Glaring weakness

[BAGNF05]

Teams are finding it too easy to isolate Brooks and Doueihi in defense. They wind up looking very ordinary because as smaller men they are being asked to do it on their own. Madge needs to sort out the deficiencies in mobility around Garner and Leilua or it’ll keep happening and cause tension in the team. I’ve said it before we need a Beau Scott type of bodyguard for our halves, not a couple of guys who like doing the easy stuff but shirk the hard yakka.

 

[AJ1]

You realise AD is 6'3", the biggest half in the comp.

 

[BAGNF05]

You realise AD is 6'3", the biggest half in the comp.

Still couldn’t stop Barnett on his own when Garner over committed to the marker. The gaps between our halves and their edge forwards are very concerning. I’ve counted 5 or 6 tries conceded through these gaps in 3 games. Hopefully a focus this wk.

 

[MarySt]

You realise AD is 6'3", the biggest half in the comp.

Still couldn’t stop Barnett on his own when Garner over committed to the marker. The gaps between our halves and their edge forwards are very concerning. I’ve counted 5 or 6 tries conceded through these gaps in 3 games. Hopefully a focus this wk.

know what youre saying but caught wrong footed and 1on1 doesnt make it easier

doueihi could prob work on his tackling a bit, was concerned last year that he opted for a shoulder charge on multiple occaision when running towards maika sivo (as opposed to legs tackle or wrapping his arms)

 

[DJG]

Couldn't really blame Brooks for his tackles last week in my opinion.

When he had that 1 on 1 tackle it was due to his outside man already going in for a tackle, it was just a good quick pass that got him going.

Although I really did not like when Connor Watson and Frizell broke through.. who were the people making them tackles?

 

[MarySt]

Couldn't really blame Brooks for his tackles last week in my opinion.

When he had that 1 on 1 tackle it was due to his outside man already going in for a tackle, it was just a good quick pass that got him going.

Although I really did not like when Connor Watson and Frizell broke through.. who were the people making them tackles?

to be fair even tho he fell off watson and frizell, his effort to get up after missing watson and then chase after frizell was good to see. wouldve been better if he completed, but also wouldve been better if he had proper support

brooks really does put in the effort, and often doesnt get recognised for it

 

[Toowoomba_Tiger]

I think Doueihi has been good in defence. Big improvement on Benji on the right. Garners defence has improved since game 1 also. Leiluas has been suspect last couple of games. But tries will always be scored on the edges be that Brooks or Doueihi's side. Happens to every team.
Agreed though, the defensive combinations around the edges always needs to be worked on becuase if they are a little off then it will cost us.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Whete's Gareth Ellis when you need him? We should be scouring the Northern England coalfields for tough second row forwards.

 

[earl]

Doueihi was whacking people defensively. Brooks has some moments that could improve defensively but he wasn't bad. I don't think they locked very ordinary defensively. It's a massive improvement compared to having Benji defending in the line.

I think our defense can improve a lot. We did get caught on the edge but also a couple of runs up the middle.

 

[Alex Seyfarth's #1 Fan]

Couldn't really blame Brooks for his tackles last week in my opinion.

When he had that 1 on 1 tackle it was due to his outside man already going in for a tackle, it was just a good quick pass that got him going.

Although I really did not like when Connor Watson and Frizell broke through.. who were the people making them tackles?

to be fair even tho he fell off watson and frizell, his effort to get up after missing watson and then chase after frizell was good to see. wouldve been better if he completed, but also wouldve been better if he had proper support

brooks really does put in the effort, and often doesnt get recognised for it

When Frizell scored his try, he initially missed Tex Hoy. But he was there to make the tackle again. Then he tried to get to Frizell as well. The dude busts his ass.

Some small analysis:
**Tex Hoy try:** Leilua doesn't communicate with Brooks to tell him to slide. Brooks comes in, Talau doesn't follow. Yes Brooks shouldn't have come in, but Talau needed to follow him as soon as he did. This is everyone's fault. All three of Leilua, Brooks and Talau need to communicate better.

**Mitch Barnett try:** This is actually good work from Brailey. He sells our entire defensive line on a feign right. This creates a 2 on 2 - Brailey vs Garner, Barnett vs Douiehi.

