Ding dong battle in Melbourne *Spoilers

[happy_tiger]

We are a football side capable of putting lots of points on in a short period of time. That is a fact proven many times. Melbourne last week were uncharacteristically bad. Their defensive line was jagged, they slipped off tackles, they dropped the ball, they threw panicked passes that hit the ground. We had all the ball, in all the best field position and had our tails in the air, whilst the opposition was having a very rare poor game….especially defensively. Could have been up by a commanding total at half time, which should have led to a big victory.

Anyway that wasnt my original point. That point was, how good this Storm outfit is to still find a way to win when all signs pointed to them dropping that game. Their defense wasnt great but they still put enough pressure on our blokes that the errors started flowing. They didnt score expansive, skillful team tries, they had individuals who stepped up and got the job done. The only Melbourne Storm Type play was Smith's 40/20 with their big three then combining for the resultant try. Apart from that small period of brilliance, they were well below par and you could tell watching last night that Bellamy flogged them all week. Totally different side.

Stryker's right ,we should have put the storm away in the first half especially with a 8 point breeze behind us

 

[Fade_To_Black]

The 12 point turnaround on halftime killed us, sapped our momentum, enthisiam and confidence. Both decisions involving our disallowed try and their try after our bloke gets whacked in the head and KO'd were extremely dubious. That sort of thing can rattle the best of sides, let alone mentally weak teams like WT.
20-0 at halftime and we would have gotten the win IMO.

 

[Fade_To_Black]

We are a football side capable of putting lots of points on in a short period of time. That is a fact proven many times. Melbourne last week were uncharacteristically bad. Their defensive line was jagged, they slipped off tackles, they dropped the ball, they threw panicked passes that hit the ground. We had all the ball, in all the best field position and had our tails in the air, whilst the opposition was having a very rare poor game….especially defensively. Could have been up by a commanding total at half time, which should have led to a big victory.

Anyway that wasnt my original point. That point was, how good this Storm outfit is to still find a way to win when all signs pointed to them dropping that game. Their defense wasnt great but they still put enough pressure on our blokes that the errors started flowing. They didnt score expansive, skillful team tries, they had individuals who stepped up and got the job done. The only Melbourne Storm Type play was Smith's 40/20 with their big three then combining for the resultant try. Apart from that small period of brilliance, they were well below par and you could tell watching last night that Bellamy flogged them all week. Totally different side.

Stryker's right ,we should have put the storm away in the first half especially with a 8 point breeze behind us

That had nothing to do with it.
"Points breezes" are only relevant if you have a good enough long kicking game to take advantage of it. Our kicking game, both short and especially long is the worst in the NRL without a doubt.
A playmaker with an above-average kicking game should be our absolute No 1 priority in the off season. It is far too important to ignore that facet of the game of RL.

 

[happy_tiger]

We are a football side capable of putting lots of points on in a short period of time. That is a fact proven many times. Melbourne last week were uncharacteristically bad. Their defensive line was jagged, they slipped off tackles, they dropped the ball, they threw panicked passes that hit the ground. We had all the ball, in all the best field position and had our tails in the air, whilst the opposition was having a very rare poor game….especially defensively. Could have been up by a commanding total at half time, which should have led to a big victory.

Anyway that wasnt my original point. That point was, how good this Storm outfit is to still find a way to win when all signs pointed to them dropping that game. Their defense wasnt great but they still put enough pressure on our blokes that the errors started flowing. They didnt score expansive, skillful team tries, they had individuals who stepped up and got the job done. The only Melbourne Storm Type play was Smith's 40/20 with their big three then combining for the resultant try. Apart from that small period of brilliance, they were well below par and you could tell watching last night that Bellamy flogged them all week. Totally different side.

Stryker's right ,we should have put the storm away in the first half especially with a 8 point breeze behind us

That had nothing to do with it.
"Points breezes" are only relevant if you have a good enough long kicking game to take advantage of it. Our kicking game, both short and especially long is the worst in the NRL without a doubt.
A playmaker with an above-average kicking game should be our absolute No 1 priority in the off season. It is far too important to ignore that facet of the game of RL.

Brooks has kicked numerous 40/20's during his career FTB

About being smart when you use it , like Cam S…. you know your favourite

 

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How often does Brooks hoof the ball deep down field from our own half and we get to trap the opposition on their own try line? Pretty much never.
Our genius tactic is to hoist midfield bombs, therefore the breeze is an absolute non issue. Drive the ball low and deep and a strong breeze is a godsend, kick it like Brooks and Moses do and it wouldn't matter if Cyclone Debbie was screaming up your blurter.

 

[InBenjiWeTrust]

and Bellamy teams again and again, show that you don't need 'big hitters' (a myth frequent on this forum) to play good defence and be the benchmark team year after year, go figure :deadhorse:

 

[innsaneink]

How often does Brooks hoof the ball deep down field from our own half and we get to trap the opposition on their own try line? Pretty much never.
Our genius tactic is to hoist midfield bombs, therefore the breeze is an absolute non issue. Drive the ball low and deep and a strong breeze is a godsend, kick it like Brooks and Moses do and it wouldn't matter if Cyclone Debbie was screaming up your blurter.

Yep, the risk of a seven tackle set was a big no no

 

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Not sure what you mean, that the risk of giving the opposition a 7 tackle set means kicking deep is too risky?