New plan - Rowdy to 5/8

jirskyr

Well-known member
It was raised to me this weekend, that part of the problem we have is not just Broses getting in each other's way in attack, but having them both on the field gives oppositions two avenues either side of the ruck to target.

Normally when you have a weakness in defence, like Benji used to be, you can pair them with a strong defender and try to keep too much traffic away. But when there are two poor defenders either side, your inside and outside men can't cope, because the opposition have attacking options both sides.

Is it possible that last round's win over Souths was built upon having only one weak defensive side? It does seem to have made a difference to have had Lawrence defending inside Kev and Nofo, rather than Moses.

So - everyone is in agreement that Broses are not performing and one of them needs some time in NSW Cup. I can't totally make the call which to drop because they are having turns at having poor performances, but I'd make it Brooks because at least Moses is involved and shows high energy about turning games around.

So drop Brooks, move Rowdy to 5/8 again and instruct him to either give good early ball, or take hitups at top speed. We don't need Rowdy to play-make or kick, just play hard, aggressive footy and sure up that right-side defence.

I think it's worth a shot, even though we know guys like Lawrence and Siro have not been long-term half options, but I think there is enough attack in just one of the halves, supplemented by input from Farah, to still make a decently dangerous footy side.

Of course when Tedesco comes back, you can keep that spine and you get a great attacking element back.

Because I look at other sides and they don't tend to carry two defensive liabilities in the halves. E.g. Maloney is fairly bad sometimes but Townsend is alright.

Just a thought anyway, considering the team is doing so poorly with the current setup and 2/3 wins this year have come from Broses flying solo.
 
I agree, except I believe that Siro should take the role not rowdy, Rowdy offers more in the second row running his lines.
 
@jirskyr said:
It was raised to me this weekend, that part of the problem we have is not just Broses getting in each other's way in attack, but having them both on the field gives oppositions two avenues either side of the ruck to target.

Normally when you have a weakness in defence, like Benji used to be, you can pair them with a strong defender and try to keep too much traffic away. But when there are two poor defenders either side, your inside and outside men can't cope, because the opposition have attacking options both sides.

Is it possible that last round's win over Souths was built upon having only one weak defensive side? It does seem to have made a difference to have had Lawrence defending inside Kev and Nofo, rather than Moses.

So - everyone is in agreement that Broses are not performing and one of them needs some time in NSW Cup. I can't totally make the call which to drop because they are having turns at having poor performances, but I'd make it Brooks because at least Moses is involved and shows high energy about turning games around.

So drop Brooks, move Rowdy to 5/8 again and instruct him to either give good early ball, or take hitups at top speed. We don't need Rowdy to play-make or kick, just play hard, aggressive footy and sure up that right-side defence.

I think it's worth a shot, even though we know guys like Lawrence and Siro have not been long-term half options, but I think there is enough attack in just one of the halves, supplemented by input from Farah, to still make a decently dangerous footy side.

Of course when Tedesco comes back, you can keep that spine and you get a great attacking element back.

Because I look at other sides and they don't tend to carry two defensive liabilities in the halves. E.g. Maloney is fairly bad sometimes but Townsend is alright.

Just a thought anyway, considering the team is doing so poorly with the current setup and 2/3 wins this year have come from Broses flying solo.

I agree with most of what you said, but I'd still try BRooks with Rowdy first.
Only because it worked a fortnight ago, with that pairing.
Admittedly , it was against a disinterested team, but it did work.
I, and a lot of others have been saying ever since the Broses began that we , (and no team ) can afford two liabilities in defence in the one team, and I am amazed that ANY coach could continue in the face of so much evidence that that is the case.

The decision NOT to have an experienced player with Brooks, from the start, may have gone a long way towards harming Brooks's chance of having the first grade career that he should have had, For his sake , I hope not.
 
Didnt souths score most of there points down the right side, which is the opposite side that Brooks was defending? Therefore having one less suspect defender didnt have anything to do with the win at all.
 
Our terrible defence against the Dogs had nothing to do with Brooks and Moses both being on the park at the same time.

I'm not stating that it's a bad suggestion and something needs to happen but I'm not sure if that will make a big improvement to our team.
 
@jirskyr said:
It was raised to me this weekend, that part of the problem we have is not just Broses getting in each other's way in attack, but having them both on the field gives oppositions two avenues either side of the ruck to target.

