Player Ratings - St Merge vs Manly

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HoldenV8

Journey Man
I've decided to do a player ratings for Sunday's game. Don't expect there to be a lot of glowing praise......


Brendan Elliot 4/10 - Didn't do such a bad job on Sunday night, but there wasn't much he could do other than chase Dragoons to the tryline.

Reuben Garrick 4/10 - Didn't give up in a well beaten side. Didn't see much ball either except when running it back from downfield kicks. Goal kicking has become a major worry, not that his missed goal on Sunday had much impact on the outcome. When the alternate option is DCE who can also be hit and miss with goal kicking, we are probably the weakest goal kicking team in the NRL.

Brad Parker 2/10 - Defensively OK-ish, but got totally intimidated by Ravalawa and was ineffective in attack.

Moses Suli 4/10 - Played hurt (a corked thigh I believe) and tried hard. Almost scored a try.

Jorge Taufua 1/10 - I've been a fan of Jorge over the years, but its gotten to the point where he is more and more a liability out on the wing than he is a plus. His brain explosion hit on Dufty first cost us 2 points for a penalty goal, then cost us a try. Totally overshadowed by Ravalawa.

Cade Cust 5/10 - Didn't really do a lot wrong, but wasn't given much room to do a lot with the ball, though he did do some good things. I'd like to see him given more opportunity this week, let him run things for a while and see how we go.

Daly Cherry-Evans 1/10 - Extremely poor game from the captain, his worst ever in top flight football bar none. Defended OK, but way too many dropped balls and poor passes which either killed our attack or gifted tries to the opposition. He might not admit it publicly, but I think the pressure of being just about our only strike player with Turbo and Walks on the sidelines is getting to him. He's trying too hard to do too much and its affecting his and the teams play. I'd be letting Cust run things next week to take the pressure off because right now he's not playing like the incumbent Qld and Australian halfback should be, nor is he playing like someone who is getting $1.2m per year to do so.

Morgan Boyle 4/10 - Injured early when he did the splits, but bravely played on. Other than the injury, he wasn't too bad.

Danny Levi 4/10 - Even though I've only given a 4, I actually saw improvement from Danny on Sunday night. Hopefully he keeps improving because we desperately need an effective dummy half. He even put in a couple of nice downfield kicks (which is more than I can say for the guy who replaced him during the game, an allegedly better kicker).

Martin Taupau 5/10 - Was good when he was on. Far from the reason we lost. His offloads also seemed to have a bit more thought to them which was good to see.

Joel Thompson 3/10 - TBH he was barely sighted in attack and got burned for pace a few times in defence.

Curtis Sironen 3/10 - Mixed bag here. Didn't do a lot wrong, but then IMO didn't do nearly enough.

Jake Trbojevic 3/10 - 3 may seem low for some, but its frustrating to see Jake at first receiver when we are attacking the oppositions line. Leave that to the halves and if you are going to be in that position just tuck the ball under your arm and run at the line. We're trying to use Jake as a Gifty like ball player and a lot of the time it more hinders than helps the attack.

Lachlan Croker 1/10 - Has been poor for the past couple of weeks, right at a time when he should have been cementing his spot in the side with Walks out injured. That kick from dummy half that went out on the full was diabolical to say the least (it was only the 3rd tackle). The way things are right now it might be worth giving Josh Schuster a run.

Taniela Paseka 2/10 - During the game, Blocker Roach said on Fox what I have been saying about Paseka for two years. He plays too much like a gentle giant and needs to get some mongrel into his game. His in the top 3 for tallest NRL players and top 3 for the heaviest. With his size and skills, he could be one of the games most dominant forwards if only he got mean out there. In pro wrestling terms, he should play like a heel and not a face, just without the blatant cheating

Jack Gosiewski 2/10 - Came on late and really did SFA. If Waddell is over his shoulder next week then Jetski's place in the side should only be saved by Boyle's groin.

Sean Keppie 5/10 - I thought he was one of our better players on Sunday and I wouldn't mind seeing him start against the Worms.


