Can we beat Storm?

[Technical Coach]

Manly looked like a team who felt they could score on every set of 6 against Cronulla(along with a few other games this year) it is a good confident attacking arrogance to have(we are so above you that we don't even respect your defensive line)----sometimes you just have to let the youthful attacking exuberance to play in a disrespectful manner and full of confidence so they are not overthinking the plays and become tense.

You can over respect the opposition and go into your shell which causes second guessing your plays and playing too conservatively---which can dig a bigger hole for yourself by losing field position and playing too one out.

I actually see Manly more tense in the early exchanges when we are making yardage so easily but not capitalizing as well as the team feels they should and we start rushing our options or overplaying our hand looking for a short cut try.

Once Manly get that first try you see the team relax and the attack looks more fluid and confident along with the defence being more aggressive and dominant----so i think that is the key against the Storm---scoring early with one or two tries so we are not tense for too long.

Manly can grind if they feel the points will come---once the self belief is lost it will flow into the defence and the grind will come to an end.

 

[Remy]

Manly looked like a team who felt they could score on every set of 6 against Cronulla(along with a few other games this year) it is a good confident attacking arrogance to have(we are so above you that we don't even respect your defensive line)----sometimes you just have to let the youthful attacking exuberance to play in a disrespectful manner and full of confidence so they are not overthinking the plays and become tense.

You can over respect the opposition and go into your shell which causes second guessing your plays and playing too conservatively---which can dig a bigger hole for yourself by losing field position and playing too one out.

I actually see Manly more tense in the early exchanges when we are making yardage so easily but not capitalizing as well as the team feels they should and we start rushing our options or overplaying our hand looking for a short cut try.

Once Manly get that first try you see the team relax and the attack looks more fluid and confident along with the defence being more aggressive and dominant----so i think that is the key against the Storm---scoring early with one or two tries so we are not tense for too long.

Manly can grind if they feel the points will come---once the self belief is lost it will flow into the defence and the grind will come to an end.

This is exactly it. We play such a side to side extravagant type of attack that it is bound to cause some errors with the pace we play at. If we play that type of footy with more than 80% completion rate and be a bit more clinical, then there isn't a team in the comp that can stop us. But that's easier said than done. And also the way we've been playing lately, it's like we've been getting so used to towelling up teams that we just easily let complacency creep up into our game too easily. We have been playing most of these games, with all due respect, like they are training runs. I still believe we can play this finals type, gritty contests like what we did to Parra earlier this year. Make them play our game and stick to our tactics and we can burn through them. That's why I got hope for Saturday's game, let's put aside these underwhelming 40 point wins. We know Des can make a gameplan to beat Melbourne, we know we can play finals-type footy, we know we have the side to do it. So Manly fans, back the boys and let's see what we got on Saturday.

 

[robbiea]

I don't think we will this weekend .
But in a months time , hopefully may be a different story.

 

[court83]

Manly is the only team imo that can beat storm at this point... Panthers could before cleary went down but they've been positively crap since he got hurt.
Roosters are too injured, bunnies I don't think have the ability and eels are.... Well.. the eels...

If Tommy is on point and the rest of the team is up for it then Manly will have a real good shot this weekend.. everyone pulls their weight and contributes and we can put a comfortable score on them... But if we show up and expect to just win without putting in the work, Storm will carve us up..
I'm tipping Manly 13+ tho

 

[The Royal Soup]

I’m actually not that bothered if we win this weekend, it won’t really matter to be honest, sure put in a good performance but the finals is where a win over the storm and the top teams will really count

 

[Fonzarelli]

Nico hynes in doubt. Probably some smoke and mirrors, mind games between old mates

 

[Kalvin]

Nico hynes in doubt. Probably some smoke and mirrors, mind games between old mates

Only issue is there backup is papenhauzen!

 

[Fonzarelli]

Only issue is there backup is papenhauzen!

He is a bit under done but still the perfect replacement

 

[Yaz Eagle]

Hughes is also in doubt. I believe we have a chance to stop the Storm’s run. We have been building for this hence why gone off the boil the last 2 games with healthy leads to avoid injuries and conserve energy. It will be a close one and won’t help the Fantasy scoring with a low scoring match unfortunately.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

They are due a loss , surely ??

 

[Brissie Kid]

I thought in the Manly vs Eels game the referee recognised our forwards were hitting hard and dominating in tackles, so he didn't penalise or give six again calls. If this week's game has that sort of officiating, it will be a great hard footy duel. If the referee instead is one of those ones who punishes tough tackles by calling them as holding down and six agains, especially when a team is working out from their own try line, then Storm will milk their way to momentum dominance & a win. That's my view anyway.

 

[Fonzarelli]

Hughes is also in doubt. I believe we have a chance to stop the Storm’s run. We have been building for this hence why gone off the boil the last 2 games with healthy leads to avoid injuries and conserve energy. It will be a close one and won’t help the Fantasy scoring with a low scoring match unfortunately.

The guy im playing this round has 13 players from our game alone

 

[maxta]

Sometimes teams with less players attack better as they are forced to play more simple and direct knowing they don't have the numbers to create an overlap for the most part. Then what happens is they surprise themselves with a little more direct penetration while the opposition slackens off and before you know it you create an overlap by getting the fundamentals right.

