Defensive line speed

[sheridanstand78]

After watching tonights debacle, I have come to the conclusion that our problem all season is we are down so much on line speed when defending. Watching tonight it seemed their players had so much time with the ball and all of our time with the ball seemed so rushed, we were getting squashed so fast.

The hallmark of our success was outstanding scrambling defence and that has dropped away, when you see Gifty defending as he is for the vermin it emphasises the big hole his departure has left.

 

[Gib the Pom]

Agreed. But we don't have the time to get back to our line, get set and get up at them because they win the contact and offload/play the ball too quick. We get caught at sixes and sevens and just don't have the defensive structure to cope.

 

[eadie fan]

I agree with this thread. Being at the game, it was really obvious that the Cowboys had so much time with the ball and were never pressured. All year. our defensive line takes a few steps forward and then holds, waiting for the attacking team to reach them. This gives the other team plenty of easy yards and for a good team like the Cowboys, heaps of momentum and they just steamroll us (especially with quick play the balls).

The Cowboys line speed was great and the difference was that they kept coming and were hitting us as the first receiver was getting the ball, often before we got to the advantage line.

I suppose a lot of defence comes from enthusiasm and that has been lacking all year.

 

[HoldenV8]

I agree with this thread. Being at the game, it was really obvious that the Cowboys had so much time with the ball and were never pressured. All year. our defensive line takes a few steps forward and then holds, waiting for the attacking team to reach them. This gives the other team plenty of easy yards and for a good team like the Cowboys, heaps of momentum and they just steamroll us (especially with quick play the balls). .

100% agree with this. So many times we let the opposition get over the advantage line way too easily. But if you watch opposition defences, and the Cowgirls were a prime example tonight, their line meets the ball carrier while moving forward.

 

[NewwyEagle]

This has been our biggest problem imo. I hate seeing our line let the opposition run to us, we consistently concede sixty odd metres every set.

 

[torana355]

We are poor in many areas. We need a full overhaul.

 

[Go manly]

I am not an expert but the kicks said it all
Every kick from the Cowboys had players charging through to apply pressure

They had energy and committed to

 

[Go manly]

I am not an expert but the kicks said it all
Every kick from the Cowboys had players charging through to apply pressure

They had energy and committed to

I think we had only two kicks whete we got to the player catching before he ran 10 metres

Seemed very lazy ,poorly executed without energy or enthusiasm

Summed up our night for me and not sure why with so much to play for
So so disappointed because I really thought we would do them tonight at home and have an exciting month ahead

 

[Mals]

Yep agreed. We paid way too much respect to Thurston & Morgan. We should have been sitting them on their arse anytime they were near the ball. Instead we ball watched and couldn't even slide in defence effectively meaning we were always short in numbers on the flanks.

 

[Shoe1]

Dropping the ball early in many sets of 6 didn't help at all. The line speed slowed as the defenders tired. I'm surprised they kept it down to just 30, with the amount of ball the Cowboys had in the 2nd half, in good field position, the score should have been uglier.

 

[Fluffy]

Ref had us back 15m a lot of the time, was getting ridiculous

 

[bob dylan]

The loss of Gift and Choc can not be under estimated.

 

[The Who]

Our forwards lack the punch to get the team on a roll. Leaving out Jake Turbo and T-Red, who both try their hearts out, the rest are either over-the-hill or simply just ordinary first graders.
To me one 'run' by Hiku summed up our night. He 'sprinted' across field to such an extent that I thought he was heading for an early shower . . . or into the arms of Willow because NSW Cup is where he should be selected.
I doubt 2V has the courage to drop him though.

 

[sheridanstand78]

We concede far too many metres and we dont have backrowers who intimidate in defence like we once had. I think the club has to work on its ruck defence, we have to also do faster play the balls too as we need to get out of end quicker, last night we were kicking on the last from our 40 when we didnt drop the ball, Thurston had all year to kick and that was beccause of their strong go forward.

 

[BOZO]

The loss of Gift and Choc can not be under estimated.

At their peak Gift and Choc where phenomenal . We replaced rep forwards like Kite KIng Galuvao Gift and Choc with NSW & QLD cup and rejects from other clubs and the result is for all to see

 

[torana355]

At their peak Gift and Choc where phenomenal . We replaced rep forwards like Kite KIng Galuvao Gift and Choc with NSW & QLD cup and rejects from other clubs and the result is for all to see

Pretty much sums it up. We should be better next year with some better forwards coming but we really need someone like Sam Moa swell. We need forwards that can make 150m plus a game.

 

[Fluffy]

The loss of Gift and Choc can not be under estimated.

Thier 50m per match are not missed, we have Hasson who offers the same go forward as those 2 have this year

 

[jbb/james]

Im my opinion the line speed is just a result of other issues.

The most worrying thing for me is our lack of respect for posession. Every time we get near the line, we put on the play and we have to score at all costs and are quite prepared to blow it. gone are the days of building pressure through line drop outs and sensible play. Its all or nothing and most often results in nothing. Manly have the skill to blow games apart once they have earned the right to. Where we hand the opposition the ball is not in our control.

Kick returns. Now im not talking about player 1 , but rarely does the team make much ground on the first 3 tackles. This clearly inhibits our ability to attack and provide kick pressure other than the bomb. Im not sure if this is due to fatigue, laziness but we need to have a plan of getting out of our territoy and it seems to be left to individual plays.

We play dumb , reckless footy. We do not pay enough attention to the basics, posession and field position. With this confidence, points and line speed will come

For too long we have been able to get away with this due to a super footy team. Now we pay the price and need to learn again how to compete with the better teams. And it wont happen with airy fairy touch footy that lacks brains

 

[Utility Player]

Even at kickoffs the opposition player usually makes it back to the 20 while ours usually struggle to get to the 10.

Our runners get the ball 5m behind the play the ball while the other teams get flat passes from dummy half.

 

[sheridanstand78]

Im my opinion the line speed is just a result of other issues.

The most worrying thing for me is our lack of respect for posession. Every time we get near the line, we put on the play and we have to score at all costs and are quite prepared to blow it. gone are the days of building pressure through line drop outs and sensible play. Its all or nothing and most often results in nothing. Manly have the skill to blow games apart once they have earned the right to. Where we hand the opposition the ball is not in our control.

Kick returns. Now im not talking about player 1 , but rarely does the team make much ground on the first 3 tackles. This clearly inhibits our ability to attack and provide kick pressure other than the bomb. Im not sure if this is due to fatigue, laziness but we need to have a plan of getting out of our territoy and it seems to be left to individual plays.

We play dumb , reckless footy. We do not pay enough attention to the basics, posession and field position. With this confidence, points and line speed will come

For too long we have been able to get away with this due to a super footy team. Now we pay the price and need to learn again how to compete with the better teams. And it wont happen with airy fairy touch footy that lacks brains

This years team does not seem to have the patience of previous years. we have not seem many line drop outs this year and thats where your halves need to get that done and we have really failed there this year.