1.Edwards
2.Mansour
3.Whare
4.Blake
5.DWZ
6.May
7.Cleary
8.Latu
9.Rein
10.Tamou
11.CHN
12.Yeo (c)
13.Merrin
14.RCG
15.Cartwright
16.JFH/Kikau
17.Peach/Katoa
I would consider the above to be my worst case scenario type team. If players move on in the off-season for instance.
If Moylan stays I'd have him at 6, May to NSW Cup and Peach retains a spot on the bench.
If Moylan goes I'd be happy for May/Cleary to have the off season together.
Latu > RCG interchanging gives us a maintained aggressive line speed. This is very important. We lose too much momentum at times and it shows. Latu fixes that.
Cartwright > Merrin gives us the second phase play but with the option of running a wide edge runner.
Merrin can play 60 minutes with a stint at Prop when Cartwright comes on and/or to bench Tamou. Keeps the middle third solid IMO.
Add Kikau/JFH after 30minutes and before the 50 minute mark.
Katoa>Rein or an interchange forward.
My view on our biggest flaw:
If CHN/Yeo can get their timing right on decoy runs then we give Whare/Blake space and become less predicable.This must happen or else Cleary/Moylan/May will run out of options.
This all starts at hooker. Slow service is a killer here. We all noticed Rein/Katoa improving this area. Any delay here will give the opposition line half a second or more to cover the 1-2m to shut down our plays.
Our decoys are predicable because 9/10 they actually get the ball. It is a great ploy if you're conditioning the defence to take the decoy only to let it out the back or inside to Edwards but our timing and lines are inept. Its the simplest play which nets the most results for the top teams.
If you've watched JT into Gavin Cooper over the years youll know that JT hits Cooper constantly. Sometimes wide, sometimes inside. Will repeat for set after set. Then he either goes out the back, Inside to Coote or he throws the dummy and goes. Smart halves create a rhythm which limits decision making time and leads to defensive mistakes.
Cooper Cronk into Proctor (prior to this season) and Cooper into Tohu Harris is another example. Meanwhile Slater is looming for the inside ball.
A team that did this well all year was actually Souths. Reynolds back into Alex Johnson or out the back to Crighton and/or one pass wider to their centres.
Our forwards need to anticipate the run and get into position to receive the ball. If not, run through the damn line and line up again.
I want to see more:
Repeat sets, Linespeed, stability and players being picked in their preferred positions.
Square peg, Round hole:
Cartwright: We need to define his role and quick. I enjoyed him playing as a forward. Using his size and footwork before the line was great for us but we missed his offloads and creativity. That being said he can be frustrating to watch. Creativity is not sideways movements, poor or forced passes and his defensive lapses can be costly. Not so much on the scoreboard but with our momentum.
Peachy: Not a centre but would easily be a super sub. Could fill a number of posiitons on the park. More so than Katoa but as a bench forward he'd be useful in bursts. Katoa offers the most legitimate replacement for hooker if we dont elect to Rein/Wallace over 80 minutes. Choices have to be made.
Having depth is great but having too many good players and the need to fit them in doesn't create a good balance. Pick players in their positions and stick with it. Define their roles and let them settle into it. No more experiments!
Key position to improve our game:
No, Its not the coach. Its hooker. Easily the most important position on the park IMO. Rein has to be it. He can play 80 minutes (see below), passing game is much improved, his timing, workrate and linespeed is very good and his dummy half running is a huge plus.
For those wanting Katoa to start. It would be great but I'd prefer him play off the bench and give Rein a short spell. Wallace has been a great servent but he is just not the choice we need.
Fix hooker and we improve our timing considerably which has a positive effect on our attack overall.
And I am done.....
