OFFICIAL Pathways - KOE General Discussion

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Quick summation, deserved win by our NSW Cup team. It should have been too as we had the better team on paper imo & a few weeks now for most playing together.

However like in the NRL, execution in the red zone and some connection issues in defence on the edges kept the Eels in it. But this team SHOULD improve as the season progresses.

Herbert was MOM and played a stormer despite a few connection issues with Saukuru in defence.

Andrews & Attard showed their class and at times brilliance with ball in hand. As the season progresses and if both can stay injury-free, they will carve up I have no doubt.

Sukkar is a new man in NSW Cup this season, looks bigger and stronger on both sides of the ball and is actually being used as lot more by his halves than last season. He is near the top in post contact metres for the season across all Cup teams.

Thought the dummy half combo of Hodges & Lanyon was really good, Charlie Murray is Mr consistent and continues to provide a lot of drive & 2nd phase play with his offloads and right winger Faingaa was so impressive with his runs & speed for a biggish man. He was playing A grade for Camden Rams 12 months ago.
 
Stable side. Mason back in at left centre & Broederlow returns off the bench. Good signs for Mitchell Taotua to retain the starting left edge position ahead of him.
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
Quick summation, deserved win by our NSW Cup team. It should have been too as we had the better team on paper imo & a few weeks now for most playing together.

However like in the NRL, execution in the red zone and some connection issues in defence on the edges kept the Eels in it. But this team SHOULD improve as the season progresses.

Herbert was MOM and played a stormer despite a few connection issues with Saukuru in defence.

Andrews & Attard showed their class and at times brilliance with ball in hand. As the season progresses and if both can stay injury-free, they will carve up I have no doubt.

Sukkar is a new man in NSW Cup this season, looks bigger and stronger on both sides of the ball and is actually being used as lot more by his halves than last season. He is near the top in post contact metres for the season across all Cup teams.

Thought the dummy half combo of Hodges & Lanyon was really good, Charlie Murray is Mr consistent and continues to provide a lot of drive & 2nd phase play with his offloads and right winger Faingaa was so impressive with his runs & speed for a biggish man. He was playing A grade for Camden Rams 12 months ago.
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Sukkar is a beast. Has really developed in the off season and it obviously has helped his strength both in defence and ball in hand
 
Attard was strong in attack but was weak in defence. Dropped a couple of bombs, for ran over the top for a few of their tries though he did come up with an excellent try saver too.

It's good he's not on a NRL or dev contract, he's still a long way from that level. Developing in Cup is good for him for the rest of the season
 
Just saw we lost 22-24. Toa scored in the 2nd minute but looks like he didn't finish the game? Subbed off for NRL next week or injured?
 
A game we won nearly every stat and SHOULD have won but the table-topping Knights got home with the final try of the game.

This team has me scratching my head at times. We sit equal 2nd last but could easily be near the top as we could have won every game so far. But what's important is the development of our players and there continues to be plenty of green shoots with the likes of Andrews, Attard, Murray, Broederlow, Mitch Taotua, Lanyon, Aho, Hope etc.

What is noticeable is that a weakness in each player's game proves to be very costly at key moments. For example, Attard is going great but his strength in the last line of defence is costing tries that an NRL or experienced Cup fullback would save. He showed great pace to put himself in a position for a cover tackle on a runaway James Schiller in the 1st half but couldn't complete the tackle.

The only players who didn't produce a key mistake imo were the experienced duo in Charlie Murray & Tristan Hope, both 2 of our best in effort and overall impact.

In summary, my best were Hope (playing both as a hooker & lock when Lanyon came on), Javon Andrews who's attacking IQ and sleight of hand is mouth-watering for a 19/20yo, at least another 2 try assists. Mitch Taotua played his best game at this level, Solo Saukuru produced a barnstorming try, Mav Geyer was solid in the middle and Vaka Aho provided impact in both A&D when he came on.

