The first reaction is to talk up all the bad things, bag whoever was off on the day/night, so will get that out the way first.... Attacking options look limited with an almost bullrush approach...get the ball & try beat players...instead of building towards some shifts with quick play the balls, doesn't have to be over complicated but just early shifts & unconventional attack that is not so....predictable. In the opposition 20m, attack appears very flat to the point when the ball hits the 2nd man- has to cut back in because the outside defence is already in the face of the next receiver....this is partly the inexperienced halves not dictating outside players, to get more depth & also the shifts are coming off SLOW play balls so the defence is coming North instead of disorientated - forced to make decisions against direct flowing attack & worse still - generally creates attack to go sideways... Individually young Tommy copped plenty, but Radradra can make ANY defender look bad, still far from his best...Myles looked off the pace....both halves looked predictable due to (see above)....Snake made more mistakes than you will find all season.... On the positives - *Rolled forward easily up field on most occasions. *AFB showed he will be a great impact player & done it in tough conditions *Kapow, AFB, Vave & Symonds matched up to the Eels forwards in solid displays. *Defence apart from 2-3 occasions was great- they basically looked most dangerous from kicks due to not cracking the Manly line. *The fact of a 4 try turnaround - Lussick & Snake ALMOST tries & the other end Jenning cashes in on both Eels scrambled kick tries....Manly were first to the ball on ALL 4 occasions!! *Running in pairs in the forwards ( just wish they tipped on a bit more to that 2nd man) *Everyone gave their all - Kapow & others were playing injured & showed plenty of guts & resolve...this was a great sign as it shows desire & pride in the Manly jersey. *Don't read into the false scoreline - difference was they were a little more settled in their structures...took their opportunities & without having a cry, they got away with plenty in the ruck, a few forward passes at vital times & a far better long kicking game. *Key Players missing from the spine in DCE & Parcell & these 2 own the Manly tempo & create the missed opportunities like Thurston, Granville at Nth Qld or Johnson, Luke at NZ. Considering this & still ALMOST took control against a rugged opposition - plenty to look forward too.
DCE is the missing link ATM. Wee are missing the kicking game everything else is great. But now Tafua is Gone for another couple of weeks.
We were leading into the last 10 against one of the 3 best teams in the comp (so far). We aren't there yet but aren't too far off, and importantly the players if anything are getting even tougher in their attitude.
