Perspective and a deep breath

[Mark from Brisbane]

If Manly can not lift or function much better as a unit against the Storm then there are real problems to come to terms with . Panthers knew where Manly 's vulnerable points were and were pretty ruthless and professional exploiting them . No side however can even remotely expect to compete with only a 27 % possession share in one half and the energy and confidence sapping effects then and having limited attacking options to offer as well . Turbo virtually a passenger when it mattered , disruptions to an already struggling backline , crucial tackles that should normally be made . Doesn 't seem to be a collective team problem , more an individual issue . Guess on a general analisis on the backs and forwards , jake , Paseka , Bullemor and Keppie and of course Oloaka - atu are offering some good value , Alioia just not enough on recent indications , Tuilagi even less a rating . Froggy a real trier , not in the top bracket but just will have to do for now . Really miss Foz "s direction , the Shu an asset when he is available , Turbo and Parker depend on his creativity , Turbo still can be very effective when fit without the Shu , Brad "s limitations really obvious without it . Weekes still looks a good prospect and should be at least retained on the bench Garrick and Saab can match most wingers so no concern there . Just cannot expect too much from Harper in the absence of Koula , it is what it is with D C E so pretty much status quo there . Sipley and Woods did go well on the weekend but prop performances aren "t the problem presently , just an edge position and to a lesser extent 13 . Main requirement seems a fit Shu and Turbo available , tidy up the edges , . Just so far off the pace and premiership calculations on Saturday , surely can be so much better but another lackluster effort against the Storm and regardless who is selected , will be looking pretty grim then ongoing or any time soon .

As I’ve said elsewhere , regardless of the outs this weekend coming we’ll know a lot about our team after the Drizzle game.

Like this week I don’t expect a win , but if we get the same insipid , not giving a **** performance then we’ll know the problems of 2022 really haven’t give away.

But , getting beaten by a better side , whilst having a crack , should mean there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Frogz]

If Manly can not lift or function much better as a unit against the Storm then there are real problems to come to terms with . Panthers knew where Manly 's vulnerable points were and were pretty ruthless and professional exploiting them . No side however can even remotely expect to compete with only a 27 % possession share in one half and the energy and confidence sapping effects then and having limited attacking options to offer as well . Turbo virtually a passenger when it mattered , disruptions to an already struggling backline , crucial tackles that should normally be made . Doesn 't seem to be a collective team problem , more an individual issue . Guess on a general analisis on the backs and forwards , jake , Paseka , Bullemor and Keppie and of course Oloaka - atu are offering some good value , Alioia just not enough on recent indications , Tuilagi even less a rating . Froggy a real trier , not in the top bracket but just will have to do for now . Really miss Foz "s direction , the Shu an asset when he is available , Turbo and Parker depend on his creativity , Turbo still can be very effective when fit without the Shu , Brad "s limitations really obvious without it . Weekes still looks a good prospect and should be at least retained on the bench Garrick and Saab can match most wingers so no concern there . Just cannot expect too much from Harper in the absence of Koula , it is what it is with D C E so pretty much status quo there . Sipley and Woods did go well on the weekend but prop performances aren "t the problem presently , just an edge position and to a lesser extent 13 . Main requirement seems a fit Shu and Turbo available , tidy up the edges , . Just so far off the pace and premiership calculations on Saturday , surely can be so much better but another lackluster effort against the Storm and regardless who is selected , will be looking pretty grim then ongoing or any time soon .

Nearly a ditto from last year isnt it.

 

[Seagles68]

Remember , none of them were playing the red hot Panthers.

Put any of those sides you’re mentioning up against the Panthers on Saturday night and I’d expect the results would have been exactly the same.

You're right Mark, that those teams are as up an down as us. And to think Penrith had their best forward out. But like @mickqld, it bugs the crappola out of me that even against Parra and Newcastle, we couldn't sustain the intensity. They need a Jake heart and passion transplant!

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

You're right Mark, that those teams are as up an down as us. And to think Penrith had their best forward out. But like @mickqld, it bugs the crappola out of me that even against Parra and Newcastle, we couldn't sustain the intensity. They need a Jake heart and passion transplant!

You watch , there’s going to be upsets galore all year ( for the teams ranked 5-17).

Canberra are just as likely to be thrashed next weekend.

