Is Manly's ruck attack Best in the NRL ?

[maxta]

I think Manly give it a real shake.

The go forward of Kapow and AFB is the best around and Sirro / Thommo have really straightened up those edges in recent times and are running hard, not just looking to offload...and playing it faster than recent seasons.
On the back of this, Tom T is lurking constantly up the middle and as good as any, DCE is also far more direct in 2019 and the Fainu scoots are up with any other 9 in the comp.
Lets not forget Api here neither, not as zippy as Fainu but can certainly duck and weave into some space.
There is also Jake, who as first receiver always brings both an inside and outside runner to the line and if the opposition defence numbers up, he will show and go with only 1 defender and at very least, will win a quick play ball for the next hunt down the middle.
Have made some solid defensive sides crumble in this area in 2019, but this test against the Storm will be a great test....I feel Manly will play direct and through the line big time, as to try beat Melbourne on the outside can be footy suicide, they have the best slide in the NRL and love teams challenging them laterally.

What's the opinions about Manly's middle attack - the best, up there....or is this call simply delusional ??

 

[manlyfan76]

I think Jake is the forward Des was trying to manufacture at the dogs for all those years, only better.

 

[double hoops]

Against the Eels with Fainu and Turbo flying out of dummy half it looked potent, but clumsy.

DES has just jumped on the Filters blues game plan. Throw the ball wide early to space for easy yards. When you have props moving backwards and wider. Then double up up the middle from the dummy.

It's funny that Madge copied it last week without success.

Some bloke called turbo is the main difference.

He must be pretty quick off the mark from a standing start I would suggest.

 

[KOMORI]

I thought that the Fainu/Turbo one two punch out of dummy half was absolutely brilliant and ohh so dangerous last week, had the Squeels’ middle third shot to pieces pretty easily... the Scum will counter this by laying all over the ruck as they do all the time, and the difference will be how this is policed in this upcoming game.

Keep this style of play up, which to me is good, strong and positive football, and we will shake things riiiiiight up methinks..

It’s brilliant to see a team playing footy with this mindset, rather than the Bellamy/Bennett style of slow, grinding and ugly wrestle mania that dominates the game these days..

 

[double hoops]

Agree we need to stick with it. Quick play of the balls and darting from dummy half is our strength it was disappointing to see we played away from that in the rabbits game.

DES is no fool though and we will need a game plan b come finals.

It was clunky because for the amount of breaks turbo made our boys really bombed a couple of easy trys. We got luck and AFB got at least one anyway.

But the old draw and pass, even if it's an inside pass is such an easy art.

All year I've though DES needs to spend a week just on the basics when in the clear. It never pays dividends that week mind you, but down the track for some players the practice just clicks.

 

[Stuey Davis’s Socks]

Forgetting the wrestle for a minute, the Storm are going to be much tighter around the ruck and won’t open up like the Eels did. We will have to be patient .

 

[KOMORI]

Forgetting the wrestle for a minute, the Storm are going to be much tighter around the ruck and won’t open up like the Eels did. We will have to be patient .

You can’t discount the wrestle and give their middle third a wrap at the same time. Their ruck defence is strong because it’s always set.. due to the wrestle and slowing down of the ruck that their game is based on..

Do agree with the patience thing though.. timing and patience will be the key to busting them up..

 

[Cameron]

Not this weekend it won’t be.
That immortal cheat whom I share a name with will be all over us in the play the ball like Michael Jackson at a wiggles concert.

 

[maxta]

Not this weekend it won’t be.
That immortal cheat whom I share a name with will be all over us in the play the ball like Michael Jackson at a wiggles concert.

Though I 100% agree with you, I hope Manly still pummel that middle and win a few offloads to unsettle their defence line and most importantly, allow Manly the same latitude in the ruck, slowing the attack....the odd early shift and some trick shots are always handy, but always play to your strengths is Integral and if we win the middle it at least gives us a shot to compete.
No doubt can already picture Cam Smith like a traffic cop, waving his arms at the refs, basically blowing the whistle from the first set.

