What needs to change in 2011 to win the big one

[matty119]

1) Mitch Brown definately should get the inside running to start the year at fullback - and I think an off-season of training their with benji, robbie, moltzen will help his attack

2) Definatley agree on Ayshford, i think he will naturally develop into a foward as he puts on some bulk and daniela will be a very good replacement

3) Moltzen/Lui will probably have to fight it out for starting half. Moltzen is definatley a quality player, but Lui really stood up in the last few rounds and showed he can live up to his potential. I would be totally against moving Benji - he is the best 5/8 in the world and there is no real reason for it.

4) Not so sure about Farah on the bench either. I think him as an 80 minute hooker is a real key to our side, and we would lose a bit of rhythm if he went off, you just need to look at the play he put on in the 77th minute agaisnt the Broncos to see how much value he is at the end of a game

5) Heighnington probably could have a breather for a little while each week. He always seems dissapointed not to play 80, but could be more effective with 70\. Ellis on the other hand is just a deadly at the back end of a game as the start.

6)Agree slightly on this - each of the players named need a little more time, but we dont want to reduce the value of other players just to give them a go. Gibbs in particular has a big motor, and that is a major part of his game, but Galloway and Payten could probably spend a bit mroe time on the bench to freshen up.

7) I can't agree with this - I think its a bit silly giving players a run just for the sake of it. Unfortunatley there are bound to be injuries, so I think they will get their chance to prove themselves, much like Menaey did this year.

8) This seems to be a major source of frustration for many fans, but I don't mind it a whole lot. The back on the bench proved vital at a few stages throughout the year, and i think our team seems to work around forwards who can play for longer, which reduces the need for 4 props on the bench.

9) Finally, we might need some helpw with kicking, but stay away from Johns - look what he did to Parra and Canberra!!
And I can't really see Ryan getting dropped any time soon - he can be effective as a winger, and is vital to the team dynamic, something which, from all reports, Sheens is quite high on.

 

[Yossarian]

Pick up all the tennis balls at training before you do sprint work…

:laughing:

 

[Cysquatch]

moltz at 7 brown at 1\. even before the lui drama id have lava at 7\. he suits us to a tee. and mckinnon, if he fully recovers and stays fit then fair enough but brown has really impressed me and shown he is a quality player. the rest is all good

 

[Bailey]

I think we need to use our bench better. If Ellis, Heignington and Farrah can play 80 it leads into a good opportunity off the bench. Id start Dwyer and rotate with Fulton. Also have Gibbs, Galloway, Payten and Fifita + 1 rotate up front. Between that bench we cover all positions.

I do believe this will be Ayshfords first injury free off season, so he should thrive on it and given the way he finished the year he cant be moved. He and Dwyer could prove quite hard to stop on the right and if we can get a quality right winger to compliment that pairing. Then you have Lawrence, Ellis and Lote on the left.

Dont think much has to change other than better use of bench.

Dont agree with rotating players for match time, the comp is to even and all games are dangerous.

Looking forward to Moltzen coming back, can play.

 

[alien]

Not much. Maybe a bit more consistancy. If we get a bit more luck with injuries and a fair go from refs then we can win the comp next season.

 

[Guest]

Nothing needs to change.
Our young blokes will be better for the experience.
Hopefully we'll have less injuries and with Moltzen and ,hopefully Tuiaki, coming back we'll have the side to take the big one.

Almost nothing…The young guys who played this year will be better next year for the experience, plus a little bigger and stronger for a couple of them (Dwyer, Fifita, Murdoch). The return of McKinnon, Moltzen and Tuiaki adds experience and depth. The forward pack looks good, as does the bench. Along with halfback, the other contentious positional change I see is on the right wing. Ryan did not have a good end to the season, and guys like Brown, Daniela and Tuiaki will all be putting their hand up for a spot. Personally I think Brown has the inside running based on his form to finish this season, but we all know Daniela is pretty quick and a better finisher than Ryan, while Tuiaki may still have enough pace and stability (fingers crossed) in his ankle to handle himself out there.

