Remember the Melbourne match. Well, I'm going to say all the same things again because people have very short memories.
1. There is just a huge gulf between the Dragons and Storm and everyone else. Both of those sides are going to touch up any side that doesn't bring their A-Game to the party. As I've said elsewhere, don't neck yourself after you lose to these sides, save it for when we lose to a side that we're capable of beating because that's when you've got problems.
2. The reality is, we've actually beaten teams who have better squads than we do. Warriors, Titans and North Queensland are all games we won as outsiders. That says more than anyone is giving credit for about both the attitude of the side and the progress we're making as a side. We actually have a side that has won a few arm wrestles - not something we did at all last year.
3. We're two points outside of seventh spot with a bye next week, followed by a few games we're capable of winning, and then another bye. Whether we deserve it or not, we're still in the competition. We've had losses to Storm and Dragons, so we've also gotten out of the way two of the tougher matches in our draw. If the side can win one of their next two, they should be going into the back half of the competition in sight of the top eight.
4. Please remember we were without Jarryd Hayne today. You take any club's top player out of their side and they will struggle and Jarryd is responsible for the majority of our points. Yes, we are very much one of those sides that rely on one player right now, and you don't expect to win games when that happens. The fact that we got through this suspension with a win, and a loss to a team we couldn't have beat anyway, is a blessing.
5. We have a forward pack that is as good as any in this competition. For me, you can't win games without that. It's the first building block you need to be competitive. So if we can improve in the areas of the game we have been lacking - and clearly the most important one is the kicking department, there is definite scope for things to improve.
So the bottom line is we're still in a relatively okay position of the ladder, given the draw we've had, the fact we've had to do without Jarryd for a couple of matches and that clearly there is room for improvement in a lot of areas of our game. I do believe a couple of positional changes to this side, can make one hell of a difference because I do believe the building blogs are there for a side that can sneak into the eight. We bounced back from the Melbourne loss to record our best performance of th year and there's no reason we can't do that again. So please take a chill pill before you go into work tomorrow....
Replies
Phil your break down analysis is always insightful and a joy to read.
But the ugly truth is our attack lacks structure and variety, Casey to 7, Hayne to 6, Burt stays as our 1 and Ant Mitchell to 9.
At least this will give our attack more thrust and the opposition guessing - ATM we are predictable and plain ordinary in attack.
Agreed
And I for one didnt tip us to win this game no matter what form we brought to Kogarah.
Yes but the 0 scoreline is something that hurts the most not the 30 points.
Totally agree with all that Melbourne and the drag queens are a league above everyone, we did ok for a bit with the dogs but with Hayne gone and a bit of bad luck and we got pumped 34 nil in 60 minutes.
My heart goes out ot Mannah and Fui who are as good as any, the fact that this team cant score points on the back of their great efforts, I can see Loko, Horo and a few others improving each game, and once the Dragons let up a bit they actually got time to practice the structures they have been working on, its just all happening to slow to challenge a good team at this point of development. Unfortunately, since I am sure they are great blokes Robson, Morts and I hate to say it but Reddy, are just not quite cutting it, and you dont need to be too far off the pace in this comp to get pumped like tonight, even the best team can lose to a lower team if they dont quite turn up (Dragons- Sharks etc)
I dont think we are that far of being competative, just a bit more oiling of the set moves and strucure, a good half, and a lot more urgency in attack and defence
we should defiantly be happy with 1/2 games with hayne and are still very much in touch of the top 8. this is were parra fans loose it. so we got touched up by storm and dragons, thats was always gonna happen this year, a succesful year would be 8th or higher and thats still very much in sight.
In saying that kearney needs to pull his head in. atleast daniel anderson had the guts to drop players and try different things were things were wrong and i think the mortimer to bench and keating to five-eight move last year was good. this year we either need to see hayne or mcguire moved into the halfs
I think the one possitive was Smith today
he was really good out there smacking the queens
and if we make 1-2 more for the next game we might be a lot closer to a win than a loss.
Also we have a couple of boys coming back from injury
So the bye has come at the perfect time for our club.
2 weeks to fine tune the lineup and also sack Robson !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am going to get killed for saying this, but I actually thought we played OK in the second half. For parts, we were the better team even. It's just those "20 minute periods" when we are f#cking awful! Plus we appear to have no other idea how to score a try than a high punt from Mortimer (which failed dismally this afternoon). Our defense down both wings is also abysmal (however that's been well documented here and not worth going over tired old ground again.)
Can McGuire play at 7? Hayne at 6? Dare I say it – Smith & Horo in the centres? Loko & Ualisele on the wings? Burt at the back? (Sorry, but Reddy offers absolutely NOTHING.)
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