Well, Des pretty much ended up giving us the team most of us thought should have played (given who we have out) and it didn't turn out so hot did it. We actually played OK for the first 15-20 minutes, then for some reason we just died. Errors started coming in, especially from DCE of all people, and we just couldn't help but once again play St Merge into form. Half time we went in 4-10 down ... they scored 24-0 in the 2nd half including 16-0 in the last 8 minutes of the game. And the worst part was that like Newcastle last week, the Dragons didn't really play great football, we just played like crap. Without Walks, Turbo and IMO especially Fainu, we seem to be lame ducks in attack.

A few things I'd personally like to see:

  • Funa or Hopoate in on the left wing for Jorge
  • Cust to be given the reigns as the organiser next week and leave DCE to his running game
  • Keppie to start in the front row with Taupau
  • Jake not being used as a ball playing first receiver. He's a forward, run the bloody ball.
  • Schuster (or Hopoate) in on the bench for Croker
  • Waddell back in the side and Jetski out

Right now we're in a rot. Its not easy with players missing, but there are ways to turn things around before they return. Hopefully we start to come good soon because if we don't then the season is as good as over for us.
 
I dont think DCE was quite that bad and in fact the Fantasy Points people gave him a 63, and the highest in the Manly team. He was no where near his best, but his worst is usually better than many in this team at their best.
 
I've decided to do a player ratings for Sunday's game. Don't expect there to be a lot of glowing praise......


Brendan Elliot 4/10 - Didn't do such a bad job on Sunday night, but there wasn't much he could do other than chase Dragoons to the tryline.

Reuben Garrick 4/10 - Didn't give up in a well beaten side. Didn't see much ball either except when running it back from downfield kicks. Goal kicking has become a major worry, not that his missed goal on Sunday had much impact on the outcome. When the alternate option is DCE who can also be hit and miss with goal kicking, we are probably the weakest goal kicking team in the NRL.

Brad Parker 2/10 - Defensively OK-ish, but got totally intimidated by Ravalawa and was ineffective in attack.

Moses Suli 4/10 - Played hurt (a corked thigh I believe) and tried hard. Almost scored a try.

Jorge Taufua 1/10 - I've been a fan of Jorge over the years, but its gotten to the point where he is more and more a liability out on the wing than he is a plus. His brain explosion hit on Dufty first cost us 2 points for a penalty goal, then cost us a try. Totally overshadowed by Ravalawa.

Cade Cust 5/10 - Didn't really do a lot wrong, but wasn't given much room to do a lot with the ball, though he did do some good things. I'd like to see him given more opportunity this week, let him run things for a while and see how we go.

Daly Cherry-Evans 1/10 - Extremely poor game from the captain, his worst ever in top flight football bar none. Defended OK, but way too many dropped balls and poor passes which either killed our attack or gifted tries to the opposition. He might not admit it publicly, but I think the pressure of being just about our only strike player with Turbo and Walks on the sidelines is getting to him. He's trying too hard to do too much and its affecting his and the teams play. I'd be letting Cust run things next week to take the pressure off because right now he's not playing like the incumbent Qld and Australian halfback should be, nor is he playing like someone who is getting $1.2m per year to do so.

Morgan Boyle 4/10 - Injured early when he did the splits, but bravely played on. Other than the injury, he wasn't too bad.

Danny Levi 4/10 - Even though I've only given a 4, I actually saw improvement from Danny on Sunday night. Hopefully he keeps improving because we desperately need an effective dummy half. He even put in a couple of nice downfield kicks (which is more than I can say for the guy who replaced him during the game, an allegedly better kicker).

Martin Taupau 5/10 - Was good when he was on. Far from the reason we lost. His offloads also seemed to have a bit more thought to them which was good to see.

Joel Thompson 3/10 - TBH he was barely sighted in attack and got burned for pace a few times in defence.

Curtis Sironen 3/10 - Mixed bag here. Didn't do a lot wrong, but then IMO didn't do nearly enough.

Jake Trbojevic 3/10 - 3 may seem low for some, but its frustrating to see Jake at first receiver when we are attacking the oppositions line. Leave that to the halves and if you are going to be in that position just tuck the ball under your arm and run at the line. We're trying to use Jake as a Gifty like ball player and a lot of the time it more hinders than helps the attack.

