WESTS Tigers Team V Knights..

[supercoach]

It seems from that the team picked for the last preseason trial game is basically the team they run with bar injuries or suspensions.

No coach makes wholesale changes, and poor form has to be evident for a lot of weeks before coaches start dropping players, but it when they get the selection wrong from day one and do nothing is done about it I start to worry. Rankin is not a NRL standard winger and never will be, okay he is not costing us games but he is not a winger and doubt he is a fullback either. Probably very handy around the halves, but not a winger.Also surely you would like to know how some of your fringe players might go in the top grade by giving them a bench start. By that I mean why not give Edwards a go at no17 one week and MCK the next just to see if they are better options than what your trying now.

Anyway most coaches are exactly the same as Taylor and have their set ideas and in the end the live and die by these ideas

 

[balmain boy]

Really is that real team? With Rankin?

We haven't been losing because of Rankin.

Further to that I like his footy nous, launched some nice returns with excellent shifts at the back.
Holds his space very nicely and is very good at dragging his winger out wide or finding his own space.
It is not flashy but important stuff.

He may have some footy nous, haven't seen much of it to be honest, but he certainly doesn't have much winger nous. Either standing too deep, too shallow, or coming in-field at the wrong times. Costs us a few tries already and who knows they may have changed the momentum in our favour in those games.

He also doesn't seem quick like i'd expect for a winger. Slowest member of the backline i'd say.

 

[Nelson]

Really is that real team? With Rankin?

We haven't been losing because of Rankin.

Further to that I like his footy nous, launched some nice returns with excellent shifts at the back.
Holds his space very nicely and is very good at dragging his winger out wide or finding his own space.
It is not flashy but important stuff.

Yeah I don't think he's the biggest problem, although wing clearly isn't the position best suited to his skills. He's been around for a long time and is generally a solid, if unspectacular option on the wing. He's not going to make too many howlers out there and isn't going to be overawed in first grade. His positioning will improve the more he plays on the wing.

Hunt isn't going to offer a whole lot more. He's a little faster, runs a bit harder and has a bit more experience on the wing.

JAC would be a gamble. He will definitely be a target in defence in his first game and if he doesn't handle it well then he'll continue to be a target every week after that. He is the sort of selection that could cost us games if he either can't handle the pressure or isn't up to the defensive standard required. It's hard to make a selection like that when there are no easy games and we are still playing for a spot in the finals. I would do it but then it's not my job on the line.

 

[jirskyr]

Coaches like consistency and I don't know why people say it's a Sheens thing, when it's also been a Potter thing, Taylor thing, Hasler thing, Bennett thing, Bellamy thing.

It's just easier to justify consistent selections when the team is winning.

You can't really mention Hasler, Bellemy and Bennett coached sides alongside ours.

They have been winners for years.

Michael Maguire though he was not afraid to swing the axe against guys like Issac Luke and a couple of other senior players.

Im a School teacher and if you don't take control and set standards early kids then know they can away with things and things creep into their make up. They get comfortable.

It might be a slightly different analogy however I would like to see poor performances sometimes give a guy a jolt and drop them. You might get a proper reaction. Otherwise guys just carry on doing the same things.

Of course I can mention the more successful coaches - they are all coaches. Don't care how successful they are, I am talking about what they do week in and out with their rosters.

Sure, you don't change teams that are winning, ergo successful coaches can keep consistent rosters.

But I am talking about what they do when not winning well - and they still don't make wholesale changes. So looking at Storm, Souths, Dogs for example:

Storm (2nd)
Win over 14th, W9, W10, L6, W15
Wins over non-Top 8 sides, including 2 of bottom 3, struggled to beat Newcastle at home.

Souths (5th)
W16 W15 L14 L7 W13
Wins against 3 of the bottom 4 sides, covered by Saints in the wet and belted by Dogs.

Bulldogs (7th)
W13 W12 L8 W5 L3
Wins against 2 of the bottom 5, totally outgunned by Parra and Raiders. Strong win over a Burgess-less Souths.

