Nofo Must Do His Time

[BalmainTigerForever]

Nofa is 10 times the player Zelezniak is, if anyone is to be dropped it's him.

 

[magpiecol]

Both wingers should be dropped.

 

[Harvey]

MWZ was hurt last night, but is ordinary. He should have been able to drive SKD out or compete for the ball.

 

[BalmainTigerForever]

Zelezniak is scared to jump for a ball, dances on the spot or runs sideways but he has never been dropped. at least Nofa runs hard and straight and makes a lot of meters. the try Zelezniak let in yesterday was a joke but i bet he will still be there this week again as usual. this super star must be one of Cleary's pets as with Godinet. it seems Tui and Nofo cannot do anything right in Cleary's eyes.

 

[Fibros]

Nofo started the season in regies and clearly that's where he needs to return to. If he'd read the play correctly in just one of his opposite's three tries, we win. Rarely have I seen such a defensively challenged winger. Yes, he is solid rucking it out of our end and, yes, he can score a try but enough is enough. To play first grade you must be able to run hard, catch the high ball and DEFEND. He is merely passable under the high ball and cannot make correct decisions defensively. That's 1 1/2 out of 3, not good enough to play first grade.

Seriously? Try watching the replay. Benji is lucky Reynolds is out or he could be the one dropped for defensive issues.

 

[Fibros]

So I'd say in review:
#1 Benji commits to the dummy, forces Marsters to come in on Ponga, Nofo burst out for Ross and Ponga picks it. Perhaps Nofo can stay out and let the cover take the centre. So I'd say Benji causes the main problem but Marsters and Nofo manage to take nobody, i.e. you need to be faster if you are going to cut players off.

#2 Benji again I reckon, comes in too hard on Pearce, but nobody is sliding… I thought Tigers were a sliding team in 2018 rather than an up-in edge defence? If Benji backs off, Rochow covers the inside and Nofo isn't caught so far inside his sideline. I will say however I feel Nofo is still over-committed here, he doesn't need to be 10 m inside, there's no chance he'll get to his winger if they cut-out. Marsters needs some opportunity to turn and chance, but he'll never reach the winger. Any surprise both these tries are rapid cut-outs, like Knights know Nofo will come in?

#3 Short side, we had the numbers and though Benji gets clipped I don't think he makes a mistake here. Marsters focuses on Pearce (?) but fails to cover it and Nofo only has eyes for Ross. I'm still pretty annoyed that Nofo gets beaten on the inside because he doesn't look at his winger at any time, even in the scramble.

So overall is Nofo just to blame? Certainly not. Problem is for me, the inside defenders are often likely to make a defensive error, because whenever teams run these plays they have an overlap. Thompson on play #3 goes into the line for exactly that reason, because if they pull in the FB or stack some backrowers then you are short-manned. But Nofo turns like the Queen Mary, so even if his inside guys make some tough / wrong reads, he has very little ability to recover, because he comes in too hard.

The cover is rarely going to reach the winger, you need to come up and then slide if you see the have the numbers. Again, we seemed to be playing a lot of up-and-in defence on RHS this evening, which I thought we had started to move away from in 2018.

And there is there prof. Thanks Jirskyr.

Now do we drop Benji and reinstate Nofo?

 

[InBenjiWeTrust]

Nofoaluma's kick returns and going forward are very important for our attack, and arguably he is one of the best in the league, unfortunately, his bad reading/positioning are just extension from previous years.
IMHO, he has to learn it in ISP, and be replaced with 'like for like' player e.g. Fonua or Price, and definitely not Thompson, who is our best FB by miles.
This reminds me on one of 'Sheens geniuses' evergreens: move Tedesco to center, Moses to FB, Lawrence to 5/8 :bash

 

[Pawsandclaws]

Zelezniak is scared to jump for a ball, dances on the spot or runs sideways but he has never been dropped. at least Nofa runs hard and straight and makes a lot of meters. the try Zelezniak let in yesterday was a joke but i bet he will still be there this week again as usual. this super star must be one of Cleary's pets as with Godinet. it seems Tui and Nofo cannot do anything right in Cleary's eyes.

Being promoted back into the team to me was always a test to win Cleary's confidence. Remember, the other wingers are on a ;pittance compared to him. That there is so much discussion about his performance suggests his performance was not what we would expect from a highly experienced and well paid winger.

 

[momo_amp_medo]

MWZ was hurt last night, but is ordinary. He should have been able to drive SKD out or compete for the ball.

He got caught too far forward. If he positioned himself better he would have definitely had a better result.

 

[ferret]

:question: I think Mahha Fonua would a better choice than Nofo.

