There was some really good things today from a number of players and there was some really ugly things that BA would have been very disappointed with.
THE GOOD:
- Our big middle forwards were very good in defence against a massive Canberra starting pack.
- Our left edge defence did not let any tries in against arguably the best attacking right edge team in the NRL. Robson (playing left half this week) slid sideways very well with Jennings and Semi. Jennings had complete trust in Robson and didn't panic and jam in, which in turn would have caused an overlap. We shouldn't down play the work Robson, Jennings and Semi did in defence today as Canberra have been red hot all year down their right side in attack.
- Robson's one on one defence on our try line was excellent, near perfect. Old school tackling and just drove nice and hard into the inside hip of the Canberra forwards, time and time again he put his body on the line. I'd give him another contract with today's defensive effort. Robson's one on one defence would transfer nicely to playing in the middle next year and he could be a very safe, good., budget starting kicking hooker with IDG or Pritchard off the bench. Having Robson in the 17 gives us a little bit more protection as he can fill in at 7 if Norman goes down and most importantly will give us another kicker.
- I nearly fell off my chair with excitement when Jennings moved from the left to the right centre as I have only been waiting for 5 months for this to occur. I can only hope that Taka returns to the left next week and Jennings stays on the right side.
- I was very surprised how well our forwards played considering Scott and Moeroa was out and I think we out played Canberra in the middle for around 90% of the game. Our forwards set the platform for us to win, but our backs let us down in a big way.
- I thought Gutherson looked dangerous in attack as usual. Gutherson will be a complete waste if he moves to the wing next year when we return to full strength. Other players should be moved to accommodate Clinton and he needs to play 5/8, Centre or fullback. I'd prefer to see Gutherson at fullback, particularly as he will be a better ball playing fullback with his stint at 6 this year.
THE UGLY:
- I'm not to sure where to start. Our right edge defence was exceptionally bad. Six (6) tries scored down our right edge and Lee nearly scored a 5th try in the corner. Toutai's career is over and we won't be seeing him in the team next year (well I can only hope). If he has already signed a top 25 contract for next year, BA please, please tell him to go to Super League, as he is not NRL quality and has not improved in defence or ball handling over the past 3 years. Additionally, he is too slow at centre or wing. For the fans that think he is a better centre then wing that is just wrong as he is crap at both.
- Our ball handling/completion rate was terrible, with 20 completed sets from 32. If we completed around 80% we would have won.
- Unfortunately, my new favourite player in French was rocks and diamonds. Actually he was rocks, rocks, rocks and a little bit of gold (not quite diamonds). I love this guy but he is far from being ready to play fullback in the NRL and I felt for him today. His passing game was below average when he chimed into the backline with 2 of 4 passes hitting the deck and another pass was very nearly intercepted. AS I have said on a number of occasions this guy's best asset is running the ball, not trying to ball play or set someone else up into a half gap. Put him on the end of a play on the wing and he will score 95% of the time. He looked dangerous backing up in the middle like what Semi has done previously from the wing and he can still do this from the right wing. I was a big shocked that BA had a set plan for Bevan not to do ANY kick returns and forcing Semi to be an ad-hoc fullback in stead. For a coach to prevent his fullback from doing kick returns speaks for itself, he is not ready for the position.
- The 4 big issues Bevan has to be a top line fullback are: Firstly, he needs the physicality, strength and power to do kick returns and be strong at this (he has one tough summer in the gym ahead of him). Secondly, Bevan's positional play in defence can be average at times. Thirdly, Bevan will become a target in the air with kicks as he is very light weight and lacks the physicality to complete hard in the air against bigger players (this will improve as he gets older, but I have little confidence in him in the air at the moment. Fourthly, and most unfortunately Bevan is a Speed Hump in defence and a massive weakness (Sandow all over again). As I have said on a number of occasions fullback is an exceptionally hard position in all facets of the game, especially in defence. As the last line of defence I would suspect an attacking player will score 8 to 9 times out of 10, which is far from NRL level for Bevan. The good news is that we can protect Bevan on the wing until he gets stronger and more confident in himself. Bevan has to get more confidence and put his body on the line and his body in front of an attacking player and drive in hard towards the waste of the player (just like Robson today). I believe playing Jennings at right centre next year will greatly assist Bevan in defence, if Bevan moves back to right wing, as Jennings is the best defensive centre in the game.
Replies
Nice write up mate and I agree!
"I can only hope that Taka returns to the left next week and Jennings stays on the right side."
Jennings only went to the right because Toutai wasn't coping in defence. He prefers the left side and Takairangi prefers the right so you'd think that's where they will stay.
I accept that pou. Taka and Semi are electric, but Jennings and Semi are average. We were bottom 4 in attack when we lost our points and a lot of this was from breaking up the partnership of Semi and Taka. We drastically need to change things up to improve our attack next year and Semi either needs to move to centre inside Jennings or Taka needs to move back across. Taka is a ball playing centre and Jennings is the opposite. I don't care who plays inside Semi as long as they are a ball playing centre. Even when Clinton played left centre inside Semi we looked more dangerous then any game with Jennings and Semi. Both Jennings and Taka are right handed and both prefer to hold the ball in their right hand so both should be confident at right centre.
Toutai doesn't cope with first grade football full stop. He is a hack and the first player we need to move on!
"For a coach to prevent his fullback from doing kick returns speaks for itself, he is not ready for the position."
Radradra took the kick returns because he's the best at it. Anyone else running the ball when Radradra is available is wasting a tackle.
When Gordon played fullback he very rarely passed the ball to Semi for kick returns. We went backwards with French at fullback tonight.
As for your shit about French on the wing, you've got no idea. Wingers are a lot more isolated than fullbacks and have to make a lot more tackles. French only had to attempt one tackle today and he didn't miss. Gordon attempted eight tackles.
French is too small for the wing, and probably already too smart to play there. It would be nice if he was bigger and stronger, and after another pre-season he will be, but fullbacks have a lot more requirements than physical size. French will be a good fullback next year, and there's a good chance Gutherson will partner Norman in the halves. He is already playing on the right hand side.
Currently he is too small for NRL in any position in defence. I have to respectfully disagree with you on the point that Bevan is better suited at fullback in defence. At fullback in defence you are alone and isolated, the last line of defence. At wing if you miss a tackle you have a centre, some forwards and a fullback to back you up. At fullback you don't! I'd prefer Gutherson or Semi for Round 1 next year at fullback for the reasons I have stated above.
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