**Tyson Frizell try:** Leilua jumps out of the line on Connor Watson when he didn't need to. This leaves Brooks with no one on his inside. Brooks initially misses the tackle on Hoy, but to his credit he comes again to make the tackle on Hoy. He falls over, gets up again and tries to tackle Frizell.
 

Screenshots from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utRKoS_p6Q8

 

[MarySt]

Couldn't really blame Brooks for his tackles last week in my opinion.

When he had that 1 on 1 tackle it was due to his outside man already going in for a tackle, it was just a good quick pass that got him going.

Although I really did not like when Connor Watson and Frizell broke through.. who were the people making them tackles?

to be fair even tho he fell off watson and frizell, his effort to get up after missing watson and then chase after frizell was good to see. wouldve been better if he completed, but also wouldve been better if he had proper support

brooks really does put in the effort, and often doesnt get recognised for it

When Frizell scored his try, he initially missed Tex Hoy. But he was there to make the tackle again. Then he tried to get to Frizell as well. The dude busts his ass.

right, yeh sozz got watson and hoy mixed up. big eefort play for sure either way, the rest need to follow suit

 

[jirskyr]

I get the OP's point but protecting the halves is an eternal struggle for all sides. It's not just about having an enforcer, it's about having a synchronised defensive structure that moves together, gets off the line quickly and knows how to judge attacking structures. It's very difficult for any backrower or such to support the halfback if the fundamental weakenesses of the defence permit the halfback to be regularly isolated.

I think Souths are one of the better sides at this defensive work, because Reynolds and Walker are hardly defensive powerhouses, but Souths are very good at not being drawn out of shape. This was particularly evidenced in the Roosters game last week, even if the Roosters' execution was substantially poorer than against Tigers, Souths were very solid at holding their line and letting Roosters play out their trick shots without over-committing.

Once you have maintained your shape, it's much easier to support the halfback because the opponent hasn't dragged your players out of place. The backrower can have confidence to provide extra commitment to the space that the halfback is covering, because they themselves are being supported in the middle.

If the opposition is actually dominating your middle, then the backrowers tend to defend towards the centre and that's when your halves get isolated.

I agree with @Kazoo-Kid's analysis, although I think more emphasis needs to be made that Brooks' miss on Hoy was technically very poor, and yes the inside defenders didn't help him, but it was a poor miss regardless of any further effort he put in, and, at the time, a crucial miss.

Difficulty for the coach is we don't have that consistent defensive shape worked out yet - we are easily stretched and goaded into defensive mis-reads. We have periods where we battle and work hard for one another, but I wouldn't call it smart defence; there's a lot of scrap and small judgement errors.

You need to get the basic defensive movement down pat before you can start worrying about having specific enforcers to cover your halves.

 

[Deleted member 3518]

You realise AD is 6'3", the biggest half in the comp.

I also don’t remember him being exposed yet in defence .

 

[earl]

You need to get the basic defensive movement down pat before you can start worrying about having specific enforcers to cover your halves.

We aren't playing well when we have the ball but also defensively. I think we can improve a lot though.

 

[Geo]

You realise AD is 6'3", the biggest half in the comp.

I also don’t remember him being exposed yet in defence .

Mitch Barnett says hi..

 

[Speed2burn]

You need to get the basic defensive movement down pat before you can start worrying about having specific enforcers to cover your halves.

We aren't playing well when we have the ball but also defensively. I think we can improve a lot though.

Our attack in opp 20 looks clueless still, but I put that down to new combinations etc in the spine

I think once we start playing the lesser sides it’ll come for them. Starting new combinations against the Raiders and Goosters would not help

 

[BAGNF05]

Couldn't really blame Brooks for his tackles last week in my opinion.

When he had that 1 on 1 tackle it was due to his outside man already going in for a tackle, it was just a good quick pass that got him going.

Although I really did not like when Connor Watson and Frizell broke through.. who were the people making them tackles?

Luciano failing to slide. That’s all communication and busting your gut when you’re hurting.

