Confirmed: Matterson released from Wests Tigers.

[TheDaBoss]

The Lurker....... struggling for any relavance in the rugby league world atm

 

[ElleryHanley]

The bottom line here is that Matterson is in absolutely no way a shirker. The bloke worked his guts out all season, carrying the pack behind the worst front row in the comp. It is hardly surprising if it wore him out.

I'm not saying he is a shirker and I was in no way displeased with his 2019 season, in fact rather the opposite.

My point is that if the Lurker comments were true, that Matto had some issue with being asked to play, then I wouldn't accept that - you do what the team needs. You said hardly any forwards play 80 mins every week, but on the contrary, many do.

In terms of whether or not Matto is being asked to take hitups on the back of weak first efforts, that's a complicated idea and potentially impossible to measure. Obviously, no stats are kept publicly on who takes hitup 1, hitup 2 etc. Matto spent a lot of his season on the edge and not the middle, so there's an argument to be made that in fact his workload was independent of the props because he was receiving the ball on shift plays.

I actually believe however there is data to refute your assumption that our other forwards are useless. Tigers are #1 in comp in average post-contact metres (you can no longer take totals because the finals teams all have an extra match played), #1 in average all runs and #5 in average all-run metres gained. I am certain that Matto is integral to those figures (he is #16 in the comp for average post-contact m) , but as a whole, the team took more runs than any other, made more metres in contact and were top 5 in overall yardage. That simply cannot be the hallmark of the worst front row in the comp.

Personally, I thought that was great coaching. Madge made the most of a very poor set of front rowers. They played different styles based on the opponents, speed out of dummy half last couple of rounds, mixed it up etc.

But when was the last time you saw a Tigers prop skittle three blokes and break the opposition D line way open?

Every team in the finals has as least one beast enforcer prop...most have 2-3 beasts in their pack. They are all in the semis...

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

lol…so says the Lurker…

How much do these guys get right ?

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

 

[jirskyr]

>But when was the last time you saw a Tigers prop skittle three blokes and break the opposition D line way open?
Every team in the finals has as least one beast enforcer prop…most have 2-3 beasts in their pack. They are all in the semis…

I thought Josh Aloiai was quite effective in breaking defences but he couldn't do it consistently 2019, either through minutes or injury. He's getting there as a forward, it's just a bit of a journey.

I felt that the Tigers end-year forwards rotation was solid, esp in defence, and there is a lot I like about Oli Clarke, Huth, ET and Twal in terms of line speed and controlling the ruck. Garner really came on in attack. They are mostly really quite inexperienced and can grow a lot as footballers.

But I totally agree we would like an enforcer in the mould of JWH or Papalii, to really cause some random damage. Making metres and making tackles in a predictable, dependable fashion is good, but randomly being able to break down the opposition can separate the best sides from the middle. I'm talking the odd big hit, the barnstorming run at the try line. These things break down defences not just when they occur, but across the match in the fear of them occurring. It's the same with Tedesco - he does half of his work off the ball now, because oppositions watch him so closely, it opens the game up for all his team-mates.

Would love to sign a bloke like Papalii, I reckon when he's switched on he's arguably the best prop in the comp, and 2019 he really peaked during Origin and has carried that form into the finals. But I'm also pleased enough for Canberra that they've been able to keep him down there and not be picked off by Broncos or Roosters. Ryan James might be more of a bargain buy, if he can regain fitness and form.

Jai Arrow is a good kid - not an enforcer at the moment, though I wouldn't turn him down. There's something to be said about the Titans side however, with really good forwards like Wallace, Proctor, Arrow, young guys like Fotuaika and experienced though currently injured props Boyd and James, but they were really a shambles 2019.

 

[balmain boy]

The bottom line here is that Matterson is in absolutely no way a shirker. The bloke worked his guts out all season, carrying the pack behind the worst front row in the comp. It is hardly surprising if it wore him out.

I'm not saying he is a shirker and I was in no way displeased with his 2019 season, in fact rather the opposite.

My point is that if the Lurker comments were true, that Matto had some issue with being asked to play, then I wouldn't accept that - you do what the team needs. You said hardly any forwards play 80 mins every week, but on the contrary, many do.

