@AmericanHistoryX said:
That's all I wanted to know. But I can't share your sentiment. I guess as individuals we see life differently. However respect your opinion. Half empty half full I guess.
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_
Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to be negative, but I always try and be realistic. I thought there were some promising signs shown against the Cowboys on Monday night, we the backline more heavily involved and some good ball movement in the first half but we just couldn't go on with it as the injuries mounted and the possession swung in the Cowboys favor.
Several issues that we're all aware of are apparent though:
1\. We lack speed out wide. Several teams have exploited this and I believe Sheens needs to do something about it. We no longer boast superior speed on the edges and this really does blunt our attack, particularly given how proficient the Tigers are at creating overlaps through superior ball movement. We have genuine speed in the lower grades and it's interesting to note Balmain use it quite well to put John Grant on the outside of his opposite. They did it against Manly and he just had far too much pace for the cover defence.
I'm not saying Grant is ready for FG, but given the Tigers predicament out wide, players like Grant, Koroibete and Nofoaluma look to be the next best options at the Tigers disposal given Lawrence, Lote, Moltzen and now Simona are all injured.
Utai while powerful and Reddy while decent under the high ball and boasting a good offload, simply lack the speed to get on the outside of their opponents and go on with the job.
2\. The halves have been an issue all year and even more so now with young Sirro gone until mid next year. Many people have called for Miller to be promoted to 7 and Benji shifted back to 6\. I think this would be the best option, but hey, we're not seeing it so far. The other options include moving Humble to 6, or possibly Fulton, and while both players give their all, they are not going to come up with match winning plays.
3\. The forward pack while decent, is not rolling over the top of teams. Woods consistently makes good metres, Farah is in form and we now have Ellis back, but the Tigers are a mobile pack, not a massive aggressive pack. It works well when we dominate possession and work off the back of a good kick/chase, but this is rare given the Tigers consistency this season.
4\. We simply struggle to focus for the full 80 minutes. The Tigers can look like world beaters for brief stints, even look consistent for decent stints, but there have generally been instances where we switch off for 10-20 minutes and cop 2 or 3 soft tries, which has resulted in several losses this season which would have otherwise left the Tigers probably sitting in third or fourth position, rather than 8th.
What this all equates to? Balance IMO, and we just don't have it at the moment. I know the players are trying, but the overall balance of the squad is just wrong at the moment. It only needs a little bit of tweaking, but I just don't think we'll have the firepower or balance to knock over Souths this week. They're playing tough up the middle and have speed out wide. Two things we're struggling to contain at present.
