I think its quite obvious that our ruck defence is probably the worst in the comp but i think it would be a good idea to understand why. I will list some possible explanations and am keen to see your discussion.
- BA and Kidwell esspecially are dopes and do not know how to coach defense.
- Our pack is just simply too small and get dominaed by opposition packs.
i will start targeting individual players now
- Mahoney is just to small and his ineffective tackles are allowing teams to get quick play the balls and build momentum.
- Paulo's lack of lateral movement is cauing our middle defence to become vulnerable
- Players like Evans and Mau who have tackle effiencys below 85% are letting the entire pack down.
Feel free to comment any other reasons as the above are just the main ones standing out to me
Replies
It is not size
Look at the size of the Tigers pack
How are they going?
Tend to agree Poppa.
I would like to see Paulo on the bench once we find some better props.
Mahoney is to small, Junior Paulo is to big .. Is there a just right? ... The Goldilocks theory?
For mine its controlling the ruck with tackle technique and wrestle. Cam Smith wouldnt weigh half as much as our forwards but reliably ends up slowing the play the ball
I pretty much agree with all those points. In fact I Matt the exact same ones in another blog before resfibg this. Mahoney gives a big effort but he is a really small bloke in person. I’d persist with him though, hopefully he continues to develop strength and a bit more size across the shoulders.
I’d add to your points that centre is probably the most important position defensively these days and it’s amazing what you can absorb with two good defensive centres. Jennings and Blake can’t come into the side quickly enough.
I agree with Michael. Centre is a vital position in the defensive line. The vulnarability of MAU yesterday for whatever reason created trouble add day. Once a team sees a weakness they target them and set the plays up to always go back at them. Doubt is created and the rest is history. The players inside and outside him are second guessing and this creates no decision making in the line. I think 3 tries were direct results of decision making processes. Parry was just a poor grab .
They definately need a defensive coach with mongrel. This current model is not working. I know we are the least penalised side in the comp I believe but we also leak a lot of points. Mahoney is a great player but he is physically not bigger enough to stop off loads. Great legs tackler but the offload close to the ruck is killing us. His extra workload is affecting his running game. We need to find a healthy balance.
I have never seen a team get consistently dominated around the ruck like us. The problem is normally fixed within a week or two. 1 month the max. Even teams with less talent (yes, they exist) don't have the same problem. It makes us soooo easy to beat. We're always back pedalling. This is a defensive coaches problem. How many times does one need to be kicked in the balls before they decide to change things? It's almost comical. Other teams must be laughing at how dumb and predictable we are. Get the ruck right and we'll win a heap more.
To control the ruck the key players are middle players. With them constantly targeting Mahoney, it is drawing in Paulo and Evans. That creates weakness on edges and it just goes from there. The past contact metres of opposition teams must be huge against us. We meet them but they dance up the field another five metres with bodies always on the deck. That allows dummy half runners to target that channel behind the ruck. The edge defenders are drawn in. One play directly back towards the edge and bingo - TRY time.
I reckon we need to start fielding just one NRL team.
At the moment we are fielding two; Home Parramatta and Away Parramatta.
Home Parramatta are ticking all the boxes, can beat anyone on their day, have great defense and unmatched attack - they could concievably win the comp.
Away Parramatta are shit. They can't even come close to beating anyone - ever - and are easily the worst team in the comp. They haven't won a game for a couple of years.
If we can get Home Parramatta to agree to take over Away Parramatta's games we will have a very, very good footy team.
lol, Krams. Love it. Great post. That is a practical quick fix of our cultural problems.
If we can lobby to get Matt Checchin refereeing all our home games that would be a bonus. He adds the cherry on top for consistency.
And if we can get Brad to stop wearing ties. Hasler too. Life would be perfect.
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