Benji 2025 and Beyond

[Merlot]

Now the reason AD took the two pass attemps a while back was supposedly because it was practiced at training and he would have the time and space.

Today AD was the senior half and organising the plays yet he stuffed it up not once, but twice, in consecutive sets.

Now people on here would have you believe he had a brilliant game as a 5/8th and want to offer him another contract.

We need much better as a centre and back up 5/8th if we are going to be a top 4 club.

AD is a bludger - keep on small change.

 

[Batmans Parents]

Now the reason AD took the two pass attemps a while back was supposedly because it was practiced at training and he would have the time and space.

Today AD was the senior half and organising the plays yet he stuffed it up not once, but twice, in consecutive sets.

Now people on here would have you believe he had a brilliant game as a 5/8th and want to offer him another contract.

We need much better as a centre and back up 5/8th if we are going to be a top 4 club.

Was pulling my hair out and swearing the house down on those two sets when we didn’t go for the field goal. He had a good game up until that point but his decision making in the last 10 minutes nearly cost us dearly.

 

[Merlot]

Was pulling my hair out and swearing the house down on those two sets when we didn’t go for the field goal. He had a good game up until that point but his decision making in the last 10 minutes nearly cost us dearly.

God bless - U still poses the passion

 

[Batmans Parents]

God bless - U still poses the passion

Against the advice of my GP, yes.

 

[crazycat]

Benji getting the can at the end of the year

I only hope we have someone "better" coming.

Listening to the MMM team of wankers. They were saying it's easier keeping a culture. But establishing is damn hard.

There is only one name on the open market at the moment who can do it, that's Brad Arthur.
No one else I believe (that is off contract) can actually transform us from the sloppy work we are doing now into what's needed to be a top 8 side.

 

[Telltails]

I'm all in for Benji. I listen to him talk and Im buying in and the response from players is just that. He is all for Wests Tigers. I'm glad Galvin and TDS and those associated with them are gone it's just a shame that we invested time into players that couldn't see it.

 

[hsvjones]

TBF Benji is still working with a below par quality team, and I believe next year with a few more added the expectation will be higher and rightly so,.

Looking forward to the offseason to see who Richo adds.

In Richo's ABC interview today he pointed out May played 40min in Cup yesterday and I think if he stays good he will be offered an extension and will be in the top squad.

 

[Merlot]

I only hope we have someone "better" coming.

Listening to the MMM team of wankers. They were saying it's easier keeping a culture. But establishing is damn hard.

There is only one name on the open market at the moment who can do it, that's Brad Arthur.
No one else I believe (that is off contract) can actually transform us from the sloppy work we are doing now into what's needed to be a top 8 side.

to establish a culture is Benji's job - it takes time ,patients grasshopper

 

[Tucker]

Now the reason AD took the two pass attemps a while back was supposedly because it was practiced at training and he would have the time and space.

Today AD was the senior half and organising the plays yet he stuffed it up not once, but twice, in consecutive sets.

Now people on here would have you believe he had a brilliant game as a 5/8th and want to offer him another contract.

We need much better as a centre and back up 5/8th if we are going to be a top 4 club.

I’ll bet you Luai wouldn’t have kicked one either.
Our attack only thinks about scoring tries.

 

[Tucker]

TBF Benji is still working with a below par quality team, and I believe next year with a few more added the expectation will be higher and rightly so,.

Looking forward to the offseason to see who Richo adds.

In Richo's ABC interview today he pointed out May played 40min in Cup yesterday and I think if he stays good he will be offered an extension and will be in the top squad.

No.
It has been said all off season that there are no excuses in 25.
We should not be moving the goalposts.

 

[watersider]

I reckon the players, like us fans, all love Benji. That's a really valuable asset. Benji also almost always speaks well. It's really unfortunate that this hasn't translated to wins on the park. I hope that changes.

I have no doubt that the fainus, luai, Api, May are all personally connected to Benji. But our rough edges were just as apparent against the roosters, doing almost anything we could to bring them back into the game. And it's the basic stuff like really strong defensive intensity in tackle one and two, organising and planning a set in attacking position where we go wrong. I'd love for Benji to get this right, the whole Wests tigers community would, but it doesn't feel like we're closer to that. Even up 20 and dominant we needed sheer individual will and good fortune to finish that one, where we should be able to rely on some clearer team system and organisation that allows us to play more composed and cohesive.

I was pleased that Benji said as much in the press conference, this wasn't his best win, we didn't play that well, he wants more.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

TBF Benji is still working with a below par quality team, and I believe next year with a few more added the expectation will be higher and rightly so,.

Looking forward to the offseason to see who Richo adds.

In Richo's ABC interview today he pointed out May played 40min in Cup yesterday and I think if he stays good he will be offered an extension and will be in the top squad.

Good post. Yes he commented about May and Makasini being options for centre that we require.

 

[Jolls]

I’ll bet you Luai wouldn’t have kicked one either.
Our attack only thinks about scoring tries.

Supposition Tucker, we don't know.

What it comes down to is that twice AD failed communicate or get in position to execute on consecutive sets. The FG was the right play and we were fortunate enought to get a soft penalty that got us out of trouble.

What Luai may or may not have done is of no consequence. AD was the one responsible and failed to execute - now the blame does not completely lie at his feet but as the senior half and a guy that thinks he is not only half material, but captain material, he demonstrated a lack skill in both aspects of his game.

Look he is a good bloke and tries hard at times but that doesn't make him the right guy for our playing roster if we want to make it to the top 4. He could do a job on KoE as a backup and if he were to put his mind to it and transition he may be a useful 13/14 - but that is a risk that I would only entertain on the cheap.

 

[Tom Shines]

Supposition Tucker, we don't know.

