Release the Shackles!!!

[Mad_Tiger]

Coach Sheens says release the shackles
Friday, 20 August 2010 05:12
By Margie McDonald - A Finals spot secured, coach Tim Sheens [pic] is encouraging his squad to run free and play like the Wests Tigers of old. The Tigers have finished ninth twice in the past three years, falling just short under the pressure of being forced to keep winning the last matches of the regular season. In 2008 the Tigers lost three of the last four and in 2009 it was two of the last three games to miss the finals.

Although the Tigers have been a bit patchy of late, winning against Penrith and Cronulla while losing against Manly and Souths, the seven wins mid-season have set them up for the club's first finals appearance since 2005 – the year they won the premiership.

So in front of a packed house at Parramatta Stadium on Sunday, Sheens wants his players to release themselves from the shackles of trying to scramble into the finals.

"We want to win the game obviously but I'm not at a point where I'm demanding they win at all costs -- and that's been the situation the last four years," Sheens said. "We want to relax a little to play because that's what suits us -- being relaxed. It doesn't mean we're going to throw the ball around and play circus football.

"But what we're certainly going to do is play our style of game."

Sheens handed the pressure stick to Parramatta, which must win its remaining games to qualify from 10th position.

"But we've got our own problems here so I'll worry about that and not how they're handling all their issues over there at the moment."

No fullback for a fifth week in a row is one of those, as Wade McKinnon struggles with his hamstring. And Sheens lost prop Bryce Gibbs with a dislocated kneecap until the finals in four weeks' time.

But one player fit and firing is Chris Heighington, who reaches 150 NRL games on Sunday.

If the Tigers win a home semi, captain Robbie Farah has expressed a wish to play it at Leichhardt Oval, but it holds just 20,000 compared with the Sydney Football Stadium's 42,000.
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[Newy_Tiger]

I like where sheens is going with this, I really do.Put the pressure off us before the finals let us relax and play freely.It will be good to see what we come up with, hopefully some 05 form?

 

[prattenpark]

just what i was saying in the other thread. we've been playing nervous recently but now we've secured a spot and the pressure off a little I'm hoping we can really find our groove and launch into the finals in hot form.

 

[MGB]

hmm interesting approach from Sheens, realistically if we are to have any hope of winning the big one this is how we will need to play..that is to our strengths as in 05.

 

[system]

Like or loathe him sometimes there is no doubting that Sheens makes some very good decisions.

I posted this elsewhere a month or so ago but it seemed to me that during that time until now Sheens has applied the mental pressure and Folkes has flogged them physically in an effort to taper them towards the finals whilst still making them.

 

[crouching_tiger]

Coach Sheens says It doesn't mean we're going to throw the ball around and play circus football.

Why not?? Why change now?? Been doin' it for the past several years!!

:laughing:

But Sheens is very good at taking the pressure off the boys.
I recall the final(?) round in 2005 against Penrith WT were leading 18 - 0 after a few minutes after kickoff and playing for a position of 3rd or 4th in the Minor Premiership. Sheens had all the statistics ready at half time and told the boys to ease off on the pressure of the match and to "preserve their fitness" for the finals. In doing so, the boys took their foot off the Panthers' throat and lost that match.
WT ended up 4th and avoided playing The Storm by coming 3rd and playing the Cowboys instead.
A brilliant Sheens masterstroke.
The rest is history…

 

[Geo]

Like or loathe him sometimes there is no doubting that Sheens makes some very good decisions.

I posted this elsewhere a month or so ago but it seemed to me that during that time until now Sheens has applied the mental pressure and Folkes has flogged them physically in an effort to taper them towards the finals whilst still making them.

You did Smeg…...Seems Bennett is hoping similar works for the Dragons....

DON'T be fooled into the thinking the Dragons don't have any points in them.
>
Word from Illawarra is that supercoach Wayne Bennett has spent the last month putting his **charges through a series of demanding physical sessions**, which insiders suspect is the reason for their blunt attack since Origin III.
>
**With enough miles under his team's belt, Bennett is fine-tuning St George Illawarra's attack for the games that count.**

Sheens as crouching points out is a Master in getting the teams UP for Finals...

 

[benjibrotown]

This articles really makes me excited for Sunday, seems like we are gonna try and play some good attacking footy which is something that we have not tried to much in a while. Would be great to start winning matches in the 05 style heading into the finals because no one does it better then us.

 

[crouching_tiger]

I somehow don't think Elliot and his troops are done with just yet either. As i pointed out in a previous post, He has also fine tuning his squad for a few weeks now, even before they played the WT. As most on here expected, WT were supposed to be hammered by high kicks. With the WT previous records under the high ball, and the howlers the back three had the week prior, it would have made sense to attack this area.
But instead, Elliot chose to stick with his gameplan of working on the non-efficient areas where his players lacked, already knowing they have their aerial raids almost perfected.

 

[Newy_Tiger]

Love him or hate him I dont think many of you will disagree that this week he has made a very good decision to let our boys play with all the freedom they like.One thing IMO he does well is take pressure off our players.
Your Thoughts? :sign:

 

[Danos]


 

[Geo]

I somehow don't think Elliot and his troops are done with just yet either. As i pointed out in a previous post, He has also fine tuning his squad for a few weeks now, even before they played the WT. As most on here expected, WT were supposed to be hammered by high kicks. With the WT previous records under the high ball, and the howlers the back three had the week prior, it would have made sense to attack this area.
But instead, Elliot chose to stick with his gameplan of working on the non-efficient areas where his players lacked, already knowing they have their aerial raids almost perfected.