In terms of whether or not Matto is being asked to take hitups on the back of weak first efforts, that's a complicated idea and potentially impossible to measure. Obviously, no stats are kept publicly on who takes hitup 1, hitup 2 etc. Matto spent a lot of his season on the edge and not the middle, so there's an argument to be made that in fact his workload was independent of the props because he was receiving the ball on shift plays.

I actually believe however there is data to refute your assumption that our other forwards are useless. Tigers are #1 in comp in average post-contact metres (you can no longer take totals because the finals teams all have an extra match played), #1 in average all runs and #5 in average all-run metres gained. I am certain that Matto is integral to those figures (he is #16 in the comp for average post-contact m) , but as a whole, the team took more runs than any other, made more metres in contact and were top 5 in overall yardage. That simply cannot be the hallmark of the worst front row in the comp.

You do realise that those stats are largely meaningless, and are indicative of our speed in attack and the opposition's line speed? If the other team have good line speed and get up in our faces (as they usually do) and our players are nearly always standing still when they receive the ball to take a hit up, then by default nearly all the metres made will be post contact. If we had forwards building up a head of steam or could routinely get quick play the balls then we might make more metres before meeting the defensive line.

I just don't get how so many people on here can complain how our pack gets outmuscled and dominated so often, yet are happy to push random stats to say we're better than everyone else. We're not. We kick from inside our half more than any other team in the comp, we struggle to get out of our end more than any team in the comp and making metres is our biggest struggle at present.

Matto and Mikaele were easily our best forwards this season as they were the only ones consistently capable of making big metres coming out of our own end. Someone like Eiso often takes the 4th or 5th hitup after the hardest work has been done.

 

[Jimmy]

So matto is still active on ig and dropping quotes via his story....hmmmm

 

[Papacito]

My GP said aches and pains miraculously vanish when your pay packet doubles...........

 

[GNR4LIFE]

So matto is still active on ig and dropping quotes via his story....hmmmm

In English?

 

[Jimmy]

@GNR4LIFE ig meaning Instagram....story is a form of posts on his profile page

 

[GNR4LIFE]

@GNR4LIFE ig meaning Instagram....story is a form of posts on his profile page

I know you meant Instagram. I don't know what dropping quotes via his story means.

 

[Jimmy]

@GNR4LIFE oh ryt ryt I’m talking teenager my bad horrible language to master.....pics of him with disabled kids through the tigers days out linking other profiles on each pic which I’d assume are the ones who said such quotes to him...like thanfull for the year quotes

 

[momo_amp_medo]

>But when was the last time you saw a Tigers prop skittle three blokes and break the opposition D line way open?
Every team in the finals has as least one beast enforcer prop…most have 2-3 beasts in their pack. They are all in the semis…

I thought Josh Aloiai was quite effective in breaking defences but he couldn't do it consistently 2019, either through minutes or injury. He's getting there as a forward, it's just a bit of a journey.

I felt that the Tigers end-year forwards rotation was solid, esp in defence, and there is a lot I like about Oli Clarke, Huth, ET and Twal in terms of line speed and controlling the ruck. Garner really came on in attack. They are mostly really quite inexperienced and can grow a lot as footballers.

But I totally agree we would like an enforcer in the mould of JWH or Papalii, to really cause some random damage. Making metres and making tackles in a predictable, dependable fashion is good, but randomly being able to break down the opposition can separate the best sides from the middle. I'm talking the odd big hit, the barnstorming run at the try line. These things break down defences not just when they occur, but across the match in the fear of them occurring. It's the same with Tedesco - he does half of his work off the ball now, because oppositions watch him so closely, it opens the game up for all his team-mates.

Would love to sign a bloke like Papalii, I reckon when he's switched on he's arguably the best prop in the comp, and 2019 he really peaked during Origin and has carried that form into the finals. But I'm also pleased enough for Canberra that they've been able to keep him down there and not be picked off by Broncos or Roosters. Ryan James might be more of a bargain buy, if he can regain fitness and form.

