Taylor- Post Match Interview

[stevied]

All this talk about attack - we scored the 6th most points in the comp last year despite coming 15th.

The so called boring defensive play of 2015 actually had us scoring more points then Storm, Bunnies, Sharks and Dragons who all made the top 8 in storm's case the top 4.

The other night was great but the best thing about it was keeping a team to under 20 points when we do that we win

Yes but think how many more games we might have won if we'd played to our strengths. No one's saying we shouldn't practice defense but, as well as stopping the opposition, we have to score. The deciding factors in Fridays game were our completion rate AND our defense. Our strong completion rate, came while offloading and throwing the ball around. A perfect combination for us.

The people arguing defence is so important have no idea. I don't think we've been that bad this year but last year there were times when we didn't threaten with the ball at all. The opposition just got a free ride in defence. That makes it easier to attack.

We looked so much better because we off loaded the footy and came up with some planned attacking plays. It's about trying to win games rather than just hoping that we don't get beat by a lot.

Exactly! We may not have been dropping the ball much last year but we were posing absolutely no threat to the defense in most games. Three one out hit ups, one spread and a bomb that was put up way too deep over and over again. It makes me feel sick thinking about it. If we do good things with the ball in hand, it actually takes the pressure of the defense by ;1\. Scoring points 2\. Tiring the opposition and 3\. Generating repeat sets. Again, no one is saying you shouldn't practise or value defense. What we are saying is that you need to show some creativity with the ball in order to score and win. Of course, we don't want forced or miracle passes but the main point is that there has to be at least some attacking flair, especially when the team has natural weapons like Tedesco, Moses and Brooks.

 

[mctiger]

The people arguing defence is so important have no idea.

:crazy

Fun fact. The team that has won the comp in the past 10 years has either been first (5 times), or second (4 times) in Points Against. The Cowboys in 2015 had the fifth best defence.

Teams with the best (or nearly the best) defence win comps.

 

[king_sirro]

Hes improved remarkably on his interviews…

... Wish we could say the same for brooks

U will never see Luke improve because thats just the way he talks. Talk to him in person one on one and he sounds exactly the same, always shy, and seem unsure of himself. You see him in the sheads after the game on friday and he just has that look about him like he feels uncomfortable, and thats after a win just hanging with all his team mates. Its just something about his look. I have no doubt he is comfortable but just doesnt look it.

 

[stevied]

The people arguing defence is so important have no idea.

:crazy

Fun fact. The team that has won the comp in the past 10 years has either been first (5 times), or second (4 times) in Points Against. The Cowboys in 2015 had the fifth best defence.

Teams with the best (or nearly the best) defence win comps.

A very predictable argument. But they were pretty good in attack and not impotent like we were most of the time last season and a good portion of this season!

 

[Tigermama]

Basically true, as we don't have a lot of size, but look at how our forwards went against Souths and the Burgess brothers. Isn't a lot of it attitude? We could probably do with a bit more Gallen style aggression but is this a coaching factor - the ability to fire up the team?

And, maybe Taylor's found the answer - bring back the offload, a la 2005!

The offload is always one of the more devastating elements of a teams attack.Pity it has taken 18 months for it to be used :unamused:

Since Buckets appointment we have seen a difference in team selections and the offload's back….Is it just a coincidence i wonder? And thank God for Sandercock. It seems without him, we wouldn't have those exciting plays the team loves to do and we all love to watch. :supporter:

 

[Tigermama]

Nice to see Woods laugh at his occasional dry humour. Altogether it was a good interview although Taylor could definitely afford to smile once in a while!

He's made me laugh twice recently: When he praised Sandercock but then immediately (jokingly) bagged him for his poor scrum play from a previous week. And when he was asked by Freddy about the one thing the wet weather changes besides ball control. Some here thought he was lost, but his humour is just a little dry.

It shows he is feeling confident in his position. Whether or not you might want him gone, you still want him confident and supported while he is here.

Well the board loves him…Wining and dining with him at a posh Watsons Bay restaurant.

 

[supercoach]

All this talk about attack - we scored the 6th most points in the comp last year despite coming 15th.

The so called boring defensive play of 2015 actually had us scoring more points then Storm, Bunnies, Sharks and Dragons who all made the top 8 in storm's case the top 4.

The other night was great but the best thing about it was keeping a team to under 20 points when we do that we win

Yes but think how many more games we might have won if we'd played to our strengths. No one's saying we shouldn't practice defense but, as well as stopping the opposition, we have to score. The deciding factors in Fridays game were our completion rate AND our defense. Our strong completion rate, came while offloading and throwing the ball around. A perfect combination for us.

The people arguing defence is so important have no idea. I don't think we've been that bad this year but last year there were times when we didn't threaten with the ball at all. The opposition just got a free ride in defence. That makes it easier to attack.

We looked so much better because we off loaded the footy and came up with some planned attacking plays. It's about trying to win games rather than just hoping that we don't get beat by a lot.

