in the State of Brookvale

[Crusher_Cleal]

(And I'm not talking about the logistical nightmare of getting into the ground from the northern end). Sorry to go all Shakespeare on you, but despite the Miracle of Brookvale, let's not mask the fact that it was a diabolical first 60 minutes. I don't know if it's the wear and tear of a crazy-long 26 week season, or they're just waiting for the Finals to begin, but the boys didn't look like their heads were on for this one. It feels like this was the week all the off-field dramas finally caught up to us on-field. They didn't strike me as a particular happy or harmonious bunch for most of the match. Thoughts? Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Meanwhile our forwards stocks are so low we may have our NSW Cup pack playing by next week.

 

[HoldenV8]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

Something definitely wasn't right in our heads for the first 60 minutes yesterday. I think we all saw that.

Then all of a sudden in the last 20 we started doing things right. The silly passes almost stopped, balls that had been dropped previously were sticking and we stopped giving away so many silly penalties. We played that last 20 like semi-finals football and it showed. On the other hand Penrith were out on their feet by then and you could tell by their reaction after T-Reds winning try that they were hoping that the officials were going to do what their defence couldn't.....stop us from scoring.

Everyone has their off days or form slumps. Lets just hope the last 20 is the start of a run into form because we are going to need more than what we've shown lately if we're going to win this thing.

 

[The Who]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

If there's something rotten in Brookvale, the smell the other 15 clubs must be getting from breathing our backside fumes must be horrendous!

 

[Crusher_Cleal]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

Look, we are 1st after 25 rounds, and that's an AMAZING effort, don't get me wrong. Very proud of what they've done. I just don't want to see that effort go to waste.

 

[Ralphie]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

I think it's worthwhile watching the game on replay with all of the emotion of live footy taken out of it. If you do that you'll find that we actually played reasonably well but we had no possession at all for the first 15 minutes and then we had a couple of wayward passes.

I'm normally pretty negative about this stuff, but I actually thought we we a significant improvement on the last month in difficult circumstances.

 

[MadMarcus]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

I agree Ralphie. At the game I thought we were gone for the season, regardless of the result. It didn't seem nearly as bad watching the replay on tv.

Granted, that may have been partly because I knew the result in the back of my mind but we actually did well to stay in the game in the first half with such little possession, and if you take those 2 intercept tries out of the equation (freak occurrences, especially from Killer, and highly unlikely to happen again) it is a pretty solid win against a top 4 side.

 

[Eagles2nv]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

I think it's worthwhile watching the game on replay with all of the emotion of live footy taken out of it. If you do that you'll find that we actually played reasonably well but we had no possession at all for the first 15 minutes and then we had a couple of wayward passes.

I'm normally pretty negative about this stuff, but I actually thought we we a significant improvement on the last month in difficult circumstances.

Agreed the lack of possession in the first 15 mins did hurt us.

It feels like we are on auto pilot and that results in a lack of concentration. Once we had our back well and truly behind the wall we click and our execution improved.

i found our execution was our biggest killer.

Hopefully finals footy will make us click again.

 

[silvereagle]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

Hey absolutely agree. Not our most clinical performance but certainly one of the best and gutsiest I have seen in a while. Four penalties in a row in the 1st half slowed us down big time....2 intercept tries to them....one disallowed try to us (that should have been allowed as no-one was impeded)....Ballin off....Buerer off. We still win. Pretty good I think. The other good news is that I think Penrith may well have actually played us into some form in those last 20 minutes. The structure was back.....attack and defence.

Well done boys....come on upwards and onwards!!!

 

[Central Coast Eagle]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

I haven't seen a replay yet, but at the game I felt that when Lui went on at about the 55min mark he straightened our attack. Before that I thought we were running side ways too much.

The outside back also started to dummy and run more that trying to push passes while the Panthers outside backs were rushing up.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

i found our execution was our biggest killer.

True, not many realise this but execution usually leads to death.

 

[Fluffy]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

Killer tried his best with those 2 try assists

 

[Wombat Legacy]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

i found our execution was our biggest killer.

True, not many realise this but execution usually leads to death.

