Pack lacks grunt big time

[The Eagle Has Landed]

Opposition dressing rooms are now looking forward to playing Manly & smashing the "softco*ks".

You do support Manly Right?

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

.. If the loss to the Vermin wasn't a wake up call then letting a team like Parramatta, who basically have one good player, put 22 points on us in a 40 minute blitz, should be...

This is so wrong, you are confusing Parramatta with the Ricky Stuart rabble of last year. They were good in the first half and were tremendous in the second half. As with Souths a couple of weeks ago, it was the Eels best performance so far this year.

 

[sheridanstand78]

The origin of the teams slump comes on the back of Dumanis Lui being injured, he is a great metre getter and our go forward has suffered.

Its putting too much pressure on the halves. I think we need improve our go forward if we are to compete with the best.

 

[Budgie]

.. If the loss to the Vermin wasn't a wake up call then letting a team like Parramatta, who basically have one good player, put 22 points on us in a 40 minute blitz, should be...

This is so wrong, you are confusing Parramatta with the Ricky Stuart rabble of last year. They were good in the first half and were tremendous in the second half. As with Souths a couple of weeks ago, it was the Eels best performance so far this year.

It really swung on the disallowed try. Straight away they got angry and literally unleashed their true potential - every one of them. As they saw that happen, their self belief grew, and it became a self fulfilling prophecy. Manly were not prepared and the momentum was impossible to stop. It was a very unique situation, one that all the coaching and psychology talks in a season cannot produce on their own.

 

[Red Pill]

The origin of the teams slump comes on the back of Dumanis Lui being injured, he is a great metre getter and our go forward has suffered.

Its putting too much pressure on the halves. I think we need improve our go forward if we are to compete with the best.

Agee. This will help. Also not getting value out of Hasson. Good kid but is getting smashed! Need to replace him with EPA IMO, surely he could provide more! even with limited game time! Also see EPA is now a starter with the reggies. With king injured or likely to get a weeks suspension I think he should be given a chance.

 

[Wombat Legacy]

Lui/Stewart will help when back.
Hasson not up to first grade standard

Foran, Whatmough, Stewart had very poor games....Go figure!

It is obvious that this team has dropped off the 5% that made them formidable....WHY???

 

[mozgrame]

To be fair to Watmough, he was the top tackler in the game with 44. His hands aren't the greatest at the best of times. Put that workload on him and he's going to come up with fumbles.

 

[pjayz]

That was the litmus test tonight for me.I have been reasonably confident all year mainly due to the lack of too many great rivals but our forwards wont be good enough this year unfortunately.We simply cant control big sides when they start rolling.Lui will help a little and we will always put in but we just haven't got the firepower in the pigs.

This is not a panic.Simply a reasonably obvious observation.

Totally agree.

 

[ManlyBacker]

OK, I am not a "rose coloured glasses" type, and if I was worried, I would genuinely express that, but I am not.

This game was always going to be tough. Parramatta had everything to play for, and lifted in front of their home fans to notch a 10 point win, whilst we were awful in every facet.

However, the aggression, desire, and intensity that the Eels played with tonight is how we will play in the finals, only with a much more talented side. We've had one eye on the finals for a month now and it's showing. You can't wrestle momentum in the modern game, you have to bring your intensity from the get go, and we haven't done that since the Warriors game.

Write us off at your own peril. The Roosters lost by 10 in round 24 last year to the Sharks (who were desperate for a finals position), and they also lost in round 25 to the Titans. We will come good!

I'll stick with these thoughts as we really could win it this year. It is all about attitude. We owned them for the first 15 and thought it was going to be an easy win. No team can do that and not pay.

Still, we were rubbish when it counted and failed to tough it out. There needs to be a big adjustment and commitment. But I'm not willing to put the boot into a group of players who have done us proud and a lot of them for 8 years plus.

I know it is in there and I hope we get to see it in 3 weeks time.

 

[Chip and Chase]

We can still win it if the play the ball speed is increased and the Refs are more strict but I doubt that is going to happen especially semi final time.

This is what worries me too. The refs put the whistle away in big games, so the wrestle and the domination up the middle determine who wins more often than not. Look at last years GF, Roosters were the most penalised team all year, basically playing cynical football willing to take the chance on losing penalty counts. Come finals time they had that style perfected and the refs played into their hands by being too scared to give penalties lest they become the subject of post game focus.

We need to find something that gives us a bit of punch in both A and D, last year I think we had that experience and professionalism of Kitey, Joe G and Richie driving us forward constantly, also Georgie did give a bit of bang off the bench. Lately it seems we can go with teams for 40-60 minutes and then just run out of impact.

Lui coming back will help as he has been good in that department. However if BJ is out for any length of time we will really miss him. Maybe the upside of King and BJ possibly missing a week or two means that we give Sao, Turbo or Epa a run and see how hungry they are to make a difference this season for us.