What it comes down to is that twice AD failed communicate or get in position to execute on consecutive sets. The FG was the right play and we were fortunate enought to get a soft penalty that got us out of trouble.

What Luai may or may not have done is of no consequence. AD was the one responsible and failed to execute - now the blame does not completely lie at his feet but as the senior half and a guy that thinks he is not only half material, but captain material, he demonstrated a lack skill in both aspects of his game.

Look he is a good bloke and tries hard at times but that doesn't make him the right guy for our playing roster if we want to make it to the top 4. He could do a job on KoE as a backup and if he were to put his mind to it and transition he may be a useful 13/14 - but that is a risk that I would only entertain on the cheap.

Looks like you have upset the masses here with your temerity to have a crack at AD…

I think he has improved his defence considerably this year … but he still some limitations … he is a ball runner … not a creative ball player …( he struggled a few times yesterday ) unfortunately though, the injuries he has endured have diminished his pace so he no longer provides the threat of a ball runner as he once did

The one hole he does leave is his long kicking game , so I hope there is another solution there … but with the other options in the squad for the rest of his game , I’m happy to part ways and allow him an opportunity to make more money elsewhere next season… he is worth more money to another club than us

 

[Jolls]

Looks like you have upset the masses here with your temerity to have a crack at AD…

I think he has improved his defence considerably this year … but he still some limitations … he is a ball runner … not a creative passer of the ball … unfortunately though the injuries he has endured have diminished his pace …

The one hole he does leave is his long kicking game , so I hope there is another solution there … but with the other options in the squad, I’m happy to part ways and allow him an opportunity to make more money elsewhere next season… he is worth more money to another club than us

Definitely upset a few - which was not my intent at all. It was a good win (agianst a depeleted team) and he had a reasonable game. But his deficiencies as a half and as a leader were on display - some failed to see them off the back of a his goal kicking and a few good touches.

We need to get some training into both Luai and Latu in relation to the development of their kicking game. I think we are probably at the bare minimum once we are inside the 40. We really need to develop our ong kicking game as an attacking weapon though.

Even with AD having a longer boot we were unable to capitalise on it. Tupou and Tedesco did not have to move to get to the ball, they were able to take the ball uncontested and run 5-10m into contact.
Neither did we try to pin either of them in a corner so we could apply defensive pressure to attack them in the red zone.

This tells me that the kicks aren't well directed and the chase isn't good enough. Either we need to get an extra 5-10m into the chase or reduce the length of the kick so we can compete or get the receiver on the move to make the take so much more difficult. Where have AD's floating bombs dissapeared to? I know they were poorly controlled but at least they casued issues for the receivers and we had players in and around the ball to compete and take advantage of any errors. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in this area of our game.

 

[Ron Brodrick's Spirit]

Benji's not going anywhere.
The club's competitive every round now in both grades.
He's doing a great job.

 

[crazycat]

Supposition Tucker, we don't know.

What it comes down to is that twice AD failed communicate or get in position to execute on consecutive sets. The FG was the right play and we were fortunate enought to get a soft penalty that got us out of trouble.

What Luai may or may not have done is of no consequence. AD was the one responsible and failed to execute - now the blame does not completely lie at his feet but as the senior half and a guy that thinks he is not only half material, but captain material, he demonstrated a lack skill in both aspects of his game.

Look he is a good bloke and tries hard at times but that doesn't make him the right guy for our playing roster if we want to make it to the top 4. He could do a job on KoE as a backup and if he were to put his mind to it and transition he may be a useful 13/14 - but that is a risk that I would only entertain on the cheap.

I'm with Tucker on this one.
If were not practising field goals, we won't put them in our game.

TBH: unless were talking the last 2 minutes, kicking a field goal would have been near suicide.
Keeping the pressure up was the right decision and we see Tedesco score so quickly at the end.

Tries are how we win games. I get the focus on scoring tries. We want our guys to cross the line and have a flowing attack. Field goals are a distraction, unless the scores are even.

 

[Tucker]

This is likely the first time I have ever defended Doueihi as a playing talent on this site.
Go back a few years and I was the one starting threads saying we have to let him go.
This year though...he has not been a problem at all. He has done a job for us. He has made most of his tackles and contributed with the ball. The centre pairing of him and To'a are a major reason this side is staying in games this year.
I wouldnt be surprised if there was a leaderboard for WT player of the year, that his name would be sitting in the top 6.
I also find the criticism of him this year to be historical in nature. People are saying he cant tackle or is too slow. In our club he is 2nd for linebreak assists, 2nd for kicking meters, 2nd highest back for tackles made, 3rd for try assists, 3rd for linebreaks, 3rd for offloads, 5th for runs, 5th for run meters, 8th for missed tackles and comp wide he is 11th for top point scorer.
His discipline needs work as does his decision making....those can both be improved quite easily this next pre season.

 

[Jolls]

I'm with Tucker on this one.
If were not practising field goals, we won't put them in our game.

TBH: unless were talking the last 2 minutes, kicking a field goal would have been near suicide.
Keeping the pressure up was the right decision and we see Tedesco score so quickly at the end.

Tries are how we win games. I get the focus on scoring tries. We want our guys to cross the line and have a flowing attack. Field goals are a distraction, unless the scores are even.

....or you are 6 points in the lead with a couple of minutes to go. If we hadn't got that soft penalty we were probably on the wrong end of a golden point loss.

As it was, after kicking the penalty goal, we conceded the Tedesco try. FG was the right call at that time - twice - and we stuffed it both times,

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I think it’s a reflection on how dumb teams can be these days. The field goal is an obsolete play these days. Teams usually only go for them in the final 5 minutes. It’s actually seen as a negative play a lot of times. If there is 15 minutes to go, with scores level, going for a field goal is a negative. Yet if you get a penalty right in front, you obviously take the two. What’s the difference?