LIVE GAME Round 20 v Bulldogs

Live Game Discussion
cone said:
@Tucker Id love to hear your thoughts on what the club should actually do. Clearly it’s the same old, we will be shit forever unless shit changes.
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2005 was the best and the worst thing that ever happened to this club.

It's obvious why it was the best, but why it was also the worst is a bit more nuanced. I remember Happy Tiger making this point years ago, and I agreed with it then just as I do now.

The club didn't earn that premiership through years of building towards sustained success, nor did it build on it afterwards. It almost fell into our laps, and from that point on the club seemed to assume life would always be rosy. The dynasty talk was one of the most delusional, head up our own arse periods I've ever witnessed. The bigger problem is that, in some ways, we're still stuck there.

We continue to treat the 2005 group like they're demigods. As if they possessed some kind of magic formula that can simply be reapplied two decades later. They didn't, and the evidence since suggests they don't have the answers now either.

I'd like to see all of those guys moved out of football department and strategic roles, permanently. Bring them back for reunions, club functions and anniversary celebrations, where they can entertain a room full of pissed up 60 year old supporters with stories from one of the greatest moments in the club's history. But when it comes to strategy, football performance and getting this club back on track, it's time to move forward instead of continually looking backwards.

The same applies to recruiting philosophy. We need to stop trying to build an identity around being a destination club for any particular demographic. If players from Aboriginal, Polynesian or any other community choose to come here because they feel welcome, that's a positive. But that shouldn't be the driving philosophy. The priority has to be assembling the best possible list, with players selected on merit, character and what the team needs. The jumper should come first, not the recruiting narrative.

Lastly….stop giving kids a go well before they are ready. 18 year olds running our attack, defending in crucial positions and being targeted by career professionals every week….its BS. There have been heaps of these occurrences over the years and we refuse to learn lessons. Give me a hardened 23 year old who can actually turn up week after week, month after month and even if their ceiling isn’t as high, I’ll guarantee they perform better over the season. If our reserve grade were winning the comp, then fair call to promote, but sticking school kids in because they dominated against their peers who may not have developed as physically fast as them is a shit go.
 
I am beyond filthy about the absolute garbage that was dished out to fans tonight but I am not going to just blame the Luai drama, this goes way beyond any of that. Tonight we were presented with a team that lacked the ability to carry out even the basics of rugby league. This was a team that had slow play the balls, were unable to make even simple tackles & had zero attacking skills.
We had players who literally looked at the ball on the ground, as if they were confused as to how it got there, rather than dive on the ball. They totally lacked any kind of structure in their game & sorry I don’t care how well Benji said they trained, they looked like they haven’t even had a training session in weeks. I get that we have had injuries but guess what, so has every other team in the competition. This has to come back to the coach & coaching staff because obviously this is the standard they continue to accept or this is the limit of their coaching abilities. I am so tired of tiger fans being expected to accept mediocre, or worse, efforts & being told that it is improving & we are building on it. We are not building on anything but working towards the biggest spoon collection & waiting for the next brain explosion from the club. There are absolutely no excuses for that game & the club needs to stop expecting the fans to give them a pass.
Ok I will shut up now, I am just so tired of being disappointed although I should be used to it by now. Supporting this club is traumatic.
 
The Chad said:
I'm not going to flog this horse- everyone saw the result.

So, I'll look at a few things that tend to get forgotten in the misery.

Sam Fainu & Ethan Roberts show that big athletic guys make impact. You can look through every team & say the same thing. So- we need more bigger athletic guys. Forget 'complete' players- find bigger athletes. KPP back next year- Roberts needs to be on the bench. Or Sam in the middle. Actually- yeah, play Sam beside Terrell up front. Have Sione & Pole rotate in.

Doueihi- love him. But he holds back the flow. Latu & Andrews time has come next season. Ride the lows. Reap the benefits. Play Heyward off the bench. Bulldogs showed how to play Doueihi tonight- by using Burton in the centres. That's his spot. He can still do his kicks from there. He just can't direct a team around.
Click to expand...
Good post.

AD to centre,
Push Averillo to wing?

1. Jahream Bula
2. Sunia Turuva
3. Adam Doueihi
4. Taylan May
5. Jake Averillo
 
krissy said:
I am beyond filthy about the absolute garbage that was dished out to fans tonight but I am not going to just blame the Luai drama, this goes way beyond any of that. Tonight we were presented with a team that lacked the ability to carry out even the basics of rugby league. This was a team that had slow play the balls, were unable to make even simple tackles & had zero attacking skills.
We had players who literally looked at the ball on the ground, as if they were confused as to how it got there, rather than dive on the ball. They totally lacked any kind of structure in their game & sorry I don’t care how well Benji said they trained, they looked like they haven’t even had a training session in weeks. I get that we have had injuries but guess what, so has every other team in the competition. This has to come back to the coach & coaching staff because obviously this is the standard they continue to accept or this is the limit of their coaching abilities. I am so tired of tiger fans being expected to accept mediocre, or worse, efforts & being told that it is improving & we are building on it. We are not building on anything but working towards the biggest spoon collection & waiting for the next brain explosion from the club. There are absolutely no excuses for that game & the club needs to stop expecting the fans to give them a pass.
Ok I will shut up now, I am just so tired of being disappointed although I should be used to it by now. Supporting this club is traumatic.
Click to expand...
It's more than traumatic, it's a life sentence of pain.
 
