LIVE GAME *SPOILERS* Round 2 vs Raiders

Live Game Discussion
To'a & Staines just can't match up physically or with attitude. Actually thought Staines got involved better than usual, but he's a non-factor.

To'a is becoming a myth.

Tupou was pretty decent, despite what people are saying. Teaming him with Olam isn't the worst idea.

Kepaoa is better value on the wing than Staines. Naden matches up better physically. Sullivan is a liability. Sezar is not.

Bateman was ok & played out of position a fair bit. But he's not dynamic for a smaller forward. Papali'i was trying to get involved I thought & ran with purpose.

Seyfarth just can't match up. Pole is a better fit.

Better kicking needed. Better kick chase needed.

We are about to play the Sharks. We need to match up. It's not so much about ability as it is about being up for the contest.

We HAVE to win the kick chase from now on. It's all about intent.
 
The Chad said:
To'a & Staines just can't match up physically or with attitude. Actually thought Staines got involved better than usual, but he's a non-factor.

To'a is becoming a myth.

Tupou was pretty decent, despite what people are saying. Teaming him with Olam isn't the worst idea.

Kepaoa is better value on the wing than Staines. Naden matches up better physically. Sullivan is a liability. Sezar is not.

Bateman was ok & played out of position a fair bit. But he's not dynamic for a smaller forward. Papali'i was trying to get involved I thought & ran with purpose.

Seyfarth just can't match up. Pole is a better fit.

Better kicking needed. Better kick chase needed.

We are about to play the Sharks. We need to match up. It's not so much about ability as it is about being up for the contest.

We HAVE to win the kick chase from now on. It's all about intent.
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You don’t need to win the kick chase. You just need to turn up for it. They were very slow out of the blocks hopefully we can put it down to a bit of a longer preseason than usual
 
Idk what becomes of poor old Charlie. The days of the pocket rocket winger are over. These days you have To’o, Young, Saab, Sivo, Coates, Montoya, Feldt. All big strong guys. If you don’t have size, then you need to have explosive speed, like Cobbo (even though he’s now in the centres). Unfortunately, Charlie has neither size or explosive speed. He must be the only winger in the game who wouldn’t have scored that try today. I don’t dislike him, I just think he’s a victim of being in the wrong era.
 
cktiger said:
Crap
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Sorry mate, I made a mistake.

Lucky not to lose by 60.

If you want it to not sting as bad when we collect our 3rd consecutive wooden spoon, then might I suggest you wager your hard earned each weekend on whoever the tigers face. Thank me at the end of the year 🤑
 
I think you're all focusing on errors and attacking threat which means that Staines and Bateman are being criticised. I'm not saying they were great, but I don't think they're the issue at the moment.

The key focus MUST be physicality and ability in defense. We're not doing anything if we can't control ruck speed and tackle properly. I think both Bateman and Staines are good defensively and you don't replace defensively sound players in our team at the moment.

Raiders ruck speed was ridiculous in the first 15 minutes, we couldn't control it and as a consequence we couldn't get the ball. There's just no point in focusing on anything else until that's fixed. I believe the big problems are as follows:

Seyfarth: simply a poor defender and understrength as well. Canberra targeted him and in the first try he had a poor effort in the preceding tackle and couldn't get into position at marker and then went on to miss Strange as he charged through as a consequence of the speed of the play the ball. He is so poor defensively that he is unplayable. This was obvious before this game, maybe he's a decent link man, but what the hell were they thinking? Obviously they made a mistake because they hooked him after 15 minutes and it cost us any chance of winning the match in playing him. Big big mistake. And an obvious one.

Papalii: I thought he was okay defensively last year. He looks weaker this year. He gets pushed back a lot in defense and has become one of those players who is falling off the tackle and having to scramble back to get into the defensive line after attackers have run through him. He's not a strong 1 on 1 tackler. I'm not sure what you do here. He's obviously one of our better players and physically capable, he just seems really down on confidence, like so many of the players.

Sullivan: One of those defenders who flails around helplessly. Just a weak tackler and doesn't seem to like getting his shoulder in. He's erratic in attack, but my concern is his defense, and I would play Sezer, despite his age and limitations, because he is much tougher.

