LIVE GAME Trial 1 v Manly

Live Game Discussion
Apart from groundhog day playing style from last year,I saw one team with half a dozen or more promising kids who will be pushing for first grade round 1..the same team with suposedly few juniors.
Our team ,with the huge nursery,didnt really identify anyone with that same preparedness to step up and make a difference anytime soon
Gonna be a longer year than I thought
 
As others have said i was looking for a bit more energy after the way last season finished. unfortunately we seemed to be off the pace both halves, Manly played with enthusiasm both halves regardless of who they had on the field.

Its only a trial and they might have taken it that way. Showed some decent structure in the first half.

Keen to see how they respond next week.
 
Manly's aggression in defence was evident. Didn't allow us to play the ball quickly - looked more physical in both halves. 14 -4 at half time was acceptable given the difference in quality of the two sides - you can't pretend it doesn't exist.
Ogden's clangers in the second half gave his side no chance - handed it to them on a platter.
 
Swordy said:
I only saw the second half and neither side impressed me at all. I saw a lot of unknown young guys on both sides run around with no timing, no cohesion, no understanding of the play or each other. Exactly what I would expect from a trial.

If you take trial form to mean anything, we will be fighting for the spoon with the Roosters.

Perspective.
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Your half right
 
Curaeus said:
Trial form means nothing nor do the results such as they are.
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I don't agree.. we have different coaching staff (except for Head Coach) our edges look exactly the same as previous years, in fact how we played that match (and yes I know it's only a trial) looked like a continuation of 2021, and I don't think it will get any better when we get the proper squad on the field, however I will remain hopeful that a miracle will occur, and my eyes were deceiving me watching that match last night
 
Positives for mine - don't want to dwell on the negatives as there is plenty.


Logen Dillon - has some things to work on but definitely looked close to first grade standard. Has a lot of promise and will only improve as the year goes on.

Rua - mini cheese indeed. Played with A LOT of energy. I definitely liked what I saw. We need to get him first grade ready, invest in him - he looks worth it.

To'a- he was in my opinion the best of the backs. Looked lethal. Good takes, good runs. This guy is a great addition to the squad.

Madden - played well, better in the first half. Probably isn't up to 80 minutes of FG (Couldn't consistently control for 80 of a trial) but definitely has some talent in there.

Tupou looked physically good, very tall but looked very raw. Need some proper time invested in him.
 
It was only a trial and last year it has to be remembered we put 50 on Manly in the corresponding game last year, than went on to have a shocker of a year.

Although in saying the above, there was very little in the way of positives to come out of the game as far as looking ahead. Personally I saw a team that lacks quality right across the park, no game breakers and very little speed.

Anyway looking forward to seeing what differenceHastings and Laurie will make
 
Not sure what people were expecting when the nucleus of the squad that failed to compete against Manly last year is still there this year. Not much in it in the first half apart from some quality plays by DCE and TT - we still don't have any players of that calibre in our squad.
 
Gotta laugh. Ogden was one of the pin up boys over the off season. Everyone was so glad he was retained. Now he’s hopeless. This is why you do not fawn over guys that haven’t debuted. The amount of disappointment you set yourself up for in those situations is crazy.
 
Fade.To.Black said:
And our squad as a whole are atrocious at handling high kicks, we would get dominated in the air 19 times out of 20. It's a brain-dead tactic, trying to score through one of the weakest aspects of your game.
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I think you’d find a high percentage of our tries come from it and we had one disallowed last night. Lots of teams have moved away from the grubber into goals since the intro of the seven tackle set. The brain dead play that I hate is where we get our shins in the way when other teams try the grubber in goal. most time giving up another red zone set which invariably they score off.
 
Telltails said:
Geez it's a bloody trial. Not much difference in the first half between the two sides.
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Agree - forget the second half it was just throw as many possibles on the field to see who might go on with the job. The first half where both sides had pretty much their top 17 on the park was a lot closer than the 3 tries to 1 suggests. In the first half i thought our attack was structured ok, our defence was solid but our kicking once again was ordinary. Apart from the sloppy middle defence to let Turbo setup their third try i thought we more than matched with their top 17.
 
diedpretty said:
Agree - forget the second half it was just throw as many possibles on the field to see who might go on with the job. The first half where both sides had pretty much their top 17 on the park was a lot closer than the 3 tries to 1 suggests. In the first half i thought our attack was structured ok, our defence was solid but our kicking once again was ordinary. Apart from the sloppy middle defence to let Turbo setup their third try i thought we more than matched with their top 17.
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And even then the Turbo try was just Turbo being Turbo. We’re not the last side he will burn this year.
 
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