Pearce copping crap again

[BUDDY]

I turned on the radio first thing this morning and the first thing I hear is some local Canberra announcer getting stuck into Pearce's kicking game and explaining how he lost NSW the game - and the selectors for picking him!! No mention at all about Hodkinson. I feel so sorry for Mitch. I imagine had NSW won, Pearcey would not be getting any praise for it. That would all be reserved for Hodkinson!

I'm sure the Canberra media want their own number 6 in the team. 6- Austin and 7 - Pearce sounds like a better option than we currently have.
If Hodkinson kicks the field goal when he was virtually in front and no pressure at all then nobody is looking for a scapegoat. Instead he stops and thinks passing it wide on the 5th tackle is a better option. FMD.

[Yak]

If Jake Friend played for NSW last night we would have won. Cam Smith completely outplayed Farah. To be fair his shoulder was busted. The NSW line speed was terrible in the second half. And it didn't help that Smith is a genius and getting out and rolling his forwards up the field. I thought we out-kicked QLD. Pearce's long kicking was spot on. Hodkinson had a couple of reasonable touches as well and played a bigger part than I was expecting (which wasn't much). His touch finder killed us though. Why was he even taking them, Pearce is a gun at finding touch. As Pearce mentioned at the end we only got one good ball set the whole second half because QLD dominated our ruck. And in that one there was too much pressure to take the field goal so it wasn't exactly an attacking shot. In the end they didn't set their two pass shape deep enough for the first chance they had at field goal. And the second time round Farah just flat out passed to the wrong bloke. And it was a shit pass at that. In the next game they just need the forwards running with short flat support, more from dummy half, Pearce needs to run more which will come with ruck dominance, and a few decent attacking bombs to Tupou if they're gonna pick him.

[mightyrooster]

I'm sure the Canberra media want their own number 6 in the team. 6- Austin and 7 - Pearce sounds like a better option than we currently have.
If Hodkinson kicks the field goal when he was virtually in front and no pressure at all then nobody is looking for a scapegoat. Instead he stops and thinks passing it wide on the 5th tackle is a better option. FMD.

Good point about the Austin angle. I didn't think about that. Still they were attacking Pearce and blaming his kicking game entirely on the loss with no mention whatsoever of the actual half back and whether his game and kicking was any better. Also, I didn't think Austin was renowned for his kicking game either.

[Thirteen]

Both halves should have managed the team better to gear for a field goal attempt. To state the obvious.

[mightyrooster]

Both halves should have managed the team better to gear for a field goal attempt. To state the obvious.

Agree 100%.
And yet only one half cops the blame for it.

[Johnny.]

Agree 100%.
And yet only one half cops the blame for it.

Josh Reynolds makes Trent Hodgkinson look decent.

Happy now?

[Guest]

Its weird to see Hodkinson in the team and Reynolds out. I thought Hodkinson only made the team to begin with due to his club partnership the Grub. IMO Hodkinson is barely a first grader. He was a good goalkicker for a while but he can longer even do that.

[elo]

If Jake Friend played for NSW last night we would have won. Cam Smith completely outplayed Farah. To be fair his shoulder was busted. The NSW line speed was terrible in the second half. And it didn't help that Smith is a genius and getting out and rolling his forwards up the field. I thought we out-kicked QLD. Pearce's long kicking was spot on. Hodkinson had a couple of reasonable touches as well and played a bigger part than I was expecting (which wasn't much). His touch finder killed us though. Why was he even taking them, Pearce is a gun at finding touch. As Pearce mentioned at the end we only got one good ball set the whole second half because QLD dominated our ruck. And in that one there was too much pressure to take the field goal so it wasn't exactly an attacking shot. In the end they didn't set their two pass shape deep enough for the first chance they had at field goal. And the second time round Farah just flat out passed to the wrong bloke. And it was a shit pass at that. In the next game they just need the forwards running with short flat support, more from dummy half, Pearce needs to run more which will come with ruck dominance, and a few decent attacking bombs to Tupou if they're gonna pick him.

Yeap, Farah tries to play like Captain Cam in origin and ALWAYS comes up second best.

New Zealand have shown how to beat the Dad's Army - it's not in grind fests, it's via IMPACT forward play and fast shifts to the backs. Daley believes we can't beat Queensland in high scoring matches so picks a very uninspiring backrow that lacks the impact required to break Queensland down. We played "football" for a whole 15 minutes last night and scored 2 very nice tries, the rest of the game was just defend and hope to grind it out, so flawed.

[mightyrooster]

Josh Reynolds makes Trent Hodgkinson look decent.

Happy now?

Lol! I just find it exasperating how all the so-called experts blame Pearce and yet Hodkinson is exempt from it all. Pearce has his flaws and when it comes to closing out a game and setting up (nevermind actually scoring) a field goal he struggles big time. But where was Hodkinson? He really inspires nothing. I have no idea how he makes SOO really and yet Pearce is always the whipping boy / scapegoat.
And just a pet hate with everyone - not just you John. It's Hodkinson. Not Hodgkinson. Sorry to be pedantic while I just sneak out of here........

[John Corey]

Both halves should have managed the team better to gear for a field goal attempt. To state the obvious.

Was thinking the same. I agree with Gus that their game management was very very poor in the second half, particularly the final 10. It's diabolical that one of them did not take control and make it clear a fg was the objective.
When you think about how many Qld players were very average last night (even Thurston) I can't help but think we have blown our only chance. They won't be that poor again.

For the record I would prefer Pearce in the 7 and Moylan in the 6.

Even when Hodkinson was at Manly I thought he was terrible.

[Game Fowl]

Pearce will be 7 in game SOO2 he played as well as he could last night , anyone who thinks that it was a cake walk last night is kidding themselves.

Both sides know each others plays and moves so hard to get the upper hand.

Have a look at the game closely and that side of the field cancelled itself out - no one from Blues or Qld were allowed to shine both did their job to perfection in attack and defense respectively, in this type of game you only get one sniff, therefore you need to convert it into points.

Good even contest all around not one player laid down last night.

[Kingbilly]

There were a few bad decisions that led to the NSW loss, including when it went out to Jennings and he kicked. A playmaker should have been going for a repeat set.
Late in the second half NSW were stuffed, they had been refereed out of the game, QLD all over their heads and necks and offside