weststigers
Well-known member
After an exciting pre-season with 2 convincing trial wins, we looked totally inept after the first 20 minutes or so of the game. However, I do think there are some positives as well as a lot we need to work on.
POSTIVES:
1\. Tedesco - he is dangerous! even in a beaten side, he looked lethal in attack and scored a try through his pace. I'm happy we have him in our team.
2\. Richards - A couple of times he defused bombs which I dare say we may have dropped in years gone by. Very safe under the high ball. Unfortunately, our attacking kicks to his corner went over the sideline, so comes down to execution from the kicker - he will score plenty if we can get this right. Furthermore, his kick-offs, dropouts and conversions looked a million bucks and from one kick-off, we had them down on their line which is what you need after conceding points - finally we have a reliable kicker in our side.
3\. Gavet - Some good things and some bad, but he runs VERY hard at the line which gets us good go forward. I think if the club worked on getting him up for a quick play the ball, he could be even more effective for us. I also think if he bulked up 5-10kg of muscle, he would be a wrecking ball. I'm expecting big things from him next year rather than this year.
4\. Woods - despite what some people here are saying, he did what Aaron Woods does - 100+ metres and 40 tackles and some offloads - he's a prop and did his job. We need this consistency in our team rather than a week to week proposition.
5\. Taupau - He looks really strong with good go forward - definitely adds to our pack and we'll be even better when Keith comes back into the side.
NEGATIVES and WHAT WE NEED TO WORK ON:
1\. Defence - It seemed like every time they shifted wide, our defence would run backwards and we didn't know how to shut down the play. Also, a few guys were caught out coming out of the line which cost us tries - I can think of one where Lulia jumped out off the try line and missed the tackle - we need to hold our form.
2\. Defence (Luke Brooks) - he's young and he's learning, but we need to counter this in defence. We can't have a year where he misses 7 tackles a game and costs us 2 or 3 tries because of it. Can we hide him somewhere? My only thought is to instruct him to go for the legs and partner him with someone to take the upper body because he gets shrugged off easily - the Rabbitohs will have their monster pack running at him all day.
3\. Lulia - He wasn't great and doesn't offer much in attack to offset the average defensive performance - straight swap for Simona should add something to our backline.
4\. Last Play Options - The new rule killed us where they get 7 tackles from the 20m line. I may get totally flamed here, but the risk-reward of trying a grubber or a bomb that may go over the touch in goal or caught on the full might not be worth it. A grubber kick to touch inside or just outside the 10 might be more effective as the game goes on. It's boring football, but it ensures that every time we get the ball down their end, they have to work it out from their 10 metre line with no freebies - that drains teams and starves them of field position. This is just one idea and I'd be interested to see what people think about this new rule and how to combat its impact.
5\. Blair - 44 metres in attack! I think he is a bench player at best - It's a shame that Halatau and Sirro are out because it's killed our options here.
6\. Anasta - Didn't do anything particularly bad, but he doesn't have the spark we need - Unfortunately, Austin, from what I've seen is a great defender either, so we'd have another liability in defence. I think we need to give Blake a go though because he is better in attack and I think will work better with Brooks. I really think having an experienced player alongside Brooks may be a hindrance. Does he really need a baby sitter? He didn't have one in the 20's and those performances are what have him playing first grade - Let Luke Brooks be Luke Brooks. Thoughts??
7\. Back-Row - Looks impotent - Ava and Sue look a bit slow. Fulton, while good in defence, never bends the line in attack. Masila needs a call up as long as attitude is right.
8\. Koro - Can't say he is a negative, but he needs a bit of work on his defensive positioning. In Attack he is strong, but he is out of place in defence. Let me throw this at you - Koro in the pack haha - thoughts? Nofoaluma will be a welcome addition against the Titans.
Team against Titans
1\. Tedesco
2\. Nofoaluma
3\. Simona
4\. Lawrence
5\. Richards
6\. Austin
7\. Brooks
8\. Woods
9\. Farah
10\. Taupau
11\. Fulton (if fit)
12\. Paterson
13\. Sue
14\. Blair
15\. Murdoch-Masila
16\. Galloway
17\. Gavet
POSTIVES:
1\. Tedesco - he is dangerous! even in a beaten side, he looked lethal in attack and scored a try through his pace. I'm happy we have him in our team.