 

[newtiger]

So I'd say in review:
#1 Benji commits to the dummy, forces Marsters to come in on Ponga, Nofo burst out for Ross and Ponga picks it. Perhaps Nofo can stay out and let the cover take the centre. So I'd say Benji causes the main problem but Marsters and Nofo manage to take nobody, i.e. you need to be faster if you are going to cut players off.

#2 Benji again I reckon, comes in too hard on Pearce, but nobody is sliding… I thought Tigers were a sliding team in 2018 rather than an up-in edge defence? If Benji backs off, Rochow covers the inside and Nofo isn't caught so far inside his sideline. I will say however I feel Nofo is still over-committed here, he doesn't need to be 10 m inside, there's no chance he'll get to his winger if they cut-out. Marsters needs some opportunity to turn and chance, but he'll never reach the winger. Any surprise both these tries are rapid cut-outs, like Knights know Nofo will come in?

#3 Short side, we had the numbers and though Benji gets clipped I don't think he makes a mistake here. Marsters focuses on Pearce (?) but fails to cover it and Nofo only has eyes for Ross. I'm still pretty annoyed that Nofo gets beaten on the inside because he doesn't look at his winger at any time, even in the scramble.

So overall is Nofo just to blame? Certainly not. Problem is for me, the inside defenders are often likely to make a defensive error, because whenever teams run these plays they have an overlap. Thompson on play #3 goes into the line for exactly that reason, because if they pull in the FB or stack some backrowers then you are short-manned. But Nofo turns like the Queen Mary, so even if his inside guys make some tough / wrong reads, he has very little ability to recover, because he comes in too hard.

The cover is rarely going to reach the winger, you need to come up and then slide if you see the have the numbers. Again, we seemed to be playing a lot of up-and-in defence on RHS this evening, which I thought we had started to move away from in 2018.

Good points here Jirskyr, but if Nofo stays on his wing it might give the cover time to get any player inside, but the cover has no chance of covering the winger.
Every coach knows that Nofo always rushes in, and they target this with long ball or cut out pass.
Tui to FB Corey to Right wing.

 

[Nelson]

So I'd say in review:
#1 Benji commits to the dummy, forces Marsters to come in on Ponga, Nofo burst out for Ross and Ponga picks it. Perhaps Nofo can stay out and let the cover take the centre. So I'd say Benji causes the main problem but Marsters and Nofo manage to take nobody, i.e. you need to be faster if you are going to cut players off.

#2 Benji again I reckon, comes in too hard on Pearce, but nobody is sliding… I thought Tigers were a sliding team in 2018 rather than an up-in edge defence? If Benji backs off, Rochow covers the inside and Nofo isn't caught so far inside his sideline. I will say however I feel Nofo is still over-committed here, he doesn't need to be 10 m inside, there's no chance he'll get to his winger if they cut-out. Marsters needs some opportunity to turn and chance, but he'll never reach the winger. Any surprise both these tries are rapid cut-outs, like Knights know Nofo will come in?

#3 Short side, we had the numbers and though Benji gets clipped I don't think he makes a mistake here. Marsters focuses on Pearce (?) but fails to cover it and Nofo only has eyes for Ross. I'm still pretty annoyed that Nofo gets beaten on the inside because he doesn't look at his winger at any time, even in the scramble.

So overall is Nofo just to blame? Certainly not. Problem is for me, the inside defenders are often likely to make a defensive error, because whenever teams run these plays they have an overlap. Thompson on play #3 goes into the line for exactly that reason, because if they pull in the FB or stack some backrowers then you are short-manned. But Nofo turns like the Queen Mary, so even if his inside guys make some tough / wrong reads, he has very little ability to recover, because he comes in too hard.

The cover is rarely going to reach the winger, you need to come up and then slide if you see the have the numbers. Again, we seemed to be playing a lot of up-and-in defence on RHS this evening, which I thought we had started to move away from in 2018.

Good points here Jirskyr, but if Nofo stays on his wing it might give the cover time to get any player inside, but the cover has no chance of covering the winger.
Every coach knows that Nofo always rushes in, and they target this with long ball or cut out pass.
Tui to FB Corey to Right wing.

I think he needs to learn (and others as well) that sometimes your best option in defense is to hedge your bets and defend the space between - try to give yourself a chance to cover either contingency and try to put the attack in two minds about where you're going to go and what space you can cover. Jason Nightingale has been doing it really well for the Dragons this season - putting himself between and using a lot of back peddling to buy himself and the cover defence more time.

