Don't deserve finals footy

[Waz13]

Before tonight we were just outside the Top 8 and this side did not show the intensity or look like a team fighting for a finals showing, this is my point about not deserving it - the Effort.
Missing our middles and best player does not disguise a bunch of players looking lost and disinterested, bar the same 3 players who show up every week.

But plenty of teams around us have looked that way at points throughout the season. Look at Parra. The season is long (way too long imo - that’s why I’m over the nrl now) and teams can go up and down like yoyos. As another poster put it, 8 teams really is too many for finals and rewards mediocrity. And as such as a mediocre team as our table position would indicate, if we win enough to get in we deserve to be there. We won’t tho.

 

[Waz13]

Disagree, that side is good enough to be doing much much better. problem is the owner and his new golden coach.

Agree the team is good enough to be going much better. The issue (again) is our injury prone stars who sit all year on the sidelines. I was always a Des fan, but he’s gone now and won’t be back so I’ve moved on. I was accepting of the change in coach and will give him 2 years. I do agree even in our wins lately we’ve looked terrible and the clock will be ticking soon enough if we finish out poorly and don’t start well next year. At least siebold drops players for poor performance. Something Des never did. I still for the life of me can’t believe how injury prone this club is.

 

[Waz13]

I am struggling to think if we will ever get back to the powerhouse that we used to be, not with the lot we have running the place now

Yep seems unlikely.

 

[frank stokes]

Don’t you think being down 3 props for the last 30 minutes of the Sharks game had an impact on us?

We hung in against our bogey side at our bogey ground & kept striking back with some lovely combinations involving Garrick, Koula & Saab, again, short 2 of our starting props against the Dragons.

Tonight we never got off the starting block.

The props definitely had an impact as they went straight through the middle of us…

The drag queens made us look good at times but also showed us up for the 10-14 side that we are… if De Belin isn’t binned we lose that game to a side that played to their ability - sh^t…

We can blame the props and injuries if you like but this has been happening for 2 seasons with most of these players… remember the Gold Coast game? We had props for that…

You don’t see this level of inconsistency at the good sides…

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

Agree the team is good enough to be going much better. The issue (again) is our injury prone stars who sit all year on the sidelines. I was always a Des fan, but he’s gone now and won’t be back so I’ve moved on. I was accepting of the change in coach and will give him 2 years. I do agree even in our wins lately we’ve looked terrible and the clock will be ticking soon enough if we finish out poorly and don’t start well next year. At least siebold drops players for poor performance. Something Des never did. I still for the life of me can’t believe how injury prone this club is.

I agree Move on. Just making yhe point we needed to trade up for better. Which we didn't.
I can't agree on your last point though. Dropping Who? Toff sips and Keppie for Woods and matterson? Both those guys are better than the latter. They just needed the right direction and support. Woods was a great player. Operative word being was......

Given where we are right now I would have rather made some hard calls back in april/may and said OK. Tom's out. Let's give weekes the rest of the year at FB. Sink or swim. Forwards going down OK let's play young finau as first choice whenever needed. Instead we get Woods and Co.

Seibold is as dynamic as a plank of wood.

 

[frank stokes]

I agree Move on. Just making yhe point we needed to trade up for better. Which we didn't.
I can't agree on your last point though. Dropping Who? Toff sips and Keppie for Woods and matterson? Both those guys are better than the latter. They just needed the right direction and support. Woods was a great player. Operative word being was......

Given where we are right now I would have rather made some hard calls back in april/may and said OK. Tom's out. Let's give weekes the rest of the year at FB. Sink or swim. Forwards going down OK let's play young finau as first choice whenever needed. Instead we get Woods and Co.

Seibold is as dynamic as a plank of wood.

Pity we don’t have Boyle and Gojetski to fall back on anymore…

 

[Bloke on the hill]

Is it just me that has a little hidden fear that Des is going to absolutely kill it at The Titans ?

Manly fans like to think that he was on team Manly, but the reality is, that he is on team Des & money.

 

[Waz13]

I agree Move on. Just making yhe point we needed to trade up for better. Which we didn't.
I can't agree on your last point though. Dropping Who? Toff sips and Keppie for Woods and matterson? Both those guys are better than the latter. They just needed the right direction and support. Woods was a great player. Operative word being was......

Given where we are right now I would have rather made some hard calls back in april/may and said OK. Tom's out. Let's give weekes the rest of the year at FB. Sink or swim. Forwards going down OK let's play young finau as first choice whenever needed. Instead we get Woods and Co.

Seibold is as dynamic as a plank of wood.

Whether they were the right call or wrong call is neither here nor there for me mate. Siebold will live and die (coaching wise) by his decisions and so far to date we have improved our results on last year (albeit marginally). I also haven’t agreed with sone selections (Wood duck) but at least he’s making changes. Des infuriated me and many re his selection policies too. And was not like he ever gave Weekes a go either.

Until last night, Siebs decision to bring in Lodge appeared to look like a good one. Would have been nice to see what could have been if Tom didn’t get hurt, but so it goes again……

 

[PONTIAN SEA EAGLE]

I knew we were gone when on a couple of occasions instead of trying to get a repeat set we took the 5th tackle when we were attacking.