These coaches have kept a consistent roster for all 3 sides over 5 rounds, except where forced by injury. All very respected coaches.

But if you don't think Dogs fans aren't screaming for T-Rex and Chase Stanley to be dropped (latter got injured on Monday), go read The Kennel.

It takes a lot to put a player in firsts and have that faith in them, so it similarly takes a lot for a coach to drop them, especially on untested or rookie.

Don't get me wrong I'm pro changes as a supporter, but I know that coaches don't really do it, and it's not limited to Teflon Tim or the Pasty Scarecrow.

So sure Maguire axed Luke once, but Potter axed Benji and almost lost his job because of it. Taylor tried to axe Farah, did we all forget this?

Have we so quickly forgotten the infamous cleanout late in Sheens' career?

What about the old mates that Taylor inherited and saw off - Thompson, Blair, Galloway, Santi, Rowe, Lulia, Luani, Gavet, Akauola, Hoeter?

But the world's falling in because he won't drop Rankin for JAC.

 

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

Taylor sticks to his preferred starting lineup sure, most coaches do. You pick the most likely 17 in preseason and then you back your judgement. Sheens carried it to a new level with ridiculous positional swaps for the sake of keeping his favourites on the park. Taylor doesn't turn a good back rower into a rubbish 5/8 rather than blood an ok half from the lower grades.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Not sure what we can get out of this game that can instil much confidence that we can be contenders for the 8\. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. It's a game we should win easily so we can't really get too carried away and if we either lose or just scrape over the line then a bottom 8 finish is likely.

 

[Tony33]

Not sure what we can get out of this game that can instil much confidence that we can be contenders for the 8\. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. It's a game we should win easily so we can't really get too carried away and if we either lose or just scrape over the line then a bottom 8 finish is likely.

So the Melbourne Storm are looking at a bottom 8 finish ?

I see where you're coming from though, we should win and win well if we want to do anything this season.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Not sure what we can get out of this game that can instil much confidence that we can be contenders for the 8\. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. It's a game we should win easily so we can't really get too carried away and if we either lose or just scrape over the line then a bottom 8 finish is likely.

So the Melbourne Storm are looking at a bottom 8 finish ?

I see where you're coming from though, we should win and win well if we want to do anything this season.

The Storm are declining at a rapid rate as their big 3 get older. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they miss the 8.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Milone trained in the centres today. Taylor's selections are laughable.

 

[Harvey]

Milone trained in the centres today. Taylor's selections are laughable.

His state cup form has been terrible. Surely selecting a monkey wouldn't use too much of the 2nd tier cap, and it would perform as well.

 

[tsjonathan]

Milone trained in the centres today. Taylor's selections are laughable.

His state cup form has been terrible. Surely selecting a monkey wouldn't use too much of the 2nd tier cap, and it would perform as well.

I know we don't like it but it was inevitable. He was the centre who was picked last year over others so why wouldn't Taylor select him again? And he has mates already in the first grade side helps too…I guess we got a month of Milone...

 

[Newtown]

Milone and Lovett in the centres would be some combination.

 

[greatodensraven]

Does O'Neil have any say in team selections?

 

[Russell]

Does O'Neil have any say in team selections?

Hopefully not.

 

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

Not sure what we can get out of this game that can instil much confidence that we can be contenders for the 8\. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. It's a game we should win easily so we can't really get too carried away and if we either lose or just scrape over the line then a bottom 8 finish is likely.

We can get two competition points and improve our F/A. I'll be pretty happy if we do that.

 

[Tigermama]

Taylor is becoming the new Sheens. Playing favourites and refusing to make changes.

Oh well he will dig his own grave in the end.

Malone is one of the most talentless players I ever seen come into first grade.

