The forward battle

[MacDougall]

To me, this most disappointing thing about this loss is that I felt we were actually strong in the middle of the park. The Dogs usual tactics involve using their huge forwards to roll through the middle, but they flanked us completely. The forwards aimed up and I could see a huge difference with Taylor playing clean up in the middle of the ruck. When the Dogs weren't spinning it wide, they were barely making it out to their forty. It wasn't until the possession (and injuries) started to influence our stamina that they were able to get on top of our forwards.

I feel like Hasler came in with a gameplan, while we had no gameplan at all. They also look like they were coached one by one on common weaknesses in Tigers defensive patterns, our players fell for everything they did.

That one there was a coaches loss as much as a players loss imo…

 

[GNR4LIFE]

We were strong in the middle? Got to be a gee up surely.

We were making 30-40m consistently coming off our line. Even struggling to get to our own 40 from kick offs. Today would rank as one of the weakest displays through the middle this club has ever produced. It was boys against men.

 

[stryker]

Dogs did quite a few 80 meter + sets
Forwards were soft
Backs were incompetently bad.

Luckily for us the dogs were far from on. I think the top teams would have pushed close to the magical triple digit win.

 

[MacDougall]

Watch a replay. Early in the match all of their big sets came from swinging it wide and making metres down the sideline. When they came straight up the middle we kept them to 40m and below many times. Our centres and wingers defensively were atrocious.

Ball in hand, yeah we weren't tremendous up the middle… but in defense were were good there. Until they tired.

 

[Winnipeg]

I think it was more to do with a few good kicks pinning them inside their 5m at the start of sets, early in the first half.

 

[MacDougall]

Yeah maybe. All I am saying is that they didn't run over us through the middle (at first), which is our usual route to defeat. So to lose despite seeing improvement in that area… is cause of concern to me.

Almost all of their line breaks came within 10 feet of the sideline.

 

[innsaneink]

They bent us over and gave it to us
We weren't good at all

 

[Harvey]

Watch a replay. Early in the match all of their big sets came from swinging it wide and making metres down the sideline. When they came straight up the middle we kept them to 40m and below many times. Our centres and wingers defensively were atrocious.

Ball in hand, yeah we weren't tremendous up the middle… but in defense were were good there. Until they tired.

That is because we had no-one within 15 metres of either sideline, because everyone had jammed in to try and contain the middle. This explains the 3 man overlaps and the fact that Kev & Nofa were rushing up trying to cut them off (poorly). Our defence doesn't know when to slide & when to jam up.

 

[stryker]

Watch a replay. Early in the match all of their big sets came from swinging it wide and making metres down the sideline. When they came straight up the middle we kept them to 40m and below many times. Our centres and wingers defensively were atrocious.

Ball in hand, yeah we weren't tremendous up the middle… but in defense were were good there. Until they tired.

That is because we had no-one within 15 metres of either sideline, because everyone had jammed in to try and contain the middle. This explains the 3 man overlaps and the fact that Kev & Nofa were rushing up trying to cut them off (poorly). Our defence doesn't know when to slide & when to jam up.

Yep. Thats how I saw it.

 

[MacDougall]


 

[PYMBLEPETE]

Dogs did quite a few 80 meter + sets
Forwards were soft
Backs were incompetently bad.

Luckily for us the dogs were far from on. I think the top teams would have pushed close to the magical triple digit win.

Dont agree at all. How many times do you see three or four big forwards ready to pummel a back trying to ruck it away from the line after the first tackle? They hammered us twice with that and forced us back behind the line. I will give you that they dropped a bit of ball though

 

[west99]

why do westtigers forwards try to take on the dogs they have no hope when the dogs are 4 to 5 hundred kl heavier than our team use our backs and move the ball about then try to penetrate their line

 

[Geo]

We lost the middle …then the edges got hammered...RL 101...

 

[TIGER]

Our forwards don't play as a pack, they are a bunch of individuals trying to contain a pack.
Im not blaming one individual but many on the forum have sung the praises of Tim Grant, I honestly don't know if you could recognise a decent prop if you think Grant is one. Maybe as the season wears on you'll all come to realise how very ordinary he is. He's not the only problem but he's a big factor as to why we lose the middle week after week defensively and in attack.

 

[maxxy86]

Yeah maybe. All I am saying is that they didn't run over us through the middle (at first), which is our usual route to defeat. So to lose despite seeing improvement in that area… is cause of concern to me.

Almost all of their line breaks came within 10 feet of the sideline.

They are playing like strangers out there…..Simona is a real disappointment but closely followed are Nuiqama Nofoaluma