 

[47MVEagle]

The props definitely had an impact as they went straight through the middle of us…

The drag queens made us look good at times but also showed us up for the 10-14 side that we are… if De Belin isn’t binned we lose that game to a side that played to their ability - sh^t…

We can blame the props and injuries if you like but this has been happening for 2 seasons with most of these players… remember the Gold Coast game? We had props for that…

You don’t see this level of inconsistency at the good sides…

Oh I agree we’re inconsistent for sure, I was just using the context of our last 3 games to explain why fatigue was probably a factor last night.

We definitely need to improve in certain areas.

 

[God]

Schuster should hav moved to 13 or off the bench weeks ago, even Jacob is a better option as he takes the line on and doesn't fade out for 60min a game, I'd much rather watch someone get beat having a go than Schusters arm grabbing or air grabs

 

[frank stokes]

Oh I agree we’re inconsistent for sure, I was just using the context of our last 3 games to explain why fatigue was probably a factor last night.

We definitely need to improve in certain areas.

Wtf was the go with Schu last night?

Did not make an attempt to have any sort of impact for 70 min and then has a crack when the game is already decided!

Do you put that down to 12 players on park for roosters, coaching / game plan or Schu just not being scared to fail anymore.

 

[47MVEagle]

Wtf was the go with Schu last night?

Did not make an attempt to have any sort of impact for 70 min and then has a crack when the game is already decided!

Do you put that down to 12 players on park for roosters, coaching / game plan or Schu just not being scared to fail anymore.

Yeah I don’t know, Schuster mystifies me. He barely touched the ball in the first half & didn’t come right to link up with DCE once all game.

I don’t know if it was game plan or fatigue or effort.

It could well be a confidence issue with him but I noticed the whole team seemed energised once the 70 minute mark hit, almost like they’d been conserving their energy & knew there was only 10 minutes to go so started putting in.

 

[Spartan Eagle]

At least he has shown that if someone isn’t performing he drops them unlike Des who would pick the same 17 each week. Problem we have is there is no one left in our middle forward ranks.

How do you explain Woods then? He has added nothing since day dot.

 

[frank stokes]

Yeah I don’t know, Schuster mystifies me. He barely touched the ball in the first half & didn’t come right to link up with DCE once all game.

I don’t know if it was game plan or fatigue or effort.

It could well be a confidence issue with him but I noticed the whole team seemed energised once the 70 minute mark hit, almost like they’d been conserving their energy & knew there was only 10 minutes to go so started putting in.

I am sure that Teddy was probably playing in the line which created more opportunities for kicks but it was the Schu’s effort up to that point which really disappoints me…

he never went looking for the ball, did not engage the line, has not looked like offloading in months and if I see him do a “3 step shuffle and pass” one more time I will put my foot through the TV…

 

[Tragic Eagle]

Whilst I am a Schuster fan his form has bern ordinary for weeks. He needs a spell in Blacktown and Arthur’s should be rewarded for his good form. Time to start planning and developing players for next season. We are likely to finish on 29 points which will be outside the 8. Disappointing season again in which we underperformed.

 

[XV-1]

Pity we don’t have Boyle and Gojetski to fall back on anymore…

Where has Boyle gone?

 

[frank stokes]

Where has Boyle gone?

Reserve grade where he always belonged… mind you we are getting close to the bottom of the barrel with forwards so he may be named on Tuesday…

 

[Disco]

Lot of emotion about with the season now effectively over and a lot of squabbling amongst fans.

The fact is not having Tom and our props out and losing Lodge early is of course going to contribute to a loss.

However, our lack of intensity, lack of a cohesive attacking game plan, poor line speed and inability to win the ruck coupled with a low rugby league IQ of some players, poor defensive technique of others and just all around medicority of a few is the greater, and ultimately more dissapointing contribution to the loss and a season as a whole.

We can only control what we can control and the club, as a collective unit, need to improve.

There is no silver bullet, no one change that will right the ship, there are a lot of areas we need to make small to medium improvements in, and that should lead to a large overall improvement.

Sacking Seibold right now is not the annswer IMO, he gets next season with his squad, but he is not infallible and his coaching unit need to learn from mistakes of this season.

We need another quality mobile body in the middle. Woods should not be re-signed, I'm not a hater but there should be little trouble in finding better impact. Toff should be a last resort depth option and Keppie for mine has never really come on. Bully if used correctly off the bench, as a middle using his leg speed is a good option and should be re-signed.

Tuilagi is not it. Parker....who I absolutely love is not the level we should be aspiring to if we are talking premiership contender. Kayal Iro is just sitting there as a clear option.

Schuster for Manly sake and his own needs to focus and commit 100% to not only getting his body fit but learning the intricacies of NRL football.

I think Brooks will help balance us and I still see further progression to come in Olakau'atu, Koula, Paseka, Burbo and Saab.

Over all, our mental toughness is what frustrates me, I dont know if the answer is a sports psychologist, or if it is a cultural thing of getting a few hard headed, vocal leaders into the squad.

Not sure.

Either way, I remain with this club and team but we need to be better then last night and better than this season.

 

[SeaEagle007]

well results wise they are actually better. Where did we finish last year under Des mate?

have you been living under a rock mate, you do know why the season derailed last season? Des had as a game away from a GF the year before that one and we were on our way to another finals series , until Mr Penn Rainbow Master decided to hijack women in league round, and go missing in the face of adversity , only for DES to cover up for everyone for something he had no idea about , and then made a scapegoat for his trouble..... your issue is with Penn no-one else... if you cant see that then you need to get reconfigured