A concern is that our starting middles (Afoa, Geyer, Murray) lost the contact battle early on and often gave up post contact metres, unlike their NRL team mates. Bunty is a solid depth prop but fans need to temper expectations on his impact if/when he plays NRL. He has good leg speed in attack but doesn't really push through the line & his defence looks a bit passive. Maybe he's a player who steps up to the grade he's playing??!! He was put on report for a late tackle in the final 2 mins of the game too on the 5th tackle mind you which cost us any chance of having one last attack in the Knights half. I don't think he'll cop a suspension but was a poor spur-of-the-moment decision by Bunty.

I thought our strongest in contact in D even though his edge didn't see as much of the ball was Lachie Broederlow as well as Tristan Hope.

Lanyon is gaining confidence at this level and I'm liking the progress he is making this season however would like to see him used more in the lock role. He played mainly dummyhalf when he came on with Hope pushing out to lock (and Hope actually looked good in this role).

Mitch Taotua ... there is a player there, certainly has the physical attributes & skill. Unlike a lot of his team mates, he only had a NSW Cup pre-season so his fitness level would not be at the level of the others. I reckon if given a full NRL pre-season next year could be the making of him, much like it has in the development of Broederlow who is much better with his lateral defence on the edge this season.

Mason, same same. Some good runs out of yardage but a poor cover tackle miss he should have made which cost us the Knights last try & low % flick pass in attack with Knights running the length to score close to HT. Just can't see it with him unfortunately.

Now Starford To'a, came out of innocuous tackle in the 55th minute with a limp favouring what I think was his ankle/foot. He played on for another 10 mins on the wing without any great involvement and then was replaced. Hope it wasn't a recurrence of his foot stress injury.

Anyway disappointing to lose but we are playing a better brand of football than last season at this time.
 
BlackWhiteGold said:
A game we won nearly every stat and SHOULD have won but the table-topping Knights got home with the final try of the game.

This team has me scratching my head at times. We sit equal 2nd last but could easily be near the top as we could have won every game so far. But what's important is the development of our players and there continues to be plenty of green shoots with the likes of Andrews, Attard, Murray, Broederlow, Mitch Taotua, Lanyon, Aho, Hope etc.

What is noticeable is that a weakness in each player's game proves to be very costly at key moments. For example, Attard is going great but his strength in the last line of defence is costing tries that an NRL or experienced Cup fullback would save. He showed great pace to put himself in a position for a cover tackle on a runaway James Schiller in the 1st half but couldn't complete the tackle.

The only players who didn't produce a key mistake imo were the experienced duo in Charlie Murray & Tristan Hope, both 2 of our best in effort and overall impact.

In summary, my best were Hope (playing both as a hooker & lock when Lanyon came on), Javon Andrews who's attacking IQ and sleight of hand is mouth-watering for a 19/20yo, at least another 2 try assists. Mitch Taotua played his best game at this level, Solo Saukuru produced a barnstorming try, Mav Geyer was solid in the middle and Vaka Aho provided impact in both A&D when he came on.

A concern is that our starting middles (Afoa, Geyer, Murray) lost the contact battle early on and often gave up post contact metres, unlike their NRL team mates. Bunty is a solid depth prop but fans need to temper expectations on his impact if/when he plays NRL. He has good leg speed in attack but doesn't really push through the line & his defence looks a bit passive. Maybe he's a player who steps up to the grade he's playing??!! He was put on report for a late tackle in the final 2 mins of the game too on the 5th tackle mind you which cost us any chance of having one last attack in the Knights half. I don't think he'll cop a suspension but was a poor spur-of-the-moment decision by Bunty.

I thought our strongest in contact in D even though his edge didn't see as much of the ball was Lachie Broederlow as well as Tristan Hope.

Lanyon is gaining confidence at this level and I'm liking the progress he is making this season however would like to see him used more in the lock role. He played mainly dummyhalf when he came on with Hope pushing out to lock (and Hope actually looked good in this role).