 

[Woodsie]

Our ruck attack is effective because we also use Jake to spread it one or two places wide often .. not allowing their middle defenders to get into a pattern of rythm ...... changing the point of attack ..

What amassed me last weekend was our middle defence ... a few times close to their line we moved up quick and bashed them .... every other game for the past 3 years we would have been penalised for offside after the 2nd tackle ....

 

[Kevinward777]

I think Manly give it a real shake.

The go forward of Kapow and AFB is the best around and Sirro / Thommo have really straightened up those edges in recent times and are running hard, not just looking to offload...and playing it faster than recent seasons.
On the back of this, Tom T is lurking constantly up the middle and as good as any, DCE is also far more direct in 2019 and the Fainu scoots are up with any other 9 in the comp.
Lets not forget Api here neither, not as zippy as Fainu but can certainly duck and weave into some space.
There is also Jake, who as first receiver always brings both an inside and outside runner to the line and if the opposition defence numbers up, he will show and go with only 1 defender and at very least, will win a quick play ball for the next hunt down the middle.
Have made some solid defensive sides crumble in this area in 2019, but this test against the Storm will be a great test....I feel Manly will play direct and through the line big time, as to try beat Melbourne on the outside can be footy suicide, they have the best slide in the NRL and love teams challenging them laterally.

What's the opinions about Manly's middle attack - the best, up there....or is this call simply delusional ??

The way Jake is playing reminds me of how Dessie had James Graham playing in his prime.

 

[maxta]

The way Jake is playing reminds me of how Dessie had James Graham playing in his prime.

Very true....and the Dogs at that time were serious contenders.

 

[HoldenV8]

Agree we need to stick with it. Quick play of the balls and darting from dummy half is our strength it was disappointing to see we played away from that in the rabbits game.

I think part of that came from the fact that we had Elliot at fullback that day. Don't get me wrong, he's been bloody good when he's filled in there when Tom hasn't played. He's safe as houses under a high kick and his defence isn't that bad. But lets be honest, in attack he offers almost nothing and certainly isn't in Tom's class as an attacking fullback.

You look at our average points per game when Tom has played this year compared to what we score when Elliot has been our fullback.

With Tom - 181 pts @ 30.16 per game (6 games). 6 wins, 0 losses.
With Elliot - 196 pts @ 17.81 per game (11 games). 4 wins, 7 losses.

Also when you look at the stats, Elliot scored 1 try from his 11 games at fullback (away against Cronulla) and has had 0 try assists in his 13 games total (he played in the centres/fullback against Souffs at Brookie and from the bench against the Tits at CBUS). In his 6 games, Tom has scored 5 tries and has had 6 try assists.

While we're seemingly not as bad off when Tom doesn't play like we were for the games when Snake didn't play during his career (when Snake didn't play our odds of winning tended to blow out), we definitely struggle to score when Tom isn't playing fullback and chiming into the attack.

 

[maxta]

I think part of that came from the fact that we had Elliot at fullback that day. Don't get me wrong, he's been bloody good when he's filled in there when Tom hasn't played. He's safe as houses under a high kick and his defence isn't that bad. But lets be honest, in attack he offers almost nothing and certainly isn't in Tom's class as an attacking fullback.

Agree on Elliott - better than I had expected in fairness, but not many can attack like Turbo.
There is a big uplift in Turbo 2019....I put it down to a growing confidence that has been influenced big time by the return of Des and the biggest factor, he has been taken under the wing of Snake Stewart, who has him far more involved and positionally improved in both attack and defence, plus his confidence has him barking out orders without the muzzle and his team mates are all lifting on the back of this and his improved impact on the games.

 

[Kevinward777]

Very true....and the Dogs at that time were serious contenders.

Yeah... he had them humming through the guts, especially when Barba was sniffing around for second phase ball.