My take on tonights game

[The Eagle]

Kick off occurs,Brett makes a very uncharacteristic blunder from it and i think we are in for a really long night,the next few minutes do nothing to reassure me of that besides some solid goal line defense,this keeps going until our 1st try,the saving grace until that try was canberra never really looked to trouble us

Forans kick was absolute gold but Robbo made it that way,it was high but thanks to ineffective winger play by Canberra's moron Manly register points,i cringe as i see DCE set up the tee,missed as i was expecting him to (sorry,he isnt a goal kicker)

More of the start of the game follows,mistakes keeping us backs against the line until someone thinks its a good idea to make a break on the outside and the arm wrestle ensues,i scream at DCE for not passing to Brett and the ref butchers a try for Robbo's double,that was not forward however Canberra think it would be nice for us to score next and we do due to an inside ball to Brett who trips over the try line,i held my breath and only cheered when he got up fine

About 30 minutes in i see the ominous manly look and im sure im not the only one,Every player we had running the ball in a 3 man tackle was pushing for every millimeter and this does not end until the hooter,they were tackled but normally made 2 or 3 more meters than they should have

The Raiders on the other hand while in 3 man tackles were going backwards,i seen the manly side there that will have the youngest halves combination to win the comp since Sterlo? Anyway 2011 is looking good just from that

I also notice something else,besides Foran who loves putting on a shot all kick chasers were in THAT straight line,you remember the one from 2008?

The game continues in this fashion,dropped balls gift canberra a lower score against than they deserved but a quick backline jaunt sees Brett go over for his second and eventually third,personally he was gifted by his backline tonight,they put him across the line all he did was finish them
well,was very happy to see him straighten up the kick,something Oldfield thinks is below him

Towards the end of the game Foran hits the sheds (so to speak) and the team starts looking a tad lost in attack but the defense is still very solid

Getting to know Daly Cherry-Evans is a treat,with seconds left on the clock i knew Snake would have a kick coming his way,with more polish that kick hits Hoppa (Brett wont stay on the wing) and an easy try ensues

Im seeing alot of the signs of a true premiership side here

The torrid defense,the solid attack with a good chance to make a huge late game burst QLD style,That said our goal kicking needs ALOT of work.....hopefully Lyon is just carrying a minor injury and will overtake the duties soon

Ratings

6 B Stewart-Made a few mistakes and was gifted 3 tries for his support
8 Robertson-Good defense,good attack and a great catch for a try
6 Lyon-Clearly not at his best,but he did make metres and passed well
7 Matai-Great effort from this bloke,no mistakes but wasnt over involved
6.5 Hopoate-Another solid performance by the young bloke
8.5 Foran-Another brilliant game that he unfortunately had to leave
5.5 DCE-A few bad options here and there but is still building up
6 Rose-Great performance for a bloke who never starts
6.5 Ballin-Was solid but rarely sighted other than passing and tackling
4 Kite-Was rarely sighted,solid defense though,I think he should leave
8 Watmough-Another good choc performance,made his averages
6 Bhurer- Another little bloke,still building but looking the goods
7 G Stewart-Again getting back to his best,dont think he missed a beat

4 T Williams-Limited minutes,one mistake in attack
3 Mauro-Very limited minutes,might as well have sat at the leagues club
5 Robinson-Ran hard,tackled well and made his presence known
7 Gulavao-Ran hard,tackled harder and made alot of impact

 

[susan]

Kite was better than that tonight IMO.

 

[ManlyBacker]

I liked everything up until the last paragraph and your point scoring. Best effort from Lyon this year and was simply outstanding. I agree, Mauro is a sad man on the bench and why bother. I would also rate Kite and Ballin much higher than you did. All round a supurb team effort and the scoreline flattered the Faders.

 

[Chip and Chase]

How did Watmough outrate Gift and Killer ?

I must have been watching a different game.

 

[Matabele]

How did Watmough outrate Gift and Killer ?

I must have been watching a different game.

Shane has a Watmough fetish.

 

[bob dylan]

I thought Kite and Ballin were very good.

Rose was excellent.

Robbo is class.

Hopoate and Foran are the future.

Watmough aggressive and very involved.

No bad performers tonight.

Dont get too excited the Raiders were away from home with their best 4 players missing, count them Campese, Dugan, Shillington and Leroyd-Lars.

We need a repeat against the Titans.

 

[Rusty]

How anyone was given a rating of below 7 in a 20-0 drubbing in these conditions is beyond me. What more could they have done?

 

[The Eagle]

Killer wasnt the Killer of 2010,he still seems to be struggling a tad

Gift had to change positions and we lost a bit of direction during this changeover

Choc played hard and made his trademark fumble with seconds left on the clock,he seems to make more metres per run than anyone in the NRL bar Gallen,i sense more danger signs when he is holding the ball for the defense

Ratings are pure opinion of one fan

Mightysmell you need to get over that bloke,he hasnt posted since the old site,you need to let go i dont think he is coming back

 

[Masked Eagle]

I think you got a few players wrong there. Namely Lyon and Kite. That was easily Killers best game of the year and I thought he outplayed Matai. And Kite was better than a 4.

