**live game feed** vs the Dogs

[voice_of_reason]

Mikaele was average again today. Dogs first try came through him switching off and turning his back in defence.

Mikaele can run hard in attack and bend the line. The problem is he has hands like feet and can be lazy in defence - something you can't be at lock.

Frankly I'm not sure whether we should persist with him which is probably saying he hasn't done enough.

 

[TigerSJ]

Mikaele was average again today. Dogs first try came through him switching off and turning his back in defence.

Mikaele can run hard in attack and bend the line. The problem is he has hands like feet and can be lazy in defence - something you can't be at lock.

Frankly I'm not sure whether we should persist with him which is probably saying he hasn't done enough.

The problem is our lack of depth with a couple of forwards injured. Mikaele is a bench prop who should be playing 15 aggressive mins a half and running the ball off the back fence - that's it. Certainly not a lock trying to pass the ball. Swapping Offa and him has been a bit of a trial that will cease once we have a real lock.

 

[watersider]

It looks like the Dogs fans that were commenting so frequently about their club signing rumours on this forum, are somehow absent today for some reason!:blush:

Next year they’re adding Vaughan, JAC, TPJ and Burton. We’re adding 2 ESL players.

Somehow, I don't see those players working out so well for the dogs. Rest of their team is garbage & they're also losing Meaney to da storms.
Much the same from us next yr as well. Gonna be a loooooong one...

Sour grapes.
Vaughn and TPJ are rep players. Burton, Dufty and Naden are excellent pieces. Burton in particular.

And the Fox. Maybe the fastest winger and greatest finisher in the era. Man I wish we had him. I wish we had any of them!

Burton is a good signing, it will be interesting to see if he can run and organise a team. But if that doesn't work out he's a really good centre. Fox is also excellent, and TPJ is quality.

Vaughn has been average for a while, Naden and Dufty have defensive problems. Vaugh also obviously isn't the smartest player. Dufty wouldn't be in the top ten fullbacks in the league (maybe not top 15), Naden generally doesn't start over Momorovski because of defensive problems.

Those players will all add some attacking threat to a very meagre attacking side but in my opinion they're not going to threaten the top 8. I don't think they have a strong hooker, fullback or halfback and I don't think their forwards are big enough. So I see them scoring more points but conceding plenty and not being able to challenge the top teams because they won't be able to match or control the momentum of other teams. They may outperform us next year, but I don't think that's anyone's benchmark for success. I'd still take our squad and contracts over theirs in terms of planning for success over the next three years.

Fair enough. That spine argument makes sense.
They have effectively bought half a team so it will naturally look disjointed right now. Still, I’d rather have their squad and contracts. It may not come off, but it will be more exciting for fans, it shows ambition and if they make finals then the winning culture starts again.

It's short term thrills, but I've never seen a team assembled well through buying a team like that. Cronulla did something like it in 2016 by rorting the cap, but they also recruited hardened gritty players. Bulldogs have bought your classic flashy players who aren't consistent enough to be near even the top half of players in their position in the league (with the exception of Burton and Fox, obviously).

If you really want to win, you don't do it the way the bulldogs are. Look at their flash players this year: Allen, Cotric, Hetherington...all average players looking average.

They're getting themselves in a salary cap muddle because they've bought all that, yet they still don't have a top level spine or a forward pack that can create space and cover up for all the flash they've bought. They're spending big on wingers and centres and a wide running second rower, I don't see that working.

This isn't sour grapes, players like TPJ and Fox would have been great for us and I'm disappointed we didn't get them, but I think we have the basics of a good NRL squad that just needs a few players to really make us competitive, they're way off that.

 

[bigsiro]

@watersider Respectfully disagree re the strength of our squad but I love your reasoning and your faith in our guys. Hope it is repaid 10 fold! 😊

 

[TIGERPOWER]

Bulldogs have recruited well unfortunately. It will be a real test for the coach who has been given a pass this year - but can't forget how he walked out on Manly when the pressure was on.

I will predict it from now. Barrett to be sacked round 10 and Phil Gould to bring a coach in that he hand picks.

 

[Lauren]

@watersider Respectfully disagree re the strength of our squad but I love your reasoning and your faith in our guys. Hope it is repaid 10 fold! 😊

I don't get the whole obsession about the Dogs with their recruitment and predictions on how they'll go next year.
They've identified players to fill some of their weakest spots, haven't really secured better players for all spine positions and will still have some weaknesses (and a coach who's not really rated/proven). But what has that got to do with the Wests Tigers?
If we're comparing rosters and recruitment, the fact they've improved next year's roster through their recruitment only tells me they've done better than us in this aspect.
Or are all arguments purely based on who'll be better? We seriously won't know until 2022, if that's the case.
It's like who cares.

 

[TigerNeddyK]

I might be on the wrong track here but to me, this game should be a litmus test for Maguire. We just played the absolute dead bottom floor team of the comp and fluffed it. It wasn't as if our opponents were putting us under pressure.
For Maguire, it should stand out like the proverbial which players are contributors and which are passengers or otherwise not up to standard.

shouldn’t Trent B cop the same scrutiny?

