Worrying signs

[barra]

I know a win is a win, but its worrying knowing that the only side you probably would have beaten in the comp was the team you played. I know everyone is going to try and turn negatives into positives, but lets review our expectations pre-game. We all were gunning for a drubbing, not just a win. They had 4 or 5 key players out, and with it being round 1, there was going to be no let up from us. We were extremely lucky, we relied on good fortune more than skill. We'll have to improve a hell of a lot, even against the Dragons next week, cos they will shape as stiffer competition than the Titans imo. Plus, we'll be doing it without Moses.

It's hard to get too much of a take from the that game I reckon.

I think the Titans actually had a pretty simple brief, which they carried out well. To me they looked like a well coached team, their defence was excellent and they performed their defensive tasks with a lot of energy which is so important, especially at this time of year.

I wish we could find that sort of energy, we've rarely been able to show that over the last couple of years.

I thought we looked like we need more time to get combinations working, and a few of the young guys played just like that - young blokes who are still learning. Unfortunately that's going to be the case for a while, but we knew that.

I hope they get some good points on the board early this season, otherwise, yeah, it could be a long one.

 

[Goose]

We dropped the ball too much and our timing was off.

That happens and we still won, cudos.

Brooks took some poor options, but also showed he has a touch of class, when he starts to get the balance right we will be better.

The forwards easily had the better of it, and our defensive structure looked a lot better.

We went much better than Manly or the Cowboys!

 

[Newtown]

We dropped the ball too much and our timing was off.

That happens and we still won, cudos.

Brooks took some poor options, but also showed he has a touch of class, when he starts to get the balance right we will be better.

The forwards easily had the better of it, and our defensive structure looked a lot better.

We went much better than Manly or the Cowboys!

We also went very much better than Cronulla.

 

[balmain boy]

Considering JT has spent nearly the entire off season trying to get the players familiar with his new defensive system, and we won by stopping our opponents scoring except for lucky tries it shows his training has worked thus far.

We will focus more on the attack in the coming weeks but you win matches, and competitions, on defense not with attack. I'm more than happy to get a narrow win when we didn't play well. We can improve 300% on that performance, and considering how fired up the opposition were for that game it was a good win.

Anyone who thought we'd win by 40 was incredibly delusional They had a very decent squad out there. It was out props plus Sirro + Richards that won us the game in the end. Plus they got nearly every call all night which continually put us on the backfoot.

I would have been much more worried if we had spent the whole off season working on defense only to win the game 34-30 conceding a lot of soft tries.

In the end we won a game where our entire spine was practically non existent for most of the match. How many teams can do that? Imagine when the spine are firing, then it would be worrying signs for our opposition!

 

[balmain boy]

And actually i was worried about Taupau starting. He was great for the first 15 mins, making some great runs, but then was barely seen for the rest of the match. He probably made 70m in the first 10 and then dropped off to only make another 30 odd over the rest of the match.

If he starts at lock he needs to be able to make an impact throughout the game, or come off earlier and back out fresher early in the second half.

 

[foreveratiger]

In my opinion i think Taupau would be most effective coming on the last 15 minutes in the 1st half then he can have a breather during half time and go again after half time for 15 minutes more , then bring him on for the last 10 or 15 minutes of the game depending how the game is unfolding ?
I feel there is no need to expose him to the 1st 20 minutes of the game as they all running on adrenaline and once they start tiring a bit then bring Taupau on . Those are just my thoughts , i'm sure a lot will disagree.

 

[Tiger_Watto]

I wasnt too worried being Game 1 of a season with a new Coach etc… The battle of the ruck never had a clear winner, so therefore it was a scappy affair which really didnt allow the halves any room. They had alot of luck and we didnt build enough. In the end, we got the best luck of them all with a Field Goal!

What raised questions for me was the first interchange of Santi for Taupau and the timing for the resting of Robbie. Outside of that, I suppose I was hoping we would change the manner we play in the ruck _, but it still looks like we continue with all forwards playing tight.

I see alot of benefit in resting your dummy half if its done correctly._

 

[balmain boy]

What raised questions for me was the first interchange of Santi for Taupau and the timing for the resting of Robbie. Outside of that, I suppose I was hoping we would change the manner we play in the ruck _, but it still looks like we continue with all forwards playing tight.

Taupa went off for a concussion test, that's why Santi came on so early and for such a short timeframe.

