Lets Talk Footy!

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zak_wolf

Rookie
Out of the last 10 or so threads posted at least 9 of them have been about signings, contracts and anything else that has nothing to actually do with the footy on the park.

I for one am still very confident the 2012 Back to Back campaign is on track. I see us peaking in the lead up to finals but have noticed a few little things that have worried me in the first 4 games:

- Our go forward is seriously lacking too much in games Choc is the only guy who seems to enjoy being a forward. I am surprised Kite can still walk given the number of tackles he takes to the back and King spends half the game pretending he is a halfback. Too much is left to Foran, DCE and Lyon to "create" out of nothing which is leading to handling errors and loss of offensive momentum.

- Opposition are figuring out our attack. The dummy inside to cut out pass and the second man stuff feels like it is becoming predictable for decent opposition. The Saint had us covered all night and other then the one try we had so many good attacking plays come to nothing.

- Snake seems off the pace - Not sure if his mind is on contracts or if he is carrying an injury but it doesn't feel as though he is injecting himself as much this year. I know the pass from Oldfield against the Sharks wasn't great but he would normally swallow it and the one hander against the Dragons would normally hit the inside man on the chest.

- Need to clean up last tackle options and really stick the tackle on the chase. Against the Saints and Warriors Foran has put a great kick into the in goal only to have chasers overrun the fullback and get seriously burnt resulting in a long return and a penalty.

Causes?

- Really miss Matai from dummy half. With out a decent back up hooker to give Ballin a breather the pressure has really been on Wolfman to help out the forwards. I love Matty B but he is not an 80min run from dummy half type.

- When Stewart (G) returns he will take up the mantle of ball playing forward and King and Kite might remember they are Props

- Re Snake i am not sure. I would not mind seeing him push up into a centre position on some attacking raids to get it in him hands a little more and take some of the playmaking pressure of the halves.

So let's talk footy!
 
I think you're looking for LU mate. You guys won't believe me i'm sure, but i was so close to saying zac_wolf for the new names thread yesterday. Dammit!
 
hey Zack, How are you mate?

This is the man that introduced me to my wife by the way :)

I don't think we should be too worried, a whole lot of our game plans are structured around 3 players

Gifty, Matai and TRex, with all of them missing it is no wonder we look a little blunt and lost.
 
Like everyone else I am tired of reading who is and isnt going, just wish it would all get over and done with so we can get on with the season.

Talking footy, I remember after the Storm were knocked out of the finals last year seeing a shattered Bellyache sitting in the corner of the dressing room. I think that alone would have inspired him to not be in that position again.

Whilst I know how most feel about the Storm the reality is that they are going to be hard to beat this season and we are no where near being able to match them on the paddock at the moment, time will tell as we get all our players back.

As for comments about Snake being off the pace, I tend to agree, however he has done some great things in the opening rounds and that I hope is an early indidcation that he will be back to his brilliant best as the year goes on.

Origin time again and as a blues supporter, I can only see another Queenland victory.

NSW have stars but Qld has superstars, thats the difference and until this current batch of Toads has moved on, I cant see much changing.
 
Storms forward pack will not match Manly's at full strength. They havent been able to handle our forwards since 2007 and they wont this year either. Our biggest danger is injury and suspension. Overcome these and we will handle any other team.
 
The storm will be found out at the end of the year. Same situation this year. With no go forward the big 3 won't be as effective.
 
Any footy?

1) Hindmarsh is retiring at the end of this year. Ledgend.
2) Titans - seems their assets have been frozen by the banks. Gone or lifeline?
3)rolling pin tackle, again from storm players, dog act says geyer & johns

4) I hope manly get back to their winning ways this weekend. Nice to get the full team back, we've had a rough month or two ladles and gentlespoons.

If matai provided good dummy half support, just tell who's replacing him to do the same. Can't be that hard surely??

edit: Well done zak_w for the Daniel set up. Noice!
 
Why would they need a spark? They've been around about as long as Joe. Kite and King passing the ball, not good. I can see it, everyone else can, soooo why do they do it?
 
I liked the idea that MG came up on NRL on Fox last night - in making around the leg tackles all dominant tackles. That way the Defendor has time to mark up the Ball Player at leisure.

Then we could get rid of the huddle that is an energy waster for forwards and super boring to watch for Fans. Resurrect the memories of Igor and Beaver with those skillfull scything tackles :)

It would be interesting to get an insight into what RL techniques the Boys do at training.
We know about the exotic wrestle crap, but do the forwards actually practice off loading the ball when tackled, chip kicks by the halves etc.

No Team seems to have these skills anymore. Big Artie must be spinning in his grave.
 
Wolfman and Whare just look very slow out of dummy half. Seem to take about 4 steps to get around the ruck before going forwards.

Havn't seen Snake getting out of dummy half much and could be great way for him to get a bit more involved. Remember a couple of years back the old sneak over from dummy half for a try was his speciality.

Some guys just have the ability to get the ball off the deck and get themselves going forward faster and Matai is one of those. Actually harder to replace then i would consider it being.

On Hindmarsh I think he has copped a bit unfairly this (and last) year. In a team missing more tackles then they make he is the only one who appears solid in defence. Sure he doesn't rip off the destructive runs and offloads he used to but Parra need any ounce of leadership they can get and he busts a but got that sorry club every week.

As for setting Dan up I remember not having much of a say in the matter ;-)
 
I think our problem is our go forward.

We look lethargic and flat footed too much. We don't bend the defensive line and we always seem to go sideways. I'd like to see more bodies in motion off the ruck.

Also our line speed just isn't there, opposition teams are making easy metres our over the park.

I understand we have some key injuries, but a sign of a great team is the depth as well.

I hope we really aim up against Parramatta because it will down right embarassing to lose to them.
 
No, they are top-rated, and nearly everyone they have played has been made to look like nobodies.

They weren't the most fancied before the season started, but they have been the form team.
 
On Snake it is my opinion that he is thinking don't get injured before signing another contract. If he was (god forgive) injured before signing he knows the ass will fall out of his value like a 90's IT stock. He is trying to sign a contract on his well deserved reputation.
Kite is playing better now then this time last year, King Will get back to his best im sure he is on the way, but I think we are missing Joe G, he always runs hard and tackles low. Even big George used to make an impact of the bench. I think that Forans performances are abit under his best, again is he worried about getting injured before signing a multimillion dollar deal that could set him up for life? Maybe the best thing for Manly would be Foran and Snake to get injured and sit out two weeks, then we could afford snake at his reduced price and foran would come back hungry and play off a forward pack that was going forward.
 
Haha, good point. T Rex's bargaining power must have taken a hit with his long suspension. A few more injuries and losses and, who knows, we may end up being able to keep everyone.
 
The Storm hasn't played a top 8 team from last year yet, they have looked impressive but you've got to remember who they've played, will be tested by Knights this week but would've been more interesting in Newcastle
 
I read somewhere that the new IC has stamped out the state of origin fuss about where to play (ala inglis being a nswelshman but playing for qld.)

But the article only talks about signing a form.

Anyone got more info on this? Do they sign a form at the start of their career where they want to play or is it the state you're born in or or or? (not gavin orr)
 
Qld won the tug of war for Taumalolo. Have you seen this guy? He's huge and has great energy for a bloke his size. Very quick off the mark. He adds heaps to the Cowboys pack and will bolster the Toads no end. I think they wanted him to counter T-Rex.
 

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