Time to face facts guys .. this team isn't ending the drought this year. Even if they play their match of the season tonight and knock off rhe Broncos they haven't shown they can play 2 good halves let alone 7 elite weeks. This team doesn't have the defensive know how and resolve to get it done.
A common theme in our teams under BA is our defensive system can be broken down. We are happy to allow metres up the field .. in the NFL they refer to this as bend don't break. The problem is we bend and break. The edges have been a huge problem for as long as I can remember. Semi, Fergy Ferg , G Jennings , French , Simonsson , Sivo , Waqa , Russell , Arthur Miler Stephen , Dunster .. it doesn't matter who we play there they will frustrate fans beyond belief because they're always flying in off the wing but in most cases it's because we're short on numbers. The system we have gets stressed and the wingers and centres often have to make no win decisions.
We're short on outside backs of first grade quality at the club that's no secret and it has to be assessed but this club needs a huge shift in defensive attitude if they want to go to the next level.
Every team that wins the comp going back to 2005 has a high level of defensive resolve. They don't give up many easy points . They can turn you away repeatedly and stay in the fight . The Eels can't. The more Questions are asked of the Eels edges the closer they are to the wrong answer.
BA has the luxury of the top defensive fullback in the game and the best defensive 6 in the game. If he can't build a system around that then he's not worth persisting with. We are shitting away a window where we have rep calibre players in our spine and a couple of them are in the peak of their careers.
I don't think Asi , Davey and co are going to be able to repeatedly come up with the right answers tonight and we could be in for a world of hurt on that edge. It's a travesty that this wasn't for seen or addressed by the club and has been a common problem throughori BA's tenure. It is not a strong plug and play system it is one where with a lot of luck with injuries and suspensions we can make do and get by .. it is far from elite.
I feel that Penrith and Brisbane (ascending ) are by far and away the 2 best teams in the comp. the Warriors have made great strides this year and are going in the right direction ... everyone else is mostly a team than can finish anywhere from 4th to 14th in any given year and is treading water .. with our roster BA is underachieving and the GF glossed over that . Our defence and defensive system needs a big overhaul over the next 12 months.
Andrew Webster has come to the Warriors and put in a system where a bunch of journeymen are hard to break through. BA has had the nucleus of this roster for years and the system isn't anywhere near as solid. The warriors have shown the right people can bring chance quickly and we need to address it .
Replies
Hard to argue... the stats from HOE's blog are massively alarming. We're at the bottom when it comes to defence... and that being the case, we can't even pretend to contend for a title. More than anything, it's how long it's been an issue for that is most alarming.
Defence is an attitude... and I think we have massive attitude issues at the club and with many players. Selfish... ego driven... too cool for school, believing the hype around their paychecks etc. I don't think BA hammers them, I think he's their mate. After the Dylan fiasco, when the press were at training... a heap of them were joking around, making cat noises etc while the interviews were going on... think Lane was being spoken to. Sums it up perfectly for me... BA should have absolutely torn them a new one... especially given the subject matter of what the press was there for. Just showed that while we had a player that did some really stupid shit, in the day & age we're in, it's serious... and they all think it's a joke. They should have been shit scared of the coach and not even considering joking about it through fear of repercussions. There's a bit of a dickhead culture developed or developing I think... it's not team first, far from it.
I know the above is not defence on the field... but it's attitude and closely related. We've become slack.
On the field... we no longer hunt in defence... we don't hit... we don't hurt. We don't fold them, we don't drive back, we're passive... it leads to losing the ruck and allowing quick play the balls... which then gives momentum to the opposition and in the 6 again age, that's a killer. I remember smashing the Sharks so hard early 2000's that Stuart Raper said after the game he had never seen a side absolutely bludgeoned to that degree in all his years... they were smashed into oblivion and he said they never had a hope. We attacked with our defence back then. Roosters defended like that in the Morley days just after that. Start by hitting and sticking and dominating the tackle. Win the ruck, win the defence... the points will come. Penrith base on defence... they win 100-0 and Clearly will only talk about the defence.
We don't have killer speed at the back or wide, we lack polish in the opponents 20... we're often too scattered and disorganised. Hectic and pushing. But... we can score points... enough to win if we brick wall defence. At the moment though, we don't have either.
Anyway... fridge is full after a long shitty week... hopefully they can turn it around and start tonight!
Well said. It's hard to believe BA's been there for 10 years and the same problems persist. It's ultra frustrating to watch the overlap occur again, again and again.
It's crazy really that BA has been head coach longer than Brian Smith and no premierships and 1 grand final appearance. Daniel Anderson almost got the Eels a Premiership in less than 3 years and they gave him the boot and yet BA has never really looked like winning a Premiership but keeps getting contract extensions doesn't add up
Yeah, Brian Smith 1 grand final, no victory....
True but under Brian the eels were a genuine premiership force , Parra has never been a genuine force under the bush which is why they have only won 3 finals games .
Not really
Elaborate ?
The club are idiots for re-signing him for another 2 years..
Until he leaves we won't see changes on the edge defences on a consistent basis..
We fix our defence by taking away the oppositions time with the ball.
Our linespeed is shithouse and it all starts there, the flow on is you dominate the ruck, your middle defence retains its integrity while your edges can't be stripped.
For what ever reason our line speed and kick pressure is right up there with the worst in the comp and it puts pressure on us defensively giving us challenges we're unable to meet,
So who's going to lead the linespeed and who is going to take the lead on kick pressure.
The hooker should lead the former while Brown is the best candidate for the latter but seems disinterested in that part of the game.
Its not just that ... we ask our centres to make pressure decisions time after time and the winger to follow.
We dont push up hard off the goal line, some blokes slide others push in ... its never a connected rope. Ever.. they have no idea what theyre doing. I expect more of the same tonight with Asi and Davey. They are going to be absolutely terrorised by Reece Walsh's speed ... at this point we're relying on us being at our best AND the broncos having an off night.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next