing as they have been, we can win the next two.

 

[Jobdog]

Pipedreams folks. You have got more chance of the Raiders winning the competition than Kidley not being in the run-on side at five-eight this week.

 

[Super Sub]

Let's just treat the next few weeks as practice for when Joey does hang up his boots.

I CAN see us winning one of our last 2 games, I reckon we can get the cowboys, not so confident about Penrith though. As stated before, if we win 1 of our remaining 2 games we would be feeling pretty comfortable within the 8, we would probably be around 5th or 6th but it seems fairly likely that the two bottom teams in the 8 will get knocked out in the first week so in theory as long as we are not in 7th or 8th we can survive the first week and get Joey back to restore some pride in our team.

 

[Stuzmeister]

Yeah Kidley will definately be wearing the number 6 if not 7. I'm hoping like everyone else that Mullen takes control of the side in Joey's absence.

 

[Stuzmeister]

But I beleive we can still do it. We can win our next two games and even the first week of the finals depending on who we play.

 

[IanG]

We're lucky that we not only have the BYE in the last Round of the Comp but our last 2 opponents have been going like busted for quite some time.

What I think will be the injustice is if Simpkins and Cecchin are still in First Grade this week. Personally I don't think they should even be officiating in Under 7s

 

[~bedsy~]

I don't see a problem with Mullen in 7 and Kurt in 6, as long as Mullen takes control of the game and not Kurt.
Of course they can win these games, there's no reason why they can't.

 

[Super Sub]

As long as Mullen is the half-back I will feel pretty comfortable with that, I'm happy for Kurt to be in the run-on side as long as Mullen gets enough ball in his hands. My assumption is that we will probably have Bailey or Brown on the bench as an interchange 5/8 or to play another utility role.

 

[CJKnight]

Both Brown and Bailey have playmaking ablity but can also play second-row because of their size. Combine this with certain speed they possess and you have a great impact utility player off the bench.

I can't wait when Lowrie goes to Parra next year we can play both off the bench at once. Imagine the trouble for tired forwards to catch them.

 

[keeney]

Brown is a lacklustre 2nd rower. We'd have a tiny bench. Won't happen.

 

[roopy]

Both Brown and Bailey are tackle shy in defence.

 

[Ben]

Tackling isn't a special gift that only really good players have. The thing with Brown and Bailey is that they tackle without confidence. And from what i've seen, they go in too high and get run over the top of or get fended away. They just need to have a long lesson with Andrew Johns and learn how to go low and use the ball-runner's momentum to bring them to the ground.

 

[roopy]

Tackling isn't a special gift that only really good players have. The thing with Brown and Bailey is that they tackle without confidence. And from what i've seen, they go in too high and get run over the top of or get fended away. They just need to have a long lesson with Andrew Johns and learn how to go low and use the ball-runner's momentum to bring them to the ground.

If it were that simple - it would have already been done.
Brown has always been a poor to average defender. I don't know how they are going to improve him because he has had plenty of coaching to address the problem.
Bailey is a different question. He is probably poor because he has never played at this level. He will probably only need half a season of experience to get up to speed.