Given the incredible buildup to this match, and the expected crowd, is anyone else concerned that some of our team will get overwhelmed by the occasion.
I am referring to guys like Robson, Lowrie, Keating, Morts, Mannah, Reddy etc.
Looking at the Bulldogs side, they have plenty of SOO or Grand Final experience as opposed to our side.
I hope I am wrong but lets hope they remain calm and collected and not become rabbits in the headlights which we see so often.
Can not wait !!!
it has worried me all week, and Cayless has a problem with stage fright too sometimes.
My girlfriend always asks me the same thing to be honest.;-)
How are the ulcers boys? Plenty of Mylanta on hand?
:lol: man i get the worst stage fright, thats why i need to slam down a beer or two before a chick comes over - takes the edge off:lol:
my only concern is that a few of the boys confessed to the teams nerves last week
while this is natural, once the titans werent able to post any pts, we lifted and it was all over
my concern is if we start poorly, will we be able to overcome it??
in all our wins lately, only the tigz 8-0 and the dragons 2-0 have we had to come from behind
oh and titans 2-0
not in front of 80,000 people, one game outside the GF, different circumstances now.
Yeah my concern is that it has been 'one week at a time' talk for two months - now they are talking Grand Finals and premierships.
I am hoping Ando has them under control. He is a cool customer.
Against one of the top two teams all year they get walloped 37 nil by the dragons.
In sudden death they come back the following week and completely blow the dragons off the park, in fact they demoralized them in such a way that there frailness and brittleness was so apparent, it made it very easy for the Broncos to finish them off last week. The Broncos gained immense confidence off the back of the psychological hammering the Eels dished out to the Dragons. And remember, the Eels did this under very hot and oppressive conditions ------What does this say......
MENTALLY TOUGH!!!
Exhausted and bruised with a short 5 day turn-a-round they come out and blew the Titans right off the park as well. They only had 6 cylinders out of 12 working that night and still they overcame the Titans. What does this say........
MENTALLY TOUGH!!!
Now they had a full weeks rest and they will come out against an under-prepared, not-battle-hardened Bulldogs outfit, whose 7 is also terribly suspect. With the fast speed of the ball (for 80 minutes) being played at the line, then turning for second phase plays, maintaining the high-speed of the play-the-ball, moving it left or right or up the middle, kicking over or through the line (when required), the Bulldogs line will quickly become staggered leaving the way open for Mateo, Smith, Reddy, Inu/Wright, Mortimer, Robinson, etc, to hit these gaps, push through the line and offload if necessary..... while still maintaining this high-speed play of the ball.
No 2 week simulation in the park is going to prepare the Bulldogs against this very intense, aggressive, passionate, unrelenting, up-in-your-face, fast play of the ball, hammering away at their line, for 55 to 65 minutes of this game.
Then you have the most dangerous preying-mantis lurking behind the line waiting for his moment to inflict his deadly blows, and he will, many, many times throughout this game. Many a Bulldog will be his victim on Friday night.
The Bulldogs are going to be thrashed. I am predicting 30+ but it could very easily hit 50+ by a team playing the most explosive NRL semi-final football seen since the Roosters wiped out the Dragons in the 1975 GF 38 nil.
As mentioned in an earlier post..............
http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/sh...6&postcount=31
27th August 2009
On a clear dry night it might all be over by 1/2 time with Eels 26 Penrith 0
Fulltime Eels 48 (possibly 60+) Penrith 8
If the Eels are on track to winning the GF the win over the Tigers last week will have had ALL the players shift to another level of power, intensity, precision, focus, determination, cohesion, brotherhood/mateship and confidence. The spring has been wound back as far as it can over the past 4 months (almost at breaking point now) and will be released tomorrow night with enormous ferocity, unleashing a force of positive energy that will peak on GF day when its biggest wave hits the NRL. After tomorrow night ALL opposing teams will be sh*ting themselves having to play the Eels and this includes the Dragons....................
And the keyword for this Eels Team
MENTALLY TOUGH!!!
Boooooooooooooooooo Casper
