Wests Tigers V NZ Warriors Trial *Live Thread..

[weststigers]

On that performance, I am concerned for the NRL future of Chris Lawrence. IMO, he is in a race with ET for a bench spot, at best, and ET was better. I truly hope he has not played one season too many, as he deserves to be acknowledged as a true legend of this club. Others' thoughts?

Chris may not get a start (or even a bench spot) in Round 1, but he will valuable when others get injured somewhere this season (unless injuries cruel him).

+1

he won't let us down.

 

[Spartan117]

Why so sad... we won right.

Lets get to the semi finals before we loose it

Good doy for us Tigers fanatics

 

[JD Tiger]

There’s no defending Nofa there mate. Regardless of a 3 on 2 rushing up past the ball and tackling no one is a poor play. He needs to stay in the defensive line and slide across, much bigger chance of defending the try doing that And Joey didn’t look happy with him after it.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I'm afraid you can't just say "regardless of a 3 on 2" as if it doesn't matter. It's first grade - a team with a 3 on 2 overlap should score. There was an overlap from the play the ball and all the winger can do is try to take an intercept or spoil the final pass. If he slides out they score on the inside.

Blaming the winger when there's an overlap is like blaming the number 11 batsmen when the middle order have failed.

I don't understand why people still seem happy to do it even when it can be demonstrated to be not the case.

Nofa had a choice, stay in the line, or rush up. He rushed up to take the man one in, and that resulted in the cut out pass. Who knows what would have happened if he stayed in the line, maybe they slide successfully, maybe they don't.

Thank you for the work you put in to demonstrate what happened, but there you did not (you could not) demonstrate what happened if he didn't run up. We can't know for sure. Generally I feel if you run up out of the line (at any time), you must make the tackle. If not, well, you leave a hole, and you make the chance they will score a try much greater.

I'm on your side of the fence.

1. I think we can agree there was an overlap regardless
2. In this situation, a player has 2 choices. Slide or rush the attacker/receiving player
3. When you rush, it lowers the chances of successfully defending the overlap

Nofo made the low percentage play in that situation and probably should have stayed on his wing.

@JD-Tiger

The other thing is even if their winger scores on the slide, it would be in the corner meaning a sideline conversion...it actually cost us 6 instead of a possible 4.

One more comment from me about Nofa, it was later in the game I thought the Warriors were looking dangerous again, and Nofa made a great one on one tackle which shut down the play completely. Saved a try right there I remember thinking.

If it's Nofa playing consistently next to BJ, then I'm sure they'll work at the combination (probably good to give them a bit more than the month they've had so far), and make a strong right edge. BJ (and Madge) will demand it.

 

[colinbh]

Nofo scares me, still can't put up with his poor reads in defence

I'd go Douehi to fullback, Corey to right wing.

Doueihi looks pedestrian

He’s looked pretty good to me...

Yeah, but you're not much of a judge


Well I am and he does look good. Safe under the high ball, good defence and doesn’t seem to make mistakes.

Can kick goals and is a very good 5/8. What is it about him that you don’t like?

Firstly, you claim to have some credentials to back your judgement...what are they?

Secondly, if you really want to know...he's slow. Made some stuttering, I don't know what to do now, run and is not a playmakers butt hole...If we really think him playing out the back is going to "ignite" our backline, then you need to watch closer. Further, we had so many offloads in the second half and I didn't see him backing up to hit a hole...Thompson does this well and as a result makes a lot of line breaks despite his size.

This is hardly surprising when you look at his NRL stats...30 games | 1 try | 2 try assists. Can't see those numbers increasing much this year.

Just because he didn't make any errors doesn't mean he is the answer to our problems...case in point, Joey Leilua...bit of a mixed bag, but the cost/benefit was in his favour today by miles. Doueihi didn't do anything wrong, but he was just making up numbers...

You call me a bad judge and then come up with that nonsense! ?

Look...I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you....

Geez...you're the reason we have warning labels on everything

You’re full of beans today, as usual, magic to listen to but a whole lot of dreaming.

Corey tries his heart out and is I believe 29?
Doueihi needs the time now and over the long term looks BY far the better option - whenever he’s ready can step into B.M’s #6 posi...

Doueihi needs to be our fullback so he can take over from Marshall at 5/8...great logic there. One of us is dreaming...not sure that it's me though :joy:

Hopefully we don't have to wait another 30 games to see a try from AD :joy:

Man just take the L and move on.

Oh you're back...didn't know we were in a win/loss scenario...

