I haven’t watched a Parramatta match from up high for a very, long time. Probably, not since the 2009 semi-final against the dogs. I prefer being closer to the action and down in the terraces, but yesterday Pete Serrao invited me to the Newy game to watch the game from one of the corporate suites.
There was one thing that struck me watching the game from that angle, and that was the fact that basically where Jarryd Hayne went, the attack went the same way.
Now I don’t know if Jarryd played almost exclusively on the right because of his injury, but whatever the reason for that was, the right was not the place for us to attack. Far and away, we’ve had most of our attacking success down the left flank in recent matches, and the chances of anything happening down the right side, given that Daniel Harrison was our right centre, was minimal to none. I would have thought it pretty obvious that Sio and Semi were going to be more of an attacking threat than Harrison and Toutai - however, with Hayne playing mostly down the right - especially in the first half, we just kept going back that way. At one stage, there was a decent overlap on the left, but once again Keating went to Hayne down a short-side play and nothing came of it.
This is not a criticism of Jarryd, or necessarily, even of that tactic (obviously he’s the man most likely to create for us) but it’s been the one consistent aspect of our performances over the last three years - that, in my view, Hayne’s dominance in our side throws our whole attacking balance out of the window.
We’re going to go into next year, again, without a clear understanding of who our halves are going to be. Norman is apparently locked into six, but will we have Kelly or will we go Sandow? And given that we have that situation, how can we expect any half to really grab this team by the scruff of the neck and take control, as has been so desperately needed. Sandow isn’t a bossy dummy half and Kelly seems to let others he might perceive as being more senior, dominate him.
For all that Rugby League has changed over the years, I still believe that unless you have halves who give you the necessary direction then you will struggle. I think you only have to look at the top teams and who their halves are, to see that it remains the differentiating factor. My biggest concern is that we again go into an off-season, with no definitive plan around our halves and that consequently we see the lack of leadership and direction we’ve been subjected to over the past three years.
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You struck me as a Spice Girl guy Wiz :)
so you went to the new kids on the block and take that concert last year, and now your yearning for one direction, anything else you want to share with us Phil?
Are you batting for the opposition ? dont worry, you wont be judged here..
No, not here. But in Chat is a whole different story lol
See that's the mark of a good blogger. Even if people think you're blog is shit, you throw up a headline people can shit stir about and. BAM. Comments galore.
So finally ive taught you something..
They will be our seen as our Bros.
It wont take time and they will be NSynch - trust me.
Winning will become Human Nature next year lads.
It will be All-4-One, together playing as a unit.
Then finally the team will transfer from BoyzIIMen.
Clever!
This years team was like the Spice Girls
Fully agree 1eyed. if we start 2014 with either Sandow or Kelly as our half.
Regardless of the reasons & the subsequent actions taken, Sandow is a risky proposition. If he has overcome his personal demons, he is still what he is, a unique player with impulsive & intuitive flair saddled with a poor defensive technique. He is not an organising or thinking half. He is not a general & he does not control either the tempo or direction of the team's game. If he has not overcome his problems then he is not even an option.
Kelly has shown this season that his game is at best very average even when our pack has given him a little space to work in, which I admit has not been very often. There have been several games where he has been very poor, his kicking & passing game has been erratic, & he has failed to step up to the plate. IMO his game is not good enough to rely on as our default half to shadow Sandow.
Imagine Kelly as the starting half for most of 2014. IMO not a tenable situation for trying to rebuild a shattered & dysfunctional team into a competitive force. Probably a delusional fantasy would be a more apt prescriptive.
In summary, a lousy starting situation to contemplate the 2014 team halfback, one of the team's most important positions will be in a state of uncertainty &/or fragility.
Thanks for the opportunity Michael....Norman 7, Hayne 6, Hoppa 1.
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