I think it is fine to admit that it is ok to have a couple more ok performances during the year as long as it leads to a performance like that late in the year. We win big games but fear this could be our GF, regroup might be spot on v Roosters or flat, long turn around might help may have Russell and maybe Niukore back. This is the standard, now we know what we can do doesn't mean we have to be spot on every week, as long as it is enough to secure top 4 and time our run for semis.
Though what is the bet the media mention that Ivan was not there and that disrupted them, 21 in a row ended has to be a reason other than not good enough it is not possible.
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I believe we can improve on that performance. Spreading the ball then knocking on when we were 8 up was not good game management. That is when Moses needs to take control, keep them there and roll it into the in goal. We tend to give opertunities when we should work on closing the game out. To knock it on and then let penrith go down field and score in one set of six is crazy.
The fact late in the second had a chance to go for two and be up by ten and waste the clock but we decided to roll on showed maturity, Parramatta always favoured 2 in those spots
Nope going for two was the right decision, i think we got that wrong. It would also have prevented clearys last ditch attempt at the two point field goal to square it up.
Off memory the team we have the worst record against - since 2019 that is our best run in yonks (since the Smith era) - is the Roosters. They have the wood on us. Let's see what happens.
Exactly, Coryn. Spot on. That was it for me too. We didn't break, despite the onslaught.
The Panthers were high-octane; hungry, young lions with a few bulldozers thrown in.
If we can play with that kind of mental toughness regularly, the sky is the limit. The problem is, we haven't been. We're off, on ...
Yeah, I'm starting to think that we will never be as coldly efficient as either Melbourne or Penrith, nor as consistant on a week to week basis, but maybe that's OK, maybe we're not built that way. I mean obviously a certain degree of consistency is imperative, (and we are still 6/3 even with all our injuries), but maybe we are built to be big game hunters. We're built for the big opponents, and the big occasions.
Our recent record against Melbourne & Penrith would suggest so. I actually think it is part of our clubs identity, going back to the Brian Smith era when he always had us up for the Broncos.
Maybe that's just who we are, and maybe that's OK.
The best teams learn to play well enough to beat their opposition, but not our of their skin to the point where it's unsustainable for the whole season.
Bennett is a master at coaching the "lift at the right time" mentality.
We have got the big occassion games down pat these last few years, what we lack is knowing how to play a 6 or 7 out of 10 team and still win. We were never going to be as "up" for the Tigers or Cowboys games as this game, but we had the talent and skill to win both if we'd lifted to the right level.
It's a maturity thing, and I think we'll get better at it as the season rolls on. The Melbourne and Penrith games show we have the talent to win the title, now it's just learning how to win week to week and lift to the right level. Melbourne are brilliant at that. They smash the easy beats, they lift for the top teams, and they can do just enough for the middle tier teams most of the time.
I reckon we'll get there, even with our roster changes after this year.
Brett, you're a smart man. It's not some magical curse that makes us switch on one week and switch off the next. What does your analysis tell you is the reason if you were to look at the issue through the anylitical eyes ?
You can't just roll the dice and hope we turn up on the weeks that we play a good team. What happens when we play the Cowboys or Sharks in week one of the semis and domt get a change to play Melbourne or Penrith in the GF ?
Im pretty sure it's not BAs intensity that drops on the weeks we lose to the fucking tigers ffs as I'm pretty sure he'd make Mrs Athur sit through a video session after making love and break down where she went wrong and still have that creased scowl he gets on his forehead whilst doing so , so where's this mental issue stemming from ?
I agree, you can't pick and choose when you want to compete, but I think we're the kind of team that recent form is not something to concern ourselves with when it comes to the big games. We saw last year against Melbourne, no one gave us a chance, and based on our form coming into the game rightly so, but this team doesn't seem to care. They don't seem bothered if they are going a rough patch, they now know how to get out of it, and it seems to be that the big game against the big opponent is what triggers that turn around.
It's not perfect, or even ideal I'll admit, but it's who we are.
Leaders and Captaincy. If our Leaders remain calm and demand the team play to the game plan. The result a nice win against the premiers. If our Leaders and Captain get fazed, become rushed, overplay their hand, get too excited and go away from the game plan and not demand they get back to it you see the losses. ie Tigers and Cows.
Leadership is all that stands between our Eels turning up and our Eels not turning up. It really is that simple. The great teams have cool calm intelligent leaders that can demand the team play to the plan, futher if they begin to stray the great leaders can get a team back into the plan.
Our team has a number of leaders across the Park. Gutho/Moses then Paulo and N Brown with Mahoney. The rest can follow these boys.
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