As for Choc v Gift. Glenny is so much a better player when he runs straight, he did go a cross field too many times tonight but he still had a great game. But seriously Chocs workrate is phenomenal. He did drop 2 balls tonight, although I'm fairly sure one was raked but worked his butt off for 80 minutes and his charges in heavy traffic are with as much energy late in the game as they are at the start. He topped the tackle count in tonights game, put that together with over 100m in tough conditions and he was up there with our best. We would make more metres off one of his play the balls than any other of our forwards as well.

 

[TokyoEagle]

Killer was more like the 2010 killer tonight than any other game he has played this year.
Kite, worth more than that. A lot of our set plays tonight revolved around Kite being used as a ball player when the opposition expected him to run. When he did run was solid.
Ballin's service from dummy half kept us going forward all night. He didn't need to make any yardage through the middle.

 

[Canteen Worker]

Kite was awesome in defence and had a great game. Jamie Lyon was dangerous every time he touched the ball and had his opposite in all sorts of bother for much of the night.

 

[susan]

kites best game this year without doubt.

 

[Masked Eagle]

kites best game this year without doubt.

Don't know about that Susan. I thought his best game of the year was against the Warriors. He was outstanding that night in his 150th.

 

[eelcatcher]

Just back from the game after a long hot shower. Ok the weather was absolutely horrendous, like I left Burwood and it was still sunny here and then got to Brookie and the the game starts with rain! Anyway I think the boys did really well considering the bad conditions. Manly isn't used to playing in the rain. We havn't won a game when it rained most of the match since we defeated the Panthers the 1st time in 08. All the players did well, gaol kicking was ok, and remember try kicking near the sidelines with cold, heavy rain flying at you. But it was a great match and was happy to stand on the hill with my lil umbrella to see Stewie score his hat-trick.

 

[The Eagle]

Ballin is a tackling and ball passing machine,but he is lost in the sea in attack with the other 14 hookers who arent Cam Smith in regards to offense,he is Shane Rodney if he'd played dummy half,no frills but required if your not Cam Smith (I hate the bloke,but he is bloody good in a mediocre position) personally i think Ballin can do more than he does,but continually he does not,perhaps its not to show his hand so early in the season so when he does play to potential it comes as a rather rude shock to the opposition,heres hoping

Kite ****s me to tears with his quasi-halfback role,i dont know if its Dessies idea or his own but god its frustrating seeing that bloke not play anything like the 2008 version,he is a much better player than the tripe he continually provides,the bloke has a handful of rep jumpers and the Clive Churchill on his achievement wall at home,but he is not the same bloke who deservedly got those achievements,he has been on the slide since Bellamy ripped into him after a NSW loss,like Orford though he still deserves our respect for what he has done for this club

Killer turned a corner tonight but it still pales in comparison to his skill level and pure level of awesomeness,he is not likely to be looked at for the blues and he SHOULD be there when in form,his injury is holding him back,dont tell me you dont see that

 

[torana355]

How did Watmough outrate Gift and Killer ?

I must have been watching a different game.

Yep you must have as choc was our best forward by a longshot. Sure he made a few dumb mistakes but his go forward is invaluable, something Gift could do more of.

 

[Thehill]

Choc and gift are different players. Choc can't ballplay like gift, and gift can't run like a madman as choc does. If they both play to their strengths as they are now then they'll be an ominous sight for any opposition.

 

[torana355]

Choc and gift are different players. Choc can't ballplay like gift, and gift can't run like a madman as choc does. If they both play to their strengths as they are now then they'll be an ominous sight for any opposition.

True but our side lacks go forward not creativity. Lyon, Foran and DCE take care of that. I don't think Choc gets enough credit sometimes....

 

[The Eagle]

Thanks Torana355,atleast im not the only one who can see it

 

[Dan]

That was overall a poor assessment of the game and players.

Talking about DCE not passing to Stewart, do you watch anything but the Manly players? To me reading your last few posts across the site, it is like you are blind to any other player on the field besides the manly players and in particular the oppositions defensive line.

I hope you have an opportunity to re-watch the game and particularly keep an eye on the following

- Look closely at why DCE didn't pass that ball, and you will see it was actually the 100% correct decision to make, I won't elaborate, I want you to figure that out on your own. However to say he bombed a try is ludicrous and not only that, who got them in that position anyway? it was a solo effort. And you expect many players to get those sideline kicks in those conditions seriously, lets go get a ball and a kicking tee and you can show me what you think DCE should be doing.

- Rewatch Kites game, in attack and defense. He has been superb the last 3 weeks and his best since 2008

- Ballin, watch the guys work rate on the field, the metres he stole and how he helps guide the two halves. Ballin is a very solid and very clever footballer. He doesn't need to be the most flashiest ball player because he has two halves to do that. He helps run the team round and guides the two younger halves. Ballin was up there with the best on the field last night.

- Choc has the worst hands in the NRL, I like what choc can do but the guy is just shocking in that department. Any team but Raiders could have trounced us last night because of our error rate and he is right up there as one of the worst for errors especially at crucial times. No one can fault his go forward and willingness, but he is a guy who needs to slow down in certain situations and use the pea inside his skull just a tad more and he will be back to his best.

Foran was easily the best on the field followed by Lyon, Gifty, Ballin, Snake, Robbo, DCE and hoppa in no particular order