The Knights could come out next week and be absolutely mauled by the Panthers.

OR

The Knights could surprise the Panthers.

We have seen it in all rounds to date.

 

[Seagles68]

You watch , there’s going to be upsets galore all year ( for the teams ranked 5-17).

Canberra are just as likely to be thrashed next weekend.

The Knights could come out next week and be absolutely mauled by the Panthers.

OR

The Knights could surprise the Panthers.

We have seen it in all rounds to date.

Yep, I noted in an earlier post somewhere that if we can get a minimum 50% wins over the next couple of months, we could still find ourselves around the 8 coz other teams are going to cause some upsets. We just need to make sure we are the ones causing some of the upsets. This week would be a good start.

 

[ManlyTragic]

Are we under the radar yet!

Just sayin’

 

[manly al]

Great post Mark
I find kind of funny when our fans throw in the towel and say things like, that's the worst performance I've seen in forty years. Really have you watched every game for forty years? I have. There's been many dismal, as well as brilliant, performances. We also lost our club for three years. That was the worst ever IMO.
I understand the younger fans being paper thin. The NRL wants to mould them to be general fans of the game, not so much attached to one team.
Us older fans though, we need to set the example of resilience. There will be bad, but the good will be magic.
Come along for the ride or step off the bus.
Go Manly!

With due respects , that was about as bad as it gets with that i st half outcome against the Panthers . Guess that just for perspective and from my observation and hopefully still not bad level of recollection . Poor or really poor Manly performances were really just not an issue in the 70 's 80 "s or most of the 90 "s [ just the latter stages ] , mainly because Manly were in the fortunate position to and in a largely pre cap era to always have quality sides . A couple of really embarrassing losses , ironically against the Panthers just after the regretful Nth Eagles experiment , like plus 60 and 70 points put on Manly but much inferior sides at least on paper , 60 odd points conceded or against the Sharks in 05 or so with a fairly average Manly team . Sure some mitigating circumstances on Saturday against the Panthers but some of Manly 's i st half efforts and attitude were just bordering on the amateurship level . Some improvement in the 2nd half but just so much to atone for . Anyway just such a shame that the club now has exceeded current membership anticipated levels and that is dished up .

 

[Disco]

We've played well, we've played crap Ive the night in on Friday by myself with a pizza so looking forward to the Melbs game

 

[Tragic Eagle]

The defence has been awful for 3 weeks leaking more than 30 points per game. That’s not an out of character performance that is an attitude problem.

 

[manly al]

Had that good run in that 07 - 14 era , private ownership did not seem to be too much of a concern . Sort of getting to that desired premiership level in 17 , 19 and 21 and again private ownership model only a limited effect one would think . Weren 't going too bad last season until the combination of serious injury impact and i would still maintain to a lesser extend Rainbow gate . Guess that any business model can have its pros and cons over time , as long as the bills are being paid somehow and the recruiting team are assembling a competitive squad , should not be too many concerns

 

[Top End Eagle]

There has been no next man up mentality because there has been no next man up mentality under des. It's just been shuffle this way son and do your best in a position you aren't used to.

That's because there has been no second grade with players trialing for spots in a system similar to the first grade style knowing they are auditioning for a start in the big league. Koula, Weekes, came straight from Flegg, no time in state league. I heard the commentators say in the Blacktown game that one of the players on the wing for the Panthers had been playing on the wing this year even though he was one of the top try scorers at centre because he'd been told he was 'next man up' at wing or centre for firsts for injury or when to'o plays origin. That type of systematic planning and approach is what's needed. Not throwing kids from Flegg into first grade and having a couple of part time sparkies who can afford to get time off to train and keep their footy dreams alive at 24 in reserves, or a bunch of pasifika blokes whose expectational circumstances don't line up like others who drop that dream for pressures of home ownership and financial stability in a trade or teaching or a small business.

The proper inculcation of a second grade should have been paramount. Only the roosters and their sombrero, the Broncos and their whole of Southern Qld, the Cows and their whole of North Qld, the Roosters and their pile of cash, the Storm and the fact every junior in the game would be mad (or lazy) not to sign with them, can get away without one. And with three wins in a row and an excellent docu-series and the best run club in the Q Cup Redcliffe have that sorted as well.

 

[eaglebuzz]

Realistically we were playing with a spare parts left side and the Panthers exposed it.