Many agree with me about Doueihi...but tell me....what was it you saw in Doueihi's 1 try and 2 try assists in 30 games that's impressed you so much? Are you his agent or something?

Congratulations, you’ve been on to the NRL stats page. Now lock yourself away for a couple of day’s and actually watch the games. Report back when done.

You're welcome to give me evidence to the contrary, but don't take it personally...I watched the same game as you and I thought he was pedestrian...you thought he was the second coming of Jesus Christ...maybe the answer is in the middle, but on the stats, he's an average footballer.

If you want to take it personally, I'm happy to judge your ability separately.



I’ll give you a stat . 3 tries to 0 in the second half.
Also , our attack , without Benji mind you , looked like it flowed more .
Also he took a lot of dirty hitups in the middle of the half .
He can also kick goals , and has a pretty good passing game .

Thommos great until we have a quick hands cutout ball over the top required (like last trialS try Doueihi Set up) . I love Thommo but he has never done that . That’s the difference . It’s not a man crush .

Doueihi had no part in those tries.

Brooks individual effort
Leilua last pass to nofo x 2

You can't attribute any of our attack to Doueihi today.

Can kick goals? Maybe from in front...he's no better than what we have.

You have DDS. Give it a rest.

I have a lot of mates who are souths supporters. To a man they wanted Doueihi over Mitchell.

 

[colinbh]

My take:
- AT LAST we have a team that can create attacking opportunities. Very very exciting
- Doueihi to fullback (just) due to his linking and passing in the backline
- three wingers were solid so I’ll leave it to Madge
- Marshall too involved at first receiver. Both he and Brooks are better when they share this role
- Taylor for 13 on today’s effort
- Walters for 9 with Reynolds on bench. Reynolds was very good today. Walters solid but D an issue
- Musgrove and Twal stand outs. Mikaele a weapon but needs to be more aggressive
- There will be a lot of jumping into our wagon this year. We are going to do ok I think

Agree with your post.

Some on here have criticised Walters defence. So I watched a replay of the game. Walters played the first half and part of the second. I watched him specifically in regard to his defence. He missed two tackles. He should be our starting hooker with Reynolds off the bench. He was very good today. ( JoshR)

 

[weststigers]

There’s no defending Nofa there mate. Regardless of a 3 on 2 rushing up past the ball and tackling no one is a poor play. He needs to stay in the defensive line and slide across, much bigger chance of defending the try doing that And Joey didn’t look happy with him after it.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I'm afraid you can't just say "regardless of a 3 on 2" as if it doesn't matter. It's first grade - a team with a 3 on 2 overlap should score. There was an overlap from the play the ball and all the winger can do is try to take an intercept or spoil the final pass. If he slides out they score on the inside.

Blaming the winger when there's an overlap is like blaming the number 11 batsmen when the middle order have failed.

I don't understand why people still seem happy to do it even when it can be demonstrated to be not the case.

Nofa had a choice, stay in the line, or rush up. He rushed up to take the man one in, and that resulted in the cut out pass. Who knows what would have happened if he stayed in the line, maybe they slide successfully, maybe they don't.

Thank you for the work you put in to demonstrate what happened, but there you did not (you could not) demonstrate what happened if he didn't run up. We can't know for sure. Generally I feel if you run up out of the line (at any time), you must make the tackle. If not, well, you leave a hole, and you make the chance they will score a try much greater.

I'm on your side of the fence.

1. I think we can agree there was an overlap regardless
2. In this situation, a player has 2 choices. Slide or rush the attacker/receiving player
3. When you rush, it lowers the chances of successfully defending the overlap

Nofo made the low percentage play in that situation and probably should have stayed on his wing.

@JD-Tiger

The other thing is even if their winger scores on the slide, it would be in the corner meaning a sideline conversion...it actually cost us 6 instead of a possible 4.

One more comment from me about Nofa, it was later in the game I thought the Warriors were looking dangerous again, and Nofa made a great one on one tackle which shut down the play completely. Saved a try right there I remember thinking.

If it's Nofa playing consistently next to BJ, then I'm sure they'll work at the combination (probably good to give them a bit more than the month they've had so far), and make a strong right edge. BJ (and Madge) will demand it.

Agreed...I think he's in for a big year

 

[weststigers]

Nofo scares me, still can't put up with his poor reads in defence

I'd go Douehi to fullback, Corey to right wing.

Doueihi looks pedestrian

He’s looked pretty good to me...

