With season 2014 done and dusted, we look forward towards 2015 with at least far more optimism than we’ve had in prior seasons. On the flipside of that, we go into the year with much the same roster and aside from hoping for the development of our younger players the question must be asked is can we expect anything more than what the side gave us this year.
There is one factor that I don’t think has been discussed much this year but I think will be the difference between us possibly having a crack at a top four position or just scrambling for the crumbs on the edge of the finals again.
That’s our backline defence.
Brad Arthur changed a LOT of things this year. Everybody noticed that our attacking structures were very different, but how we defend was also very different to past years.
Parramatta has very much used a slide-defence in recent years, where the last man to make a decision was invariably the winger. He had to count the numbers and rush out of the line to try and cut off the opposition centre, while the centre and half slid behind to cover-up any breaks. Considering we carried a bunch of kids on our flanks, it was a defensive pattern we were ill-prepared for and in my opinion it was often the underlying issue that resulted in teams carving up big scores against us.
On the flipside, it suited the fact that we didn’t have big, strong centres and it suited a player like Ryan Morgan who was far more comfortable sliding across to clean-up a tackle then getting up hard to make one-on-ones.
This year, there is far more emphasis on the centre to make the right-defensive reads. Our wingers tend to hold their opposite as long as possible, and instead its generally the centre who has to make the big calls in D and who is generally tasked with trying to cut-off the play.
It’s something our centres have struggled with all year and that’s probably not surprising. Will Hopoate after returning to the game from his two-year sabbatical has clearly been a yard off the pace physically both in terms of pace and strength. He’s also playing a position he has never played before - he was a fullback for almost all of his junior career and played mostly wing at first grade level for Manly. Ryan Morgan has clearly struggled to adapt as well.
However, next year is going to be a different proposition. For a starters, we are bringing in Beau Champion who having been at Melbourne and Souths will be much better schooled in the style of defence that BA will want to play. Will Hopoate will be a different physical specimen next year and he’s a smart player who is the right player to be making decisions in D. And Morgan will be able to call on his experience from this year and will hopefully be better equipped too.
Additionally, we’ve got juniors who have played NYC this year under the same patterns. In Goodall, Folau and Davis, you have some big bodies physically equipped to step up if needed (and also giving you the possibility that one of those players may ‘break through’).
Parramatta missed the finals this year for one reason. Defensively our 580 conceded points left was the fourth-worst in the comp and quite frankly with those numbers we shouldn’t have gotten anywhere near finals.
Particularly if Beau Champion can get himself fit and uninjured, I think we’re going to get a lot better at executing Brad Arthur’s defensive systems out wide.
Indeed, you can extend that to the whole squad. Remember we had a pre-season with a coach who was essentially thrown into a role, having just pieced together his coaching team (and crucially that included the disruption related to Trent Elkin and for all intents and purposes not having someone in that role). We’re going to be much better prepared for next year physically and there’s going to be a lot of experience taken out of this year.
Brad Arthur has a well-deserved reputation for getting teams to be defensively excellent. We weren’t that this year, and I think addressing that will be top of mind for Brad Arthur going into the 2015 season. With a real pre-season, familiarity with our style of game and experience in getting tough and gritty, if Parramatta can get themselves into the elite-level defensively next year, we’re going to be well placed to take another step forward next year.
Replies
"Defensively our 580 conceded points left was the fourth-worst in the comp and quite frankly with those numbers we shouldn’t have gotten anywhere near finals." That sums it up perfectly. Get that addressed and we can be legitimate contenders next year.
Parra had defensive issues this season? *gasp* that is a startling revelation....!
Really hope r right 1eyed. I'm not so confident. In respect to 2015 IMO I think we will be struggling to improve markedly on what we have achieved in 2014. I'm still undecided on how good BA is. Thats not meant to degrade his overall 2014 performance in getting the boys out of the bottom 4 but I have some doubts about some of his calls this year.
How about some footballers for a start? These athletes don't read the game and these so called defensive "systems" are only as good as the players who stick to it.
The beauty about defence is it is very easy, defence does not lie, defence does not make excuses, defence is the truth and some players cannot face that truth!
An absolute spot on statement Parody. Another truth about defence IMO, is that it is an individual responsibility. A fair dinkum test of each players character quite distinct to talent.
Oh I totally agree and I'm sure nobody believes that more than Brad Arthurs.
The point I was trying to get at is whether we can fix it or not. Because if you take it at face-value, there is not much going to change next year but I do think its too easy to underestimate how disrupted our pre-season was last year and that I think some targeted conditioning and the experience we can build on is going to make for a lot of scope for improvement.
I agree an elite centre will transform the side into a real contender but I think Hoppa is going to be much, much better next year. I don't think he needs to be lightning fast because he can beat players with his footwork.
I think clearly you can tell from the 1 year Beau Champion signing that we're going to give ourselves every chance to fill that hole in our roster in 2016 until then - we just have to make do.
But that's why our defence is going to have to stand-up. I don't think we'll score any more points than we did this year, next year.
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