Is fitness our problem this year?

[watersider]

The tigers have started every game this year well. In matches so far here are the scores after 20 minutes:

Round 1 newcastle: Tigers in front after 20, 6-4
- Against Newcastle we looked good for the first 15 minutes and then put in one of the worst performances I've see.
Round 2 Penrith: after 20, 6-6
- against Penrith they were average the whole game.
Round 3 Parramatta: Tigers in front after 20, 10-0
- Tigers started brightly against Parra, building a strong lead which the Eels seemed like running down if not for some stupid errors.
Round 4 Manly: after 20, 0-0
- Against Manly we were dominant in defense causing a lot of errors and blew heaps of opportunities and collapsed late in the second half
Round 5 Melbourne: Tigers in front after 20, 6-0
- Against Melbourne we took an early lead and played strongly until the final 20 where we collapsed
Round 6 St. George Illawarra: after 20, 0-0
- Played solidly against the Dragons in the opening 20 but allowed points at the end of the half and early in second half.

So despite a poor record we have not been behind in any match at the 20 minute mark. The pattern of matches so far has been: Tigers start strongly, then concede penalties and commit errors and play poorly in the second half. There hasn't been a good second half performance this season.

I remember when we regularly would comeback in the second half of matches in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Since, Skandalis has taken over from Folkes the conditioning of the side hasn't been the same. The tigers aren't able to stay with teams this year and I think conditioning is the biggest factor for us this year.

I don't know anything about coaching, but watching the warm-up of our players in comparison to better teams I notice that our club features less technical drills such as on the ground wrestling, pushing up in a line and passing drills. Instead, we seem to focus on run throughs, simulating formations and running on to the ball.

I know Benji's form is down, defense needs work, and the team hasn't really clicked into gear yet, but my biggest concern is our inability to stay with teams. The best teams are those that can outlast an opposition and the Tigers have work to do to get to that level.

 

[ball_main]

I don't think it's fitness. I think that it's our defense. We seem to leg tries in at ease. And please stop this myth we can score tries

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[claws]

Fitness and defence are not the issues! Check when our injuries have occurred. e.g. Murdoch injured 1st half, come back on and had a shocker v's Dragons. Again, had all the momentum and Anasta pulls a groin. Benji does his toe 20min into Storm game and continues on. These are just from a few recent games and I am sure others can add to this list. The point is, when injuries occur is critical, in the 80min hostile, competitive arena of NRL. To quote Tim Sheens when we won the comp " the team with the least injuries and keeps the same team on the field the longest has the most chance of winning the comp, we only used 25 players all year " Never a truer word spoken. Check the injury stats of the competition winners from past seasons. Go Weststigers!

 

[pHyR3]

I made a post about this after the melbourne game and mentioned it several times before. Basically, the team seemed to be remembering what potter had instilled them for longer periods of time. However, eventually it would fade away with fatigue but every game it'd stay for longer. e.g. 1st week 10min, eels 30 min, melbourne 64min. The Dragons game doesn't really fit because we were so crippled with injuries and we never play well at the SCG as well as being so fatigued from the trip to Melbourne and the amazing effort put in and adversity faced.

Here's the full post: http://www.weststigersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16978

got the idea from chris anderson very early into the season and didnt think much of it till I saw that trend forming in about round 3 and it was confirmed after melbourne.

very reluctant to believe it's fitness given how that was the 'hardest preseason' in a while…. 😛ray:

edit: just remembered hearing a stat towards the end of 2012\. We were the 2nd highest scoring team in the 2nd half behind Storm (who just score constantly :wink: ). food for thought.

 

[Demonborger]

Biggest problem is our attack. We had so many opportunities in the Manly, Storm, St George games and barely managed anything, then when possession swung back we crumbled. Newcastle game i'm putting down as an anomaly. Teams we beat both have terrible defense so our attack could score points.

