LIVE GAME Trial 2 vs. Dragons

[hammertime]

I think benji is maybe taking the reins in the halves at practice more than he should. Maybe stifling the amount of practice our attack is getting.

 

[Chipofftheoldblock]

It’s hardly something you need Sherlock Holmes to investigate. He moved to a poorly run, poorly coached club. It’s bound to happen.

Blair all over again it seems. I just want him to be running hard and those decent lines he run at Parra. He doesn't he get in the right position to make those type of runs. I long for the days of getting a Gareth Ellis type clone backrower again.

 

[weststigers]

Calling it now, we come back and win. The completion rate is pretty good at 92%, have high completion offer more opportunities we just have to ice it. We are playing system footy in term of error rate just need to keep the defence up and point will come eventually

Revisiting this comment....

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

Blair all over again it seems. I just want him to be running hard and those decent lines he run at Parra. He doesn't he get in the right position to make those type of runs. I long for the days of getting a Gareth Ellis type clone backrower again.

He isn’t given the chance to do it.

We don’t have any setup play, blocks, decoys or depth to our backline. Papa is left flat footed often that’s not on him that’s how the team is coached - all our players do it and defensively we struggle to defend it because we aren’t running these at training.

The more I focus on the mechanics the more you can see how the structures are formed as we see the same flaws in attack as the same weaknesses in defence.

 

[Conbat07]

Last year we smashed The Raiders in a trial and then didn’t win a game for 8 weeks.

Its just a trial but our red zone attack was awful and defence didnt have any conviction.

Olam is busted and got no ball, thought the team looked better with Galvin in the halves.

My starting halves come round 2
Sezer 7 , 6 Galvin and 14 bud.

Pole needs to start 13

 

[jirskyr]

Tonight the Tigers justified my decision not to renew my membership for 2024..

Boo

2022-2023 could be considered justification for not renewing a membership. One trial match as justification? You're off your meds.

 

[weststigers]

He isn’t given the chance to do it.

We don’t have any setup play, blocks, decoys or depth to our backline. Papa is left flat footed often that’s not on him that’s how the team is coached - all our players do it and defensively we struggle to defend it because we aren’t running these at training.

The more I focus on the mechanics the more you can see how the structures are formed as we see the same flaws in attack as the same weaknesses in defence.

Paps looked better when Galvin came on.

 

[matchball]

I went straight to the last page of this thread and just knew no matter what I would see it's just a trial comment 😂. It's not like players go out there thinking who cares if we lose, it's just a trial.... No team ever.
We lost and we looked terrible at times. Just a trial doesn't make it ok.

 

[jirskyr]

My hot-takes

Typical Tigers stuff, still needs to be fixed:
- disrespecting possession lets Dragons get onto front foot
- did not throw enough at Dragons early and allowed them to get confident in their defence
- generally slow PTB speed and inability to put together consecutive strong carries
- lack of line speed esp. when defending our own line

Problematic that these are both straightforward to identify and not so straightforward to fix - it's all about mindset, commitment and fitness. For example if Bud and IP and Seyfarth (and To'a) get up harder and make better first contact, Suli and Su'a and Ravalawa don't barge through the line so easily. They eventually figured Suli out but not until the damage was already done.

I think overall the handling was the worst part. Dragons basically scored from turnovers, as did we once they started dropping ball. Credit to Dragons, their ball control was pretty good, as was their goal-line scramble. Su'a was immense and their backline was solid. Ben Hunt played his usual tactically aware self.

IP was pretty bad. I disagree with an earlier poster, I think he tried hard in attack, but he got rolled a few times and he was just too casual in defence.

Api overplayed all match, it felt like a breath of fresh air watching Simpkin, of all people, just pass and tackle hard.

Bud was poor in the first showing but seemed to improve when given more responsibility late in the match. Generally speaking we won back control and finished much better the last 20 minutes than any other point of the match.

Galvin overall very impressive for a debut. Whoever has said he's too skinny, I didn't see him thrown about at all. He looks like a backrower but gets about like a half. I think you have to genuinely try and find a space for him in the team, he looks like Bula 2.0 just playing at a different level to the other kids we have.

Agree with ink that Bula needs to inject himself more - he's still majestic when he moves and quite effective in cover. A bit of the dropsies too.

Stefano was really impressive, lots of carries and work and PCM. Klemmer was plodding. The play-the-balls need to be so much faster.

Samuela Fainu looked good, there's no doubt at all he's a NRL player in progress. Big dude, seems fit, rangy, strong, bit angry. I like it.

Staines ineffective but I didn't love Lobb either. It's kind of a trade off between speed and vertical size; Staines did nothing in hitups and was never put in the clear, this week or last. Lobb is a genuine kick target but a bit of a lumberer about the field.