Yeah, but you're not much of a judge


Well I am and he does look good. Safe under the high ball, good defence and doesn’t seem to make mistakes.

Can kick goals and is a very good 5/8. What is it about him that you don’t like?

Firstly, you claim to have some credentials to back your judgement...what are they?

Secondly, if you really want to know...he's slow. Made some stuttering, I don't know what to do now, run and is not a playmakers butt hole...If we really think him playing out the back is going to "ignite" our backline, then you need to watch closer. Further, we had so many offloads in the second half and I didn't see him backing up to hit a hole...Thompson does this well and as a result makes a lot of line breaks despite his size.

This is hardly surprising when you look at his NRL stats...30 games | 1 try | 2 try assists. Can't see those numbers increasing much this year.

Just because he didn't make any errors doesn't mean he is the answer to our problems...case in point, Joey Leilua...bit of a mixed bag, but the cost/benefit was in his favour today by miles. Doueihi didn't do anything wrong, but he was just making up numbers...

You call me a bad judge and then come up with that nonsense! ?

Look...I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you....

Geez...you're the reason we have warning labels on everything

You’re full of beans today, as usual, magic to listen to but a whole lot of dreaming.

Corey tries his heart out and is I believe 29?
Doueihi needs the time now and over the long term looks BY far the better option - whenever he’s ready can step into B.M’s #6 posi...

Doueihi needs to be our fullback so he can take over from Marshall at 5/8...great logic there. One of us is dreaming...not sure that it's me though :joy:

Hopefully we don't have to wait another 30 games to see a try from AD :joy:

Man just take the L and move on.

Oh you're back...didn't know we were in a win/loss scenario...

Many agree with me about Doueihi...but tell me....what was it you saw in Doueihi's 1 try and 2 try assists in 30 games that's impressed you so much? Are you his agent or something?

Congratulations, you’ve been on to the NRL stats page. Now lock yourself away for a couple of day’s and actually watch the games. Report back when done.

You're welcome to give me evidence to the contrary, but don't take it personally...I watched the same game as you and I thought he was pedestrian...you thought he was the second coming of Jesus Christ...maybe the answer is in the middle, but on the stats, he's an average footballer.

If you want to take it personally, I'm happy to judge your ability separately.



I’ll give you a stat . 3 tries to 0 in the second half.
Also , our attack , without Benji mind you , looked like it flowed more .
Also he took a lot of dirty hitups in the middle of the half .
He can also kick goals , and has a pretty good passing game .

Thommos great until we have a quick hands cutout ball over the top required (like last trialS try Doueihi Set up) . I love Thommo but he has never done that . That’s the difference . It’s not a man crush .

Doueihi had no part in those tries.

Brooks individual effort
Leilua last pass to nofo x 2

You can't attribute any of our attack to Doueihi today.

Can kick goals? Maybe from in front...he's no better than what we have.


You have DDS. Give it a rest.

I have a lot of mates who are souths supporters. To a man they wanted Doueihi over Mitchell.

Yes you're right like avocado and others...Douehi is a gun...

I think that pretty much covers what you lads want to hear :joy:

 

[twentyforty]

it is always the same with Nofo and has been for his entire career he leaves his wing.
Years ago we blame centre A then centre B now J Leiluia sick of it.
The guy scores good tries buts lets a few in.
Please Madge lets start 2020 something different Thomo and Jennings see if they defend better

If you were in Madge’s position, wouldn’t you want to provide an opportunity for the Samoan combination to develop?

 

[rustycage]

Much better attack in the second half, Brooks came good when Benji went off, don’t know what to make of that.
BJ is a weapon, we have been looking for a player like him for a while now.
Nofa got two tries, Jennings had some good carries and Cory was solid, one will miss out in round 1.
Our forwards and defence were really good, good signs for the season proper.

I so look forward to the day Marshall is out of this team. He's stifled Brooks ever since his return. Reynolds at 6 is a far better option imo. Good to see the forwards do what they did yesterday. Solid and confident. Nofos defence is never gonna improve obviously, so it wouldn't surprise me if he loses his spot it the not too distant future even given his obvious meter eating and offloading ability. Good on Lawrence for his stint. And Thommo....great work. I hope he can get first crack and make it count.