Farah is an 80 minute player, I don't think Sheens will be inclined to rest him, it's the props and backrowers who need a breather and we will most likely see a utility back on the bench most weeks.

The Tigers went oh so close to making the grand final this year, the only thing that really got St George over the line was the majority of possession they enjoyed. If the Tigers had 55% possession last week and with the field position the Dragons had, we'd be talking about the Tigers chances this week at winning the big one.

 

[Tiger_Watto]

Win either side of the Bye and 66% of the remaining games.

 

[magpie_mania]

nothing needs to change.
Our young blokes will be better for the experience.
Hopefully we'll have less injuries and with moltzen and ,hopefully tuiaki, coming back we'll have the side to take the big one.

almost nothing…the young guys who played this year will be better next year for the experience, plus a little bigger and stronger for a couple of them (dwyer, fifita, murdoch). The return of mckinnon, moltzen and tuiaki adds experience and depth. The forward pack looks good, as does the bench. Along with halfback, the other contentious positional change i see is on the right wing. Ryan did not have a good end to the season, and guys like brown, daniela and tuiaki will all be putting their hand up for a spot. Personally i think brown has the inside running based on his form to finish this season, but we all know daniela is pretty quick and a better finisher than ryan, while tuiaki may still have enough pace and stability (fingers crossed) in his ankle to handle himself out there.

Farah is an 80 minute player, i don't think sheens will be inclined to rest him, it's the props and backrowers who need a breather and we will most likely see a utility back on the bench most weeks.

The tigers went oh so close to making the grand final this year, the only thing that really got st george over the line was the majority of possession they enjoyed. If the tigers had 55% possession last week and with the field position the dragons had, we'd be talking about the tigers chances this week at winning the big one.

the young players must look out for second year syndrome.they mustnt think that making the finals in first grade is an easy thing.this is where the older players and a wily coach come in handy.

 

[innsaneink]

Our general play kicking game is what first come to mind.Needs to be much much better

A back up goalkicker would be nice too…one that practices regularly (Sheens seemed to love telling everyone no one else practised - gave me the shits) Benjis goalkicking, as long as it continues to improve as it did at the latter stage of this year will do.

Bench selections....Im sick of playing 16 against 17

Our defence needs to improve - more trys against us this year to last year

 

[simonthetiger]

Pretty happy with the side…but our 5th tackle options are poor.

We got away with it during the season,but the top sides will kill you if you give up easy field position due to a very poor kicking game.

Normally Farah is good,but he was shanking them left right and centre,Bunji did some nice long kicks,but kicking out on the full with 5 to go is unforgivable.

More time for both with Arnold.

 

[alien]

Pick up all the tennis balls at training before you do sprint work…

x 2 :brick:

 

[Kickme]

Just a few ideas to improve the mightly Wests Tigers in 2011 so we can win the Grand Final

Mitch Brown to start to full back and to learn off McKinnon about chiming into the backline. Need to build up a combination with Farah and Marshall and Moltzen.

I Don,t think Mitch Brown needs to learn off McKinnon. We need Mitch on the field. McKinnon is a waste of money and not worst a mention.

 

[RatedRKO]

There are a few things that need work:

- Use of the bench. We usually go 16 vs 17\. Now that Fitzhenry has gone, Sheens might (hopefully) use that last interchange spot.

- We need to finish teams off when we have a solid lead. For some reason we get ahead and then get cocky or something, but we invite teams back into it. We need killer instinct, like when we realised Thurston was hurt we ran at him until he went off. That's what we need to start doing.

- Our kicking game needs to improve, especially our short. Need to work on getting repeat sets and threatening the other side when we are in their 20, so much easier than relying on 50m+ tries (as good as they are to watch :stuck_out_tongue🙂

- Fitness needs to improve. We need to play for 80, not 60\. It's hard when we throw it around so much but it's necessary.

- This is out of our control, but we need a good run with injuries. We had it pretty bad this year.

 

[everett]

Thank you everyone for adding to my thread.

It appears a few minor changes next year should put us in a strong position. I think most people agree we need to use the whole bench so we have 17 against 17 and our kicking game and 5th tackle option needs to improve.

