Much improved peformance on past weeks

[Rooster_6]

The frist thing we could do would be pass the ball out to the backs when there's a 2 and 3 man overlap instead of wasting tackles trying to barge thru the forwards all the time then drop the ball.

Yeh I agree our ability to create overlaps on the fringes has been very poor this year. People will blame the halves because they're identified as the the players who should be creating these overlaps however I think that'd be a naive assertion based on the modern day structures.

The issue is when Pearce plays at first receiver and Maloney at second receiver we do look our most dangerous but it's also very easy for defensive side to read which way we're going to run the ball and they can slide their defence and stack up numbers. The issue is our link play between half to three quarters. The reason for having split halves in the modern day era is purely because opposition defences can never be sure if the play is going to go left or right. If you think about the times where we have put our outside backs away it's been from either Maloney playing as a second receiver or SBW playing as a second receiver (link man). However as I mentioned earlier I think teams have quickly figured out that if Pearce is first receiver and Maloney is second receiver we're quite obviously going to go that way as there's no other ball playing threats in the side and they can stack up on numbers in defence.

When you think of the top 3 teams in the comp (Easts aside) they all play with split halves but their link play comes from their fullback (Brett Stewart, Greg Inglis & Billy Slater), they all wrap around as a second receiver and play more as a traditional 5/8 in attack than 5/8's actually do anymore. This is where the best sides in the comp create their overlaps and put their 3/4's into open space.

Unfortunately for us we've got Minichiello who just doesn't have the ball playing ability to ever be a decent second receiver and whilst our halves will continue to cop the blame for not creating enough opportunities they've been seriously hindered from Round 1.

I can't stress enough just how much our side would improve if RTS was shifted to fullback and Mini onto the wing.

[Guest]

Yeh I agree our ability to create overlaps on the fringes has been very poor this year. People will blame the halves because they're identified as the the players who should be creating these overlaps however I think that'd be a naive assertion based on the modern day structures.

The issue is when Pearce plays at first receiver and Maloney at second receiver we do look our most dangerous but it's also very easy for defensive side to read which way we're going to run the ball and they can slide their defence and stack up numbers. The issue is our link play between half to three quarters. The reason for having split halves in the modern day era is purely because opposition defences can never be sure if the play is going to go left or right. If you think about the times where we have put our outside backs away it's been from either Maloney playing as a second receiver or SBW playing as a second receiver (link man). However as I mentioned earlier I think teams have quickly figured out that if Pearce is first receiver and Maloney is second receiver we're quite obviously going to go that way as there's no other ball playing threats in the side and they can stack up on numbers in defence.

When you think of the top 3 teams in the comp (Easts aside) they all play with split halves but their link play comes from their fullback (Brett Stewart, Greg Inglis & Billy Slater), they all wrap around as a second receiver and play more as a traditional 5/8 in attack than 5/8's actually do anymore. This is where the best sides in the comp create their overlaps and put their 3/4's into open space.

Unfortunately for us we've got Minichiello who just doesn't have the ball playing ability to ever be a decent second receiver and whilst our halves will continue to cop the blame for not creating enough opportunities they've been seriously hindered from Round 1.

I can't stress enough just how much our side would improve if RTS was shifted to fullback and Mini onto the wing.

Honestly the best thing you have posted.

Didn't I say to you from the Tigers trial I didn't like our structure?

The way we set up our sets of 6 we really only have one shot at scoring because we play Maloney out the back in the fullback role. He was the one who put that pass on for SKD out the back last night. It was a lovely catch and pass but like you said that is usually the fullbacks job.

Look I can understand the reasons why Robbo is resisting the move. Experience, fitness, positional play but I think at the very least RTS should be playing fullback in attack.

[Rooster_6]

Honestly the best thing you have posted.

Didn't I say to you from the Tigers trial I didn't like our structure?

The way we set up our sets of 6 we really only have one shot at scoring because we play Maloney out the back in the fullback role. He was the one who put that pass on for SKD out the back last night. It was a lovely catch and pass but like you said that is usually the fullbacks job.

Look I can understand the reasons why Robbo is resisting the move. Experience, fitness, positional play but I think at the very least RTS should be playing fullback in attack.

Yeh no doubt, I was wrong I thought that playing a traditional halves pairing would work and it did in the early rounds but as I mentioned it's just too easy for teams to figure out which way our attack is going to be directed.

That SKD blown try you're talking about was beautiful, Pearce to SBW to Maloney to SKD, all quick precise passes that's how tries are created.

It's definitely something we need to work on.

[roosterproud]

bring on rts as a full back and olfield as centre and mini on the rts wing side.....round 20 and on

[Guest]

Some really good stuff in this thread...unusual for the pen...

I think the move of RTS to FB is a formality...just a matter of when.

Still think Pearce should've done better in that 2nd half...sorry 6, I'm a fan but he needed to be better when it mattered last night.

[Yak]

If Sam Moa was outstanding then what does that make the established players who are constantly criticized such as Frank-Paul Nu'uausala who gained 150 metres and made 23 tackles for 1 missed and Martin Kennedy who gained 140 metres making 24 tackles and missing zero?

Kennedy obviously has a big engine and I think his work is massively undervalued on here. I do wish he would just thunder into the line though instead of that skip he does before the line. I feel like he'd trying to make a line break every time he hits it up when often all that is needed is maximal metres before contact, dominate the tackle, find your front and get a quick play the ball. Sure metres after impact are good but it slows the momentum of the set down because the line has time to get back. And while he doesn't miss many tackles, sometimes he does let the team down in defence. If he isn't a marker and is forced to retreat to the line he struggles to get back and then move up again, this compresses our line cos the A defender is missing and second out has to shift in which gives a bit more space wide of the ruck. If you watch our players he struggles with this the most because of his size. He also made a poor decision in the Warriors first try which created the space. I haven't watched a replay yet and was at the game but if you have a look you'll find he stands on the inside of his opposite man in the line which leaves Maubs stranded cos the gap is too big. It's a fundamental of defence that you line up slightly outside your player and that cost us a try last night. But still he is improving in most facets every week. If he gets 18th man for QLD that will see him improve even more.