I put it down to Manly clocking off more than Cronulla changing attacking patterns, simply fell off tackles, lazy closing gates and the defence stood back lacking energy which as Snake rightfully pointed out, would not happen with Storm who who would have put foot on throat and dominated the 12 man opposition.
Sharks played more direct as they were invited route 1 by slack middle defence.
If any excuse, we're already thinking of "Next week", but was frustrating to watch and hope Des sprayed the lazy mentallity at match review, which I suspect he may have

 

[maxta]

I thought in the Manly vs Eels game the referee recognised our forwards were hitting hard and dominating in tackles, so he didn't penalise or give six again calls. If this week's game has that sort of officiating, it will be a great hard footy duel. If the referee instead is one of those ones who punishes tough tackles by calling them as holding down and six agains, especially when a team is working out from their own try line, then Storm will milk their way to momentum dominance & a win. That's my view anyway.

I don't mind where your going here and agree there is definitely opportunity to dominate a tackle longer, after solid contact where the defender sticks - as there should be....difference is Storm stick extra numbers in and simply twist and wrestle which I hope the ref monitors, as this is not a dominant tackle - simply a way of controlling tempo in the ruck.

 

[QLDSeaeagle]

They are due a loss , surely ??

They don't have that 'due for a loss' thing in "stormland"

 

[Rafferty]

They don't have that 'due for a loss' thing in "stormland"

So we just give them one anyway

 

[eagleron]

hey guys, thanks for the ad!!!!

my answer to the question is of corse! with a little bit of heart anything is possibe, even when turbo tom is plaing. goooooooooo the eagles. woo hoo

Welcome aboard

 

[Technical Coach]

I put it down to Manly clocking off more than Cronulla changing attacking patterns, simply fell off tackles, lazy closing gates and the defence stood back lacking energy which as Snake rightfully pointed out, would not happen with Storm who who would have put foot on throat and dominated the 12 man opposition.
Sharks played more direct as they were invited route 1 by slack middle defence.
If any excuse, we're already thinking of "Next week", but was frustrating to watch and hope Des sprayed the lazy mentallity at match review, which I suspect he may have

I wasn't referring to the specifics in this game but what can sometimes happen against a 12 man outfit and it is not necessarily proof there is underlying issues.(in all instances---but i do agree with Snake defensively we do have issues)

In saying that our ruck defence is slow getting off the tackled player and into marker, Melb have more than enough ammunition to take advantage of this.

Manly are not going to be able to slow the play the ball speed as well as Melb does with three man tackles---they are far too well drilled in this area of the game, done so in such a composed controlled manner they get rewarded for "controlled dominance" and the way they peal off the tackled player is beautiful to watch at times.

The real test for Manly is how we respond defensively when the flat track bully environment is not coming our way---do we look to take attacking short cuts, do we force our hand with more high risk plays to get field position, does the inside defence decide to rest instead of being proactive and plugging a potential hole etc.

Manly have the ability to beat Melb but do we have the mental toughness and discipline to go the 12 rounds if necessary, not just be up for this game but remain consistently that way to go deep into the finals.

Melb have 15yrs of disciplined consistency----you don't win every single first game of the NRL season because you are exceeding the cap or have the "big 4", there is more to it than that.

 

[Bearfax]

I wasn't referring to the specifics in this game but what can sometimes happen against a 12 man outfit and it is not necessarily proof there is underlying issues.(in all instances---but i do agree with Snake defensively we do have issues)

In saying that our ruck defence is slow getting off the tackled player and into marker, Melb have more than enough ammunition to take advantage of this.

Manly are not going to be able to slow the play the ball speed as well as Melb does with three man tackles---they are far too well drilled in this area of the game, done so in such a composed controlled manner they get rewarded for "controlled dominance" and the way they peal off the tackled player is beautiful to watch at times.

The real test for Manly is how we respond defensively when the flat track bully environment is not coming our way---do we look to take attacking short cuts, do we force our hand with more high risk plays to get field position, does the inside defence decide to rest instead of being proactive and plugging a potential hole etc.

Manly have the ability to beat Melb but do we have the mental toughness and discipline to go the 12 rounds if necessary, not just be up for this game but remain consistently that way to go deep into the finals.

Melb have 15yrs of disciplined consistency----you don't win every single first game of the NRL season because you are exceeding the cap or have the "big 4", there is more to it than that.

You're right Tech. Much of their success has to be laid at the feet of Bellamy and his support staff. They've done a remarkable job. The only caveat is what was revealed a few years back, that their TPAs total near a million dollars, between three and ten times the rest of the teams in the comp ( that is if we are to believe everyone is not placing without hidden aces under the table). But what that means is they can afford a couple of top grade players more than other teams, or offer more to their top players. Makes a difference. We could see the effect on Manly when their salary cap was cut for a few years. But as said we cant overlook the Bellamy skill

 

[Snake]

I remember 2019, we beat Melbourne in Melbourne by a field goal in golden point. I thought we were the real deal. A month later, the Storm put the cleaners through us at Brookie and we limped into the finals with injuries galore.

they are just an incredible machine and you might jag a win against them if they’re having an off night but overcoming the mental toughness within their organisation is a battle I don’t think we are ready for just yet.