What did we learn tonight

[lewiscook]

Sorry, buddy, but that was Jeff Robson who put up the kick for Reddy`s try. Nice kick, too. I admit that he`s not too dynamic, and maybe Anderson will have to look at that at some point, but if people are going to criticise his kicking game, at least get it right! It seems that no-one in this team has a great kicking game. NO ONE. But occasionally, each and every one of our kickers puts in a couple of good kicks. They just aren`t consistent,. though.

Sorry mate, my mistake. Full credit to Robson for that kick, truely was great.

 

[Angry_eel]

Kick was decent but the grab was better.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

Our attitude is bvery poor. Basically our front rowers need a rocket up them. Winning starts in the front row. Apart from Mannah they have been pretty poor.

I would also swap Robson and Mateo around. Robson is a good player but lacks skills for a half. And then we have Mateo who has more skills then most players not using those skills.

Robson to lock will allow him to do what he does best , defend and provide some leadership. I reckon he is almost playing like a lock anyway.

Mateo can go to 5/8 with either Mortimer or Kris to half ( my preference being Kris). From memory Mateo kicking game isn't to bad, plus we now had a great player maker actually using his skills. This will take pressure of Hayne.

Answer this question, we are 10 metres out from the opositions tryline , who would you prefer to get the ball on the last tackle Robson or Mateo ?

Also I know it has been mentioned we don't have any halfs at the club, what about Scott Porter from the sharks. Looks like he is no longer in favour. And Scott has one thing the eels really miss a bloody long kicking game. Unlikely but !!

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Our attitude is bvery poor. Basically our front rowers need a rocket up them. Winning starts in the front row. Apart from Mannah they have been pretty poor.

Agreed. Though Fui has been good in the second half of each game. That's why having him come off the bench is a good move, provided the starting front rowers do their job.

I would also swap Robson and Mateo around. Robson is a good player but lacks skills for a half. And then we have Mateo who has more skills then most players not using those skills.

Robson to lock will allow him to do what he does best , defend and provide some leadership. I reckon he is almost playing like a lock anyway.

Mateo can go to 5/8 with either Mortimer or Kris to half ( my preference being Kris). From memory Mateo kicking game isn't to bad, plus we now had a great player maker actually using his skills. This will take pressure of Hayne.

Answer this question, we are 10 metres out from the opositions tryline , who would you prefer to get the ball on the last tackle Robson or Mateo ?

Mateo wouldn't play any differently at lock of five-eighth - he will stay on one side of the field with 2 or 3 players outside him. The only difference between playing him at 6 or 13 is whether you get an extra back into the team or an extra forward.

 

[Maroubra Eel]

I`d have to agree with that. I`m beginning to side with the people who say we need a more dynamic half-back. I think we probably do. It pains me to say this, because I really like Jeff Robson. He did some good things last night - a couple of good kicks (not every one is sh*t, you know) and a few neat inside passes that nearly came off, and of course, the little bomb that Reddy caught for a try.
It`s so difficult to tell how well he is going (or not) though, when the forwards are being dominated and are playing one out.
Still, with all his faults and failures, he is (at this point in time) definitely playing better than Kris Keating. "Keating looks good", people are saying.
Well, they must like the look of his hair or something, because from where I sit, he isn`t actually doing very much. Perhaps he`s not match fit yet, I don`t know; but he had a golden opportunity to impress last night. And he didn`t.

I agree. I thought kk was ordinary last night.

 

[bartman]

Not saying we wont improve, just trying to point out our issues, can't put the head in the sand and say it will come good this year becasue it did 12 months ago. It doesn't generally work out that way

A lot of people are clinging to that 'hope'.

I don't think the odds of a run like that occuring again are too high.

Our players, it appears most of all...?

 

[bartman]

It`s so difficult to tell how well he is going (or not) though, when the forwards are being dominated and are playing one out.

Our pack need a rocket up them imo.

Playing much worse than last year, seem to be waiting for someone else to step up and have a go, rather than all chipping in for each other.

I honestly can't think of one NRL pack that we will manage to get on top of this year, playing like we have so far. Not a single one...

 

[bartman]

I haven't seen Mitchell's form this year, but I honestly think adding him to the 17 will achieve absolutely no difference to the issues that are troubling us at the moment.

Halves or hookers can't make a difference when people are dropping the ball cold in the first or second tackle in their own half (Grothe, Moimoi).

 

[bartman]

It boils down to enthusiasm. The 3 teams we have played so far wanted it far more. Last week we profited from Hayne stepping up and the ref f**king up. So count ourselves lucky we're not 0-3.

Yep.

Not convinced our guys are willing to do the hard work just yet. Like they believe their own hype instead of wanting to earn it.

 

[fish eel]

to be fair, I think our defence inside our own 20 metre zone indicates there is some desire there. we havent caved or collapsed in any game like we would have early last year

 

[bartman]

Some desire/pride, but not near enough?

We're getting squeezed out of games before half time, three in a row (comeback miracle v Manly excepted).

Don't mind losing at this stage of the season, but at least have a go for the 80 minutes - not just choosing to turn up for 30 minutes somewhere along the line, and hope.

 

[ROGUE]

I haven't seen Mitchell's form this year, but I honestly think adding him to the 17 will achieve absolutely no difference to the issues that are troubling us at the moment.

