Overall it's been a positive season so far. Only 2 losses, at the end of the day we can't really ask for much more.
Still, i'm not sure we've solved our inability to attack in greasy conditions and our away form is questionable. We are still a 12-20 point better side at Bankwest. Our games at Brookie and ANZ yesterday were like our regular away games under BA. Terrible, flat, lethargic football mixed in with a few flashes of dominent periods. Anyway, this is how I think our squad has been going from a novice eye.
1. Gutho : Has been our best back by lengths. One of the few you know what you're going to get week in week out. Has elevated his game since last year.
2. Sivo. Largely very good but a bit of an up and down season so far from Maika. Still an absolute try scoring weapon and nails 98 opportunities out of 100. His defence has been good and he rarely makes the wrong read. His involvement has been a bit inconsistent.
3. Jennings. Been outstanding. Defensively good every week and attacking the best he has since he joined us. Another 2 years was a good reward.
4. Waqa. He's provided the X factor in the backline and for a centre plays with a tonne of energy. Him and Fergy have been having defensive issues down that edge most weeks and it's been really exposed with no Matterson there. The Moses, Waqa, Fergy group has to work better together defensively for us to do anything good.
5. Fergo. Has had a terrible season so far. It might sound harsh but aside from being a tryless winger through 12 rounds his running game has been inconsistent, losing the contact a lot more than he has in the past. Defensively he's making rookie reads . It's been a dissapointing season for him individually so far but he's a proven player at all levels and we're all hoping he finds his game quickly and goes to another level.
6. Dyl. Regular inconsistencies of a young player. Essentially he's only played 1 seasons worth of first grade games and is still basically a rookie. He competes on everything and defensively is outstanding. He, Jenko and Sivo are proving a much better defensive combination than the right side of the field. He's in a bit of a mid season slump at the moment but thats understandable.
7. Moses. I think he's been running around like a chook with it's head cut off during the games since the calf injury. Still had some class touches that we needed to win the games he played though, hopefully he comes back into his own over the next few weeks.
8 RCG. Been our best player this season. Absolute machine. Providing the intimidation we need up front with a quality, high work rate.
9 Reed. Like DB seems to be in a mid season slump. 2 of the last 3 games have been the worst games I remember him playing for us. His contact point in defence, especiay on the goal line has improved since last season, still throws the best long ball in the NRL and he's developed a nice kicking game. Last few weeks has been littered with wrong options but yo'd back him to work through it.
10. Junior. Been our most dangerous attacking player most of the season. His ballskills have been sublime. RCG working his ass off has helped Junior go to a quality level showcasing his skills more than doing a bunch of dirty work.
11. Lane. Getting consistent performances out of him every week. Has turned into a really reliable backrower who's a threat down his edge and reads the play well.
12. Matto. As per lane. His offloading has also gone to another level and seems to take pride in him and his teammates doing the 1%er's. Have seen him get stuck into guys after lazy late game tackles in games. He's been a great addition.
13. Nathan Brown. Great whole hearted player. Trys to lift the intensity every week and puts his hand up for tough carries. Hard to fault. Would like to see him get back to tipping the ball on sometimes rather than always running back up the middle Gallen style, as I think he sometimes blunts the attack.. but thats also being a bit picky.
14. Marata. Has been outstanding all season. Has really changed the tempo in a lot of games. Offensively we some times look better when he's running straight and hard then when Browns running back across the middle.
15 Stone .Thought Stone was really coming on a little bit before he got hurt. Has great contact in his defence.
16. Kaufusi. I think we hood-winked the Tigers. Seems to be the much better prospect between he and Stefano. Has good footwork and I think will start showcasing more with the ball as his confidence grows. Stefano to me looks big and slow, especially laterally. Comparisons to Payne Haas have been greatly overblown.
17. Evans. Has been good when on the field. He's certainly a part of our best 17 when fit as he can come on and provide some impact.
18. Takas, Terepo, Davey- None of these guys really been given much run in the time. not really enough to effect the season. Although Davey was very solid in his limited game time. The other 2 are just making up squad numbers.
BA: I think BA still has to take his coaching to a new level. He seems to rely on fast, intense , physical periods in the game.. usually the start. There's lots of emphasis in all his talk in starting hard and fast. But he stil hasn't shown an ability to get us to play 80 mins or perform away from home. The staff also need to look at alternate game plans when we play against hard to crack , fast line speed defences. Especially in greasy night conditions. The long , wide , expansive passes hasn't been working for us. Nor has the tuck it under the arm for 5 tackles and kick long.
Overall , a good first 12 rounds. We should be pushing really hard for a top 2 spot and the advantages it brings. Penrith have a very easy draw so we're going to have to play well to stay with them, whilst Melbourne as always, is the class team at this stage of the season. Hopefully BA can really get the boys going the right way again.
Replies
I agree with most of your comments, so just note the areas where I disagree somewhat below:
1. Sivo - I agree that his involvement could be more consistent when we are not scoring down his edge all night. However, I feel sometimes there is a clear mandate to score tries on one side of the field (or through the middle). When Moses was out, all our attack was unsurprisingly down the left edge. However, I think BA has tried to ensure the right edge clicks into attacking form since he returned. We saw that against the Bulldogs were Moses tried repeatedly to get Waqa and Fergo a try, however, it didn't eventuate. In those circumstances, there are limited opportunities for the left edge to get involved.
2. I don't agree that Fergo is playing horribly. He is not as hungry as last year and has made some defensive mis-reads. However, his talk and energy are always pretty good and his kick return metres are still strong. I think Waqa is more of a runner than he is a provider and, for that reason, Fergo doesn't get as many opportunities. Matto being a strike back row option also reduces his oppertunities. Additionally, he has been a little unlucky a few times and Moses has been injured and/ playing injured. I think he will bag a few soon, particularly with finals not too far away.