 

[BAGNF05]

Whete's Gareth Ellis when you need him? We should be scouring the Northern England coalfields for tough second row forwards.

This 100%

 

[BAGNF05]

Couldn't really blame Brooks for his tackles last week in my opinion.

When he had that 1 on 1 tackle it was due to his outside man already going in for a tackle, it was just a good quick pass that got him going.

Although I really did not like when Connor Watson and Frizell broke through.. who were the people making them tackles?

to be fair even tho he fell off watson and frizell, his effort to get up after missing watson and then chase after frizell was good to see. wouldve been better if he completed, but also wouldve been better if he had proper support

brooks really does put in the effort, and often doesnt get recognised for it

When Frizell scored his try, he initially missed Tex Hoy. But he was there to make the tackle again. Then he tried to get to Frizell as well. The dude busts his ass.

Some small analysis:
**Tex Hoy try:** Leilua doesn't communicate with Brooks to tell him to slide. Brooks comes in, Talau doesn't follow. Yes Brooks shouldn't have come in, but Talau needed to follow him as soon as he did. This is everyone's fault. All three of Leilua, Brooks and Talau need to communicate better.

**Mitch Barnett try:** This is actually good work from Brailey. He sells our entire defensive line on a feign right. This creates a 2 on 2 - Brailey vs Garner, Barnett vs Douiehi.

**Tyson Frizell try:** Leilua jumps out of the line on Connor Watson when he didn't need to. This leaves Brooks with no one on his inside. Brooks initially misses the tackle on Hoy, but to his credit he comes again to make the tackle on Hoy. He falls over, gets up again and tries to tackle Frizell.
 

Screenshots from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utRKoS_p6Q8

Nice analysis. On the Barnett try, Garner needs to be sliding as soon as the hooker releases the ball and only commit if he dummies. It’s a split second decision and far from easy but he committed too soon and gave Barnett the saloon passage.

Edit: also LL hasn’t moved up on the Tex Hoy try, I also noticed him out of position on Teddy’s try last week. If he’s not playing to the defensive structure I’d imagine he’d be doing some extra video this week.

 

[rustycage]

Couldn't really blame Brooks for his tackles last week in my opinion.

When he had that 1 on 1 tackle it was due to his outside man already going in for a tackle, it was just a good quick pass that got him going.

Although I really did not like when Connor Watson and Frizell broke through.. who were the people making them tackles?

to be fair even tho he fell off watson and frizell, his effort to get up after missing watson and then chase after frizell was good to see. wouldve been better if he completed, but also wouldve been better if he had proper support

brooks really does put in the effort, and often doesnt get recognised for it

When Frizell scored his try, he initially missed Tex Hoy. But he was there to make the tackle again. Then he tried to get to Frizell as well. The dude busts his ass.

Some small analysis:
**Tex Hoy try:** Leilua doesn't communicate with Brooks to tell him to slide. Brooks comes in, Talau doesn't follow. Yes Brooks shouldn't have come in, but Talau needed to follow him as soon as he did. This is everyone's fault. All three of Leilua, Brooks and Talau need to communicate better.

**Mitch Barnett try:** This is actually good work from Brailey. He sells our entire defensive line on a feign right. This creates a 2 on 2 - Brailey vs Garner, Barnett vs Douiehi.

**Tyson Frizell try:** Leilua jumps out of the line on Connor Watson when he didn't need to. This leaves Brooks with no one on his inside. Brooks initially misses the tackle on Hoy, but to his credit he comes again to make the tackle on Hoy. He falls over, gets up again and tries to tackle Frizell.
 

Screenshots from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utRKoS_p6Q8


Nice analysis. On the Barnett try, Garner needs to be sliding as soon as the hooker releases the ball and only commit if he dummies. It’s a split second decision and far from easy but he committed too soon and gave Barnett the saloon passage.

Edit: also LL hasn’t moved up on the Tex Hoy try, I also noticed him out of position on Teddy’s try last week. If he’s not playing to the defensive structure I’d imagine he’d be doing some extra video this week.

There's no way Garner could have covered both Brailey and Barnett there. He had Brailey. Brailey did his job of taking Garner out of the play. Sometimes, teams score and there's not much you can do.