Its about being able to play what game presents itself and most of the top four sides win the right to attack through great defence. They frustrate teams into playing non percentage plays and than they get a greater share of the ball and with a greater share of the ball they can physically destroy the other team. As taylor said, when you complete at 80% or better you win games.

Having the ability to attack,get offloads away is extremely important, but great defence frustrates teams into errors and you win games off other teams errors

 

[stevetiger]

Hes improved remarkably on his interviews…

... Wish we could say the same for brooks

U will never see Luke improve because thats just the way he talks. Talk to him in person one on one and he sounds exactly the same, always shy, and seem unsure of himself. You see him in the sheads after the game on friday and he just has that look about him like he feels uncomfortable, and thats after a win just hanging with all his team mates. Its just something about his look. I have no doubt he is comfortable but just doesnt look it.

I like Brooks. I think he talks fine.

 

[stevetiger]

The people arguing defence is so important have no idea.

:crazy

Fun fact. The team that has won the comp in the past 10 years has either been first (5 times), or second (4 times) in Points Against. The Cowboys in 2015 had the fifth best defence.

Teams with the best (or nearly the best) defence win comps.

A very predictable argument. But they were pretty good in attack and not impotent like we were most of the time last season and a good portion of this season!

These guys don't understand that having a good offence makes it easier to defend. We've been playing with no attack and that is why our defence has been so poor.

 

[Doc_Tiger]

Hes improved remarkably on his interviews…

... Wish we could say the same for brooks

Careful ink, I suggested the club help him out in that regard a little while back and a lot around this place didn't like it.

 

[Tigermama]

Hes improved remarkably on his interviews…

... Wish we could say the same for brooks

U will never see Luke improve because thats just the way he talks. Talk to him in person one on one and he sounds exactly the same, always shy, and seem unsure of himself. You see him in the sheads after the game on friday and he just has that look about him like he feels uncomfortable, and thats after a win just hanging with all his team mates. Its just something about his look. I have no doubt he is comfortable but just doesnt look it.

I like Brooks. I think he talks fine.

He's a sweet kid :wink: down to earth. No airs about him.

 

[stevetiger]

Hes improved remarkably on his interviews…

... Wish we could say the same for brooks

U will never see Luke improve because thats just the way he talks. Talk to him in person one on one and he sounds exactly the same, always shy, and seem unsure of himself. You see him in the sheads after the game on friday and he just has that look about him like he feels uncomfortable, and thats after a win just hanging with all his team mates. Its just something about his look. I have no doubt he is comfortable but just doesnt look it.

I like Brooks. I think he talks fine.

He's a sweet kid :wink:

Exactly. No issues with him at all.

 

[tig_prmz]

Attack and defence aren't distinct to each other, they are both related and it all relates back to the ruck. If you're losing the ruck, you're losing the game- the only way to lose the ruck and win the game would be to score length of the field, miraculous, intercept tries that we've come up with.

Last year and earlier this year, it was all one out hit up. No offload, minimal decoy runners and lack of passes. Result? we lost the ruck.

JT thought it was important to play simple footy before doing the fancy plays. Fair enough. However, in hindsight I believe he was wrong. We should've played the game that wins in the NRL from the outset. These boys have been playing rugby league for over a decade and are now in the NRL, they need to be playing more than just "simple footy". Sure, playing with numbers with extra passes would tire us out and probably result in mistakes but that's the development process.

If we continue how we played against the Souths, we'll probably make more mistakes but sometimes I think that's fine. Learn from the mistake, practice the same set at training over and over again until you keep hitting the mark on the chest a few times in a row.

But as I said, it is in hindsight that I see it. I don't think the 5 hit up, bomb technique helped us develop our team or the players.

 

[stevetiger]

Attack and defence aren't distinct to each other, they are both related and it all relates back to the ruck. If you're losing the ruck, you're losing the game- the only way to lose the ruck and win the game would be to score length of the field, miraculous, intercept tries that we've come up with.

**Last year and earlier this year, it was all one out hit up. No offload, minimal decoy runners and lack of passes. Result? we lost the ruck.**

JT thought it was important to play simple footy before doing the fancy plays. Fair enough. However, in hindsight I believe he was wrong. We should've played the game that wins in the NRL from the outset. These boys have been playing rugby league for over a decade and are now in the NRL, they need to be playing more than just "simple footy". Sure, playing with numbers with extra passes would tire us out and probably result in mistakes but that's the development process.

**If we continue how we played against the Souths, we'll probably make more mistakes but sometimes I think that's fine. Learn from the mistake, practice the same set at training over and over again until you keep hitting the mark on the chest a few times in a row.**

But as I said, it is in hindsight that I see it. I don't think the 5 hit up, bomb technique helped us develop our team or the players.

Great post.

In hindsight JT's plan that a lot of posters bought into was stupid. The idea that we had to learn or something like that was also stupid. It was losing footy in the short and long term.

If we continue to play positive footy we will make some mistakes but we also give ourselves a much better chance of winning consistently now and in the future.

 

[tigerap]

How good is Barrett going at Manly…?...what a terrible coach

 

[Russell]

The people arguing defence is so important have no idea.