Jai Arrow is a good kid - not an enforcer at the moment, though I wouldn't turn him down. There's something to be said about the Titans side however, with really good forwards like Wallace, Proctor, Arrow, young guys like Fotuaika and experienced though currently injured props Boyd and James, but they were really a shambles 2019.

Started with few reasonable games but the attitude just dropped fairly early and from then on it was all downhill.

Must say the with James adds a lot to that side and in past seasons he showed himself to be quite a good forward leader. Leads by example and has attitude. Would not mind having him in our side.

 

[jirskyr]

You do realise that those stats are largely meaningless, and are indicative of our speed in attack and the opposition’s line speed? If the other team have good line speed and get up in our faces (as they usually do) and our players are nearly always standing still when they receive the ball to take a hit up, then by default nearly all the metres made will be post contact. If we had forwards building up a head of steam or could routinely get quick play the balls then we might make more metres before meeting the defensive line.

Well the stats aren't meaningless, because whether or not the defensive line gets up on us quickly, it still matters if you can make metres after contact. In other words, better to make metres in contact than not to. If the opposition has good line speed, then likely they have good line speed against every team and not just Tigers, therefore PCM is meaningful.

However, you appear to have overlooked that we were also #5 in all-run metres gained, (average per match). So post-contact metres are best and all-run metres are Top-5. Whether or not our total yardage includes mostly uncontested run or post-contact run metres, overall it's pretty good compared to the competition.

So no, don't really think they are meaningless at all. Either we make good yards pre and post contact, or we make all our yards post-contact (your argument), but nonetheless we finished 5th in all-run metres.

I just don’t get how so many people on here can complain how our pack gets outmuscled and dominated so often, yet are happy to push random stats to say we’re better than everyone else. We’re not. We kick from inside our half more than any other team in the comp, we struggle to get out of our end more than any team in the comp and making metres is our biggest struggle at present.

That just isn't true. 5TH IN THE COMP AVERAGE ALL-RUN METRES.

If you are going to start spouting stuff that this is all down to the backs etc., I don't have the distribution between forwards and backs, and perhaps it doesn't matter so long as somebody makes metres. Parra get huge metres out of their back 3, nobody seems to mind.

The pack absolutely has lots of room for improvement. But also, I honestly believe people have pre-conceived ideas about what Tigers do and don't do based only on their memory of watching games. Huth is a pillow, Matterson is a beast, Twal gets dominated etc. You have to go look at the data and see what the data also tells you.

A random stat is 1-1 strips or "# wins on a Saturday night". But others like all-run metres, missed tackles, points scored - they do speak volumes about actual measured output.

 

[bigsiro]

@jirskyr
Stats don't show the adverse impact Eisenhuth has on our attack with his predictable plod runs. Hardly ever offloads. Got no impact whatsoever. Put it this way, if he was on another team would we want him as a recruit? No bloody way. Nick Graham was better. Probably had better stats too (at least at some point in his career).
Like I said before, Huth is just Buchanan or Lovett 2.0.
But then again some people defended those guys too just because they wore our jersey. Rose coloured glasses etc

 

[Jimmy]

Huh so no matto is training with the boys......I personally think it’ll be sorted out and he’ll stay but man can he just come out already and put it to bed or just hurry up and find a solution the works for both parties

 

[balmain boy]

You do realise that those stats are largely meaningless, and are indicative of our speed in attack and the opposition’s line speed? If the other team have good line speed and get up in our faces (as they usually do) and our players are nearly always standing still when they receive the ball to take a hit up, then by default nearly all the metres made will be post contact. If we had forwards building up a head of steam or could routinely get quick play the balls then we might make more metres before meeting the defensive line.

Well the stats aren't meaningless, because whether or not the defensive line gets up on us quickly, it still matters if you can make metres after contact. In other words, better to make metres in contact than not to. If the opposition has good line speed, then likely they have good line speed against every team and not just Tigers, therefore PCM is meaningful.

However, you appear to have overlooked that we were also #5 in all-run metres gained, (average per match). So post-contact metres are best and all-run metres are Top-5. Whether or not our total yardage includes mostly uncontested run or post-contact run metres, overall it's pretty good compared to the competition.