 

[tig_prmz]

attack is the problem.. but that is throughout the game

we have so many fresh from NYC players in the forwards that can't handle the speed of the game. buchanan around that time is not half as effective as he is in the first 20 plus potter tends to give the young guys a chance when it's late in the game.. i think that would be the reason tbh

 

[Peaches]

The side is learning a new gameplan and its structures are a touch different. Unfortunately injuries and form in the halves I think are affecting the club a bit.

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[happy_tiger]

I think our mental toughness under Folkes would of been a lot better than it is now , and thats makes a hell of a difference

 

[Paris_Cobbs]

Everyone has made valid points, but you really can't ignore the effect of injuries. Sheens was right. Look at the current injured lists of Melbourne (2), Manly (1) and Souths (2), and only Manly is missing a key player (Glenn Stewart). These are the three top teams atm.

For us, it's four halves combinations in 7 rounds, whilst trying to blood young players and work in new players. We need some luck.

 

[innsaneink]

Everyone has made valid points, but you really can't ignore the effect of injuries. Sheens was right. Look at the current injured lists of Melbourne (2), Manly (1) and Souths (2), and only Manly is missing a key player (Glenn Stewart). These are the three top teams atm.

For us, it's four halves combinations in 7 rounds, whilst trying to blood young players and work in new players. We need some luck.

It always seems to be about the injuries with us

Why?

Its constant, its regular….I dunno about 'bad luck'

 

[andrew 474]

our new coach may change things next year , i agree we seem to get so many injuries bad luck could not be that bad

 

[tigerbenji]

Hard to work out, but our injuries never seem to be one or two weeks, they are always six or eight weeks or longer. As i said i dont know what it is its got me beat.

 

[Tiger_Watto]

Yeah, not sure fitness is the problem, but the mental anguish of doing hard work and not capitalising is taking its toll… After the BMM penalty for barging against the Storm [we where leading at the time] I knew we were gone mentally.

While injuries are a worry, the fact we seem to be competitive for 30-50 minutes most games lends me to believe once we get some players back, we can make a run for the Finals…

4 Props and a regular Halfback is the key to us scoring points... These 2 items simply allow Farah & Marshall to play whats in front of them!

 

[system]

Fitness seems a bit of an issue.

Most of that appears to be decisions under fatigue for the most part.

I think it will take a season for Hayden Knowles to really put his stamp down. I am not sure if he is full time or not.

High performance management has been our bugbear for a decade

 

[Newtown]

Yeah, not sure fitness is the problem, but the mental anguish of doing hard work and not capitalising is taking its toll… After the BMM penalty for barging against the Storm [we where leading at the time] I knew we were gone mentally.

While injuries are a worry, the fact we seem to be competitive for 30-50 minutes most games lends me to believe once we get some players back, we can make a run for the Finals…

4 Props and a regular Halfback is the key to us scoring points... These 2 items simply allow Farah & Marshall to play whats in front of them!

I hope Moltzen puts in a good one this week and becomes our regular halfback. Definitely a positive for the rest of the season.

 

[stryker]

Fitness is an issue but not because we havent put in the hard yards.

We have been decimated with injuries and are playing blokes from the lower grades against good opposition. Buchanan being the prime example. These blokes are giving their all as exidenced by the stats that we are in every game up to the 20 minute mark as a minimum.

We have also been extremely poor with our discipline giving away upwards of 70 penalties in the first month and a half.

These two things combined with an average defence has seen our young blokes tiring quicker as they are continually marched backwards or forced to endure 3 or 4 sets in a row. This then witnesses our more experienced players such as Robbie take on extra work which sees him fatigue out as well.

I think if we get a full deck and behave ourselves you will see that the boys are a pretty fit side.

 

[Shooshmeister]

Giving away silly penalties drains the ebergy as do repeat sets. These are the times that we start to loose the games. We need the team leaders to setup, run a set of hitups and get a huge downfield kick, even finding touch just to slow things down and give the boys a rest. Instead we drop the ball early in the count, kick out on the full, and give away penalties on the 4-5 tackles. Rookie mistakes that just drains all the energy out of you. This is when we slow and teams make us pay. I wish we still had Steve Folkes.