Can you please elaborate on "use them as interchange players correctly"?
I didn't realise there was a right and wrong way.
OK Stu.
It is a game of 17 on 17. I know we only have 10 interchanges. These must be used sparingly. For example one wouldn't interchange 8 players in half one and leave the team short in half two or near the end of the game.
Not that I am a coach nor do I pretend to say that I know anything about the game as a whole but I seem to see Manly use 16 players on occasion not 17 players. Or they give the 17th player 10 or 15 minutes in a game near the end. Further, I understand that a fresh set of legs can be a boon to a tiring team late in the game. Also there is the guard against an unplanned injury to consider.
Ha$ler used a similar system and used to keep a fresh interchange player for the last 10 minutes or so in Le Strange last decade. I feel that 2V is emulating that system but I think this puts us at a disadvantage late in the game where players are tired and sometimes a defensive lapse can occur ie the last two minutes in the Cowboys game. Further even against the riff there was no chase on the fullback when he kicked the field goal. The players were too tired.
If the other team is using their interchanges better (correctly) and we are not we are at a disadvantage. That is all that I meant.
There is no correct way to use interchanges. I remember even speaking to Bozo many years ago when Cliffy wasn't used against Cronulla when they played a game in WA in the early 90's I think after the game had finished. I said at that time with about 30 minutes to go Cliffy would have cut the sharks open. Fulton shrugged his shoulders (I think he just forgot about Cliffy but wouldn't admit it.) Cliffy wasn't even given a run on the night. So it is a very old problem but I think we need to use our bench better to give us every advantage.
Sorry folks but I just don't see us using our interchange in the best way. Remember, the refs and the NRL won't give Manly any advantages and if anything there appears to be a 'let's give it to Manly' approach by the officials of the league so we need to be just a bit better even to get bye. We don't have a Slater or a Smith that can appear to bend the rules and get away with it. We cannot hold up a tackled player to let a third guy come in around the legs and turn them over on their backs to slow the paly the ball area down. If we try to emulate say Melbourne in doing what they do every tackle we'd be penalised out of the game.
When a bloke cops a week for touching a referee's shirt and other players such as Tapou don't even get sanctioned I think we need to be better just to be as good.
I just think we don't use our bench players to the best of our ability. So Stu I hope this satisfies I think your rather tongue-in-cheek comment about explaining how to use the bench 'correctly.'