Halves or hookers can't make a difference when people are dropping the ball cold in the first or second tackle in their own half (Grothe, Moimoi).

true that i do recall seeing a stat last nite where the tiges had made 60 tackles and we had made 140 at a certain point in the match

 

[Hollywood Jesus]

I'm not pulling my hair out by any means.

If we grab a win next week then we're 2-2. I really don't care how well we've played to get to that position because it's only March. We've then got Canberra at home and Souths - both of which we can possibly win without playing the house down. It's not out of the question for us to be sitting 3-3 without having played any great football, without having strung one full 80-minute performance together.

If that's the case after Round 6 then I will be quite content.

Having said that it doesn't mean we shouldn't be talking about areas where we can look for improvement. My biggest concern so far is that we don't seem to have any actual style that we're looking to play. Mateo is dying with the ball every time, Cayless isn't playing ball, we're not looking for clean feed to Tahu...that expansive style of play that we know works wonders for us doesn't even seem to be on the cards.

As such, we're left with a more up-front style that doesn't suit us. Sure, the likes of Fui and Grothe can play that way but that's about it. Poore is a marshmallow who only played well last year on the back of the man mountain Weyman (MORUYA SHARKS!!!) and Cayless doesn't have that steamrolling grunt anymore. Our ball players aren't conserative and so don't fit into that rigid style.

It doesn't even seem as if we're trying to start simple and introduce a more flamboyant style once we settle in. If this was true you'd have the likes of Cayless and Mateo at least trying something every now and then but they're not.

So what's it to be? Stick with a style that in no way suits our roster and pay the price for it or just say "f**k it!" and go hell for leather and let the dice fall how they may.

I say we roll those bloody dice. Sometimes you just need to roll a hard six. I say we suck it up and give it a shot. Give me death or give me glory.

 

[mickdo]

The first 3 games of the season were always going to be a struggle for us. We played 3 top 8 contenders (and probably 2 top 4 contenders), we always start slow, our trial form was poor, and we probably had a bit of a GF 'hangover' attitude-wise.

It has been perfectly obvious that we haven't been using the same game plan that got us to the GF last year. Whether that is DA trying to ease us back in to the season, the players not following the game plan, or the players not being fit enough, who knows.

What we do know is that we have 3 easier (in relative terms) games coming up, and if we can get some confidence and wins from them then the first 3 weeks will all be a distant memory. Put the razor blades away folks.

 

[yy_cheng]

Mateo wouldn't play any differently at lock of five-eighth - he will stay on one side of the field with 2 or 3 players outside him. The only difference between playing him at 6 or 13 is whether you get an extra back into the team or an extra forward.

Mateo plays very differently at 6 than at 13.

Mateo wants to be the goto man. When at 6 he always wants the ball.

That could solve our leadership problem at least Mateo will do something.

However, at 6, he doesn't run to the line as much.


I just think that robbo and mortz are suffering from 2nd year syndrome. The opposition have worked out that if they rushed them, they don't have anything else to offer besides get tackled with the ball.

 

[strider]

to be fair, I think our defence inside our own 20 metre zone indicates there is some desire there. we havent caved or collapsed in any game like we would have early last year

i'd have to agree - our goal line defense is generally going pretty well - cos we've given the opposition a sh*tload of possession and mostly held them ..... last week a few tahu brain snaps let in a couple of soft tries and this week benji was benji and caused us trouble - but generally we've put our bodies on the line when it matters

problem is we get rolled up field so easily - teams get out of their own half so easily and we don't have the kicking game to trap em down there

 

[Poupou Escobar]

It seemed last night the Tigers were lying all over us whether there was a dominant tackle or not, yet when we were defending the ref was telling us to get up as soon as we'd made the tackle.

Now I admit the Tigers defended much more strongly, with a lot more dominant tackles, but for all the other tackles there was a clear difference in how fast the refs were allowing either team to play the ball.

Mateo plays very differently at 6 than at 13.

Mateo wants to be the goto man. When at 6 he always wants the ball.

That could solve our leadership problem at least Mateo will do something.

However, at 6, he doesn't run to the line as much.

I agree his involvement in different matches varies dramatically but I haven't seen it linked to the number he wears on his back.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

Mateo plays very differently at 6 than at 13.

Mateo wants to be the goto man. When at 6 he always wants the ball.

That could solve our leadership problem at least Mateo will do something.

However, at 6, he doesn't run to the line as much.


I just think that robbo and mortz are suffering from 2nd year syndrome. The opposition have worked out that if they rushed them, they don't have anything else to offer besides get tackled with the ball.

That was my point, at 5/8 Mateo will play his natural game which is attacking. At lock Robson would play his natural gaem defending.

At lock Mateo is very cautious, but we know how brillant he can be.

 

[God-King Dean]

lol I'll never understand for life of me why people think taking talented outside backs & putting them in the halves is a good idea.

We have the best fullback in the world... Let's put him at 5/8th!

 

[Poupou Escobar]

lol I'll never understand for life of me why people think taking talented outside backs & putting them in the halves is a good idea.

We have the best fullback in the world... Let's put him at 5/8th!

There are several reasons. This guy sums it up best.

I think he makes a convincing case.