FPN was outstanding. He and SBW were a tie for best on ground for mine. If he was to play like that week in week out he would be in the top 5 highest paid forwards in the game. But we know that is highly unlikely, yet he has been far more consistent under Robbo this year than in previous seasons. Playing for a contract perhaps? Unfortunately we won't ever find out unless he is re-signed. If any club should buy him it should be Melbourne. They would get the greatest value out of him.

[Rooster_6]

I hear what you're saying Yak but I think Marty has looked his best in the past two weeks when he's using his footwork to get in between defenders and then pumping the legs after contact to make metres, he just doesn't have the low centre of gravity that blokes like Mannah & Moa do to be charging into the defensive line. I think the key for Marty is to develop an offload, defenders clearly aren't able to get a good shot on him so if he can drive in the tackle and then offload late when the defensve line is already back the 10 it's a massive bonus if he can do that along with finding his front a lot quicker like you said I think he'd become a really top prop.

A lot of his defensive work goes unnoticed, he and Jared have had to shoulder a lot of the defensive work this year because we don't have a defensive specialist at lock and they've done a really good job of it so far. Coming up with some big numbers given the amount of minutes they're playing.

Even though I've been a big supporter of Marty in the past I'm not getting too excited, 2 good performances back to back doesn't make the first half of the season irrelevant where he's been very average.

[Guest]

Sometimes you have to take a couple of steps back to start moving forwards again.

It may be painful, however a couple of losses may be what it takes to get TR to move the furniture around a bit. Let's just hope TR is not going to be someone who sticks his head in the sand and hopes things will get better by themself. I have a gut feeling they won't and it would be a shame to waste a year just letting things fall naturally into place. Time to earn his corn and make the right calls.

[John Corey]

I just thought we were really unlucky tonight, we pretty much dominated them in every department except the scoreboard. Unlucky that Mini & SKD blessed us with their blunders in the same game, usually they have the common courtesy to do it in separate games. In all seriousness though I thought;

- Our go forward was a lot better, Kennedy has backed up his performance against the Eels with another good one, making metres after contact with every hit up. Moa is back and that's probably and understatement, he's BACK! LOD was very impressive I thought especially in the early exchanges and FPN has been good off the bench all season for us and that hasn't changed.

- The slight structure change of SBW to lock in attack and Guerra to lock in defence worked wonders. SBW looked the best he has all year imo, I know that's a big statement given some of his performances this year but he looked a threat every time he had the ball. It meant that our props had to up their workrate through the middle but they more than stepped up I thought(Kennedy 140m, O'donnell 107m, Nuuausala 150m & Moa 112m).

Just like after Round 1 the panic merchants are out; even Roboo hasn't escaped criticism but on the performance alone I reckon we looked good. Some definite positives to take out of that on both individual/team development imo.

Scanning this forum though I'm probably on my own...

I agree with you. Beaten by a couple of ricochets and tap backs from kicks leading to length of the field trys. Did not get outcoached either like some like to suggest.

[stsae]

I agree with you. Beaten by a couple of ricochets and tap backs from kicks leading to length of the field trys. Did not get outcoached either like some like to suggest.

Like they almost beat us that way the first time we played them.

Funny how that's twice now we've had a side play disciplined and in our face and we've crumpled under pressure and thrown one game away and almost done so with the earlier one. I noticed they put away the razzledazzle and just played tight.

Surely Elliot learnt something coaching our players???

BTW mate, if it was a few lucky bounces, that must mean Martin Luther Kennedy wasn't to blame???

[Yak]

I hear what you're saying Yak but I think Marty has looked his best in the past two weeks when he's using his footwork to get in between defenders and then pumping the legs after contact to make metres, he just doesn't have the low centre of gravity that blokes like Mannah & Moa do to be charging into the defensive line. I think the key for Marty is to develop an offload, defenders clearly aren't able to get a good shot on him so if he can drive in the tackle and then offload late when the defensve line is already back the 10 it's a massive bonus if he can do that along with finding his front a lot quicker like you said I think he'd become a really top prop.

A lot of his defensive work goes unnoticed, he and Jared have had to shoulder a lot of the defensive work this year because we don't have a defensive specialist at lock and they've done a really good job of it so far. Coming up with some big numbers given the amount of minutes they're playing.

Even though I've been a big supporter of Marty in the past I'm not getting too excited, 2 good performances back to back doesn't make the first half of the season irrelevant where he's been very average.

Spot on R6 if he is to continue with the way he's hitting the line he needs to work on developing an offload so that the support player can run at the staggered retreating line and get the quick play the ball and get a roll on. If Robbo feels his ball security isn't up to that then he has to work on his step at the line so that he can do it at full pace. JWH used to just run head on into defenders but as you mentioned his COG is too high so his stability in a collision was poor. He used to counter this by dropping his head and bending into contact but because of his long torso he would get bent back at contacf and developed spinal injuries as a result. But this season and late last season he has worked on his footwork into the line to split defenders and that's why he's finding his front so much. It hasn't compromised his speed into the line at all. Kennedy is mobile enough to get to that point imo but maybe its a question of whether he has enough aggression to hit the line at full pace.

Either of those fixes would make him a much better player. That and lose the stupid early game penalties, which will come in time.