End of Total Football at Wests Tigers?

[southerntiger]

This thread has been inspired by a post from T-Rexx which reminded me of something that i have always thought about the Sheens coached Wests Tigers. My view has been that Sheens has always been an exponent of the rugby league equivalent of total football. For those that don't know this was a tactical philosophy introduced by the Ajax team in the 1970s in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. For a brief few years it succeeded and revolutionised football. When it worked, it was beautiful to watch and when it didn't, it was a catastrophe.

It reminds of early last season when after training at half back all off-season Moltzen is shifted to fullback after Round 2\. Not that I am saying Moltzen was ever a halfback but surely Sheens should have known after X many seasons and an off-season whether he could cut the mustard so to speak.

Now none of this is new but what I am looking from Potter is a move away from the belief that all players are utilities. That's what gets me excited.

I was and am a Sheens fan but this aspect and his use of the bench have always frustrated me.
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

 

[GNR4LIFE]

We had the quickest halves pairing in the game that lasted for 2 weeks

 

[Blotto]

Mick Potter still believes that most Players in a Squad should be able to do other positions, mainly as a back up due to injuries either on the field or ones that come to light later in the week! also occaisionally I would think, that thanks to Maguires success with Inglis, that all Coachs will look to see if alternative positions can have that same effect with some Players!

 

[innsaneink]

I wonder if maguire wouldve persisted with GI at 1 for 3 seasons like Lord dickhead did with J-Mo at 7

 

[southerntiger]

Mick Potter still believes that most Players in a Squad should be able to do other positions, mainly as a back up due to injuries either on the field or ones that come to light later in the week! also occaisionally I would think, that thanks to Maguires success with Inglis, that all Coachs will look to see if alternative positions can have that same effect with some Players!

Blotto, Inglis has always been a fullback who was forced to play elsewhere because of Slater. His best football was always in the number 1\. It also helps that he is a freak athlete.

I am not saying players shouldn't have more than one strong to their bow but there is a difference to that and continuously shifting players around. There were periods over the last few years where in the last 20 mins it was difficult to tell who was playing where. We would have about 9 backs on the field.
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

 

[1_4_chicken_chips]

I see Potters first job being DEFENCE,we were pretty ordinary at that under LP (LOL)love it INK .
As they say , get your defence right and the attack will come .
I think we will see a very different team to what we have seen in the past 4 seasons ,probably play it dour at times .

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

Sheens was onto something but he himself it seems had no handle on it.
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Perhaps the Spanish national Football team could use Sheens. They won a World Cup with a team full of midfielders, that's right up his alley.

 

[alex]

Sheens made some absolute clangers over the last few seasons:

- In 2007, Lawrence was named at lock for a few games

- Last season when we had several backs on the bench, Beau was rotated through lock

- Touting Lawrence as the next Laurie Daley. Sorry Sheens, Lawrence is a great player but has no passing or kicking skills

- Moving both Benji and Farah to halfback again and again even after its failed again and again. The stubbornness was exhausting

- Starting Groat in the front row ahead of experienced players like Bell or even Moors

- The amount of players last season who were NAMED in more than 1 position:
Benji - 6, 7
Humble - 1, 7, 9
Moltzen - 1, 7
Lawrence and Aysh - 3/4, 6
Fulton - 6, 9, 12
Blair - 10, 11
Bell - 10, 13
Beau - 1, 3, 5
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

 

[happy_tiger]

I wish the title had of been "End of Touch Football at Wests Tigers "

 

[underdog]

Sheens made some absolute clangers over the last few seasons:

- In 2007, Lawrence was named at lock for a few games

- Last season when we had several backs on the bench, Beau was rotated through lock

- Touting Lawrence as the next Laurie Daley. Sorry Sheens, Lawrence is a great player but has no passing or kicking skills

- Moving both Benji and Farah to halfback again and again even after its failed again and again. The stubbornness was exhausting

- Starting Groat in the front row ahead of experienced players like Bell or even Moors

- The amount of players last season who were NAMED in more than 1 position:
Benji - 6, 7
Humble - 1, 7, 9
Moltzen - 1, 7
Lawrence and Aysh - 3/4, 6
Fulton - 6, 9, 12
Blair - 10, 11
Bell - 10, 13
Beau - 1, 3, 5
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

You also forgot the periodic usage of Beau - 13…. 😕

I also remember the era of Halatau before his move to the dogs - 2,3,6,9,11,13

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Sheens made some absolute clangers over the last few seasons:

- In 2007, Lawrence was named at lock for a few games

**- Last season when we had several backs on the bench, Beau was rotated through lock**

- Touting Lawrence as the next Laurie Daley. Sorry Sheens, Lawrence is a great player but has no passing or kicking skills

- Moving both Benji and Farah to halfback again and again even after its failed again and again. The stubbornness was exhausting

- Starting Groat in the front row ahead of experienced players like Bell or even Moors

- The amount of players last season who were NAMED in more than 1 position:
Benji - 6, 7
Humble - 1, 7, 9
Moltzen - 1, 7
Lawrence and Aysh - 3/4, 6
Fulton - 6, 9, 12
Blair - 10, 11
Bell - 10, 13
Beau - 1, 3, 5
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

You also forgot the periodic usage of Beau - 13…. 😕

I also remember the era of Halatau before his move to the dogs - 2,3,6,9,11,13

No he didn't

 

[Marshall_magic]

Perhaps the Spanish national Football team could use Sheens. They won a World Cup with a team full of midfielders, that's right up his alley.