My main reason I picked Brown ahead of McKinnon at full back is his age, form at the back end of the season and hamstring injuries are hard to overcome as you get older.

I also agree that our younger players need to avoid the second year syndrome (like Daniel Mortimer for Parramatta).

Farah is an 80 minutes player but with a long season it might be good for him to occasionally get a rest and that goes for Heightington and Ellis too.

No one can prevent injuries which is part of our great game but fatigue is sometime that can be managed better.

Bring on 2011 as it appears we are every chance of winning the big one.

Love everyone's passion for the might Wests Tigers. I use to be a Western Suburbs supporter and have never regretted the merger with Balmain. Great partnership.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Pretty happy with the side…but our 5th tackle options are poor.

We got away with it during the season,but the top sides will kill you if you give up easy field position due to a very poor kicking game.

Normally Farah is good,but he was shanking them left right and centre,Bunji did some nice long kicks,but kicking out on the full with 5 to go is unforgivable.

More time for both with Arnold.

Spot on. We don't get enough repeat sets, we need to build pressure more often. E.g on Saturday night we did not force a single drop out.

This and the use of our bench needs to improve.

 

[graham46]

!st
Dump Robbie Farah as captain…...he is a terrific player but a very poor captain. I believe that we would be in the grand final if Farah had the "Gordon Ramsay" approach and had the balls to rev up his team when needed. We had the Dragons on the ropes and again our attitude has let the opposition back into the game to beat us. (about the umpteenth time this year)His "stupid" kicks come off at about 1% (especially when close to the line).

2nd
I see in another thread that fifita, Lui and others may be looking for a new team. ANOTHER DUNB MOVE by our executives. Fifita SHOULD be a PERMANENT first grader and Lui has just got to the stage where he is the best partner for Marshall since Scott Prince (he played all over Ben Hornby last week and was nearly the best player on the field.
But the so called heads will find a way to lose our up and coming players.

3rd

If the so called experts want to let players go then the first player to be shown the door should be Beau Ryan. He is the ONLY winger in the NRL that actually makes MINUS METRES. He is a "make or break player" ie; CANT make a tackle nor CANT break a tackle and would rather see his head on the TV than actually contribute to the teams success. Pleeeese hurry back Tuaki.

 

[Guest]

A couple of points to note here:

1\. Suggesting the Tigers dump Farah as captain is ridiculous. If you think the Tigers attitude let the Dragons back into the game then you're clueless. The Dragons controlled possession and field position off the back of a good kicking game and some penalties. The Tigers gave it everything they had and if you've bothered to listen to the players and coach, they were happy with their effort and proud of their season.

2\. Take the time to read the threads on Fifita and Lui properly instead of jumping the gun and believing the first thing you read. Lui is contracted to the Tigers until 2012\. He is not going anywhere unless his circumstances off the field change once he has been through the legal processes he has to deal with. Andrew Fifita is not going anywhere. David Fifita is looking for a new club, this is no secret and the Tigers have enough upcoming talent to cover his departure in any event.

3\. Your call regarding Ryan is about the only thing you said that makes sense in this thread.

 

[clontarfkid]

All the above,plus
1)Find a winger to replace Ryan-if no TNT,groom Daniella,Brown,or one of the young blokes.Basically anyone.
2)Teach Lui how to commit in defence
3)Find a back up goal kicker
4)Stop buying broken down old hacks who havent been fit in years in the hope they'll have one last glorious season
5)Show the entire team a reel of wasted opportunities thru impatience & kicking early in the tackle count
6)Somebody get Shayne Hayne on our side
7)Identify a better process to transition our future stars(especially Mullaney) into 1st grade before they get picked off by other clubs.Lazurus ' intro is not the way to go.

 

[GlennC]

Clearly use the bench better, it's no place for a passenger to get 5 minutes at the end.

 

[hammertime]

Nothing. With Moltz, McKinnon and possibly Tui fit, we will have it covered.

Fifita, Murdoch, Lui (if acquitted) and Dwyer will be even better next year. We will decimate the competition.

Actually, one thing, Don't give Benji a terrible kicking coach again!! As soon as he ditched Taylor, he carved it up!