 

[851]

So I'd say in review:
#1 Benji commits to the dummy, forces Marsters to come in on Ponga, Nofo burst out for Ross and Ponga picks it. Perhaps Nofo can stay out and let the cover take the centre. So I'd say Benji causes the main problem but Marsters and Nofo manage to take nobody, i.e. you need to be faster if you are going to cut players off.

#2 Benji again I reckon, comes in too hard on Pearce, but nobody is sliding… I thought Tigers were a sliding team in 2018 rather than an up-in edge defence? If Benji backs off, Rochow covers the inside and Nofo isn't caught so far inside his sideline. I will say however I feel Nofo is still over-committed here, he doesn't need to be 10 m inside, there's no chance he'll get to his winger if they cut-out. Marsters needs some opportunity to turn and chance, but he'll never reach the winger. Any surprise both these tries are rapid cut-outs, like Knights know Nofo will come in?

#3 Short side, we had the numbers and though Benji gets clipped I don't think he makes a mistake here. Marsters focuses on Pearce (?) but fails to cover it and Nofo only has eyes for Ross. I'm still pretty annoyed that Nofo gets beaten on the inside because he doesn't look at his winger at any time, even in the scramble.

So overall is Nofo just to blame? Certainly not. Problem is for me, the inside defenders are often likely to make a defensive error, because whenever teams run these plays they have an overlap. Thompson on play #3 goes into the line for exactly that reason, because if they pull in the FB or stack some backrowers then you are short-manned. But Nofo turns like the Queen Mary, so even if his inside guys make some tough / wrong reads, he has very little ability to recover, because he comes in too hard.

The cover is rarely going to reach the winger, you need to come up and then slide if you see the have the numbers. Again, we seemed to be playing a lot of up-and-in defence on RHS this evening, which I thought we had started to move away from in 2018.

Good points here Jirskyr, but if Nofo stays on his wing it might give the cover time to get any player inside, but the cover has no chance of covering the winger.
Every coach knows that Nofo always rushes in, and they target this with long ball or cut out pass.
Tui to FB Corey to Right wing.

Tui has been less than ordinary, he is not even close to NRL standard on current form, and his effort in ISP has been very lack lustre

 

[Tiger_Steve]

Zelezniak is scared to jump for a ball, dances on the spot or runs sideways but he has never been dropped. at least Nofa runs hard and straight and makes a lot of meters. the try Zelezniak let in yesterday was a joke but i bet he will still be there this week again as usual. this super star must be one of Cleary's pets as with Godinet. it seems Tui and Nofo cannot do anything right in Cleary's eyes.

Geez I’d hate to read your posts after a few lean weeks!! We are coming 4th with a 5-2 record. MWZ has been safe as a bank so far this year. That non contested try was not great but not why we lost the game. As far as Tui goes, he is way off the pace and has looked vulnerable when playing first grade. (And I’m a fan of Tui!!)
As for stating Cleary has pets, maybe the better way to state it is Cleary believes player x or y can do the job they are assigned.
Cleary has had a huge role in turning this whole club around. One loss and you spit bile at him. Way too harsh imo.

 

[FreddyK]

I can't believe the hits that Nofo is taking on this thread. Defences in the team are about systems and not individuals. When the system breaks down there is failure and that is what occurred against Newcastle. For example, if you look at the game you can see us having trouble holding a straight line in defence. That was evident when Hooth broke the line and Mitchell went through the gap he left in the defensive structure. There were other failures and I also suggest that communication broke down when Nofo was isolated. Can we blame anybody? I don't really know but for me it appears that there was a communication breakdown and probably a breakdown of our defensive system.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Zelezniak is scared to jump for a ball, dances on the spot or runs sideways but he has never been dropped. at least Nofa runs hard and straight and makes a lot of meters. the try Zelezniak let in yesterday was a joke but i bet he will still be there this week again as usual. this super star must be one of Cleary's pets as with Godinet. it seems Tui and Nofo cannot do anything right in Cleary's eyes.

Geez I’d hate to read your posts after a few lean weeks!! We are coming 4th with a 5-2 record. MWZ has been safe as a bank so far this year. That non contested try was not great but not why we lost the game. As far as Tui goes, he is way off the pace and has looked vulnerable when playing first grade. (And I’m a fan of Tui!!)
As for stating Cleary has pets, maybe the better way to state it is Cleary believes player x or y can do the job they are assigned.
Cleary has had a huge role in turning this whole club around. One loss and you spit bile at him. Way too harsh imo.

Agreed. Not a superstar, but there aren't many mistakes in his game. Unlike Fonua and Noffa.

 

[voice_of_reason]

All the tries on our right edge were the result of overlaps. At the end of the day, you can't beat numbers. Could Nofo's positioning have been better? Perhaps - but it wasn't going to stop them scoring.. Even Ivan said in the press conference that our right side wasn't as 'well connected' as past games suggesting there were some breakdowns further inside.