:crazy

Fun fact. The team that has won the comp in the past 10 years has either been first (5 times), or second (4 times) in Points Against. The Cowboys in 2015 had the fifth best defence.

Teams with the best (or nearly the best) defence win comps.

A very predictable argument. But they were pretty good in attack and not impotent like we were most of the time last season and a good portion of this season!

These guys don't understand that having a good offence makes it easier to defend. We've been playing with no attack and that is why our defence has been so poor.

That is the most spin I have ever heard.

You need attack to improve your defence???

Sure helped Manly yesterday.

 

[stevetiger]

:crazy

Fun fact. The team that has won the comp in the past 10 years has either been first (5 times), or second (4 times) in Points Against. The Cowboys in 2015 had the fifth best defence.

Teams with the best (or nearly the best) defence win comps.

A very predictable argument. But they were pretty good in attack and not impotent like we were most of the time last season and a good portion of this season!

These guys don't understand that having a good offence makes it easier to defend. We've been playing with no attack and that is why our defence has been so poor.

That is the most spin I have ever heard.

You need attack to improve your defence???

Sure helped Manly yesterday.

Yep. Your attack has a massive influence on your defence. When you attack well you get yourself in the game and trouble the opposition. When you just defend and in particular play boring limited offence in leaves you open when the opposition get the ball.

As for spin - I'll leave that to JT and his cronies.

 

[stevetiger]

How good is Barrett going at Manly…?...what a terrible coach

No worse than what we copped last year. I think the question is will they learn and become decent coaches.

I think Taylor is improving which is good.

 

[southerntiger]

Attack and defence aren't distinct to each other, they are both related and it all relates back to the ruck. If you're losing the ruck, you're losing the game- the only way to lose the ruck and win the game would be to score length of the field, miraculous, intercept tries that we've come up with.

**Last year and earlier this year, it was all one out hit up. No offload, minimal decoy runners and lack of passes. Result? we lost the ruck.**

JT thought it was important to play simple footy before doing the fancy plays. Fair enough. However, in hindsight I believe he was wrong. We should've played the game that wins in the NRL from the outset. These boys have been playing rugby league for over a decade and are now in the NRL, they need to be playing more than just "simple footy". Sure, playing with numbers with extra passes would tire us out and probably result in mistakes but that's the development process.

**If we continue how we played against the Souths, we'll probably make more mistakes but sometimes I think that's fine. Learn from the mistake, practice the same set at training over and over again until you keep hitting the mark on the chest a few times in a row.**

But as I said, it is in hindsight that I see it. I don't think the 5 hit up, bomb technique helped us develop our team or the players.

Great post.

In hindsight JT's plan that a lot of posters bought into was stupid. The idea that we had to learn or something like that was also stupid. It was losing footy in the short and long term.

If we continue to play positive footy we will make some mistakes but we also give ourselves a much better chance of winning consistently now and in the future.

Yep lets play Steve tactics each week. Completion rate of 50% is how you win games.

 

[stevetiger]

Attack and defence aren't distinct to each other, they are both related and it all relates back to the ruck. If you're losing the ruck, you're losing the game- the only way to lose the ruck and win the game would be to score length of the field, miraculous, intercept tries that we've come up with.

**Last year and earlier this year, it was all one out hit up. No offload, minimal decoy runners and lack of passes. Result? we lost the ruck.**

JT thought it was important to play simple footy before doing the fancy plays. Fair enough. However, in hindsight I believe he was wrong. We should've played the game that wins in the NRL from the outset. These boys have been playing rugby league for over a decade and are now in the NRL, they need to be playing more than just "simple footy". Sure, playing with numbers with extra passes would tire us out and probably result in mistakes but that's the development process.

**If we continue how we played against the Souths, we'll probably make more mistakes but sometimes I think that's fine. Learn from the mistake, practice the same set at training over and over again until you keep hitting the mark on the chest a few times in a row.**

But as I said, it is in hindsight that I see it. I don't think the 5 hit up, bomb technique helped us develop our team or the players.

Great post.

In hindsight JT's plan that a lot of posters bought into was stupid. The idea that we had to learn or something like that was also stupid. It was losing footy in the short and long term.

If we continue to play positive footy we will make some mistakes but we also give ourselves a much better chance of winning consistently now and in the future.

Yep lets play Steve tactics each week. Completion rate of 50% is how you win games.

No. I don't believe that 50% completion rates are the way to win games. That is the way to lose games and I definitely have never said that. Another way to lose games is to play boring footy - i.e. 5 hit-ups and a bomb or no attacking plays around the ruck or never spreading the ball wide.

I understand it's hard for some posters to grasp that winning footy involves actually trying to win games rather than just hoping that you keep the opposition to a low score and fluke a try or two and jag the win.

You win games by playing positive footy. Let's also be honest. We are a much better team when we attack when we have the ball. There is a time and a place for the 5 hit-ups and then a bomb but it is not going to win you games if that is all you do and it's definitely losing footy over the course of a season or multiple seasons.