Over in the Bulldogs forum , then yeah!! Not sure what the constant bulldogs discussion and critiquing on the West’s Tigers forum is occurring for, it’s as if some of us may be a little fixated on the players that they signed that we were chasing that as soon as they signed for Bulldogs suddenly became players that we didn’t really want that would not have improved us anyway according to some on this forum … seems a rather strange position to arrive at IMO

 

[TigerNeddyK]

We shall never again nplay Mbye, Leilua, Tamou, Nofoaluma, and Talau they are more than useless.
Cini for Mbye, Tuilagi for Lailua, Dias for Tamou, Pauga for Nofoaluma, and Cooper for Talau, Simpkin for the C-K on the bench

Mbye, also known as Madge's long lost son, will never be dropped.

Apparently at training the love and affection between Madge and Mbye is off the charts ,, Moses may have been long lost but they are making up for lost time with. Vengeance now , dad Madge is even helping Moses accomplish his dream of playing first grade despite having no real talent or ability to be there and continually failing the team but fatherhood involves tough choices and Madge is standing by his little fella

 

[Telltails]

We shall never again nplay Mbye, Leilua, Tamou, Nofoaluma, and Talau they are more than useless.
Cini for Mbye, Tuilagi for Lailua, Dias for Tamou, Pauga for Nofoaluma, and Cooper for Talau, Simpkin for the C-K on the bench

Mbye, also known as Madge's long lost son, will never be dropped.

Apparently at training the love and affection between Madge and Mbye is off the charts ,, Moses may have been long lost but they are making up for lost time with. Vengeance now , dad Madge is even helping Moses accomplish his dream of playing first grade despite having no real talent or ability to be there and continually failing the team but fatherhood involves tough choices and Madge is standing by his little fella

The players seem to love him too.

 

[rex2ce]

Pretty ordinary game but a win's a win. Conceding we were only playing the Bulldogs, our line defence was still pretty solid. Our major defensive issues are around the ruck. Slow iff the ground, slow into position and lazy at marker.

I thought the interchange worked better today with Joffa and Twal coming on there was more consistency in the middle. I'm not sold on Mikaele at lock.

We looked our best in the first half when Stefano, Mikaele, Ken and Nofo were running straight after each other. We were clearing our red zone pretty well.

In other news, Hetherington can feel unlucky being binned, I guess that's what reputation does. Napa was lucky not to go - he's trying the 'lead with the head' tackle again but missed and hit with his shoulder.

Two points, dinner will taste better.

Nofoaluma did not run straight that game at all. I was waiting to see him run hard like he used to. He seems completely disinterested to be honest. The rest of your assessment is spot on.

Nofa has become a myth. Looks completely disinterested since getting his 4 year contract. Guaranteed to lose the ball playing it atleast once a game. Guaranteed to never run straight. Maumoloa is showing him up.

When we are no longer mathematically a chance I would start him in the forwards till he learns to run straight.

I would start him in the exit lounge, his mind is already there

 

[Guest]

At least we learned that we have one tactic that works.

Kick it to Ken!!!

 

[sleeve]

Our spine today .....
Liddle was very average - our distribution from dummy half was better from Mbye than him. Compared to the bulk of dummy halves in the comp I think Liddle struggles for a large majority of a game. Looks unfit actually.
AD did not run to the line with any real intent today and often went sideways and killed any momentum. Kicked goals well but little else.
Brooks had a couple of glaring errors but did a couple of good things also. His kicking game was generally good but would like to see more variation.
Mbye had 1-2 good moments and a lot of rubbish as well. Some things he did during the game were dreadful.
Special mentions to Ken, Uto and Blore - these guys were our best today.

Good summation of the game. I think Hastings at 5/8 will add some cohesion in attack, which is is poor. I still think we have a very promising pack, but our coaching sucks.

 

[Blocker1963]

I have never watched such a less inspiring game as this one, our attack was Zilch, only scored from kicks, it was like watching a local Team perform. Something has to change, coach ? Assistant Coaches and a few players. Stefano and Blore are Pluses.

 

[hank37w]

Just about all our players should get a tackle bag for Christmas

Would have to come complete with instructional video starring Victor the Inflicter because most of these guys wouldn't know what to do with it.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Anyone else felt like they'd just watched a loss at fulltime? I know I did.

 

[hank37w]

Man, if we're complaining (and deservedly so)... how bad are the Dogs...

Least they have next year to look forward to. Unlike us.

A lot of so called experts believe Dogs will be a 15 point better side next year, so looking on the bright side, on today's performance they only beat us by 3.

 

[cqtiger]

Watching the game today Madge is not the problem we have to many players that can find an error in their game a top team today would have put 50 on WT'S today they play some good moves but the errors cost us.

But haters will still blame the coach....

I’m not a hater but I blame this coach.

Good for you...so Brooks with his brilliant 40/20 then passes the ball 1 metre forward and gives up poccession and wrecks the momentum is Madges fault...Brooks 150 NRL games and still cant get the fundamentals right...ok your a deadset guru cq...

Are we well coached?

 

[Russell]

Putting my house on the cowboys next week,

Don't forget to buy a tent first.

 

[DJG]

I didnt actually catch the game as I was playing my own sports.

But how did Tulagi and Blore go?

 

[TigerSJ]

I didnt actually catch the game as I was playing my own sports.

But how did Tulagi and Blore go?

Blore’s best game so far - made a few good hard runs and was more involved. A couple of errors in him still, but starting to look like an edge player. Tuilagi didn’t get a lot of time but had little to no impact at all with his efforts.