Mitch Taotua ... there is a player there, certainly has the physical attributes & skill. Unlike a lot of his team mates, he only had a NSW Cup pre-season so his fitness level would not be at the level of the others. I reckon if given a full NRL pre-season next year could be the making of him, much like it has in the development of Broederlow who is much better with his lateral defence on the edge this season.

Mason, same same. Some good runs out of yardage but a poor cover tackle miss he should have made which cost us the Knights last try & low % flick pass in attack with Knights running the length to score close to HT. Just can't see it with him unfortunately.

Now Starford To'a, came out of innocuous tackle in the 55th minute with a limp favouring what I think was his ankle/foot. He played on for another 10 mins on the wing without any great involvement and then was replaced. Hope it wasn't a recurrence of his foot stress injury.

Anyway disappointing to lose but we are playing a better brand of football than last season at this time.
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BlackWhiteGold said:
A game we won nearly every stat and SHOULD have won but the table-topping Knights got home with the final try of the game.

This team has me scratching my head at times. We sit equal 2nd last but could easily be near the top as we could have won every game so far. But what's important is the development of our players and there continues to be plenty of green shoots with the likes of Andrews, Attard, Murray, Broederlow, Mitch Taotua, Lanyon, Aho, Hope etc.

What is noticeable is that a weakness in each player's game proves to be very costly at key moments. For example, Attard is going great but his strength in the last line of defence is costing tries that an NRL or experienced Cup fullback would save. He showed great pace to put himself in a position for a cover tackle on a runaway James Schiller in the 1st half but couldn't complete the tackle.

The only players who didn't produce a key mistake imo were the experienced duo in Charlie Murray & Tristan Hope, both 2 of our best in effort and overall impact.

In summary, my best were Hope (playing both as a hooker & lock when Lanyon came on), Javon Andrews who's attacking IQ and sleight of hand is mouth-watering for a 19/20yo, at least another 2 try assists. Mitch Taotua played his best game at this level, Solo Saukuru produced a barnstorming try, Mav Geyer was solid in the middle and Vaka Aho provided impact in both A&D when he came on.

A concern is that our starting middles (Afoa, Geyer, Murray) lost the contact battle early on and often gave up post contact metres, unlike their NRL team mates. Bunty is a solid depth prop but fans need to temper expectations on his impact if/when he plays NRL. He has good leg speed in attack but doesn't really push through the line & his defence looks a bit passive. Maybe he's a player who steps up to the grade he's playing??!! He was put on report for a late tackle in the final 2 mins of the game too on the 5th tackle mind you which cost us any chance of having one last attack in the Knights half. I don't think he'll cop a suspension but was a poor spur-of-the-moment decision by Bunty.

I thought our strongest in contact in D even though his edge didn't see as much of the ball was Lachie Broederlow as well as Tristan Hope.

Lanyon is gaining confidence at this level and I'm liking the progress he is making this season however would like to see him used more in the lock role. He played mainly dummyhalf when he came on with Hope pushing out to lock (and Hope actually looked good in this role).

Mitch Taotua ... there is a player there, certainly has the physical attributes & skill. Unlike a lot of his team mates, he only had a NSW Cup pre-season so his fitness level would not be at the level of the others. I reckon if given a full NRL pre-season next year could be the making of him, much like it has in the development of Broederlow who is much better with his lateral defence on the edge this season.

Mason, same same. Some good runs out of yardage but a poor cover tackle miss he should have made which cost us the Knights last try & low % flick pass in attack with Knights running the length to score close to HT. Just can't see it with him unfortunately.

Now Starford To'a, came out of innocuous tackle in the 55th minute with a limp favouring what I think was his ankle/foot. He played on for another 10 mins on the wing without any great involvement and then was replaced. Hope it wasn't a recurrence of his foot stress injury.

Anyway disappointing to lose but we are playing a better brand of football than last season at this time.
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Fantastic summary. Thank you.
 
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