Sheens would put Torres in goals as his ability to score goals will help him to stop them. If his NRL coaching rep is anything to go by, after they bomb out of the group stage in Brazil, miss the Euros in 2016 and are on track to miss Russia 2018, he'd be given Fergie's job.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Perhaps the Spanish national Football team could use Sheens. They won a World Cup with a team full of midfielders, that's right up his alley.

Sheens would put Torres in goals as his ability to score goals will help him to stop them. If his NRL coaching rep is anything to go by, after they bomb out of the group stage in Brazil, miss the Euros in 2016 and are on track to miss Russia 2018, he'd be given Fergie's job.

Man U isn't all that different to the Spanish team. Fergie just likes to load his sides full of strikers instead of midfielders, definitely falls in line with Sheens philosophy of "score more points than the other team"

*shudder*

 

[underdog]

Sheens made some absolute clangers over the last few seasons:

- In 2007, Lawrence was named at lock for a few games

**- Last season when we had several backs on the bench, Beau was rotated through lock**

- Touting Lawrence as the next Laurie Daley. Sorry Sheens, Lawrence is a great player but has no passing or kicking skills

- Moving both Benji and Farah to halfback again and again even after its failed again and again. The stubbornness was exhausting

- Starting Groat in the front row ahead of experienced players like Bell or even Moors

- The amount of players last season who were NAMED in more than 1 position:
Benji - 6, 7
Humble - 1, 7, 9
Moltzen - 1, 7
Lawrence and Aysh - 3/4, 6
Fulton - 6, 9, 12
Blair - 10, 11
Bell - 10, 13
Beau - 1, 3, 5
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

You also forgot the periodic usage of Beau - 13…. 😕

I also remember the era of Halatau before his move to the dogs - 2,3,6,9,11,13

No he didn't

sorry, I should have been clearer - "periodic use of Beau @ #13"

 

[happy_tiger]

Perhaps the Spanish national Football team could use Sheens. They won a World Cup with a team full of midfielders, that's right up his alley.

Sheens would put Torres in goals as his ability to score goals will help him to stop them. If his NRL coaching rep is anything to go by, after they bomb out of the group stage in Brazil, miss the Euros in 2016 and are on track to miss Russia 2018, he'd be given Fergie's job.

Man U isn't all that different to the Spanish team. Fergie just likes to load his sides full of strikers instead of midfielders, definitely falls in line with Sheens philosophy of "score more points than the other team"

*shudder*

C'mon you Red devils fans ,its a Tigers thread , does everything have to be Man U, ManU, Man U ?? :deadhorse: :laughing:

 

[Chris]

Who the …. are Man United?

 

[Flippedy]

Perhaps the Spanish national Football team could use Sheens. They won a World Cup with a team full of midfielders, that's right up his alley.

Sheens would put Torres in goals as his ability to score goals will help him to stop them. If his NRL coaching rep is anything to go by, after they bomb out of the group stage in Brazil, miss the Euros in 2016 and are on track to miss Russia 2018, he'd be given Fergie's job.

Man U isn't all that different to the Spanish team. Fergie just likes to load his sides full of strikers instead of midfielders, definitely falls in line with Sheens philosophy of "score more points than the other team"

*shudder*

C'mon you Red devils fans ,its a Tigers thread , does everything have to be Man U, ManU, Man U ?? :deadhorse: :laughing:

Well Happy, WT were supposed to become the Man U of the NRL during Sheens' reign, so I can see correlation :laughing:

Back on topic, I for one can't wait to see the end of the 'total football' at WT, as coined by the OP. Sheens' penchant for trying to make every a player a utility was idiotic, imo. Whilst versatility is a good trait to have, not _every_ player is suited to taking on so many different roles. Some guys are just meant to be specialists in a particular position. Others may be able to fill other positions, but only adequately, whereas they play very well in their rightful place.

What ticked me off the most was Sheens' stuffing around with the halfback spot in this manner. Instead of buying a specialist halfback after Prince left, we all know that he spent wasted years trying to manufacture several players to fill, arguably, the most important position in the team, and it cost us big time! Injuries are always thrown up as the reason Sheens did all the chopping and changing of players, but this wasn't the case with the halfback role - it was just plain stubbornness and/or inability to go out and purchase a specialist half in 2006.