More like Wests Tigers defence didn't allow the Panfers in bombing range too often..they were kicking long most of the game…..When they did get in range .......Ryan caught them. Brown caught them ....and the Panfers had nothing....

 

[crouching_tiger]

I somehow don't think Elliot and his troops are done with just yet either. As i pointed out in a previous post, He has also fine tuning his squad for a few weeks now, even before they played the WT. As most on here expected, WT were supposed to be hammered by high kicks. With the WT previous records under the high ball, and the howlers the back three had the week prior, it would have made sense to attack this area.
But instead, Elliot chose to stick with his gameplan of working on the non-efficient areas where his players lacked, already knowing they have their aerial raids almost perfected.

More like Wests Tigers defence didn't allow the Panfers in bombing range too often..they were kicking long most of the game…..When they did get in range .......Ryan caught them. Brown caught them ....**and the Panfers had nothing....**

Just like tonight eh….yeah okay buddy...you keep telling yourself that...

:laughing:

 

[innsaneink]

Seems more like youre trying to tell us that he's saying that, which he didnt, your words - not his.
Two different games, not that hard to comprehend.

 

[crouching_tiger]

Seems more like youre trying to tell us that he's saying that, which he didnt, your words - not his.
Two different games, not that hard to comprehend.

Then the newspaper article/Elliot interview must be BS then…coz Innk said so...
Not that hard to comprehend...
:laughing:

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Sport/2010/08/04/Elliott_admits_Panthers_need_to_do_more_494259.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[crouching_tiger]

Elliott admits Panthers need to do more

**Wednesday, August 04, 2010**

After months of questions about Penrith's reliance on kicks to score tries, **coach Matt Elliott concedes the Panthers' attack needs to find another dimension.**

Elliott has consistently defended the mountain of tries coming from the boot of halfback Luke Walsh, who tops the NRL's try assists list.

The second-placed Panthers have for much of the season been the competition's leading tryscorers and currently average 4.3 per match, a shade below South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters' 4.4.

They average 24.9 points per game, equal best with the Roosters.

'I'm openly defensive about it because I just got sick of being asked the same question,' Elliott told AAP on Tuesday.

**But he admitted change was needed, even after Penrith righted their ship with a win over North Queensland last Friday after three straight losses.**

**'We need to add some things to our attack,' he said.**

'We're just a little predictable **and we need to unlock a couple of our key assets** and we're not doing that just at the moment.

'(The kick's) only got us to where we've got to, **it's not going to get us to where we need to get to.**

'It was certainly part of the journey and our kicking potency is not something that we want to lose, **it's something that we want to add to.**

'If we don't improve, if we keep playing the same way that we have done, even when we won four in a row, we're not going to achieve what we set out to achieve.'

Penrith have the third best defence in the NRL, behind St George Illawarra and Melbourne, but Elliott is also looking for improvement there.

'Large slices of our defence have been consistently good,' he said.

'With our defence it's not what we have to add to it, it's what we have to remove from it.

'We've come up with individuals making dud decisions outside our structure and it's cost us.'

Meanwhile, the Panthers are confident of completing a deal with New Zealand international Frank Pritchard soon, having already locked up Michael Jennings and Michael Gordon.

Elliott said it was just a case of finalising 'all the little nuances that go with it'.

'I'd like to think that it's sorted out pretty soon,' he said.

Forward Daine Laurie has returned to football with NSW Cup side Windsor after a break from his duties with the Panthers for family reasons.

–--------------------------------------------------

NRL Round 23 Wests Tigers v Penrith Panthers match at Campbelltown Stadium in Sydney, **Sunday, Aug. 15, 2010.**

 

[Geo]

Seems more like youre trying to tell us that he's saying that, which he didnt, your words - not his.
Two different games, not that hard to comprehend.

Yeah innk…didn't think it was to hard to comprehend....

2 different games Souff's were woeful....Wests Tigers were not.....

Even still 2 tries for the Panfers from kicks 4 dissallowed and lost the second half 18-14....

Elliott still has some work to do...as do the Wests Tigers...

 

[crouching_tiger]

Seems more like youre trying to tell us that he's saying that, which he didnt, your words - not his.
Two different games, not that hard to comprehend.

Yeah innk…didn't think it was to hard to comprehend....

2 different games Souff's were woeful....Wests Tigers were not.....

Even still 2 tries for the Panfers from kicks 4 dissallowed and lost the second half 18-14....

Elliott still has some work to do...as do the Wests Tigers...

Trying to salvage yourself from looking foolish and resorting for back-up….
I expect Innk to do the same...
Keep going...
but...
but.....but..
:laughing:

 

[innsaneink]

Seems more like youre trying to tell us that **he's** saying that, which **he** didnt, your words - **not his**.
Two different games, not that hard to comprehend.

Then the newspaper article/Elliot interview must be BS then…coz Innk said so...
Not that hard to comprehend...
:laughing:

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Sport/2010/08/04/Elliott_admits_Panthers_need_to_do_more_494259.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Geo…NOT Elliott.

 

[Phineas]

Some people are tad too touchy on election day me thinks.