Are they tanking or just not giving a shit?

[Guest]

And by they I mean coaching staff and players.

Is Smith deliberately "staying the course" with his lack of attacking tactics in order to generate an excuse for an end of season clean out?

Are the players willfully ignoring Smith in order to generate an excuse to get rid of the coach?

I've been watching football for a long time and I've never seen a playing group so disfunctional on the field without there being major issues off it. I do not for one minute believe they are putting in 100% at training. They simply can't be given yesterday's insipid display. Neither Smith nor Anasta can explain the why or give any clear idea how to remedy the disparity between training and playing. Hell, they couldn't even look at each other in yesterday's presser.

We make the same fundamental mistakes every game. We give away fundamental penalties every game. Our discipline is complete rubbish as is our attitudes and we show no signs of improving.

So my question is, are they tanking for a purpose or have they all simply given up?

Chook.

[Headless Chook]

Yesterday was poor, but we've always struggled at Brookie. From the Penrith game onwards, I've been happy with our effort. With an ounce of luck we would have beaten both the Bunnies and the Tigers so I hardly thinking they're 'tanking' it.

[Guest]

Take your gAyFL tanking bullsh!t and fk off

In gAyFL there is incentive for tanking in NRL there is no incentive

we just suck

[Guest]

Take your gAyFL tanking bullsh!t and fk off

In gAyFL there is incentive for tanking in NRL there is no incentive

we just suck

Easy up little morls, just asking the question you don't think there's something behind the fact we suck so badly?

Personaly I think the place reeks of behind the scene issues. Probably the only successful thing the club has done this year is keep those issues out of the papers.

Chook.

[Guest]

Yeah fair enough I am really angry, I am beyond disappointed today.

Spineless and unskilled yesterday. it didnt look like tanking to me, just a very ordinary football side

[elo]

I think there has been some tanking from Brian this season tbh, I don't think he's happy with how the people above him dealt with the Carney dramas and recruiting and it's rubbed off on the team.

[Guest]

what about the fact they publicly humiliated him by resigning Banasta and Mini

[TheLoneRooster]

I'm clueless here because their actions (coach and players) send contradictory messages at times. Yesterday's pathetic and embarrassing performance tells me the white towel has been thrown in, yet, other games, they show fight. Either way, there is something very wrong at Bondi.

[TheLoneRooster]

Here's a quote from an article in today's Sydney Morning Herald ...

''We didn't have the ball in the first 20 minutes; we defended pretty well and they scored off a kick,'' Minichiello said. ''They scored a couple of other tries but they kept missing the goals and it was only 12-0 at halftime so we thought we were still in it but Manly are a good team and I think all in all they just ran harder and tackled harder than us.''

What I have a problem with is the last (bolded) sentence. My question to Mini is WHY? This comes back to the question posed by this thread - "are they tanking or just not giving a sh1t?"

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...#ixzz1UOzqZGbF

[supermario]

I think they do give a shit, i think they have regressed back into the mode they were in about 6 weeks back, where when they went behind, regardless of how far behind, they would lose their bundle and everything would go to shit.

It took manly 5 sets to crack the line, thats 5 sets in a row that we kept them out and held out line.......once it cracked, that was it, our heads dropped and all confidence was shot.

the you get in the mode where key induviduals "try Harder" to make up for mistakes, only to make more mistakes and we enter the cycle of pain !

Against the Warriors, dogs, tigers, $ouff$, even if they fell behind, they kept in the competition, they didn't give in........they couldn't do that yesterday, Manly bashed it out of them.

[mightyrooster]

I think they do give a shit, i think they have regressed back into the mode they were in about 6 weeks back, where when they went behind, regardless of how far behind, they would lose their bundle and everything would go to shit.

It took manly 5 sets to crack the line, thats 5 sets in a row that we kept them out and held out line.......once it cracked, that was it, our heads dropped and all confidence was shot.

the you get in the mode where key induviduals "try Harder" to make up for mistakes, only to make more mistakes and we enter the cycle of pain !

Against the Warriors, dogs, tigers, $ouff$, even if they fell behind, they kept in the competition, they didn't give in........they couldn't do that yesterday, Manly bashed it out of them.

Ditto.
They tried to go with Manly in the first half, but Manly were just too good. Manly are so intense in the way they play and they just
strangled the game away from us. Eventually we crumbled under the pressure and with our poor year to date and the lack of confidence that creates, the floodgates opened.

[Guest]

The fact that they scored a brilliant try in the 79th minute suggests to me they aren't tanking it. If a team wasn't putting in the effort, in the last set of 6, they would be taking 5 hit ups then kick to the side line and wait for the hooter to sound. Individuals may be tanking it, but I don't think the team is.

I also don't think the results reflect the level of skill in the team either. There are definitely some weaknesses, but if they played to their potential, they would still win more than they lose.

There is certainly a lack of confidence and a lack of belief though. Whether this is a lack of confidence in the coach, themselves or their team mates I do not know. Although I don't know, I hope the club does - otherwise nothing is going to change next year.

[Vasco]

Did anyone notice FPN having a giggle in the dug out?

[Headless Chook]

Did anyone notice FPN having a giggle in the dug out?

How dare he laugh, somebody call the police and have this man arrested!

[Guest]

Did anyone notice FPN having a giggle in the dug out?

I was more concerned with Manly players laughing AT us after scoring their 4th or 5th try. They treated us as a joke and 90 percent of our squad played out the part.