 

[pjayz]

explain why it was 12-0 at half time? The same team was playing in those matches.

It doesn't matter what the half-time score is - only full-time. We do have issues in the forwards, you have to acknowledge that. Nobody is saying that we suck and won't win another game, but if winning the premiership is the goal, then we need to tweak our forwards.

---

.. If the loss to the Vermin wasn't a wake up call then letting a team like Parramatta, who basically have one good player, put 22 points on us in a 40 minute blitz, should be...

This is so wrong, you are confusing Parramatta with the Ricky Stuart rabble of last year. They were good in the first half and were tremendous in the second half. As with Souths a couple of weeks ago, it was the Eels best performance so far this year.

Sometimes you have to look at yourself in order to improve right? Do you think that we have a great forward pack that is in the form needed to win a comp?

We certainly don't need to get rid of them all and bring in a whole new pack, but a tweak in one or two positions could make the difference.

 

[BOZO]

Our forwards need Viagra . Team changes Matai and Taufua to the front row
Seriously we cant keep on being battering rams up front if we are going compete in the finals . I trust that the great 2V will have a solution for us and Gift should add some authority up front with his hard hitting defence

 

[Bandit]

Opposition dressing rooms are now looking forward to playing Manly & smashing the "softco*ks".

You do support Manly Right?

Yeah - love 'em. 7 or 8 alltime legends in our group - I was just really disappointed watching that second 40 minutes last night.

From 2005 to 2013, no one could ever say Manly didn't turn up.

Settled down abit now & hopefully the lads can turn things around.

cheers

 

[the mauler]

Also don't think we can carry Horo on the bench. He either starts or doesn't make the 17. You need impact players off the bench and players like Horo and Hasson offer very little unfortunately.

 

[gooman]

hey guys, sorry only just joined and its my first post. I am a big Manly fan and Sea Eagles member living in Brissie.

The whole team seems a bit fatigued and need a good 4-5 days off to freshen up. Not just physically but mentally, they looked spent in both areas.

We are lacking go forward at present and have dropped off in defence but the players we have, have got us this far this year when everybody else wrote them off.

Need to get away from the training paddock and have a bit of fun and a good bonding session to get the group back on track.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Great first post @gooman and welcome aboard.

Lots of us in Brissie (as you will know)....SEQ is the Sea Eagles "second home".

 

[BOZO]

hey guys, sorry only just joined and its my first post. I am a big Manly fan and Sea Eagles member living in Brissie.

The whole team seems a bit fatigued and need a good 4-5 days off to freshen up. Not just physically but mentally, they looked spent in both areas.

We are lacking go forward at present and have dropped off in defence but the players we have, have got us this far this year when everybody else wrote them off.

Need to get away from the training paddock and have a bit of fun and a good bonding session to get the group back on track.

Welcome to the land of the Silvertails feathered friend . I love your positive attitude . Keep it up !!!

 

[Jethro]

hey guys, sorry only just joined and its my first post. I am a big Manly fan and Sea Eagles member living in Brissie.

The whole team seems a bit fatigued and need a good 4-5 days off to freshen up. Not just physically but mentally, they looked spent in both areas.

We are lacking go forward at present and have dropped off in defence but the players we have, have got us this far this year when everybody else wrote them off.

Need to get away from the training paddock and have a bit of fun and a good bonding session to get the group back on track.

 

[HappilyManly]

Losing like that and to Parra, should be the whack in the head with a wet mullet moment for Manly

The loss to the monster Rabbids was continually excused by the size of their Opponent. But Manly were already showing signs of haphazard play and lack of ball security :dodgy:

Manly need to focus and put all sentimentality away.
They have the skillset and should apply it relentlessly :idea:

 

[Snake]

It's not an attitude problem, our prop rotation are soft and simply don't make the desired metres to dominate a stronger pack. Our most feared player is a centre in Skivvy.

You simply can't put a pack of reserve graders... Lawrence, Starling, Horo, Symmonds etc and expect them to dominate over a player like Sam Burgess who makes more metres than all of them combined in one game.

I hate these blokes but I would seriously look at Kasiano, Mason, James to add that punch and aggression we need for next year. We don't have huge money but we could at least get one of theses blokes.

Carroll, Roberts, Gillespie wouldn't argue..

If it's not attitude, then explain how we beat the Roosters and Dogs this year? explain why it was 12-0 at half time? The same team was playing in those matches.

Lawrence, Horo, and Symonds played in a GF side last year, so I hardly think they're reserve graders. And anyway, I'd rather follow a reserve grade team than cheer on a wanker like Big Sam.

Snake are these people Manly fans?. It doesn't look like it to me. How can anyone bag a team like this who are in first place after a grand final appearance last year and call them reserve graders.
Are these trolls from the Parra site or something?.

These people are content to throw the baby out with the bath water after one loss against a very desperate football team when we are two points clear at the top of the ladder. It's a bit ridiculous really.