I think we will make the 8 this year but until we fix our hooker and centres problem I don't think we can be serious title threats.

Maybe one more prop too, or at least better utilisation of our current props.

 

[BOZO]

I think it just comes down to expectations.

I think our great expectations and great standards should always be high
and we should always strive to live to our Legendary clubs Benchmark of greatness

Lower our Great standards and we stand for nothing great
There was nothing great about our abysmal Penrith Performance as we were exposed once again to our teams weaknesses and it is obvious which positions in the team that need strengthening

You can pump up certain players in the team but when their quality is not up to standards those players wont take you to any great heights as the more Speedier , Stronger and Skilful players will always dominate in the quest to Grand Final Glory

The Incomparable Immortal and the Greatest winning Sea eagle of all God Bless his Manly soul
was quoted as saying you must have the right cattle on the field to win big games
And our Greatest ever Administrator our beloved God Father proved this with his ruthless end of year playing roaster clean and replacing them with a higher calibre quality players .

We will see another grand final win at Manly when we see a change of those players in the roaster
that fail to deliver in big games .

We have some tremendous young talent like Myers , Fainu and GCKT and talent not used is talent wasted and we are wasting our time persisting with some of same old and tried players that failed Des and are Failing Seibold

To all Proud and Passionate Manly folks on here
Never lose your passionate voice and Manly high Standards and never settle for excuses as reason s we are not living up to our legendary clubs high standards
Excuses are denial of ones accountability of failure
And no one has ever won anything by offering excuses

If we are to lift another Premiership winning trophy
We need to live up to the Premier standards of our Benchmark Premiership Winning Players
These players were not only chummy TEAM PLAYERS they were also opposition team SLAYERS !

The Killer , the Slayer and Premiership winning Player
The Great Jamie Lyon !!!

 

[Top End Eagle]

I think our great expectations and great standards should always be high
and we should always strive to live to our Legendary clubs Benchmark of greatness

Lower our Great standards and we stand for nothing great
There was nothing great about our abysmal Penrith Performance as we were exposed once again to our teams weaknesses and it is obvious which positions in the team that need strengthening

You can pump up certain players in the team but when their quality is not up to standards those players wont take you to any great heights as the more Speedier , Stronger and Skilful players will always dominate in the quest to Grand Final Glory

The Incomparable Immortal and the Greatest winning Sea eagle of all God Bless his Manly soul
was quoted as saying you must have the right cattle on the field to win big games
And our Greatest ever Administrator our beloved God Father proved this with his ruthless end of year playing roaster clean and replacing them with a higher calibre quality players .

We will see another grand final win at Manly when we see a change of those players in the roaster
that fail to deliver in big games .

We have some tremendous young talent like Myers , Fainu and GCKT and talent not used is talent wasted and we are wasting our time persisting with some of same old and tried players that failed Des and are Failing Seibold

To all Proud and Passionate Manly folks on here
Never lose your passionate voice and Manly high Standards and never settle for excuses as reason s we are not living up to our legendary clubs high standards
Excuses are denial of ones accountability of failure
And no one has ever won anything by offering excuses

If we are to lift another Premiership winning trophy
We need to live up to the Premier standards of our Benchmark Premiership Winning Players
These players were not only chummy TEAM PLAYERS they were also opposition team SLAYERS !

The Killer , the Slayer and Premiership winning Player
The Great Jamie Lyon !!!

Love the post feathered fiend!

 

[Jerry1]

It was nice being in the eight but we are now around where we belong form wise. Top half of the bottom eight.

 

[Damien2812]

So Manly got touched up by Penrith the premiers, the first team to go back to back without a salary cap so blatantly rorted it's become accepted to the point it's part of the vernacular, ie: sombrero=chooks.

Missing our best centre, our five eighth who was best on ground in our last win against the previous year's runners up.

Our draw has been unkind, Bulldogs was a decent first up hit out, a bye first round isnt bad, second serves absolutely no positive benefit, it allows every other team in the comp to gain more match fitness whilst yours slides (the old crap those busy bodies you find in every local gym will tell you applies - one week off six weeks to catch back up).

Play Parra Souths and a very very good Newcastle team (O'Brien can clearly coach he's come through the systems and now seems to know he is on his last chance and thrown out all the 'systems' he studied at the storm and the roosters and has a footy head halfback there with him) and we're absolutely buggered coming into this round.