Lachlan Croker 1/10 - Has been poor for the past couple of weeks, right at a time when he should have been cementing his spot in the side with Walks out injured. That kick from dummy half that went out on the full was diabolical to say the least (it was only the 3rd tackle). The way things are right now it might be worth giving Josh Schuster a run.

Taniela Paseka 2/10 - During the game, Blocker Roach said on Fox what I have been saying about Paseka for two years. He plays too much like a gentle giant and needs to get some mongrel into his game. His in the top 3 for tallest NRL players and top 3 for the heaviest. With his size and skills, he could be one of the games most dominant forwards if only he got mean out there. In pro wrestling terms, he should play like a heel and not a face, just without the blatant cheating

Jack Gosiewski 2/10 - Came on late and really did SFA. If Waddell is over his shoulder next week then Jetski's place in the side should only be saved by Boyle's groin.

Sean Keppie 5/10 - I thought he was one of our better players on Sunday and I wouldn't mind seeing him start against the Worms.


Well, Des pretty much ended up giving us the team most of us thought should have played (given who we have out) and it didn't turn out so hot did it. We actually played OK for the first 15-20 minutes, then for some reason we just died. Errors started coming in, especially from DCE of all people, and we just couldn't help but once again play St Merge into form. Half time we went in 4-10 down ... they scored 24-0 in the 2nd half including 16-0 in the last 8 minutes of the game. And the worst part was that like Newcastle last week, the Dragons didn't really play great football, we just played like crap. Without Walks, Turbo and IMO especially Fainu, we seem to be lame ducks in attack.

A few things I'd personally like to see:

  • Funa or Hopoate in on the left wing for Jorge
  • Cust to be given the reigns as the organiser next week and leave DCE to his running game
  • Keppie to start in the front row with Taupau
  • Jake not being used as a ball playing first receiver. He's a forward, run the bloody ball.
  • Schuster (or Hopoate) in on the bench for Croker
  • Waddell back in the side and Jetski out

Right now we're in a rot. Its not easy with players missing, but there are ways to turn things around before they return. Hopefully we start to come good soon because if we don't then the season is as good as over for us.
Some harsh ratings and calls but unfortunately....a very accurate summary overall.
Even impressed with the potential changes and hope those who make the team decision agree...
 
I didn't think Levi was that bad either, but it seems like Des has lost whatever confidence he had in him. He was pulled off field pretty early in the first half and didn't get a lot of time after that.
As for Cust, you can't question his ticker. He was playing late at the line and hitting the ball up on early tackles better than our forwards.
 
Agree with pretty much all of that mate. Only thing I'd say is I thought I saw some improvement in Paseka with some offloads and footwork at the line. That said, I agree that every now and then you'd like to see him come off the back fence and absolutely steamroll some blokes.
 
I dont think DCE was quite that bad and in fact the Fantasy Points people gave him a 63, and the highest in the Manly team. He was no where near his best, but his worst is usually better than many in this team at their best.
He cold knocked on FOUR times and threw a match defining intercept . I have never seen that in a first grade match from a seven at any club.I know a few at the club regard it as his worst ever game for Manly. He was awful and I considered myself a big fan - until recently.

Throw in his pathetic mindless long kicking game and quite frankly it was disgraceful.
1 out 10 is right on the money. He has so much ability so has to be judged harshly.
 
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I agree with most of that.

I've been pretty critical of DCE of late but I think 1/10 may be a tad harsh.

I thought he started promisingly. The dropped balls were very uncharacteristic. Even sCam dropped it twice on the weekend which is unheard of.

I think I would've given him 3/10. Still. Hardly high praise for someone on 1.3 a season.
 
Just on DCE.....

I'm a big fan of his and know full well like everyone else that he is much better than his current form. But seriously guys, he knocked on 4 times at least and got saved from another by a captain's challenge. He threw the intercept that led to Dufty burning our entire left edge to a crisp through sheer pace, and how many of his other passes either hit the ground, went above or behind someone?

He is so much better than that and we all know it. I hated giving a 1 but on his performance on Sunday I couldn't exactly give him a 5 or better. Even a 3 would have been stretching it. God knows where his head space is right now but it didn't seem to be on the ball on Sunday at Kogarah.

