We are all fans here (minus Rambofan & Captain whatever) - followed 2011 & now 2012. What is the difference in the consecutive years?
I do and i was at the riff and it was very POOR for defending PREMIERS... lose by 2 or 8 but by 18 by a team with new unexperinced backs against ours is POOR in my humble opinion.......
They beat us in the forwards. No King, No T Williams, Stewart backing up from SOO and Watmough playing busted. Not an excuse but we were down on troops and attitude. We will bounce back.
Last year we had minimal injuries and suspensions , a dynamic halves combo that played together nearly the entire season and a steeley determination in attitude that was better than everyone else. It can still happen this year we are only 1 win off 2nd spot BUT we have a major attitude problem this year that wasn't there last year and that is going to be harder to overcome than a few injuries. Our defense is poor ,our missed tackle count isn't good enough to compete for a premiership that is 2V's major problem to correct. I have severe doubts that it will be fixed this year.
The boys need to tell themselves constantly that there are no easy games. The Eels, Titans, Panthers and Dragons all enjoyed good wins against us because they were enthusiastic and didn't make errors that were characteristic of their positions on the ladder. I think a high completion rate from our opposition was the common theme in these losses. I don't know if it's because we're not forcing errors from our opposition like we may have in the past or because we're not doing enough work off the ball. Despite our good position in the ladder we often find ourselves having to come from behind to win a game. We have not had an easy win all year and it's showing with our points differential. Even when we beat the Panthers they had stuck it to us with low mistake football for a good 50 minutes before they folded. I think the team needs to make a focus on starting matches strongly and going on with it. Otherwise every game from here on in is going to continue to be a slog. But I have no doubt that when when we get our injured rep players back then we will be a lot better. We lose so much in attack and defense with Kieran Foran out. He's our biggest loss.
Too many injuries and the team just slackening off against bottom teams (maybe big heads from being premiers). Not a real issue yet - we are still in the right half of the ladder and as long as we get a top 4 finish we can go back to back.
In '08 we got thrashed by the Rabbits, we still came through. Last year we were taught a lesson by the Dragons. So we were touched up today by a team that has otherwise played well within their potential. Injury and suspension has cruelled us, we have not been able to get a roll on at any time this season. But we are still well positioned....there are off field distractions with all these contract negotiations which do have an impact, maybe not on game day but in training. DCE seems to be trying too hard, not letting the game flow. The only thing that disappointed me was at times we did not seem to be trying, can handle being beaten, can't handle not trying
We won last year and it seems like the hunger is missing also sadly snake doesn't look as focused/interested sometimes. Plus ballin has little spark and DCE isn't producing the magic. And above all we've had more injuries and suspensions.
If anything this is the kick in the ar$e the boys need. Hopefully they'll all guns blazing next week. IMO they started with a sh!t attitude, and had lost in the first five minutes of the game. Seem less determined this year, hope that changes tho.
A bye would have been very welcome yesterday. Lots of injuries and tired players. Inexperienced guys like Liam,
Injuries and the fact that our forwards are a year older than last year, believe it or not. Kite, Joe and Princess can't go on forever and there must be a decline as they age. How can one be a battering ram for ten years and still be going strong in the eleventh. Even Choc must be feeling his age, or the years.
We are not going well; the theories/reasons have been well documented. But what team is, apart from the Storm? Cronulla and Souffs have been far better than previous seasons, but currently 15 clubs are inconsistent. (Parra are consistently bad, yet they beat us). We'll onbiously make the eight, hopefully the four, and possibly even the top two. What is important is that we are playing well in the rounds leading up to the finals, and that we are lucky with injury. On paper, at full strength, we have the best team. I still believe we can go BtoB, but we'll need things to go in our favour.