What do you mean, BECOMING the new Sheens?? He is the IS the new Sheens!! On the 'What Grinds Your Gears?' thread, I said that poor team selections was my biggest gripe and I can feel those cogs grinding away now! In my opinion, Lovett, Brooks and Cherrngton should all be dropped. Often a coach would respond to a poor performance by taking the easy way out and demoting a winger but he can't even do that! Rankin is the other player who should be replaced and I'll be honest, the return of Sironen does not instill me with confidence as his performances have not matched the hype.

I've said it before, a refusal to make changes when they are clearly needed, encourages and rewards mediocrity and frustrates players within the club who are not being given a chance. I'd even add that there are probably players within first squad who are skeptical and who question Taylor's lack of guts. The misplaced loyalty and boys club mentality has to stop.

It was interesting listening to Nat Miles on NRL360, praising Trent Barret, saying he is a good coach, well liked and respected and how he lifts the team just by his sheer presence and brings out the best in all the players.

I wonder if JT does that. Doubt it somehow.

 

[Tigermama]

Milone trained in the centres today. Taylor's selections are laughable.

Nooooo. Please no. 😱pen_mouth:

 

[king_sirro]

Dont want to float my boat but i haveba 100% record so far this year in tippong the Tigers. Get on newcastle people, they are specials. We will get on a run of 5 straight wins late in the year.

 

[boonboon]

Taylor is becoming the new Sheens. Playing favourites and refusing to make changes.

Oh well he will dig his own grave in the end.

Malone is one of the most talentless players I ever seen come into first grade.

What do you mean, BECOMING the new Sheens?? He is the IS the new Sheens!! On the 'What Grinds Your Gears?' thread, I said that poor team selections was my biggest gripe and I can feel those cogs grinding away now! In my opinion, Lovett, Brooks and Cherrngton should all be dropped. Often a coach would respond to a poor performance by taking the easy way out and demoting a winger but he can't even do that! Rankin is the other player who should be replaced and I'll be honest, the return of Sironen does not instill me with confidence as his performances have not matched the hype.

I've said it before, a refusal to make changes when they are clearly needed, encourages and rewards mediocrity and frustrates players within the club who are not being given a chance. I'd even add that there are probably players within first squad who are skeptical and who question Taylor's lack of guts. The misplaced loyalty and boys club mentality has to stop.

It was interesting listening to Nat Miles on NRL360, praising Trent Barret, saying he is a good coach, well liked and respected and how he lifts the team just by his sheer presence and brings out the best in all the players.

I wonder if JT does that. Doubt it somehow.

And yet we smashed them - so JT did a much better job that night then Barrett. By the way Barrett will be lucky to last out his contract, he is a much worse coach then JT although he does have a much more expensive squad

 

[Tigermama]

Taylor is becoming the new Sheens. Playing favourites and refusing to make changes.

Oh well he will dig his own grave in the end.

Malone is one of the most talentless players I ever seen come into first grade.

What do you mean, BECOMING the new Sheens?? He is the IS the new Sheens!! On the 'What Grinds Your Gears?' thread, I said that poor team selections was my biggest gripe and I can feel those cogs grinding away now! In my opinion, Lovett, Brooks and Cherrngton should all be dropped. Often a coach would respond to a poor performance by taking the easy way out and demoting a winger but he can't even do that! Rankin is the other player who should be replaced and I'll be honest, the return of Sironen does not instill me with confidence as his performances have not matched the hype.

I've said it before, a refusal to make changes when they are clearly needed, encourages and rewards mediocrity and frustrates players within the club who are not being given a chance. I'd even add that there are probably players within first squad who are skeptical and who question Taylor's lack of guts. The misplaced loyalty and boys club mentality has to stop.

It was interesting listening to Nat Miles on NRL360, praising Trent Barret, saying he is a good coach, well liked and respected and how he lifts the team just by his sheer presence and brings out the best in all the players.

I wonder if JT does that. Doubt it somehow.

And yet we smashed them - so JT did a much better job that night then Barrett. By the way Barrett will be lucky to last out his contract, he is a much worse coach then JT although he does have a much more expensive squad

IMO Boon, if we play them tomorrow,they would win.