The Weekes experiment was worth a try but didn't come off but at least things were tried. We could have lost by just as much with someone else covering there as a stop gap or with John's.

What I liked most and I'm lucky enough to have Foxtel was watching the reserves. As much as people went off about the player swap for woods, the Blacktown team beat the premiers from last year and if we have a good experiences squad to bring players through, players who know they are actually a chance at a place in firsts if they perform it's going to bode well for the future.

We are not the tigers remember that. We do well against the Storm especially when not supposed to, then the tigers after that, hooker is still a problem and we need a cam Murray choc watmough second rower (Bullemore could be that man I'm sure of it and he'd love the starting spot, give Condon that bench role).

Anyway something to ruminate on whilst sipping your coffee feathered fiends.

Manly were blown off the park in all aspects of the game. The team didn't even have any resolve to at least make Penrith earn their points. If our line speed and intent in defence isn't rectified soon this year could get worse than last year.

 

[Damien2812]

With due respects , that was about as bad as it gets with that i st half outcome against the Panthers . Guess that just for perspective and from my observation and hopefully still not bad level of recollection . Poor or really poor Manly performances were really just not an issue in the 70 's 80 "s or most of the 90 "s [ just the latter stages ] , mainly because Manly were in the fortunate position to and in a largely pre cap era to always have quality sides . A couple of really embarrassing losses , ironically against the Panthers just after the regretful Nth Eagles experiment , like plus 60 and 70 points put on Manly but much inferior sides at least on paper , 60 odd points conceded or against the Sharks in 05 or so with a fairly average Manly team . Sure some mitigating circumstances on Saturday against the Panthers but some of Manly 's i st half efforts and attitude were just bordering on the amateurship level . Some improvement in the 2nd half but just so much to atone for . Anyway just such a shame that the club now has exceeded current membership anticipated levels and that is dished up .

I'm still astonished our membership numbers grew after last season's shambles. Manly supporters expect alot more than what this team has dished up the last 2 weeks.

 

[Top End Eagle]

Manly were blown off the park in all aspects of the game. The team didn't even have any resolve to at least make Penrith earn their points. If our line speed and intent in defence isn't rectified soon this year could get worse than last year.

Righto, they're buzz words, 'line speed' and 'intent', (and please don't take this personally it's a legitimate question to determine if you have something to contribute or if you just need to have a whinge) but do you have any answers as to how these things are rectified, or even a way to translate that terminology for the layman. Line speed I could interpret as rushing up quickly, do that to Jarome Luai with Kelma Tualagi and Parker not quite in sync, there's a problem. Intent, depends on what the desired outcome is. If it's to catch and hold it if it's to hit and hurt then there needs to be consistency. The great thing about the internet is everyone gets the chance to share their opinions and ideas, the not so great thing is that everyone gets to share their opinions and ideas

 

[Eagle 1]

Manly were blown off the park in all aspects of the game. The team didn't even have any resolve to at least make Penrith earn their points. If our line speed and intent in defence isn't rectified soon this year could get worse than last year.

Just think we're being a bit harsh on the team, the Riff had 83% possession to our 17% in the first half. Against the premiers no one is going to win no matter what team it is. 2nd half possession evened up for a 12 all score line 2nd half. Doubt Melb can be as dominating as the Riff, bring on Friday night, got a good feeling about this game.

 

[mave]

Righto, they're buzz words, 'line speed' and 'intent', (and please don't take this personally it's a legitimate question to determine if you have something to contribute or if you just need to have a whinge) but do you have any answers as to how these things are rectified, or even a way to translate that terminology for the layman. Line speed I could interpret as rushing up quickly, do that to Jarome Luai with Kelma Tualagi and Parker not quite in sync, there's a problem. Intent, depends on what the desired outcome is. If it's to catch and hold it if it's to hit and hurt then there needs to be consistency. The great thing about the internet is everyone gets the chance to share their opinions and ideas, the not so great thing is that everyone gets to share their opinions and ideas

Seems pretty obvious to me that we didn't train the house down during pre season.

We aren't giving enough credit to the boys post game.

Hopefully we are going to work hard on the simple things, to control what we can control, and not let the fans down.