Just A Horrible Horrible Side

[18thman]

IMO this is the worst squad in our 18 year history. We may be headed for our first wooden spoon!

Weststigers just aren't moving with the times.

The style of players like Lovett, Edwards and Chee-Kam to name a few may have been a good fit 4 or 5 years ago but in the current era a team needs more big boppers to compete week in week out.

We don't have playmakers that can consistently finish off a set or be able to mount any pressure which may relate to my previous paragraph.( depending on the calibre of those smaller forwards )

I also question our fitness levels as we just don't seem to be able to cut it for 80 minutes.

And when are we going to address our defensive issues out wide where the majority of points are scored against us? For all of his attacking ability Noffa is the main culprit and we don't have Moses to blame anymore.

I could go on and on but I think we all know the collective reasons this squad just doesn't cut it in todays NRL.

Cleary has his work cut out for the rest of the season and I am looking forward like everyone else to next season with our much needed shakeup of personnel!

 

[TigerSJ]

Blaming Brooks is an oversimplification of the problems. None of this is new. Our current situation has been coming for the last 5 years at least.

That was one of the most frustrating and annoying games I have watched for years. Besides the fact that some of the refs calls at key moments were absolutely ridiculous and they really hurt us, we struggled all over the park. If you take a look at the performances of key players in the side, very few were of the standard you would expect in NRL. Sure Brooks short kicking game in particular was horrible, however he tried hard all game and still provides far better options in attack than JLJ.

Kev at fullback was pretty poor in attack, often out of position, made poor decisions, can not defend.

Tui was horrible for the most part, threw the ball on the ground and even into the stand, kicks were terrible, D was soft, went missing for large parts of the game and is a crap goal kicker. If 5/8 is his best and favourite position then we have got some problems.

Liddle invariably gave slow and poor service from dh, most of his passes are behind the oncoming receiver and too high, he can't pass the ball from left to right either and is often late to dh or not there at all. He tackled well for the most part and made a couple of runs but is not showing enough for me. I think MM is a better option at the moment. If we are going to win any more games at all we need to give him time in ISP to find his spark, play MM and give that bench spot to Felise, Twal or someone else that will give us some go forward.

Our outside backs, in particular Suli and Marsters, were all poor in D, with the effort level being a big concern. IMO Suli has gone off since he cemented his position in the centres.

As much as a lot of forumers hate Woods (don't get me wrong, I'm not too pleased with him either) the fact is he tried hard and once again was the only forward who looked at all like an NRL player. Eisenhuth needs to wind up more and get a bit angry (maybe eat some red meat), currently he is receiving the ball too flat footed. Felise looks like he might have something in the future and ET tries hard but is not a second rower in the current NRL style of playing that position that seems to be working for other teams. No comment on the rest of the pack who really don't rate and would not find a spot in any NRL side.
Our pack is honestly soft and hardly going through the motions, which makes it very difficult for the backs to look good ever.

Simply put, we did not possess the class or the culture in that team we fielded, given the players out, to win that game - and that was always going to be the problem.

 

[Pragmatist]

As tough a season as it is ,it is refreshing to read well considered and written posts as above. To just point the finger at individual players is shallow. The club has reached this point as a result of decisions and issues over a number of years.
The squad will be restructured and a new style of play implemented. I am confident Brooks will be far better behind a pack of forwards led by Matalino and Packer.