Normally when you have a weakness in defence, like Benji used to be, you can pair them with a strong defender and try to keep too much traffic away. But when there are two poor defenders either side, your inside and outside men can't cope, because the opposition have attacking options both sides.

Is it possible that last round's win over Souths was built upon having only one weak defensive side? It does seem to have made a difference to have had Lawrence defending inside Kev and Nofo, rather than Moses.

So - everyone is in agreement that Broses are not performing and one of them needs some time in NSW Cup. I can't totally make the call which to drop because they are having turns at having poor performances, but I'd make it Brooks because at least Moses is involved and shows high energy about turning games around.

So drop Brooks, move Rowdy to 5/8 again and instruct him to either give good early ball, or take hitups at top speed. We don't need Rowdy to play-make or kick, just play hard, aggressive footy and sure up that right-side defence.

I think it's worth a shot, even though we know guys like Lawrence and Siro have not been long-term half options, but I think there is enough attack in just one of the halves, supplemented by input from Farah, to still make a decently dangerous footy side.

Of course when Tedesco comes back, you can keep that spine and you get a great attacking element back.

Because I look at other sides and they don't tend to carry two defensive liabilities in the halves. E.g. Maloney is fairly bad sometimes but Townsend is alright.

Just a thought anyway, considering the team is doing so poorly with the current setup and 2/3 wins this year have come from Broses flying solo.

Lawrence was responsible for tries 2 and 3 through poor defence and poor ball security. Moses and Brooks defended well yesterday.
 
@stevetiger said:
Our terrible defence against the Dogs had nothing to do with Brooks and Moses both being on the park at the same time.

I'm not stating that it's a bad suggestion and something needs to happen but I'm not sure if that will make a big improvement to our team.

It's not just about the Dogs game, it's about the entire season. Brooks has missed 41 tackles this year and Moses 37 - that's #3 and #5 worst in the NRL.

Maloney is #1 - he's there often, Widdop is #2, Soward #4 and Thurston / Hiku / Hunt #6.

It's clear that halves make up most of the missed tackles in each side, but most sides have only 1 entry in the Top 10 missed tackles - we have 2 out of the top 5\. Panthers surprisingly enough have 4 guys in the Top 12.

Maloney, Widdop, Brooks, Soward, Moses, Thurston, Hiku, Hunt, Cartwright, Carter, Ferguson, Campbell-Gillard, Hodgson, Jackson, Johnson, Naiqama, A Taylor, Mbye, J Reynolds, Levi.

Sharks = 1
Dragons = 1
Tigers = 3
Panthers = 4
Cowboys = 1
Broncos = 1
Souths = 1
Roosters = 1
Raiders = 1
Dogs = 3
Warriors = 1
Titans = 1
Knights = 1
 
It's definitely worth a try. The lack of confidence in each other to make one on one tackles is apparent and is the reason for players running out of the line.

I would also make a change in the centres, bring mck in and shift Kev to the wing. He is not a centre and is now being targeted in defence. Nofo has gone backwards this year, I suspect he was injured on the weekend, but he has been woefully inconsistent this year.
 
So… in other words use Rowdy like Austin used to play.

Except Austin has a bit of a kicking game and better hands - when he uses them.
 
@Tigertigertiger said:
1 Moses
6 Littlejohn
7 Brooks (unfortunately)

Hunt…...Gone

Have to agree - something like this. Rankin would be good at fullback too, he actually looks very solid whenever he's been there. Surely we can fill that wing position with another option.

I thought Hunt was terrible.. I think that really contributed to the loss as well. Looked very fragile in both attack and defence. Apart from the other poor performances we really missed a decent fullback that game.
 
Whilst i agree it will bolster the defence with Rowdy at 5/8 it wont add much to the creative play.
It will be too scripted, easy to read our halves play.

As a gap fill i dont mind but not as a long term solution.
Plus he is a bigger asset in 2nd row
 
Out of all the halves combinations in the comp, I like the Cowboys balance. Having Thurston with a solid guy (who could play 2nd row) next to him. Personally I'd have Brooks on the bench and coming on after 30 mins, with Sirro at 5/8 and MCK at right centre.
If we want to stop leaking pionts, hopefully this combo should be able stop most teams
 

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