Wests Tigers V Titans - Analysis and game plan
Ok, this game is a must win otherwise we will be in a fight for the spoon. So here is the assessment of us V them and what I think is needed for us to come out on top.
Enemy – Titans
Strengths
- On paper the Titans have a stronger and more physical pack. Tino, Fotuaika, RCG, Fifita and Fermor will provide plenty of go forward and aggression.
- Powerful edge threat from Brimson on both sides of the park. Campbell and Brimson both offer strike down the middle – especially towards the end of both halves. Foran provides a steadying hand with his experience and will provide a constant threat in the red zone with his short kicking game.
Weaknesses
- Inconsistent execution; frequently make errors under pressure. They are brittle mentally so maintaining pressure through high set completion will be essential.
- The size of their pack means they are less mobile and susceptible to being split down the middle due to fatigue.
- Edges and outside backs are vulnerable points, we should exploit this through early shifts. This will also contribute to fatigue in their less mobile forward pack.
Good Guys - Wests Tigers
Strengths
- Ruck control. Api has been below his best in recent weeks but provides leadership, creativity, and ruck control, which should give us the edge in tempo and direction.
- Edge threats. Latu F and Luai bring spark and unpredictability in attack and pose a threat on both edges. Playing AD as a ball playing 13 has the potential to move both halves wider later in the sets to provide time and space to execute.
- Home ground advantage. Playing at the Eighth will provide energy provided the crowd can be bought into the game
Weaknesses
- New and developing edge combination. Taylan’s first game in FG is a new edge combination that has the potential to be exploited in defence and be clunky in attack. Sukkar has bolstered the edge defence but the loss of Sam F significantly affects our effectiveness in attack. New combinations are vulnerable to fast, powerful wide runners like David Fifita or the speed of Khan-Pereira/Brimson.
- Inconsistent execution under pressure. Frequent errors or penalties in crucial moments (seen multiple times this season) reduce our ability to close out tight games.
- Developing spine. Week two of a new halves combination. Taruva also filling in at Fullback. While talented they are still developing their game management and tactical kicking games.
- AD at 13. AD is unproven at 13 with 20 minutes under his belt late in the game v Warriors. While his ball handling skills are proven his ability to defend in the middle in the early exchanges and his effectiveness in taking up the dirty hits when required is unproven.
Opportunities
- Titan's Fragility. Gold Coast are prone to errors and defensive misreads under sustained pressure. A high completion rate will induce fatigue and open up opportunities in attack.
- Exploit edge defence. Latu in particular has the ability to pull apart the edge defence if given time and space. Combined with Luai’s unpredictability there is potential for us to unlock the Titan’s edges.
- The Eighth. Sunday afternoon at Leichhardt is perfect for building momentum by getting the crowd into the game. A combination of physicality in defence, a high completion rate and early shifts has the potential to lift our intensity.
Threats
- Titans' pack. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Fifita, RCG and Fotuaika can generate big metres and offloads, breaking defensive lines if fatigue sets in.
- Individual brilliance from Titans backs. Brimson and Khan-Pereira, when he is bought into the game, can create long-range tries off broken play or turnovers. Kick chase must be on point.
- Lack of discipline under pressure. We can be ill disciplined under pressure resulting in a high error rate and un-necessary penalties. Api and Luai need to maintain calm and execute the game plan with discipline.
- Complacency or overconfidence. Facing the bottom of the table team could result in us underestimating them, leading to an ambush if we don’t maintain intensity.
Game Plan
- Maintain early parity in the middle. We must fight to control speed off the play-the-ball. Api/Hope have to smell fatigue in the Titans middle and expose slow middle defence.
- Patience. This game will not be won early. We need to be patient and execute the plan - if we are being stifled we need to be creative to enable us to get back to playing our game.
- Pressure Titans execution. Force the Titans to play down the middle with line speed and a compressed middle then move the forwards around with early shifts. Fatigue = fragility.
- Astute Kicking Game
- Brimson is not a big fullback – kick to contest.
- Kick to the corners. Make them bring the ball back from deep in the corners using their smaller backs. Kick early to fatigue the pack.
- Titans are likely to try and emulate the Warriors by shutting down our ability to shift. Be prepared to target high line speed/up and in defence through long kicks early to keep them on their heels or using short kicks through the line mid field.
- Let the ball sing. Our strength in attack early in the game is in our edges and outside backs. Early shifts pit our strengths against their weaknesses and runs the forward pack around. This will provide attacking opportunities up the middle later in the game. We can’t afford to be forced into playing down the middle as we were last week.
This is the way I see us playing - of course we would not be telling our forwards to maintain parity - they need to go out there trying to win the collision and the momentum battle. I can't see us doing that given what we have on offer in the middle - we can probably gain some dominance later in the game, but we need to be patient to win.
How do you see it playing out?