To'a: Unacceptable lack of physicality out wide. He is always pushed back and sloppy in his technique. It's always hard for centres when they're on the back foot but he often contributes to this momentum early in the set by getting driven back. Terrible effort.

When Pole replaced Seyfarth that made a huge difference to our defense. They didn't look dominant again until Seyfarth came back on in the last 5 minutes and we again started to struggle with the physicality of Canberra. I get Canberra drifted mentally after going up so easily played a part in all that, but it was actually impressive how well the Tigers recouped after they hooked Seyfarth, given the momentum Canberra had. I think Olam will be a better defender than To'a, at least in physicality, and Sezer is a much better defender than Sullivan. And I liked both the Fainu brothers defensively in the trial and Samuela here, so I think there are easy replacements for Seyfarth either starting or on the bench. Samuela was pushed back on a few ocassions but was mostly excellent. We have to stick with Papalii, I just hope he can lift because we need him hitting players.

This is the reason why I'm not looking at Bateman and Staines. I'm also a fan of Twal and Klemmer, two players who seem in the firing line here, because I think they're good defenders who, while not always dominant, do enough to tackle well and ensure at least a regular play the ball speed. They're good defensive players who are willing. This is exactly what we lack at the moment.

Until we fix the physicality and defense our attack is pointless. At least there are signs yesterday that when team selection is okay we can at least avoid embarrassment. I guess that's what we have to look forward to this year.
 
I think Ethan Strange has Reed Mahoney as his idol...hes going to be another one of these talented grubs that hides behind refs skirts & the no punching rule...Missed Staines all ends then recovered to put him into touch but gave him an almighty spray...has the punchble head to go with it too
Karma bites back hard you prick
 
Positives: Galvin very encouraging debut. Api snd Bula.

Negatives: Basic defending not even close. Full attacking sets with zero plan. Sullivan.

Don’t get it: Seyfarth and Twal.
 
looks like another miserable winter ahead, same lack of execution n effort only this time around we have a few bleached hair do;s bopping about
 
Was really disappointed with the forwards. They look old or slow and ineffectual.

Not sure what the answer is but we seem to lack the explosiveness and power, post contact meters etc most other forward packs have at the moment.

Could care less about singling out any outside backs, the pack needs an overhaul or its going to be a very long season.
 
The_Patriot said:
Was really disappointed with the forwards. They look old or slow and ineffectual.

Not sure what the answer is but we seem to lack the explosiveness and power, post contact meters etc most other forward packs have at the moment.

Could care less about singling out any outside backs, the pack needs an overhaul or its going to be a very long season.
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We overhauled them last season. We brought in Klemmer, Ice and Bateman. One of whom was arguably the best forward in the game the previous two years. And yet, look at us.
 
I need another 2 or 3 games to assess the level of improvement under the new coaching team, but at this stage their fitness and discipline needs massive attention.
Still not convinced that Benji can coach.
 
twentyforty said:
I need another 2 or 3 games to assess the level of improvement under the new coaching team, but at this stage their fitness and discipline needs massive attention.
Still not convinced that Benji can coach.
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He looks the part (Check out my DP), has charisma and is very personable. He’s yet to prove anything in regards to coaching for 80 mins though. I love the guy, he loves the club, but you will never convince me that he’s had a long time burning desire to be a first grade coach. He took this job on a whim because Sheens offered the role to him. It was complete madness that he didn’t go and do a coaching apprenticeship somewhere. But the club was desperate to sell something romantic to the supporter base. Would Richo have appointed him? Think about that.
 
The_Patriot said:
Was really disappointed with the forwards. They look old or slow and ineffectual.

Not sure what the answer is but we seem to lack the explosiveness and power, post contact meters etc most other forward packs have at the moment.

Could care less about singling out any outside backs, the pack needs an overhaul or its going to be a very long season.
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It would have looked much worse for us if Raiders had Horsburgh and Whitehead in that pack.
 
twentyforty said:
I need another 2 or 3 games to assess the level of improvement under the new coaching team, but at this stage their fitness and discipline needs massive attention.
Still not convinced that Benji can coach.
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Benji lacing up the boots and coming out of retirement to play is the only way Benji is going to get us winning.
 