Olam - I dunno I thought he was alright, but also I can't say I noticed him a lot.

Sezer goes alright, I appreciate that he's not afraid to take on the line for a run or pass, but he's like an aging quarterback, he'll get sacked pretty much any time he attempts a carry. But his boot is good, if we can just improve our kick-chase Sezer can certainly land them.

Lastly I also have a strong suspicion, same as last week, that the team was instructed to play very safe, low-key football. Dragons seemed fired up to rip and tear but Tigers seemed very methodical, almost single-minded. We didn't throw much at them in attack first half but also we didn't seem to be trying to throw all that much at them; I say this for example because Bud is a known livewire and he just went through his paces. We got a good few repeat sets and that seemed to satisfy. Second half it looks like they were given more licence, and though it was a bit haphazard, Bud and Galvin certainly probed a lot, and we looked a lot more dangerous.

Also just classic Tigers, back to my first comments, to think we drop the ball, allow a barge-over try and then put the kickoff out on the full? And then allow another barge-over. It's no surprise you find yourself down 12-0 and the resulting loss of match control lets Dragons get two dubious tries (I still reckon Ravalawa dropped it short of the line and Bird knocked on in the lead-up to Hunt's try). It's like you do 3 or 4 bad things in succession, you lose control of the match, then the opposition both out-plays and out-lucks you and suddenly you are 20 behind and it's basically over.

Respect to the Dragons though, they took the game very seriously and their handling and defence was good. I honestly thought they were the worst team in the comp last year, despite us coming last, they had a better roster and a rep-quality half and only avoided the spoon by one win over us. So to play a measured, strong game tonight is a step in the right direction for them.

 

[Jux]

What a wonderful player Ben Hunt is. Even at his age (and after making it obvious he didn’t want to be there) a true professional who competes like a terrier on every play. Outmuscled Sezer when he shouldn’t have been given the chance and (even though from a knock on) creates a second try from nothing.
Up there with Turbo/Manly and Ponga/Knights as a one man band IMO.

 

[Kaito]

My hot-takes

Typical Tigers stuff, still needs to be fixed:
- disrespecting possession lets Dragons get onto front foot
- did not throw enough at Dragons early and allowed them to get confident in their defence
- generally slow PTB speed and inability to put together consecutive strong carries
- lack of line speed esp. when defending our own line

Problematic that these are both straightforward to identify and not so straightforward to fix - it's all about mindset, commitment and fitness. For example if Bud and IP and Seyfarth (and To'a) get up harder and make better first contact, Suli and Su'a and Ravalawa don't barge through the line so easily. They eventually figured Suli out but not until the damage was already done.

I think overall the handling was the worst part. Dragons basically scored from turnovers, as did we once they started dropping ball. Credit to Dragons, their ball control was pretty good, as was their goal-line scramble. Su'a was immense and their backline was solid. Ben Hunt played his usual tactically aware self.

IP was pretty bad. I disagree with an earlier poster, I think he tried hard in attack, but he got rolled a few times and he was just too casual in defence.

Api overplayed all match, it felt like a breath of fresh air watching Simpkin, of all people, just pass and tackle hard.

Bud was poor in the first showing but seemed to improve when given more responsibility late in the match. Generally speaking we won back control and finished much better the last 20 minutes than any other point of the match.

Galvin overall very impressive for a debut. Whoever has said he's too skinny, I didn't see him thrown about at all. He looks like a backrower but gets about like a half. I think you have to genuinely try and find a space for him in the team, he looks like Bula 2.0 just playing at a different level to the other kids we have.

Agree with ink that Bula needs to inject himself more - he's still majestic when he moves and quite effective in cover. A bit of the dropsies too.

Stefano was really impressive, lots of carries and work and PCM. Klemmer was plodding. The play-the-balls need to be so much faster.

Samuela Fainu looked good, there's no doubt at all he's a NRL player in progress. Big dude, seems fit, rangy, strong, bit angry. I like it.

Staines ineffective but I didn't love Lobb either. It's kind of a trade off between speed and vertical size; Staines did nothing in hitups and was never put in the clear, this week or last. Lobb is a genuine kick target but a bit of a lumberer about the field.

Olam - I dunno I thought he was alright, but also I can't say I noticed him a lot.

Sezer goes alright, I appreciate that he's not afraid to take on the line for a run or pass, but he's like an aging quarterback, he'll get sacked pretty much any time he attempts a carry. But his boot is good, if we can just improve our kick-chase Sezer can certainly land them.

Lastly I also have a strong suspicion, same as last week, that the team was instructed to play very safe, low-key football. Dragons seemed fired up to rip and tear but Tigers seemed very methodical, almost single-minded. We didn't throw much at them in attack first half but also we didn't seem to be trying to throw all that much at them; I say this for example because Bud is a known livewire and he just went through his paces. We got a good few repeat sets and that seemed to satisfy. Second half it looks like they were given more licence, and though it was a bit haphazard, Bud and Galvin certainly probed a lot, and we looked a lot more dangerous.