2\. Richards - A couple of times he defused bombs which I dare say we may have dropped in years gone by. Very safe under the high ball. Unfortunately, our attacking kicks to his corner went over the sideline, so comes down to execution from the kicker - he will score plenty if we can get this right. Furthermore, his kick-offs, dropouts and conversions looked a million bucks and from one kick-off, we had them down on their line which is what you need after conceding points - finally we have a reliable kicker in our side.
3\. Gavet - Some good things and some bad, but he runs VERY hard at the line which gets us good go forward. I think if the club worked on getting him up for a quick play the ball, he could be even more effective for us. I also think if he bulked up 5-10kg of muscle, he would be a wrecking ball. I'm expecting big things from him next year rather than this year.
4\. Woods - despite what some people here are saying, he did what Aaron Woods does - 100+ metres and 40 tackles and some offloads - he's a prop and did his job. We need this consistency in our team rather than a week to week proposition.
5\. Taupau - He looks really strong with good go forward - definitely adds to our pack and we'll be even better when Keith comes back into the side.
NEGATIVES and WHAT WE NEED TO WORK ON:
1\. Defence - It seemed like every time they shifted wide, our defence would run backwards and we didn't know how to shut down the play. Also, a few guys were caught out coming out of the line which cost us tries - I can think of one where Lulia jumped out off the try line and missed the tackle - we need to hold our form.
2\. Defence (Luke Brooks) - he's young and he's learning, but we need to counter this in defence. We can't have a year where he misses 7 tackles a game and costs us 2 or 3 tries because of it. Can we hide him somewhere? My only thought is to instruct him to go for the legs and partner him with someone to take the upper body because he gets shrugged off easily - the Rabbitohs will have their monster pack running at him all day.
3\. Lulia - He wasn't great and doesn't offer much in attack to offset the average defensive performance - straight swap for Simona should add something to our backline.
4\. Last Play Options - The new rule killed us where they get 7 tackles from the 20m line. I may get totally flamed here, but the risk-reward of trying a grubber or a bomb that may go over the touch in goal or caught on the full might not be worth it. A grubber kick to touch inside or just outside the 10 might be more effective as the game goes on. It's boring football, but it ensures that every time we get the ball down their end, they have to work it out from their 10 metre line with no freebies - that drains teams and starves them of field position. This is just one idea and I'd be interested to see what people think about this new rule and how to combat its impact.
5\. Blair - 44 metres in attack! I think he is a bench player at best - It's a shame that Halatau and Sirro are out because it's killed our options here.
6\. Anasta - Didn't do anything particularly bad, but he doesn't have the spark we need - Unfortunately, Austin, from what I've seen is a great defender either, so we'd have another liability in defence. I think we need to give Blake a go though because he is better in attack and I think will work better with Brooks. I really think having an experienced player alongside Brooks may be a hindrance. Does he really need a baby sitter? He didn't have one in the 20's and those performances are what have him playing first grade - Let Luke Brooks be Luke Brooks. Thoughts??
7\. Back-Row - Looks impotent - Ava and Sue look a bit slow. Fulton, while good in defence, never bends the line in attack. Masila needs a call up as long as attitude is right.
8\. Koro - Can't say he is a negative, but he needs a bit of work on his defensive positioning. In Attack he is strong, but he is out of place in defence. Let me throw this at you - Koro in the pack haha - thoughts? Nofoaluma will be a welcome addition against the Titans.
Team against Titans
1\. Tedesco
2\. Nofoaluma
3\. Simona
4\. Lawrence
5\. Richards
6\. Austin
7\. Brooks
8\. Woods
9\. Farah
10\. Taupau
11\. Fulton (if fit)
12\. Paterson
13\. Sue
14\. Blair
15\. Murdoch-Masila
16\. Galloway
17\. Gavet
