2023 Defence Matters

[Under the Sticks]

So when they mentioned Jakey only made 33 tackles I thought that sounds below par for him.

Then I thought Froggy must’ve made 50 odd…. nup 35 tackles.

Whilst only making 281 tackles, 71 less tackles than the dogs, who was the other player who helped the 2022 tackle masters?

7 other Manly players made more than 20 tackles including Parker and DCE.

With more than half of our players making more than 20 tackles we have finally got our priorities right.

That 6 points we conceded was also dubious so the boys can be proud.

Can’t wait to watch our “against” tally stay low. It will be for Round 2!

 

[Dion Johnson]

A high percentage of Jakes tackles had good sting in them, that was the highlight for me with Jake, he is one of the best forwards in the game when he hits like he can.

Guaca was sound in defence also, he was hitting good along with Keppie, those 3 were hurting the Dogs yesterday without the ball.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Just watched the game now (managed to avoid hearing the score beforehand!) and it was the attitude in defence that stood out to me. It was hurtful tackling and after a short time the Dogs weren't very keen on it. Mahoney kept them in the game for a period but they were well beaten up front and physically across the park..
Clearly we haven't been working on slick attack yet, and it's clear the new coaches have focussed on getting some team spirit into the squad and establishing an aggresive committed defence as the foundation for 2023.
If they can keep it up we will go a long way! The attack will improve over time but while ever they are defending with such venom they'll be in every game. Great signs first up.

 

[jbb/james]

I loved the defensive effort. i loved that the team wanted to send a message. it was a great day, sunny a brookie sellout and an opportunity to put some bad memories behind the group

and didnt they. i loved that we kept them to 6 and loved watching them smash the doggies sensless set after set. kikau who was made to look tiny, with thompson and pangai would have been a far greater test lets not forget

but those types of efforts are not sustainable. desperate defence has better outcomes to bruising long term. they showed both which was great

with all the effort , footy, and dominance we still struggled and were lucky to be leading at half time .....well kind of.

the sin binning of flannigan was a rort and robbed us of an opportunity to really test ourselves as the tide had turned and the contest was on. mahoney kept them in the game but that in itself is a little concerning considering the packs dominance and the kicking efforts of the dogs in the first half

but it was first game and the defence was rock solid

liked the pop sutton at the dogs. got bitchwhipped so often, kept coming back for more and dished a fair bit out.

 

[Eagle 1]

So when they mentioned Jakey only made 33 tackles I thought that sounds below par for him.

Then I thought Froggy must’ve made 50 odd…. nup 35 tackles.

Whilst only making 281 tackles, 71 less tackles than the dogs, who was the other player who helped the 2022 tackle masters?

7 other Manly players made more than 20 tackles including Parker and DCE.

With more than half of our players making more than 20 tackles we have finally got our priorities right.

That 6 points we conceded was also dubious so the boys can be proud.

Can’t wait to watch our “against” tally stay low. It will be for Round 2!

In the hot and steamy conditions on Sat Jakey's 33 tackles would be the equivalent to 50 tackles in July.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I said this on the “ Bulldogs that bad OR” thread.

The OR being our defence just bashed them out of the game.

If we can keep that up we are going to win a LOT of games in 2023.

 

[Eagle 1]

I loved the defensive effort. i loved that the team wanted to send a message. it was a great day, sunny a brookie sellout and an opportunity to put some bad memories behind the group

and didnt they. i loved that we kept them to 6 and loved watching them smash the doggies sensless set after set. kikau who was made to look tiny, with thompson and pangai would have been a far greater test lets not forget

but those types of efforts are not sustainable. desperate defence has better outcomes to bruising long term. they showed both which was great

with all the effort , footy, and dominance we still struggled and were lucky to be leading at half time .....well kind of.

the sin binning of flannigan was a rort and robbed us of an opportunity to really test ourselves as the tide had turned and the contest was on. mahoney kept them in the game but that in itself is a little concerning considering the packs dominance and the kicking efforts of the dogs in the first half

but it was first game and the defence was rock solid

liked the pop sutton at the dogs. got bitchwhipped so often, kept coming back for more and dished a fair bit out.