I really do hope he turns it around this week and puts in a blinder against the Worms because without Turbo, without Walks, without AFB and without Fainu we need him to be at or somewhere near his best. And on Sunday he was about as far from his best as we have ever seen him.
 
DCE got his 1 out of 10, purely cause he turned up at the correct footy oval with the right coloured jersey on.

Sunday was as bad a head space I've ever seen a quality player like him sink into.....and worse imo, was his second half, where he stopped trying to do anything for fear of more errors.
He needs a shrink, or a Des special cuddle, asap.
 
I've decided to do a player ratings for Sunday's game. Don't expect there to be a lot of glowing praise......


Brendan Elliot 4/10 - Didn't do such a bad job on Sunday night, but there wasn't much he could do other than chase Dragoons to the tryline.

Reuben Garrick 4/10 - Didn't give up in a well beaten side. Didn't see much ball either except when running it back from downfield kicks. Goal kicking has become a major worry, not that his missed goal on Sunday had much impact on the outcome. When the alternate option is DCE who can also be hit and miss with goal kicking, we are probably the weakest goal kicking team in the NRL.

Brad Parker 2/10 - Defensively OK-ish, but got totally intimidated by Ravalawa and was ineffective in attack.

Moses Suli 4/10 - Played hurt (a corked thigh I believe) and tried hard. Almost scored a try.

Jorge Taufua 1/10 - I've been a fan of Jorge over the years, but its gotten to the point where he is more and more a liability out on the wing than he is a plus. His brain explosion hit on Dufty first cost us 2 points for a penalty goal, then cost us a try. Totally overshadowed by Ravalawa.

Cade Cust 5/10 - Didn't really do a lot wrong, but wasn't given much room to do a lot with the ball, though he did do some good things. I'd like to see him given more opportunity this week, let him run things for a while and see how we go.

Daly Cherry-Evans 1/10 - Extremely poor game from the captain, his worst ever in top flight football bar none. Defended OK, but way too many dropped balls and poor passes which either killed our attack or gifted tries to the opposition. He might not admit it publicly, but I think the pressure of being just about our only strike player with Turbo and Walks on the sidelines is getting to him. He's trying too hard to do too much and its affecting his and the teams play. I'd be letting Cust run things next week to take the pressure off because right now he's not playing like the incumbent Qld and Australian halfback should be, nor is he playing like someone who is getting $1.2m per year to do so.

Morgan Boyle 4/10 - Injured early when he did the splits, but bravely played on. Other than the injury, he wasn't too bad.

Danny Levi 4/10 - Even though I've only given a 4, I actually saw improvement from Danny on Sunday night. Hopefully he keeps improving because we desperately need an effective dummy half. He even put in a couple of nice downfield kicks (which is more than I can say for the guy who replaced him during the game, an allegedly better kicker).

Martin Taupau 5/10 - Was good when he was on. Far from the reason we lost. His offloads also seemed to have a bit more thought to them which was good to see.

Joel Thompson 3/10 - TBH he was barely sighted in attack and got burned for pace a few times in defence.

Curtis Sironen 3/10 - Mixed bag here. Didn't do a lot wrong, but then IMO didn't do nearly enough.

Jake Trbojevic 3/10 - 3 may seem low for some, but its frustrating to see Jake at first receiver when we are attacking the oppositions line. Leave that to the halves and if you are going to be in that position just tuck the ball under your arm and run at the line. We're trying to use Jake as a Gifty like ball player and a lot of the time it more hinders than helps the attack.

Lachlan Croker 1/10 - Has been poor for the past couple of weeks, right at a time when he should have been cementing his spot in the side with Walks out injured. That kick from dummy half that went out on the full was diabolical to say the least (it was only the 3rd tackle). The way things are right now it might be worth giving Josh Schuster a run.

Taniela Paseka 2/10 - During the game, Blocker Roach said on Fox what I have been saying about Paseka for two years. He plays too much like a gentle giant and needs to get some mongrel into his game. His in the top 3 for tallest NRL players and top 3 for the heaviest. With his size and skills, he could be one of the games most dominant forwards if only he got mean out there. In pro wrestling terms, he should play like a heel and not a face, just without the blatant cheating

Jack Gosiewski 2/10 - Came on late and really did SFA. If Waddell is over his shoulder next week then Jetski's place in the side should only be saved by Boyle's groin.