Also just classic Tigers, back to my first comments, to think we drop the ball, allow a barge-over try and then put the kickoff out on the full? And then allow another barge-over. It's no surprise you find yourself down 12-0 and the resulting loss of match control lets Dragons get two dubious tries (I still reckon Ravalawa dropped it short of the line and Bird knocked on in the lead-up to Hunt's try). It's like you do 3 or 4 bad things in succession, you lose control of the match, then the opposition both out-plays and out-lucks you and suddenly you are 20 behind and it's basically over.

Respect to the Dragons though, they took the game very seriously and their handling and defence was good. I honestly thought they were the worst team in the comp last year, despite us coming last, they had a better roster and a rep-quality half and only avoided the spoon by one win over us. So to play a measured, strong game tonight is a step in the right direction for them.

Really good post. As usual from you. Well said.

The way some of you are going off so early would
disappoint your wives haha. lets see in a few months.

We suffer from deep-seated trauma at the club, I know.
All I'm suggesting is that we wait & see before we
write off another season & slag everyone off here

 

[Spartan117]

I said before both and I'll say after both it's a trial. They mean nothing

Sorry mate

That was virtually our best team and that left hand side was exposed as feeble in defence.

 

[boonboon]

Sorry mate

That was virtually our best team and that left hand side was exposed as feeble in defence.

Yep and we smashed Raiders defence last year and 2 years ago destroyed Manly by 50 - did either of those make us a good team - Nope.

Did beating a top 4 team last week mean anything - Nope

The main concern out of trials is injuries and seems we didn't get anything major so that counts as a win

 

[Tom Shines]

Why the urgency to upgrade him when we did?
Don't get me wrong, I like the kid & think he handled himself well last season. I just think we were spooked into an upgrade above his value at this point. Bearing in mind I'm going off his reported contract which might not be accurate.

From what I have heard, he is supposedly on $500k this year ( same as the Fainu brothers from what we read in the paper) , then apparently that increases to $700k 2025-27…

what do you want to pay him ? He won the club player of the year last year …you honestly think another team wouldn’t pay him that ?Lucia just got $900k a year …

I mean … how do you feel about Sullivan on $550k (reportedly) for 4 years .. he will be behind Galvin, Luia and maybe Fainu next year ..

 

[weststigerman]

Looking at the way Galvin plays, his fitness levels and ability to play both sides. He could be the 13 we’ve been looking for.

We’ve got to find a way to get the good young players into this team.

IMO the best option in 2025 is probably
6. Fainu
7. Luai
13. Galvin

 

[stephen]

Yeah mate, it's always a balancing act with young talent. As I said, I like the guy & hope he continues to develop & produce 700k of value in those future years.
Never a huge Sullivan fan. Didn't think he was the type of half this club needed. To be fair, if Luai was a more certain option earlier, I don't think we sign Sullivan. On trial form at least, he might struggle to lock down a starting spot.
Very keen to see how Latu Faino goes.

 

[stephen]

Yeah mate, it's always a balancing act with young talent. As I said, I like the guy & hope he continues to develop & produce 700k of value in those future years.
Never a huge Sullivan fan. Didn't think he was the type of half this club needed. To be fair, if Luai was a more certain option earlier, I don't think we sign Sullivan. On trial form at least, he might struggle to lock down a starting spot.
Very keen to see how Latu Faino goes.

Sorry, Tom. That was replying to your post. Hit wrong button. Cheers.

 

[Blaze]

Hahaha You would believe any bullshit you are fed.
Are you new to this sport?

Here we go….🤣

 

[Roar_Power]

Looking at the way Galvin plays, his fitness levels and ability to play both sides. He could be the 13 we’ve been looking for.

We’ve got to find a way to get the good young players into this team.

IMO the best option in 2025 is probably
6. Fainu
7. Luai
13. Galvin

100%. We need to fit all these guys into the top 17 come 2025.

 

[hank37w]

It’s a Mickey Mouse hit out that that means nothing to anyone except for the coach… that’s what I know. If you wanna compare it to a real game then so be it… same as last week, it was a rubbish game full stop.. put credence on it if you like.. but I won’t. Simple as that.

Fair comments, it was a rubbish game but unfortunately it was Wests Tigers that presented all the rubbish.

Liddle, Hunt and that edge of Su'a, Suli and Ravalawa made us look really bad and we didn't really look much better anywhere else.

I'd like to believe that it was just a Mickey Mouse hit out that meant nothing to the coach but the look on the faces of Benji, Robbie and John Morris in the dressing room at the end of the game told me otherwise.