In a parallel universe..

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Freagle

Bencher
In a parallel universe, whereby Tooves was still coach BUT he had inherited our current team...would everyone agree that we'd be much higher up the table?

We seem to have stopped scoring points - yes, I know we suddenly have VERY makeshift halves, but even so, our classy, timeless backs just aren;t running onto the ball. There are NO sweeping backline plays, the like of which scored us so many points last season and for time immemorial. Our only really creative forward (Mateo) is languishing in reserve grade too, which seems silly to me.

With a forward pack that moves the ball forward like our champions are doing at the moment, we would have absolutely carved up last year under a Toovey-led regime.

Pointless looking back and speculating I guess, but it does seem a shame that he was given a "pop-gun" pack to lead a team of creative geniuses around, and now we have an AK47, but no creativity.

Snake, time to step up and be the leader we know you can be.
 
You have a very short memory. Toovey was still using Haslers play book and opposition defenses were reading us like a book. That's not to say I think it's much better now, because I don't.
 
You have a very short memory. Toovey was still using Haslers play book and opposition defenses were reading us like a book. That's not to say I think it's much better now, because I don't.
We were scoring tries though, and moving the ball at players in motion, as opposed to standing still.
 
Conveniently ignoring 2015 then?

I don't think we need to go over our injury crisis again do we? Plus you conveniently forgot about us breaking records with our scoring in 2014.

The fact that we didn't just score a lot of tries but actually created history showed our attack was fine. The sweep plays at the back worked as we had a genius backline with snake setting up many of those.

It was our forwards who let the team down as we just didn't have a strong enough pack.
 
All I know is that the last two games at Brookie I was so bored. Our attack was absolutely pathetic. I can't remember feeling this ever before. That must indicate something.
 
Our backline form from 20 14 is two years on in age and unfortunately time waits for no man

2 years older when your at the right age / younger can be a so enhancing and allow you to be even better

However There comes a tipping point in age when you won't get better for the team and at best you will only perform adequately & that will include great plays mixed with bloopers

If the person at tipping point was a past reliable match winner & great the loss is even greater but harder to define or accept because they are still good players - Just not the consistent match winners they once were

Just got to give our new young winners the time to become match winners in their own right

At worst the previous champs can unintentionally actually stifle some of the our prospects

I am not pessimistic and can really see another dominance era very soon

Alas just not this year or until our new match winners are allowed to run the ship

Not to say a 50 point hiding to newvastle this week won't change my mind

Go manly
 
With Cherry back shortly and either Walker or Api in as 5/8 we will start putting points on the board. I still feel that Api is the best option we have at 5/8 and Walker is too good to drop to NSW Cup. Taufua's injury would enable us to put Walker on the wing. Yes he may be wasted there, but he will also be a benefit there too. He is fast and has amazing footwork. Although he has started to impress at 5/8, I think he is very much like killer. Good at 5/8 but really a very good centre.
 
With Cherry back shortly and either Walker or Api in as 5/8 we will start putting points on the board. I still feel that Api is the best option we have at 5/8 and Walker is too good to drop to NSW Cup. Taufua's injury would enable us to put Walker on the wing. Yes he may be wasted there, but he will also be a benefit there too. He is fast and has amazing footwork. Although he has started to impress at 5/8, I think he is very much like killer. Good at 5/8 but really a very good centre.

All of the above.

I believe Walker at 5/8 is TB's biggest test as coach. He must be having exactly the same thought as most of us. How walker goes in the weeks to come, and how TB handles it will define him as a coach..
 
Let's not forget that under Toovey, Vave was languishing in the NSW cup and grossly overweight, nowadays he's our main impact forward
 
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It's not a case of whether the opposition can "read" us or not...the modern game is so structured and every team has the same play book...success in attack comes down to first winning the ruck and then the individual skill/decision making of the players involved.

Our forwards were being trampled when DCE was fit earlier in the season, then as soon as our forwards started aiming up he got injured and we were left with a makeshift 5/8 and a makeshift 7. Not to mention, Snake is struggling to find a rhythm. That's why our attack is ineffective at present.

However, I do think Toovey was a very good coach and I would have loved to see him coach the crop of players we currently have at our club. In saying that, it's hard to ignore the rumbles that he was on the nose with some of the players and maybe his position as coach had become untenable. I find that very sad and Toovey will always be a hero in my eyes and I hope to god we get him involved in the organisation again someday.
 
While I love Toovey and always will, he became stagnant as a coach at Manly. His approach would not have been overly different from Des so the players really needed a change. With this change means the players are fitter and appear to be playing harder. The downside is that the combinations are not as sharp.

As mentioned by @Snake, the forwards were steamrolled those first couple games where DCE was fit. He struggled because of this as all halves do. That is part of the reason we have scored many less points. With him back in and the forward pack firming into a solid lineup I think he will start to have a field day.
 
I thought about this the other day. I genuinely believe if tooves was still coach, and had everything Barrett currently has, we'd have more than 3 wins on the board.
However, come seasons end I have a feeling Barrett and his staff will have improved beyond the level of tooves. Obviously I have nothing but admiration for tooves and I always will, but I'll never forget the way he spoke on nrl 360, talking about his lack of faith in the scientific side of the sport or how he thinks new rules are soft or whatever. It seemed to me he was a bit too old school to keep up with the game, let alone get ahead of the pack, which is where you need to be to win a grand final.
 

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