Remember Ava also went off concussed so we were left with only one bench prop in the rotation._

 

[magpiecol]

I don't understand the argument that it's only round 1 when we had the whole summer to get it right. I think some are just trying to turn negatives into positives by saying a win is a win. And as far as peaking goes, it's not peaking by looking impressive in round 1\. You want to get off to a strong start. After a nights sleep, my opinion hasn't changed that it's a concern that we wouldn't have beaten anyone else last night

I will say it again: a win is a win for God's sake. They played pretty good as far as I am concerned.

I wonder if Manly would swap our result?

You just cannot please some people, no matter what you do. Very depressing really.

 

[magpiecol]

And actually i was worried about Taupau starting. He was great for the first 15 mins, making some great runs, but then was barely seen for the rest of the match. He probably made 70m in the first 10 and then dropped off to only make another 30 odd over the rest of the match.

If he starts at lock he needs to be able to make an impact throughout the game, or come off earlier and back out fresher early in the second half.

Did you watch the game?

He was taken off hurt (concussion).

Get the facts before commenting.

 

[diedpretty]

If we have worrying signs I'd hate to be in the shoes of Broncos, Cowboys and Manly fans - some of the defensive lapses of those 3 teams was abysmal. The Broncos made Souffs look like the best side in the past 50 yrs. Manly for the first time that I can remember looked soft in the middle and the Cowboys had nothing - if Thurston doesn't fire they are at a loss. Throw in Canterbury whose size looks more of a hindrance than a plus - their forwards looked big and slow. Cronulla who everyone is tipping for a top 8 spot were more ill disciplined than we were and folded to a side who a widely tipped to fight out the spoon.
We played poorly and won. Other than Woods none of our top players really showed any spark. Our spine was ordinary and I would expect a marked improvement in that area over the next few weeks.

 

[Newtown]

Sports Tab don't appear too worried. They have Wests Tigers as favourites against Dragons next Monday.

 

[Geo]

The reality is that we are a long long way off. Finishing in the bottom half of the 8 will take a massive effort based on tonight.

Hold on a tic…was Manly's effort that of a top 8 team...yet it is silly to right them off after 1 game yet Wests won and are a long way off based on that effort...something does not compute...

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Except Manly have a track record of being a perennial top 8 side and rising when the chips are down. We don't.

 

[Tiger_Watto]

What raised questions for me was the first interchange of Santi for Taupau and the timing for the resting of Robbie. Outside of that, I suppose I was hoping we would change the manner we play in the ruck _, but it still looks like we continue with all forwards playing tight.

Taupa went off for a concussion test, that's why Santi came on so early and for such a short timeframe.

Remember Ava also went off concussed so we were left with only one bench prop in the rotation.

ok… Didnt realise that was why Taupau was first interchanged.

ta_

 

[Telltails]

All you need to do is win the games in the early part of the season. The only two teams who are probably specials to make the eight are the Roosters and Souths - based purely on there ridiculously strong rosters. If we win 4 of our first seven games no -one will be still thinking about how we beat the Titans but rather that we are in a position to have a crack, if we can maintain some form and momentum. Got the job done yesterday and that's all that really matters atm.

 

[diedpretty]

Except Manly have a track record of being a perennial top 8 side and rising when the chips are down. We don't.

Yea and they also had a tight knit unit and forwards who were tough and smart ( Stewart and Watmough - well Stewart is smart). They look and act like a team on the slide.

 

[Flippedy]

Except Manly have a track record of being a perennial top 8 side and rising when the chips are down. We don't.

Yea and they also had a tight knit unit and forwards who were tough and smart ( Stewart and Watmough - well Stewart is smart). **They look and act like a team on the slide.**

One can only hope 😛ray:

 

[Tigermama]

Several people. Clearly you haven't read much of what was being said on here during the week.

Turn negatives into positives as much as you like, it won't change the reality of where we're at.

Reality at this point in time is….Tigers got the win in round one .Tigers sit 8th on the lader for this week. So lets enjoy It :slight_smile:

 

[Tigermama]

Don't stress Gunther, it's not good for your health. It isn't like Teddy has been playing injury-free in his career and Brooks and Moses are 150 game veterans-we are a young inexperienced team that found a way to win when it counted. That will do for this week, next week we will have to improve and probably will. No need to look for the razorblades ATM IMO.

Totally agree FTB. Good win by our boys. Titans had a lot of good ,experienced players in their team. It was never going to be an easy win in my book. We are a young inexperienced side, and our halfs are barely out of their teens, with very little first grade experience.At these stage we'll have a few wins, but there will be a lot of losses. It's to be expected for now. Patience is needed at this early stage.