The good, the bad, and the ugly report from last night

[cf2 is back]

The good:
In terms of players - Hoppa at fullback superb job covering for Brett. Buhrer at odd position of centre was also superb. Watmough very strong all night and seems to have cut down the dumb stuff a bit thank god. King and Kite both strong running efforts. Foran superb again and is going to win us a premiership in next few years. Oldfield really excellent. As reliable and wonderful as he's been in the past you've got to now question how Robbo can be picked ahead of Oldfield in 2011. Tim Robinson exc off bench (how good was that 50 metre bust). Like Robbo I now also question how George can be picked ahead of Robinson. Harrison off bench also a good young star of future. DCE still needs time but there's some good things in there. Pretty hard to be a superstar in just 4 games it's taken Foran a season and a half to get to where he is now in dominating games.
In terms of general performance - I really liked our attack tonight - a lot of deep penetrating sweeping plays across the park - we created a lot of holes in their defence. Plus our guts to come back from 32-14. I bet I wasn't the only one to think at 32-14 we might get 50 put on us. In the end the score slightly flattered us as Souths played very well and prob deserved it more, but we showed we are right in every game and it was a great fightback to the end. If we make sure of what should be strong wins against Cron (A) and Warriors and Pen (Brookie) we'll be in good shape.

The bad:
Not much overall. A few lapses in defence tonight - but perhaps a tough call to criticise too greatly given their 3 damaging second half tries were all just great attacking play and Inglis would have run through 99% of players on that bust he made. You couldn't blame Lyon for missing him Inglis is a huge man.

The ugly:
Brett being out. Man that scared me but hopefully a hammie twinge only and no big deal. Plus hated seeing a 50% fit Lyon out there who was a shadow of himself, but there's better days ahead, and let's not forget he did put on the superb chip kick for Oldfield to score.

Summary:
I'm gutted as always when we lose, but taking a deep breath it wasn't too bad, Souths played very well, and despite some setbacks we nearly pulled off a miracle. Foran is just getting better and better and better. Let's now smash the Sharks, Warriors and Penrith.

 

[ManlyBacker]

Good summation. Looking at the next three games I'm willing to say three wins.

 

[MPC75]

Totally agree. I'm proud of the guys for their effort. Souths made very few mistakes, which is not like them at all. In Gus's view it was game of the season so far, and I have to agree.

I'm very excited about the youg guys we have coming through.

 

[jbb/james]

manly have had a very good, very inspiring start to the season. THere is a good footy team in there or sure

 

[captainskin]

Even in a loss we all have hope; now that is a great sign. I can't ever remember the last time reading so much positive feedback after a loss. I even think the boys in the dressing room after the game won't be too disheartened, but feel a surge that they can do - and match it - with anyone.
Yes, even in a loss, everyone - fans and players - alike has a good feeling of the future.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

6 tries apiece. The totally dodgy first half penalty goal was the difference in the end.

Souths played better than I thought they could, I don't begrudge them the win. But our team shows every sign of being on the way UP - which is a very exciting prospect.

 

[codewana]

I can't ever remember the last time reading so much positive feedback after a loss.

Agree. It's good to see, eh? I think that's the case because we're overall happy with the team, considering so many were playing out of position.

 

[Phantar]

Any team that can lose:

1. two international outside backs, one of them arguably our best player, plus a key bench player;

2.  replace them with three guys with less than 20 first grade appearances between them on the night of the game;

3.  against one of the best teams creative accounting can buy, in front of a hostile crowd and still nearly pull off a miraculous win;

4.  is one that is going to figure at the back-end of the season.

 

[WAMF]

The Ballin pass to Joe (knock on) when were bringing it out of our 20 cost us a try. The pass was thrown way too hard and a little behind a fully steaming Joe who IMO has been by far our best forward this year.

Overall, I am ok with this loss.

 

[mickqld]

The Ballin pass to Joe (knock on) when were bringing it out of our 20 cost us a try. The pass was thrown way too hard and a little behind a fully steaming Joe who IMO has been by far our best forward this year.

Overall, I am ok with this loss.

Yeah I definitely thought that was the turning point. It was a crucial stage and put us under too much pressure at the wrong point of the game. They had multiple sets on us and we fatigued for that 15 minute period because of the weight of defense we had to do. It was a great effort energy wise for us to get off the canvas and nearly pull off a draw.

 

[MPC75]

[quote author=WAMF link=topic=187259.msg329770#msg329770 date=1301699693]
The Ballin pass to Joe (knock on) when were bringing it out of our 20 cost us a try. The pass was thrown way too hard and a little behind a fully steaming Joe who IMO has been by far our best forward this year.

Overall, I am ok with this loss.

Yeah I definitely thought that was the turning point. It was a crucial stage and put us under too much pressure at the wrong point of the game. They had multiple sets on us and we fatigued for that 15 minute period because of the weight of defense we had to do. It was a great effort energy wise for us to get off the canvas and nearly pull off a draw.
[/quote]

I thought the penalty against our guy for incorrect play the ball could have gone either way. I think it was Ballin or Mauro. Anyway they scored of that set and then went on to score 2 more tries in the space of 10 minutes.

 

[Andy 1972]

I thought the best thing about the night was the way we kept coming after them.  There is plenty of character in this team.

Andy1972
Manly Forever.

 

[Phantar]

I think that might have been the Kite play-the-ball to Watmough MPC. Kite wasn't even standing up. Very costly.

 

[ManlyBacker]

I think that might have been the Kite play-the-ball to Watmough MPC. Kite wasn't even standing up. Very costly.

And they were all over him. One criticism I had of the reffing was Soufs took half steps off the mark, especially Inglis, and weren't pinged for it.

 

[bones]

Any team that can lose:

1. two international outside backs, one of them arguably our best player, plus a key bench player;

2.  replace them with three guys with less than 20 first grade appearances between them on the night of the game;

3.  against one of the best teams creative accounting can buy, in front of a hostile crowd and still nearly pull off a miraculous win;

4.  is one that is going to figure at the back-end of the season.

5. Didn't recieve a single penalty until the 67th minute

 

[ayjay007]

I thought we went REAL good for all the reasons above.The thing that stuck out for me,was,souffs were entitled to win that by 30 (after being a perfect footy team for 67 mins).Our guys showed great guts to bring it to 2 points.Also,they knew who they were going to have out,and would set their plays around that.Our 3 most major non-starters,were late withdrawals,so the playbook was out the window.The fill-ins and players out of position did a remarkable job.

 

[The Who]

I agree with the summation except for the criticism of Robbo. I thought he was terrific again last night. He always plays well and is still our best - and most enduring - player. It's good that we have some able back-ups, but Robbo still has plenty of life in his yet.

 

[eagles2win]

The very bad:

Brent Kite should be arrested for impersonating a prop forward thought he was very ordinary.

 

[north coast eagle]

The young guys defended better last night than the more experienced backs. Robbo was caught out of position several times and seemed hesitant in attack - I think that even though he has been great player for the club that Oldfield is now a better option.

 

[bazeagle]

Excellent summary. Kite worries me as he does others.
Buhrer excellent. DCE too. And Foran is the new Prince of Brookie.