GNR4LIFE said:
He looks the part (Check out my DP), has charisma and is very personable. He’s yet to prove anything in regards to coaching for 80 mins though. I love the guy, he loves the club, but you will never convince me that he’s had a long time burning desire to be a first grade coach. He took this job on a whim because Sheens offered the role to him. It was complete madness that he didn’t go and do a coaching apprenticeship somewhere. But the club was desperate to sell something romantic to the supporter base. Would Richo have appointed him? Think about that.
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Richo has stated a couple of times that it’s now a happy camp. Did Sheens offer him the job? I think Sheens, in his last year, needed to raise his hand if he wanted to go to the loo.
 
Todd Packer said:
Bula to me doesn't play like someone who knows he's special.
Blokes like Turbo, Teddy and even the Parra dickhead play with a level of arrogance. They know they're good and they get involved in everything.
He just doesn't get involved nearly enough.
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Agree, he doesn’t seem to have to confidence to believe he owns the game.
Look at Reece Walsh”s game from Thursday, perfect example of how Bula should be involved
 
watersider said:
I think you're all focusing on errors and attacking threat which means that Staines and Bateman are being criticised. I'm not saying they were great, but I don't think they're the issue at the moment.

The key focus MUST be physicality and ability in defense. We're not doing anything if we can't control ruck speed and tackle properly. I think both Bateman and Staines are good defensively and you don't replace defensively sound players in our team at the moment.

Raiders ruck speed was ridiculous in the first 15 minutes, we couldn't control it and as a consequence we couldn't get the ball. There's just no point in focusing on anything else until that's fixed. I believe the big problems are as follows:

Seyfarth: simply a poor defender and understrength as well. Canberra targeted him and in the first try he had a poor effort in the preceding tackle and couldn't get into position at marker and then went on to miss Strange as he charged through as a consequence of the speed of the play the ball. He is so poor defensively that he is unplayable. This was obvious before this game, maybe he's a decent link man, but what the hell were they thinking? Obviously they made a mistake because they hooked him after 15 minutes and it cost us any chance of winning the match in playing him. Big big mistake. And an obvious one.

Papalii: I thought he was okay defensively last year. He looks weaker this year. He gets pushed back a lot in defense and has become one of those players who is falling off the tackle and having to scramble back to get into the defensive line after attackers have run through him. He's not a strong 1 on 1 tackler. I'm not sure what you do here. He's obviously one of our better players and physically capable, he just seems really down on confidence, like so many of the players.

Sullivan: One of those defenders who flails around helplessly. Just a weak tackler and doesn't seem to like getting his shoulder in. He's erratic in attack, but my concern is his defense, and I would play Sezer, despite his age and limitations, because he is much tougher.

To'a: Unacceptable lack of physicality out wide. He is always pushed back and sloppy in his technique. It's always hard for centres when they're on the back foot but he often contributes to this momentum early in the set by getting driven back. Terrible effort.

When Pole replaced Seyfarth that made a huge difference to our defense. They didn't look dominant again until Seyfarth came back on in the last 5 minutes and we again started to struggle with the physicality of Canberra. I get Canberra drifted mentally after going up so easily played a part in all that, but it was actually impressive how well the Tigers recouped after they hooked Seyfarth, given the momentum Canberra had. I think Olam will be a better defender than To'a, at least in physicality, and Sezer is a much better defender than Sullivan. And I liked both the Fainu brothers defensively in the trial and Samuela here, so I think there are easy replacements for Seyfarth either starting or on the bench. Samuela was pushed back on a few ocassions but was mostly excellent. We have to stick with Papalii, I just hope he can lift because we need him hitting players.

This is the reason why I'm not looking at Bateman and Staines. I'm also a fan of Twal and Klemmer, two players who seem in the firing line here, because I think they're good defenders who, while not always dominant, do enough to tackle well and ensure at least a regular play the ball speed. They're good defensive players who are willing. This is exactly what we lack at the moment.

Until we fix the physicality and defense our attack is pointless. At least there are signs yesterday that when team selection is okay we can at least avoid embarrassment. I guess that's what we have to look forward to this year.
Click to expand...
Solid post. Great insight.
‐-------------‐-------------------------------
FIRST game, 3 Debuts

Solomona Faataape
Lachlan Galvin and
Benji Marshall

We have so much to work on, there was a lot of enthusiasm and intent.
 
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