 

[JC99]

One thing I noticed is our play the ball speed from the forwards was really good. Madge mentioned in an interview that he’s got them working on getting up fast to play the ball to avoid the wrestle and get a proper roll on, the more we do that the better

 

[JC99]

Just re watching the game, the way Walters jumps out and gets the markers interested before giving it to our forwards is great. Allows guys like Luciano and Mikaele to really run into space and create opportunities with an offload

 

[Fraze23]

Gees this is a strange place. Last week our season was over, now we're specials for the top 8 🤷🏻‍♂️.

 

[twentyforty]

Just re watching the game, the way Walters jumps out and gets the markers interested before giving it to our forwards is great. Allows guys like Luciano and Mikaele to really run into space and create opportunities with an offloadrst

Agree, he does it in a quicker more threatening way than Reynolds does, while still providing time and space for his ball runners. He fished with the same low tackle efficiency rating as Reynolds, but as is often the case, stats don’t tell the full story. Many times both were the first body in front of a big forward, making the job easier for other teammates.

 

[testmatch]

Hey let’s not get to carried away positive signs but we did only play the warriors who got beat by storm second grade last week douehi looks promising but he could be The slowest fullback in the comp

 

[TrueTiger]

Gees this is a strange place. Last week our season was over, now we're specials for the top 8 🤷🏻‍♂️.

Someone on the forum said " a win gives them confidence"...he was talking about his forum friends I think...
It was a trial game,the win was good but moreso gave Madge a much better view of his new recruits and how they performed together with the rest of the team..
From experience Madge has a selection headache for a couple of positions..
CT and Douhi fullback..
Noffa,Roberts or CT wing...
ET lock or Huth..
just my examples,but overall I thought the team played very well and for the first time in a long time I think we could be a chance of being well and truly in the 8 come seasons end..

 

[851]

Much better attack in the second half, Brooks came good when Benji went off, don’t know what to make of that.
BJ is a weapon, we have been looking for a player like him for a while now.
Nofa got two tries, Jennings had some good carries and Cory was solid, one will miss out in round 1.
Our forwards and defence were really good, good signs for the season proper.

I so look forward to the day Marshall is out of this team. He's stifled Brooks ever since his return. Reynolds at 6 is a far better option imo. Good to see the forwards do what they did yesterday. Solid and confident. Nofos defence is never gonna improve obviously, so it wouldn't surprise me if he loses his spot it the not too distant future even given his obvious meter eating and offloading ability. Good on Lawrence for his stint. And Thommo....great work. I hope he can get first crack and make it count.

I said this in 2018, again last year that Benji does stifle Brooks game, and we should not re-sign him, I was lambasted

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

So I missed the game as I was working on my house all weekend.

The thread is a mile long and I don't have time to read through it.

Who were the standouts, and who were off the boil?

How did Walters and Reynolds go?

 

[JC99]

Just re watching the game, the way Walters jumps out and gets the markers interested before giving it to our forwards is great. Allows guys like Luciano and Mikaele to really run into space and create opportunities with an offloadrst

Agree, he does it in a quicker more threatening way than Reynolds does, while still providing time and space for his ball runners. He fished with the same low tackle efficiency rating as Reynolds, but as is often the case, stats don’t tell the full story. Many times both were the first body in front of a big forward, making the job easier for other teammates.

I thought he defended good and definitely looked quicker jumping out than Reynolds, but Reynolds did good too. Reynolds actually tackles with a bit of technique instead of just jumping at people like he usually does.

 

[JD Tiger]

So I missed the game as I was working on my house all weekend.

The thread is a mile long and I don't have time to read through it.

Who were the standouts, and who were off the boil?

How did Walters and Reynolds go?

The new guys were all good. BJ awesome. Nofa some good some not so good. Walters and Reynolds both did pretty well at hooker, comparatively. Most of the love seems to be for Walters to get the gig. Reynolds maybe bench.

 

[Geo]

So I missed the game as I was working on my house all weekend.

The thread is a mile long and I don't have time to read through it.

Who were the standouts, and who were off the boil?

How did Walters and Reynolds go?

Summaries

Pretty good 1st half defensively…

Leilua x2 Mikaele Thompson Garner Musgrove been our best…

Lack of decent ball hasn’t allowed us to do much in attack… we have gone forward which is good

2nd Half
Very good hit out seeing it’s the 1st time they have played in match conditions…

Defence was very good given the Warriors had a lot of ball…

Best for us BJ Leilua Lawrence Mikaele Thompson Garner L Leilua Taylor Reynolds…Brooks some nice touches in the second half after being very quite the 1st…Marshall ran the 1st 40…I also thought Walters was decent but don’t think he can play 80mins week in week out at 9…it’s an issue…