Why are we falling away in the backend of games?

[Magpies Forever]

Why are we falling away in the backend of games? Lack of experienced players to steady? Fitness? Lack of mental toughness (gen x/y or whatever???)?.

Seems to me there is a trend there but what is the cause and how to fix?

Thoughts?

 

[gronkathon]

They lose all momentum when our three best forwards are off at once.

Momentum is a funny thing. Easy to lose, very hard to take back

Our right edge is utterly inept. When you have a half unwilling to engage the line your edge backrower is canon fodder and Lawrence is utterly pointless as a footballer in the centres

 

[benched tiger]

Yep...what gronk said...!

 

[macnaz]

Ask the Sharks with no Fifita's or Gal , yes its about momentum . 100% . But u have to fight to change momentum not just wait for it to happen . We had 55% possession and still couldn't win.

 

[super_coach]

Its a funny thing once you get a bit of a lead the officials tend to start giving the other team all the close calls and what seems a leg up. Anyway this can cause a massive momentum swing and we do not have the six or seven who can regain control of the game, so we tend to crash and burn.

Its also a case of we have usually over achieved to get our lead in the first place, our roster (top 25) is close to the poorest in the comp. I am not having a go at individuals its just the way it is and Taylor will not have any real success until he gets rid of the deadwood and recruits some real quality

 

[macnaz]

I do agree , but sometimes just friggin work and pressure will get u back on track . As I said the Sharks showed last night runninh into a cyclone how its done . We had all the ball for 20 minutes and within the next 5 without it we already looked spent.

 

[Tigers Tale]

This is a great question.

I think part of the problem is who is actually driving the team. Generally speaking a half back or captain will step up and take control when needed. Really you should never lose a game being up by 22 points like we were on the weekend or the 18 against the Dogs.

If you look at Souths (not just last night), they have a very strong side but since the loss of Reynolds, their form has gone off. He was obviously the one calling the shots. They have put in players who are capable but just don't have that level of brilliance. That is how I feel about our half and 5/8, they are capable but not brilliant. They may well be one day but gee, they are a long way short at the moment.

Until we learn how to control a game this is going to happen time and time again.

 

[gronkathon]

Replacing big body with big body is a must.

With lodge back surely Jesse has to return to the second row rotation.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

All points made in this thread are correct, but can I also add that we are mentally weak. Always have been.

 

[The Charlatan]

Devastated that admin has revoked your signature Smeg.

 

[gronkathon]

I was going to re-size it but that pangs of effort

 

[Magpies Forever]

When I look throught he roster we have very few old heads, with good experience / time served, available to steady things- Farah, Galloway, Lawrence, Halatau, Lulia, Moltzen and Richards.

Either Farah has to step up in these situations and take over directing from the halves of Brookes & Moses or either Moltzen or Halatau have to be included in the 17 to bring steadiness and direction when needed.

Jeez..................................... Moltzen / Halatau? Maybe Halatau gives a bit more flexibility, but then again if Moses can be pushed back into lower grades to gain some more time / experence Moltzen is a more sensible option.

 

[Vic Mackey]

Taylor made a huge mistake by taking Farah off for the first 15 in the second half IMO. We had a couple of sets right on the raiders line, if we score we wrestle the advantage back and probably never look like losing. Halatau has been good as a running forward but as hooker his service is terrible. If Farahs on we are at least a chance of scoring in those 2 sets and shut it out.

 

[BrotherJim05]

I am by no means an expert but my thoughts on how we can fix this:

- Tupau needs to move back to the bench. This is purely strategic, nothing more. Tupau is one of our top 3 forwards at the moment but we need his aggression coming off the bench. As many have stated, we lack grunt once Woods and Tupau come off the field.

- We can't carry Brooks and Moses together just yet. It pains me to say this because they both have HUGE potential but they just aren't there YET (give them 3 years and we will all be singing a different tune). Simple fact, we need a more composed half to compliment one of these guys. Brooks has proven to be an insanely capable attacking weapon so I would think Moses needs some time in NSW Cup. Drinkwater would be a great replacement. It wouldn't be permanent so Moses won't feel overly threatened.

- Kicks in general play need to improve big time. Brooks/Anasta worked well together because Anasta took a lot of control in general play. Yes he offered nothing in attack, but it gave Brooks confidence to play the game as he saw it. I think Drinkwater could provide this control.

It really is not doom and gloom yet. We have shown our potential, we just need to pull it all together consistently for 80 minutes.

 

[b.bear]

All points made in this thread are correct, but can I also add that we are mentally weak. Always have been.

We can put up all the excuses in the world but it is plain to see we are mentally weak and it only takes 1 setback usually for us to drop our heads.

Captain and halves should bear most responsibility.

Also our left side defense was week last week

 

[Fordy20]

Taylor made a huge mistake by taking Farah off for the first 15 in the second half IMO. We had a couple of sets right on the raiders line, if we score we wrestle the advantage back and probably never look like losing. Halatau has been good as a running forward but as hooker his service is terrible. If Farahs on we are at least a chance of scoring in those 2 sets and shut it out.

The halves need to learn to live without Farah. The club has made no secret of that. I question how good Halatau is as a running forward. How many TBs, LBs or LBAs has he made when Farah is on the pitch?