Eels looked unlikely to score managing a plan C - last tackle kick & hope try.... Manly had enough quality possession to win that game...& comfortably. To put it mildly the attack was poor & though Eels were offside "all night", it was Manly's inability to adapt to the game situation, that let them down. The kicking game picked out their FB on the full 80% from distance & in the Red Zone...needed to find space behind a compressed up & in defence....to maybe score....but if not ....put their outside defenders in 2 minds, making their reads a little tougher on the run options also. Lack of pushing up with the ball carrier was again obvious, allowing the runner to be dominated, stifling the momentum & allowing them to control a slow tempo in the play ball area. Still managed field position & opportunities in that Red Zone - where our runners for most part, got the ball flat & ran solo....looked predictable as an U10's team lining up for their "my run next" The outside backs lacked depth & were eaten up by the umbrella "up & in defence"....pi**ed off last night I failed to explain this well. In attack close to that ruck always need those flat power runner options & again...hardly seen a second man play to iscolate a Robson or edge defender here....but here is the kicker. The wide men need to be deep but still run their lanes inside the defenders shoulders to hold them up against the slide...this if executed at depth even with that predictable second man play - WILL WORK, as proven by the 1 time it was done properly & young Tom lost a 3 on 1 advantage (French closed it down) with a try 100% on. This standing flat leads to 1 thing only - runner catches the ball - first movement is sideways - THIS allows the slide defence to work....this theory of EVERYONE playing flat leads to playing sideways, lacking punch & direct running to build momentum....the flat game is earned through good go forward with players winning quick play balls, sharp scoots & winning that ruck - then it's smooth & effective as you own the defence, control that tempo... In the end the Manly attack did not adapt to the opposition defence on the run & lost the game. If it was NFL the defensive coordinator was let down by the attack & did enough to win....comfortably.
DCE in the opposition red zone this year has been clueless. He gets the big $$ and just isn't delivering. No shape in attack, constantly getting caught with the ball and kicking game terrible.
I really hate players standing flat all the time and the frustrating thing is that a couple of time when someone did stand deep and charge on to it the "ball player" did not even know there was a try on. The most notable example was a Dylan Walker non pass to a flying Willame. Everything was perfect except like all non natural ball players he looked to pass early then did not realise the split second later is what it is all about. He was thru the gap clean as a whistle and would have scored I think. These clean breaks wide of the ruck 20 yards out are hard to defend because the defence cant see it developing and the slide is taken out of play. Another field goal is being wise after the event but all the commentators would of thought it crazy but not me
Our forwards were good last night. Our backs were poor. We are now relying too much on Tom Turbo to make breaks. When he has a quiet game, like last night, we don't have another back that can crack open the defence, Taufa excepted. I can't see why people think Walker is such a gun. I think he is ordinary, yet he was touted as our big signing. I do think if Lyon had have played last night we would have won. Likewise, if Gutherson had been in our team instead of Brown/Wright/Willyarmy/Walker we would have won.