So no, don't really think they are meaningless at all. Either we make good yards pre and post contact, or we make all our yards post-contact (your argument), but nonetheless we finished 5th in all-run metres.

I just don’t get how so many people on here can complain how our pack gets outmuscled and dominated so often, yet are happy to push random stats to say we’re better than everyone else. We’re not. We kick from inside our half more than any other team in the comp, we struggle to get out of our end more than any team in the comp and making metres is our biggest struggle at present.

That just isn't true. 5TH IN THE COMP AVERAGE ALL-RUN METRES.

If you are going to start spouting stuff that this is all down to the backs etc., I don't have the distribution between forwards and backs, and perhaps it doesn't matter so long as somebody makes metres. Parra get huge metres out of their back 3, nobody seems to mind.

The pack absolutely has lots of room for improvement. But also, I honestly believe people have pre-conceived ideas about what Tigers do and don't do based only on their memory of watching games. Huth is a pillow, Matterson is a beast, Twal gets dominated etc. You have to go look at the data and see what the data also tells you.

A random stat is 1-1 strips or "# wins on a Saturday night". But others like all-run metres, missed tackles, points scored - they do speak volumes about actual measured output.

All run metres can be put down to the fact we played a very simple style of footy. Few errors. Just hitting the ball up and doing a weak bomb. A lot of boring sets focusing on trying to get out of our own half and a high completion rate.

It's no coincidence that every team in the comp has the same basic strategy against us. And have had so for a few years now. Make metres, kick the ball to the corners and make us work it off our line. Knowing that they will win the territory battle and consistently be in a better position to score.

Until we can make meaningful metres and finish our sets with effective kicks we're going to lose more games than we win. Our backs are very poor at making metres coming off our line. Even Nof was way down this year, and that's his strongest attribute.

Matto, Mikaele and Aloiai are our only consistent metres eaters. It will take more of a toll on Matto's body if he's literally carrying the team on his back.

 

[balmain boy]

@GNR4LIFE oh ryt ryt I’m talking teenager my bad horrible language to master.....pics of him with disabled kids through the tigers days out linking other profiles on each pic which I’d assume are the ones who said such quotes to him...like thanfull for the year quotes

So what was he posting? Pics of himself with sick/disabled kids from his community visits with the Tigers? And tagging other Tigers players in them? Or tagging the kids themselves?

I'm not totally sure what point you're making with these. Are they supposed to be good or bad signs?

He's a devout Christian and giving back to the community has always been important for him, and Aloiai. They do a lot of this stuff together in both official and unofficial capacities.

 

[Jimmy]

@balmain-boy yes I’d assume he was tagging the sick kids....but I’d say good signs as it allmost seemed like a hidden message....as he was stating how grateful he is for the year 2019

 

[WT2K]

Ryan Matterson’s standoff with the Wests Tigers has taken an intriguing turn this week, with the star forward failing to turn up to training over the past few days.

Less than a week ago, reports emerged that the former Rooster was being targeted by rival clubs and that he was in the hunt for an upgrade.

Possibly the Tigers’ best performer in 2019, Matterson is said to be on $350,000 but such is his form he could easily increase his salary by as much as 50 per cent.

And mystery now surrounds this latest development, and it remains to be seen whether the 24-year-old is attempting to make a statement or not.

When foxsports.com.au asked Matterson’s agent Gavin Orr if the Tigers lock had failed to show up to training, he responded: “No he’s crook and has doctor’s orders to be off training”.

The club insist he was there on Monday.

Either way, it doesn’t look good, and will have other Tigers squad members questioning the player’s commitment to the cause.

Michael Maguire had instructed the Tigers to train for the weeks following their defeat to Cronulla right up until the grand final.

However, RLPA rules stipulate players are only allowed to train for two weeks following their final game.

Matterson has not shown up since the players returned on Monday this week and this new development will fuel further speculation that he wants to leave Concord

https://coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/tigers/nrl-scout-no-show-at-training-the-new-twist-in-star-forwards-standoff-with-tigers/news-story/6aa4db66f71d19feca627629ffbff477?__twitter_impression=true

 

[GNR4LIFE]

They try to make training till gf day sound like some evil punishment that's out of the ordinary. A lot of clubs do it.