Things to fix and that need immediate attention

[sheridanstand78]

As we all know last nights win against the Dragqueens was very sweet as Manly had to overcome 15 men to achieve this win. It was without doubt a crucial win and could really count at the end of the season.

There are however a few things that really need to improve.

Ball Control: Far too many errors last night invited the drags back into the game and gave those idiots in pink an excuse to blow their whistles.

Discpline: There is no doubt that Cummings and his pal were not going to do us any favours last night, but the tackles late in the count have to stop, thats just a killer.

Composure: At times we get too frantic with and without the ball, the first 20 minutes and the last 15 minutes we were quite composed but in the middle it seemed that we were intent on gifting the dragons the match with poor options with the ball which just tired out our defence.

On the plus side, this team has the same spirit of 2011. They were tougher than the Draggies when it mattered.

We need to get it right as we have the Chookies and the Drizzle back to back and if we dont get a fair share of the ball we will suffer.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

I am happy enough that we seem to be focussing on getting our defensive game down pat at this early stage of the year.

Hopefully our ball control picks up over the coming weeks but's it's great that we don't just drop our bundle when possession goes against us.

Building a solid foundation for later.

 

[the mauler]

The 10 minutes either side of half time we had the ball for only a couple of sets. With only 39% of the ball we had no right to win the game. Not our best performance, but definitely one of our gutsiest.

 

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

we're going to need a bit more speed in the go forward consistently so there are no 'down periods' over the next two weeks. Really missed those handful of matai bursts from dummy half last night. Defense is great, but against chooks and melb we won't be able to hold them out like last night if they get similar ball. Kicking game will be vital in both those games to give little rest periods as they are bound to be fast paced / relentless games, need to ensure DCE and Foz get plenty of time to get their kicks spot on each time and make the yards while they are in great form in that dept.
win both games and at worst we'll be equal 2nd.
Last night, while there is plenty to work on. would've been confidence building for the squad and the 7 day turnaround will be handy.

 

[Terry-Randal]

The ball handling was dreadful the only thing that saved us is the dragons were garbage. A good team would have have taken us to the cleaners.

 

[globaleagle]

The obstruction rule. I think we are getting robbed on this compared to some other teams.

 

[bob dylan]

The ball handling was dreadful the only thing that saved us is the dragons were garbage. A good team would have have taken us to the cleaners.

Dont get too concerned. We only used 16 players.

There wont be another game this year that Rose, Tonga and Hasson finish the match and we wont have Matai, Stewart, King, Buhrer, Joe G, Richie on sideline.

I thought it was a great win, and had we lost in would of been an admirable effort in defeat.

 

[lismore_fan]

We NEED Matai & Snake on the field!
Tommy Symmonds did his job but we lacked the spark of Skivvy.
Jorge did a fair job at full-back but we really missed the Snake!
I doubt he would've spilled the bomb for a St Geo try (when I reckon that DCE's hand grounding it).
He would've stopped or at least held up another try.
And Jorge plays much better on the wing.... but it was good blooding Esi for a debut!

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I read elsewhere thay Snake has a bruised hip but no major damage so expected to play next Monday, as will Skivvy, so two (at least) of those that played (or were named) last night will drop off....Tonga for sure.

I'd like to see Hassan again I think he did ok....I love Georgie for what he brings to the club but I think the game has moved up tempo for him and he's been left behind a bit.....but he did try pretty hard....so great effort big fella

 

[Utility Player]

but the tackles late in the count have to stop

That could lead to a lot more points being scored against us

 

[Disco]

If Stewart is out, its gotta be Hiku with jorge back to the wing

 

[manlyfan76]

Go forward first! Foran showed the way by hitting the line hard and early. Kite does well when goes straight and hard at the line but too often he is looking to offload, same with Gift. He needs to do some Choc style hit ups then put the defenders in two minds before going to Lyon early as an option. Otherwise it is too easy for the opposition to shut us down. We looked dynamic in the first half when DCE popped up outside Gift, DCE was moving forward at speed and this put pressure on defenders to make decisions.
Good game overall but I'd love to see us running hard at the line before going to the fancy sideways stuff.
Imagine how effective Joe would have been when we were struggling last night with his direct play and hard low tackles.

 

[Chip and Chase]

Let's just take it on face value. We were down on troops because of injury/suspension. We got absolutely caned in the penalties. We had no possession. We did well to win, I wouldn't be reading too much more into it. At full strength and with an even share of the ball we win that game easy last night.

 

[torana355]

I agree with all your points. On a positive note how good was Taufua's try to win us the game. He will play SOO if he keeps improving like he is.

 

[DSM5]

I can't understand why Daley is considering Merritt, when he has Jorge to pick. I liked the look of Hasson. His tackle on Soward was beautiful. He looks the goods to come on.

 

[torana355]

I can't understand why Daley is considering Merritt, when he has Jorge to pick. I liked the look of Hasson. His tackle on Soward was beautiful. He looks the goods to come on.

I love Taufua but i don't think he is ready quite yet, he can be found out in defense, especially under the high ball. Im sure he will play SOO in the future as his strength and ability to break the line is up there with the best players in the game.

 

[susan]

Agree totally with C and C.Footy is not a perfect science.Things often go against you,particularly away,and good sides get the job done like we have done for years.

I think Tooves had a game plan to play a bit wider with more ball movement(eg Horo and Lawrence offloads) as our forward rotation was decimated. That worked great early but can and did lead to errors but after that we earned the win with our defence. Almost every side in the comp would have been run down last night with 40% of the ball.

Take the two points and move on.

 

[Fluffy]

but the tackles late in the count have to stop

That could lead to a lot more points being scored against us

Agree with UP, this is not a good plan.

Discipline in general was not that bad, 9 penalties is about average for a game.

It was the lack of penalties given against St merge that was the problem. It is going to be very hard to beat any team with only 3 penalties for indiscretions and if your team can play that well you should win.

 

[Rodo]

Snake is the linchpin in our defence and with him off the field in the second half we were very lucky to hold on. He does an enormous amount of work at the back getting everyone into position, making sure there are no holes with everyone marking someone. You could just see in the second half how stretched our defence was. It was a big contrast to the first half. It was only our guts, determination and will-to-win that got us over line.

Hopefully Snake will be fit for next week.

 

[panash]

great effort NO DOUBT !!!!! but dropping the ball on a regular basis does create alot of pressure and tiredness..

superb defense , but another team with more strike in attack could of been a different story...

no doubt , gutsy effort - take the 2 points look into next week.

though had we lost , what would the comments been ???

we are a great side , its looking good...