Defence structure, still an issue. Gaining yards....an issue

[Funkstar]

I have been reviewing the game against Melbourne and I can still see some defence flaws that are still an issue. Mateo defending next to Matai was caught out numerous times, especially in the last 15-20 minutes of the game. Bill Slater exploited his slowness, eagerness in defence. Watch the replay and you will see... Mateo missed him on 2 occasions which led to clear breaks. Unsure why Horo is out of favour at the moment, his defence was good early on. Mateo is an impact player and should be only used for 40-60 minutes unless he builds his capacity to get in the grind, defend and not just be a ball player. I see Glenn Stewart being missed more than Watmough at the moment.

With the forwards not gaining yards. It seems our play the balls are too slow at the moment. The quicker the speed of the play the ball, the less time the defence has time to push up in numbers. Watmough was at least good at that. We are missing speed within our backrow/forwards. the likes of a Menzies, Kosef, Watmough, Kennedy, .. An issue in both defence and offence.

I guess its only the second round but needs to be looked at.

 

[TagMonster]

We had the same issues at the start of the last couple of seasons. We start slow and come on strong as the season progresses. I hope that continues.

 

[Shoe1]

Agree with those observations. I put the mateo / matai situation down to it being their first outing together, and I noticed Matai was slow to adjust when sliding, and got stepped easily for one try conceded. It was his first game of the year after an operation (didn't play any trials), so hopefully the cobwebs are out now.

The problems in the 2nd half were made worse by not being able to maintain possession professionally. DCE kicking out on the full after a penalty really set Manly back (thankfully his first half burst set us up with a good lead). Melbourne were much better at getting repeat sets - even grubbering it hard into brett at close range forcing a knock-on at one point.

Manly's kicking on the 4th and 5th vs parra was appalling - grubbers not getting into the in goal, straight to opposition players etc. It was a little better against Melbourne, but we still gave up some easy 20 metre taps (mateo's chip into the in goal at the end of a rare good 2nd half set springs to mind).

Our kick chase wasn't flash - maybe the one area we really missed Foran - he usually leads them.

The senior guys need to work harder at getting us into a position where 50:50 possession (at least) is a reality in the 2nd half of games. Otherwise we will keep conceding 2nd half points at unacceptable levels.

 

[Freagle]

Yep, I agree - most of Melbourne's breaks in the second half were coming through Mateo. The last one at least he was first line of defence after kick-chase, but he got stepped way too easily. I agree, he should be a 50-minute player, and get Horo on there for the rest of the time. At least Tom Symonds really stood up in this game, speaking of second rowers. First time he has really looked like an 80-minute payer, for mine.

 

[mosto]

I agree with both points. While Mateo had a good game, mainly in attack, he's not a long term option at 5/8. As you suggest maybe 60 min on the edge of the ruck, causing havoc with his ball playing.

We are being dominated around the ruck, not so much that our play the balls are slow, rather I think we're not doing enough to slow the opposition. Perhaps players have been directed to get up quickly to avoid penalties with the supposed crackdown at the ruck. I'm yet to see much of this crackdown in any game, so think we should 'push the boundaries' a little in that area. If we start to get penalized we can always ease back a bit.

 

[sheridanstand78]

Its true that we got caught short on our left edge defense. Playing up and in can be a problem if there is a lack of mobility on the inside defender's.

Our go forward was better last week and its needed to give dce a platform for kicking. We need a consistent alternative kicker too.

 

[The Who]

I just think it was a game of two halves.