A momentum swing in our game is a huge thing to overcome, all's it takes is a little bobble in the play the ball, a slight forward pass, a simple dropped ball and the annoying 6 agains etc. The Bulldogs lived of these and kept them in the game, we need to keep these gifts to the opposition to a minimum, but it's easier said than done I guess.

 

[manly al]

Manly are fairly well placed and providing they can field their best line up or close to it in the defensive department , . Additionally now with Alioia 's switch to 13 to complement some good standard and aggressive forward defensive capability , just have to get Bulemor to keep up some intensity as well , Fifita does or seems to do O K Halves , centres quite reliable . Better sides try and be relentless , that is the only way to really be a force in the comp .

 

[Ranga]

I loved the defensive effort. i loved that the team wanted to send a message. it was a great day, sunny a brookie sellout and an opportunity to put some bad memories behind the group

and didnt they. i loved that we kept them to 6 and loved watching them smash the doggies sensless set after set. kikau who was made to look tiny, with thompson and pangai would have been a far greater test lets not forget

but those types of efforts are not sustainable. desperate defence has better outcomes to bruising long term. they showed both which was great

with all the effort , footy, and dominance we still struggled and were lucky to be leading at half time .....well kind of.

the sin binning of flannigan was a rort and robbed us of an opportunity to really test ourselves as the tide had turned and the contest was on. mahoney kept them in the game but that in itself is a little concerning considering the packs dominance and the kicking efforts of the dogs in the first half

but it was first game and the defence was rock solid

liked the pop sutton at the dogs. got bitchwhipped so often, kept coming back for more and dished a fair bit out.

And, be honest, you loved DCE’s 3 tries 😂

 

[jbb/james]

And, be honest, you loved DCE’s 3 tries 😂

OOOOOH Man, hell yeah. we needed it, all of it.................. bad.
he surely has a knack. The MF can grab a moment for the reel. even his intercepts look better

his backing up is awesome and for and against could come in handy so that late 6 pointer was sneeky helpful if we base our game on defence moving forward

 

[Under the Sticks]

A high percentage of Jakes tackles had good sting in them, that was the highlight for me with Jake, he is one of the best forwards in the game when he hits like he can.

Guaca was sound in defence also, he was hitting good along with Keppie, those 3 were hurting the Dogs yesterday without the ball.

So what we are saying here is:

1. share the tackling around
2. less tackles for Jake and Froggy (and everyone if we share the load) means they can hit harder and harder more often with more petrol in the tank
3. less defensive work for froggy means less reliance on Gordie until Round 11
4. more agressive defence means more damage done by Bully, Big Smole and Tuilagi

This should put the fear in the opposition! I'm kacking my dacks!

 

[globaleagle]

Defence?

Get that into ya!

credit: sea eagles .com.au

 

[The Wheel]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1632641541406859264

 

[Shoe1]

The 3 big hits prior to kikau’s kick probably led to the situation where Kikau was kicking.

 

[globaleagle]

Those whacks are wack!

 

[Under the Sticks]

Those whacks are wack!

And not a Kapow to be seen!

 

[XV-1]

Defence or lack of it is costing Manly dearly.

Did anyone notice that Penriths D was up fast and in a flat line. One could say the Riff were faster in D than we were in attack.

Manly on the hand were slow off the line and never in a straight line. Gaps everywhere.

We need to go back to the basics in D and hunt as a pack.

Guys like Kelma who are too lazy have no place in the Manly team if they continue.

 

[Kalvin]

Our defence is now looking worse than when seibs was our "defence" coach under barret!!
I'm feeling a common theme here

 

[Under the Sticks]

When your two multi million dollar players (Chez and Trbo) are “tapping” players as they score their fourth try of the day you know the team has “tapped out”.

Sad thing is that the addition of Schuster and Koula would not have made a great difference to this result.

Tonight I resigned myself to the fact we aren’t winning a premiership this decade as this team just is too dumb or not committed enough to defence which we all know wins premierships.

 

[Michael Clare]

Tonight's first half performance was, in my opinion, the worst 40 minutes a Manly side has put in since I started watching them way back in 1967.