Sean Keppie 5/10 - I thought he was one of our better players on Sunday and I wouldn't mind seeing him start against the Worms.


Well, Des pretty much ended up giving us the team most of us thought should have played (given who we have out) and it didn't turn out so hot did it. We actually played OK for the first 15-20 minutes, then for some reason we just died. Errors started coming in, especially from DCE of all people, and we just couldn't help but once again play St Merge into form. Half time we went in 4-10 down ... they scored 24-0 in the 2nd half including 16-0 in the last 8 minutes of the game. And the worst part was that like Newcastle last week, the Dragons didn't really play great football, we just played like crap. Without Walks, Turbo and IMO especially Fainu, we seem to be lame ducks in attack.

A few things I'd personally like to see:

  • Funa or Hopoate in on the left wing for Jorge
  • Cust to be given the reigns as the organiser next week and leave DCE to his running game
  • Keppie to start in the front row with Taupau
  • Jake not being used as a ball playing first receiver. He's a forward, run the bloody ball.
  • Schuster (or Hopoate) in on the bench for Croker
  • Waddell back in the side and Jetski out

Right now we're in a rot. Its not easy with players missing, but there are ways to turn things around before they return. Hopefully we start to come good soon because if we don't then the season is as good as over for us.
Great effort feathered friend
 
Just on DCE.....

I'm a big fan of his and know full well like everyone else that he is much better than his current form. But seriously guys, he knocked on 4 times at least and got saved from another by a captain's challenge. He threw the intercept that led to Dufty burning our entire left edge to a crisp through sheer pace, and how many of his other passes either hit the ground, went above or behind someone?

He is so much better than that and we all know it. I hated giving a 1 but on his performance on Sunday I couldn't exactly give him a 5 or better. Even a 3 would have been stretching it. God knows where his head space is right now but it didn't seem to be on the ball on Sunday at Kogarah.

I really do hope he turns it around this week and puts in a blinder against the Worms because without Turbo, without Walks, without AFB and without Fainu we need him to be at or somewhere near his best. And on Sunday he was about as far from his best as we have ever seen him.
My favourite DCE WTF moment against the Dragons was the bullet pass he threw that he apparently meant to aim at Cade Cust's head but somehow lost control in his release so it kept on rising. Cust did extremely well to catch it, but it knocked him off his feet and killed any attacking momentum. The look on Cust's face as he picked himself up from the turf was priceless.
 
My favourite DCE WTF moment against the Dragons was the bullet pass he threw that he apparently meant to aim at Cade Cust's head but somehow lost control in his release so it kept on rising. Cust did extremely well to catch it, but it knocked him off his feet and killed any attacking momentum. The look on Cust's face as he picked himself up from the turf was priceless.
Yep I actually screamed wtf Daly at the TV. His performance last week could not have been worse. I honestly cannot recall a halfback performance as bad as that in recent time.
 
We'll probably bumble our way to staying in a tight contest against the Cows and DCE will kick a field goal to get us home and all will be forgiven. He'll be the king of the forum again.
 
We'll probably bumble our way to staying in a tight contest against the Cows and DCE will kick a field goal to get us home and all will be forgiven. He'll be the king of the forum again.

You're probably not wrong, or at least not that far wrong.

Look, we all know that Cherry is a lot better than he has shown lately and he's certainly a LOT better than he was on Sunday night at Kogarah. I just hope he gets his head right soon so he can go back to being the player we know he can be because for him personally it can't be good playing like that and for the team it definitely isn't good.

I hate bagging the guy because I am a big fan of his and more often than not I've tried to defend him even when he has played below par. But more than that I am a fan of Manly and right now more than ever we need Daly to come good. His form recently has been dropping, personally because I think he's dropped back into trying too hard mode, and on Sunday it got about as low as we've ever seen it from him. Seriously, he was close to diabolical out there. And its why I would actually like to see Des hand the play making reigns to Cust on Saturday night and just let Cherry play his running game. Take the pressure off him and let his game flow a bit (lot) more. Every time he tries too hard to make things happen, it hurts his form which in turn hurts the team.
 
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