Technical Coach
Bencher
Look we all know we are lacking depth in the forwards and yes Fa'aoso will help but it is going to take more than one forward and require a mix of forwards to even help us match the class above teams.
At the start of the season with fresh minds and optimism our speed, intensity and directness was above the pack. If you could sustain that level for 26 rounds you are a good chance of winning or competing for top honours.
Problem is once injuries, fatigue and the slower grind of mid season kicks in the lack of class, spark, sharpness, size/strength and footwork of our forwards is applying more pressure on our attack that has been an issue for years.
I was knocked for having the opinion our attack is structurally flawed for years even when we lead the attack or in the top 3. The standard of the competitions defences was really poor--- Manly, Melb along with St George were the only teams capable of maintaining a tight defensive structure for several seasons.
Physically we dominated most teams which helped hide our issues with our attack through winning the grind, these days we merely compete in the forwards and the limitations of our attack are becoming obvious to the average observer 4yrs on.
At the time of the "two big re-signings " i stated we should have kept only one(my preference being Foran) even Melb had the guts to release Orford and Whiddop thinking ahead for the future.
The limitations of DCE and G.Stewart are showing up more and more as our forward pack depth and impact reduces. Yes more depth and spark will help these players flourish but they have always lacked spark,penetration on top of technical flaws with the lines they run and the way they execute under pressure.
We do have some major decision making to be made this year and even bigger for the following years but you can never give up hope.
The fun challenge and what i enjoy watching in some ways more than the actual game itself is the thought processes and ideas to work through these issues and come out the other end be it through changing things up in the short term and having the guts to let players go in the long term.
At the start of the season with fresh minds and optimism our speed, intensity and directness was above the pack. If you could sustain that level for 26 rounds you are a good chance of winning or competing for top honours.
Problem is once injuries, fatigue and the slower grind of mid season kicks in the lack of class, spark, sharpness, size/strength and footwork of our forwards is applying more pressure on our attack that has been an issue for years.
I was knocked for having the opinion our attack is structurally flawed for years even when we lead the attack or in the top 3. The standard of the competitions defences was really poor--- Manly, Melb along with St George were the only teams capable of maintaining a tight defensive structure for several seasons.
Physically we dominated most teams which helped hide our issues with our attack through winning the grind, these days we merely compete in the forwards and the limitations of our attack are becoming obvious to the average observer 4yrs on.
At the time of the "two big re-signings " i stated we should have kept only one(my preference being Foran) even Melb had the guts to release Orford and Whiddop thinking ahead for the future.
The limitations of DCE and G.Stewart are showing up more and more as our forward pack depth and impact reduces. Yes more depth and spark will help these players flourish but they have always lacked spark,penetration on top of technical flaws with the lines they run and the way they execute under pressure.
We do have some major decision making to be made this year and even bigger for the following years but you can never give up hope.
The fun challenge and what i enjoy watching in some ways more than the actual game itself is the thought processes and ideas to work through these issues and come out the other end be it through changing things up in the short term and having the guts to let players go in the long term.