Well that's so obvious to us but these in charge have never acknowledged it.
The bloke was a benchie at Roosters and with no further preparation, we have expected him to play 80 minutes a week. Did exactly the same thing with Api.
That's an inherent part of the problem. No middle should be playing 80mins nor should most hookers, especially if they are over 30 because, unlike the start of the season they are getting fatigued, especially now with the 6 again rule.
With Terrell it's his play the ball speed, as he is playing long minutes with out a spell as well as the extra defence he's having to do as the team copped injuries & suspensions and had weaker/less experienced defenders replacing them, often out of position.
By late in the 1st half & into the 2nd half of games his sloth like play the balls slow down any moment & allow the defence to set up to rush the next ball receiver. His tackling can drop off badly as well.
Likewise Api playing such long minutes is fatiguing him to the point his dummy half runs become fewer & /or less effective. He starts falling off tackles & like we saw last week make uncharacteristic handling errors.
At the start of the season the boys were fresh & injury free. They played with confidence, their wins due mainly to their attack (as they did get some big points put on them) though their defence proved to be a big improvement. They dominated possession, dominated field position, they had one of the highest completion rates, were sitting 3rd, with 2 losses that SHOULD have been wins.
So what happened?
When I look back the wheels started falling off after Api's 3 week suspension for some reason, worsened with injuries & was just topped off by Luai's decision to cut short his tenure. But most of all, they all look fatigued, they just aren't getting fast play the balls, interchange passing or throwing offloads like they were. Everything they do attack wise is slow & predictable. They aren't getting away passes to unmarked team mates (especially Adam Doueihi, though Bula can be a bit like that too) but also they ARE throwing unnecessary stupid passes early in the tackle count. Fatigue is also affecting their ability to create something in attack & defensive reads.
Why are they fatigued?
They aren't exactly know as fast starters, but they've been looking so gassed by the 20min mark in recent months, slow, lacking in any urgency.
It's nothing like how fresh they looked compared to their opponents for the first 8 or 9 rounds with even the commentators commenting on their fitness levels. They are getting fatigued so early in games allowing the opposition in 2 or 3 times. Even if the boys managed to pull 1 or 2 back they are shot by the 60th minute killing any chance of a come back, how many times have we seen that in recent games?
There has to be an answer to this, I don't believe the Luai drama plays a huge factor in their form slump, injuries though.are another matter & have hurt bad, real bad.
Attitude?
Well player form has dropped since all the re signings injuries playing a part in that form slump with players playing injured, affecting their confidence in both attack & defence.
But does all that really explain what is going on? Why the constant noticeable early fatigue in ALL the boys?