Execution was terrible. If the Panthers weren't so buggered in the last 10, we don't win. Hope we learn from it

 

[EagleFromMay1967]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

I think it's worthwhile watching the game on replay with all of the emotion of live footy taken out of it. If you do that you'll find that we actually played reasonably well but we had no possession at all for the first 15 minutes and then we had a couple of wayward passes.

I'm normally pretty negative about this stuff, but I actually thought we we a significant improvement on the last month in difficult circumstances.

Yes, we played 'reasonably'. Our mistakes were mostly of the 'silly' variety. But jeez, there were plenty of 'em. !

 

[Canteen Worker]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

Hearken back to 2006. Broncos dominated but faded at the end to limp into the semis. However, at semis time they lifted in intensity and won the comp.

There are two comps here - one is the first 26 rounds and the other is what happens in the Semis. Often they are not connected.

A St George insider used to say to me a few years back that their problem was always that they had played too well to make the semis and didn't have gears to go up in the big ones. Don't listen to Fool Gould and his rhetoric about the month before the semis - it is what happens in the next month. I think you will find it is a different Manly who takes the field when it matters.

 

[panash]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

We also gifted them 12 points and were clearly robbed 4/6 points by the refs.

This obviously didn't help our up hill battle , but we climbed it and won. Not many teams can do that when the opposition is also up to its ears in the game.

 

[Wombat Legacy]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

Whole new ball game once the semi's start. But I think there is not much between the top sides. There is going to be some luck involved, and hopefully we are up for it all.

 

[KOMORI]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

One thing I noticed was in the last 15 or so minutes the pink idiots put their whistles away and let both teams play football.

It turned into a game of football, NOT a penalty fest. All of the sudden the better FOOTBALL team shone out: not the team that was getting leg up penalties that were ridden to points.

I'm referring to both teams there too: both us and the Panthers benefitted from the refereeing decisions: when they stopped helping either team the game flowed and the class shone through...

 

[EagleFromMay1967]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

One thing I noticed was in the last 15 or so minutes the pink idiots put their whistles away and let both teams play football.

It turned into a game of football, NOT a penalty fest. All of the sudden the better FOOTBALL team shone out: not the team that was getting leg up penalties that were ridden to points.

I'm referring to both teams there too: both us and the Panthers benefitted from the refereeing decisions: when they stopped helping either team the game flowed and the class shone through...

Manly won the penalty count by a considerable margin. And mostly threw away these chances with silly, impatient, exciteable panicking. Their defence was great and moving up super quick. We should have been toeing it into the in goal, when we couldn't get through, to get repeat sets. In short, our attack was undisciplined, stupid.

We are going to have to "re invent ourselves" just to beat the Cowgirls, let alone a Semi final. Some here say, we are going to 'become a different team' in the semis. I say, well no, we are just going to have to become a 'different forward pack'.

Lack of real go forward, lack of size, lack of passing, slight of hand. Very plain. It cause of our backs that we won yesterday. JT, Skivvy, Peta were playing like forwards.

Foz and Snake got the points.

 

[KOMORI]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

Penalty count was 10-9 in our favour... Hardly a considerable amount..

---

I'd have to re-watch the game and consider the penalty count in a different manner however: the amount of penalties conceded versus the impact of each penalty... Ie, a penalty late in the count when e team is fighting out of it's own half versus a penalty on tackle 1 or 2 when inside the 20. Obviously the prior is a much bigger "penalty" to concede than the latter, in fact some teams deliberately concede penalties when defending their own line so as to reset their defensive line and get a short breather..

 

[The Indian]

RE: Something's Rotten in the State of Brookvale

I thought we were way to sideways for the majority of the match - massive DCE fan but sometimes in games where are forwards are struggling he compounds it with more sideways stuff. Accepting that its difficult for the backs when our forwards are having no impact.

Our forwards are cuddling and wrestling more than hurting opponents - look at what Docker did to Matt Ballin in contrast - we desperately need to get some mongrel in the forward pack. Teams are popping offloads and standing in tackles without fear of getting hurt. I don't think opposition packs fear us at all. They are adequate but we need more than that to win it.

If we just get a bit more fire in the forwards, put a bit of fear into the opponents - there is still so much good about this side we can still make a splash.

Hopefully that rousing finish provides an enthusiasm injection.