**Things of greater concern to me:**
Pearce's try - he ran through 5 guys who could have tackled him
A couple of 7 tackle sets conceded towards the back of the game
Silly penalties gifting them field position
Positioning and attempt by MZW on last play. We need a soccer goalkeeper in to teach them how to punch a ball away.
50+ missed tackles
I think we missed rowdy a lot more than we expected.

If we are to be considered genuine contenders, we should be able to close out a game when we're up by 8 with 10 minutes to go. We showed poor game management at the death and that has to rest on the playmakers.

This is a different team that last year, I'm confident we'll be better next week.

 

[jirskyr]

So I'd say in review:
#1 Benji commits to the dummy, forces Marsters to come in on Ponga, Nofo burst out for Ross and Ponga picks it. Perhaps Nofo can stay out and let the cover take the centre. So I'd say Benji causes the main problem but Marsters and Nofo manage to take nobody, i.e. you need to be faster if you are going to cut players off.

#2 Benji again I reckon, comes in too hard on Pearce, but nobody is sliding… I thought Tigers were a sliding team in 2018 rather than an up-in edge defence? If Benji backs off, Rochow covers the inside and Nofo isn't caught so far inside his sideline. I will say however I feel Nofo is still over-committed here, he doesn't need to be 10 m inside, there's no chance he'll get to his winger if they cut-out. Marsters needs some opportunity to turn and chance, but he'll never reach the winger. Any surprise both these tries are rapid cut-outs, like Knights know Nofo will come in?

#3 Short side, we had the numbers and though Benji gets clipped I don't think he makes a mistake here. Marsters focuses on Pearce (?) but fails to cover it and Nofo only has eyes for Ross. I'm still pretty annoyed that Nofo gets beaten on the inside because he doesn't look at his winger at any time, even in the scramble.

So overall is Nofo just to blame? Certainly not. Problem is for me, the inside defenders are often likely to make a defensive error, because whenever teams run these plays they have an overlap. Thompson on play #3 goes into the line for exactly that reason, because if they pull in the FB or stack some backrowers then you are short-manned. But Nofo turns like the Queen Mary, so even if his inside guys make some tough / wrong reads, he has very little ability to recover, because he comes in too hard.

The cover is rarely going to reach the winger, you need to come up and then slide if you see the have the numbers. Again, we seemed to be playing a lot of up-and-in defence on RHS this evening, which I thought we had started to move away from in 2018.

Good points here Jirskyr, but if Nofo stays on his wing it might give the cover time to get any player inside, but the cover has no chance of covering the winger.
Every coach knows that Nofo always rushes in, and they target this with long ball or cut out pass.
Tui to FB Corey to Right wing.

I think he needs to learn (and others as well) that sometimes your best option in defense is to hedge your bets and defend the space between - try to give yourself a chance to cover either contingency and try to put the attack in two minds about where you're going to go and what space you can cover. Jason Nightingale has been doing it really well for the Dragons this season - putting himself between and using a lot of back peddling to buy himself and the cover defence more time.

I agree and that's my main problem with Nofo defending. I don't think he is solely responsible for the defensive lapses, but as a winger, unfortunately a big part of your game is covering for defensive errors inside. Nofo really doesn't do that, he really doesn't save tries with his defensive smarts - he either defends properly or he gets totally beaten.

MWZ has copped a bit of a bashing but you watch MWZ in defence, backing off when they shift to his side then picking his moment to come forward.

Nofo comes flying forward as soon as the line drags in, and yes he is following his centre, but he is often not really reading the play, he's just following his team-mates. The 3rd Sio try was clear evidence for me, the way he turned after the pass to Sio, didn't even look at his opposite number, and got beaten on the inside, which for a winger is just criminal. Nobody should ever step inside you when defending the sideline, you should always be forcing them to the corner at least.

What I would be super interested is of any wingers who have scored doubles or hat-tricks against us the past few years, how many of those have been the attacking left winger? I have no easy way of finding out, but I have a hunch we've been blitzed far more often on that RHS than the LHS.

 

[Needaname]

He could have made different choices, but it seemed, as all wingers are taught, that he was simply following his half and centre inside him.

Wingers are taught to stay on their man and trust the man inside to cover the space.

 

[Tim Sheens]

He could have made different choices, but it seemed, as all wingers are taught, that he was simply following his half and centre inside him.

Wingers are taught to stay on their man and trust the man inside to cover the space.

Their man is the inside man once those inside them have gone in on another. It is called up and in defence, which has been that way as long as I can remember and fails almost every time if they all do not follow.