TigerNeddyK said:
But it’s not an illegitimate tackle.. he goes low and doesn’t lift, the player runs over him and loses his own balance,, that’s just rugby league, shit happens but it’s not on the defender to keep the balance of a runner that goes over them …
Click to expand...
The onus IS on rhe defender...its been that way for a while...that the ball runner doesnt end up in a dangerous position.
Its like accidental high shots when the attacker is falling...still a.penalty
 
Demps said:
Good post.

AD to centre,
Push Averillo to wing?

1. Jahream Bula
2. Sunia Turuva
3. Adam Doueihi
4. Taylan May
5. Jake Averillo
Click to expand...
Adam wears his heart on his sleeve, but at 7, not only does he not direct the team around, but instead of creating space for his outside players, he takes it off them. As soon as Latu came on tonight we were smoother. Javon needs to be outside him. Adam and Luai should cover the missing centres spots.

One shining light is Maka. His defence is improving every week. Unfortunately a 18 year old kid is being used as a battering ram. He gets no space at all and thats zapping his confidence in attack to just hit ups. We need Latu and Javon there to give him time and some space. I still believe he's the real deal, at least as good as Chris Lawrence at the same age.
 
The club should offer a half-season membership from March to June to go with the half season the players care about, and the half season we can delude ourselves there is a hope of playing in the finals
 
Tucker said:
2005 was the best and the worst thing that ever happened to this club.

It's obvious why it was the best, but why it was also the worst is a bit more nuanced. I remember Happy Tiger making this point years ago, and I agreed with it then just as I do now.

The club didn't earn that premiership through years of building towards sustained success, nor did it build on it afterwards. It almost fell into our laps, and from that point on the club seemed to assume life would always be rosy. The dynasty talk was one of the most delusional, head up our own arse periods I've ever witnessed. The bigger problem is that, in some ways, we're still stuck there.

We continue to treat the 2005 group like they're demigods. As if they possessed some kind of magic formula that can simply be reapplied two decades later. They didn't, and the evidence since suggests they don't have the answers now either.

I'd like to see all of those guys moved out of football department and strategic roles, permanently. Bring them back for reunions, club functions and anniversary celebrations, where they can entertain a room full of pissed up 60 year old supporters with stories from one of the greatest moments in the club's history. But when it comes to strategy, football performance and getting this club back on track, it's time to move forward instead of continually looking backwards.

The same applies to recruiting philosophy. We need to stop trying to build an identity around being a destination club for any particular demographic. If players from Aboriginal, Polynesian or any other community choose to come here because they feel welcome, that's a positive. But that shouldn't be the driving philosophy. The priority has to be assembling the best possible list, with players selected on merit, character and what the team needs. The jumper should come first, not the recruiting narrative.

Lastly….stop giving kids a go well before they are ready. 18 year olds running our attack, defending in crucial positions and being targeted by career professionals every week….its BS. There have been heaps of these occurrences over the years and we refuse to learn lessons. Give me a hardened 23 year old who can actually turn up week after week, month after month and even if their ceiling isn’t as high, I’ll guarantee they perform better over the season. If our reserve grade were winning the comp, then fair call to promote, but sticking school kids in because they dominated against their peers who may not have developed as physically fast as them is a shit go.
Click to expand...
Agree with everything mate. Sadly i don’t see that stuff being implemented anytime soon
 
Demps said:
Good post.

AD to centre,
Push Averillo to wing?

1. Jahream Bula
2. Sunia Turuva
3. Adam Doueihi
4. Taylan May
5. Jake Averillo
Click to expand...
Could do. Or reverse May & Averillo.

Makasini will push his way in soon enough. Tavana offers an athletic back-up.

Terrell May is the first forward thought of in this club. Sam Fainu should be. He's without doubt the best forward we have & he needs to touch the ball more often. Roberts has the perfect build to play wide. KPP on the other side. If one of them goes down- then you shift Sam back out there.

Not often mentioned, but a guy like Zyon Maiu'u could be a low cost wrecking ball. It's that style of player I would target. Athletic enough to run hard in a straight line & make defenders go backwards. Sione & Pole off the bench too.

No real surprise- Wests Tigers were most effective this season when......Royce Hunt was killing it the first half of the season. Go back to that.

Twal has to be co-captain. He consistently looks like it matters to him.
 
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