3. I agree with everything re D Brown but would like to add that, overall, I think he has been outstanding. He struggled a little when Mitch was out to be that organising general. However, as you say, that can only be expected. I think he is going to be a long term top line 6. His form and style reminds me a bit of a young Foran, however, Brown has better footwork and agility. He could be anything.
4. I don't think Mitch is running around like a headless chook. Those days appear to be over for the most part. I agree his pre-injury form was more measured. However, even against the Dogs (while the whole team played shit), his kicking was pretty controlled and he didn't get panicked and try the Hail Mary plays that he used to.
5. Reed' s dip in form is to be expected after his early success. He needs to smarten up though if he wants to play origin because Harry Grant has probably overtaken him as the QLD option.
6. I think Lane is experiencing a bit of a slump in form. Still good, but not like early on the season.
7. I can fault N Brown. He needs to tidy up his discipline. I also think he has to have less carries. He is great when he carries the ball. I just think we have so much strike that sometimes his runs (whilst effective) waste an oppertunity for the backs, especially when RCG and Paulo have already bent the line.
8. I'm indifferent on Stone. He still has a bit to prove before I lock him in for a spot in my 17.
9. I don't know how you conclude we 'hoodwinked the tigers'. Stephano has played very few minutes this year compared to Kaufusi. We will know next year whether Kaufusi is the better of the two prospects. However, from what I understood, Stephano had greater wraps on him last year. I'm very happy with Kaufusi though.
10. I think BA has been great and his game plans/ what he relies upon to win matches is not materially different from most other successful clubs. Away performances can improve, however, we played away this year after a long and sustained period of success. We were always going to come down from that. What I really want him to fix is that right side defence. We can't win a comp with that gateway there, the good teams will find it too easy to exploit. I would prefer Taka play in centres with Waqa/ Fergo on the wing if we can't fix it. I want BA to be strong and demand better. If it doesn't get better, I want him to drop someone and hold them accountable before the finals.
We should be aiming for top 2. I will be disappointed with anything less after our start to the season. We'll achieve that with wins over Storm and/or Panthers.
Its all subjective but one thing that is certain- we don't play the Grand Final at BankWest so however we do it , we have to learn to play to our potential at other grounds.
No other team has such a difference in their home and away performances and it's something we need to fix up ASAP or we are just making up the numbers.
Some decent points I agree with but you are way too harsh on Fergo. He's playing pretty well. The defensive issues aren't really his fault nor is the fact he isn't scoring tries. He's a team player though and always contributes to the performance.
I read through that and agree with some points and disagree with others. When rating our side overall I think we have overachieved - we are sitting equal 2nd after 12 rounds and that's a very strong position to be in at this stage of the year.
With regards to the playing group, the way I see it we only have 4 players playing exceptionally well week in week out. They are:
1. RCG - outstanding buy. 200+ metres each week plus defensively very sound.
2. Junior - the size, the step, the passing and the work rate. Almost the complete package. We are lucky to have got him back.
3. Gutho - like all leaders he leads by example. Involved in absolutely everything and everything he does now is class. Inspirational best discribes him this year.
4. Jennings - where has this form been the last few years. Excellent defence and elusive in attack.
There are others that are lifting more often than not and these IMO are:
1. Nathan Brown - I've placed him as consistent because he tends to get too excited in defence at times and it can cost us penalties or 6 agains plus he's good for a suspension or two. Also he's becoming another Gallen in attack - one run per set is enough thanks Browny. Otherwise the line speed king is our pack leader and we need him to keep that tag.
2. Matto - Our edge attack has become ultra dangerous because of him. Added to that he has a great offload and is very sound defensively. Great buy only slightly behind RCG.
3. Fergo - although he's not scoring he's doing a lot of the hard yards weekly. His yardage out of our end is priceless. He could do with a try though to help with his confidence.
4. Moses - although not as good as last year Moses has helped win us games with his kicking and passing game. He has carried that calf injury which has curtailed his running game. More running and better ends to the 6 needed in the back end of the year for mine.
5. Niukore - off the bench his energy and engine gives us that much needed lift when he comes on. He's been slightly off lately and not the same as earlier in the year but still very very good for us.
Players that are up and down this year:
1. Mahoney - could be age, could be he's being over worked but the Mahoney of 6 weeks ago is missing in action. At his best his service out of dummy half is crisp and fast, we attack far better when he's on song. Poor recent form is concerning
2. Dylan Brown - you can tell Dylan's on by watching him defend. Lately he has been off and it has found its way into other areas of his game ie his kicking and running game. He's young and probably just needs a rest.
3. Sivo - yes he's second on the try scorers list but where has Sivos involvement been this year. When he's off he's off like Sunday- 58m for a winger is very poor and he's put in a few like that this year too. We need him to lift his energy cause when he's firing so are the we.
Now as for the guys that have been significantly down in form IMO these are:
1. Lane - missing tackles, slow off tackles, poor efforts etc. this has been what I've seen a lot from Lane this year. He is a monster playing like Jane. We need him back to his best on the edge as we aren't as dangerous as last year without his offloads.
2. Waqa - defensively poor and good for the odd brain explosion off load. I don't know what's happening at training but he looks lost in D. We need him confident in D as this will flow onto his attack which is struggling if late too.
The rest of the bench not much to say other than things look good with Kaufusi and Evans back to add much needed steel and the development of Davey a revelation. Overall we can be happy with how things are going - just need a few to lift and a few to play to their potential consistently.