PRE-GAME DISCUSSION: Knights v Manly [Round 14, 2020]

[HoldenV8]

And exactly NONE of those youngsters had only played 20's before and had come off BIG injuries. Just sayin'.

People tend to forget that don't they. We all call for players like Hopoate to be given a go, but the reality is that he hasn't even played a game in what, well over 12 months? And in the 12 months before that he'd only played a handful of games, both times because he did his ACL. And at no time has he even played a game of senior football. I think at best he played a couple of games in the U/20s.

Its easy for us to sit here and say give these kids a go, but it must be remembered that through no fault of theirs or the clubs, they have hardly played a game this year and in some cases longer. Des is going with known quantities which when it comes down to it I can't really blame him for. If players like Hopoate, Schuster, Metcalf etc were all playing NSW Cup right now then maybe they would have got a run in first grade by now. But circumstances are a bit different this year because of the pandemic.

One thing also to remember ... Des kinda got burned by playing youngsters when he was at the Dogs. Kids like Michael Lichaa who were touted as having big futures, just like the likes of Hopoate and Schuster, turned out to be flops. Good in the juniors, not so good in first grade. So maybe Des is a bit gun shy about bringing these kids on too soon. I mean, not everyone is a Brett Stewart or Tom Trbojevic. For every one of them there are scores who were thought would make it big, but never even got close.

 

[HoldenV8]

Yes only the wooden spoon could be uglier.

 

[HoldenV8]

Forecast Sunny and 20 degree. Perfect for our speedsters.

Sadly Manly only have 3 real speedsters in first grade ... and two of them are out injured.

 

[ManlyArmy]

Sadly Manly only have 3 real speedsters in first grade ... and two of them are out injured.

And that 3rd speedster will see even less ball with Siro back in the side with his inside runs instead of going to the outside to create an overlap

 

[HoldenV8]

And that 3rd speedster will see even less ball with Siro back in the side with his inside runs instead of going to the outside to create an overlap

The sad thing is that Siro and Suli attract defenders often leaving a passage down the sideline, but Garrick catches more colds than balls out there because it rarely gets out that far. The last two weeks he has seen two good balls out there, from DCE and surprisingly Suli respectively. And both times his pace saw him make a clean break. We aren't doing enough of that.

If Siro and Suli were on the left not passing the ball I wouldn't mind so much because Jorge is as slow as a wet week, but Reubs is one of the probably top 5-6 fastest full time wingers in the NRL. We should be using his pace a lot more out on the wing, especially with players inside of him known to draw defenders.

 

[ManlyArmy]

The sad thing is that Siro and Suli attract defenders often leaving a passage down the sideline, but Garrick catches more colds than balls out there because it rarely gets out that far. The last two weeks he has seen two good balls out there, from DCE and surprisingly Suli respectively. And both times his pace saw him make a clean break. We aren't doing enough of that.

If Siro and Suli were on the left not passing the ball I wouldn't mind so much because Jorge is as slow as a wet week. But Reubs is one of the probably top 5-6 fastest full time wingers in the NRL. We should be using his pace a lot more out on the wing, especially with players inside of him known to draw defenders.

One thing I'm surprised DCE hasn't done this year is kick early for Garrick when on the attack. Garrick scored two spectacular tries off kicks at Brookie last year, that came about because they utilised his pace of kicks. Hopefully we get to see that soon.

 

[HoldenV8]

One thing I'm surprised DCE hasn't done this year is kick early for Garrick when on the attack. Garrick scored two spectacular tries off kicks at Brookie last year, that came about because they utilised his pace of kicks. Hopefully we get to see that soon.

That puzzles me too. Cherry kicked a lot for Garrick last year but this year that has been virtually non-existent.

For some reason this year, unlike last year, Reubs is being starved of quality possession out on his wing. By this time last year he'd already scored 6 tries and would go to score another 10 by seasons end. Right now in 2020 he is sitting on 1 try (should have been 2 with that one that would have won the game over the Worms, but we all know what happened there).

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

It's been clear to me for some time that Des is holding these moves back in order to surprise opponents in the finals.

 

[ManlyArmy]

That puzzles me too. Cherry kicked a lot for Garrick last year but this year that has been virtually non-existent.

For some reason this year, unlike last year, Reubs is being starved of quality possession out on his wing. By this time last year he'd already scored 6 tries and would go to score another 10 by seasons end. Right now in 2020 he is sitting on 1 try (should have been 2 with that one that would have won the game over the Worms, but we all know what happened there).

Which is exactly why I don't understand the calls for him to be dropped. Yes, he could go looking for the ball a little more, but for someone with his pace, the players around him should be utilising it to our advantage, as he has the pace to get around centres and wingers with ease if the men on the inside do their job.

 

[frank stokes]

Which is exactly why I don't understand the calls for him to be dropped. Yes, he could go looking for the ball a little more, but for someone with his pace, the players around him should be utilising it to our advantage, as he has the pace to get around centres and wingers with ease if the men on the inside do their job.

It's his efforts out of our own end that have disappointed me...
Agree he has had little opportunity to shine in attack coz the only time someone HAS decided to get the ball to him it has ended up being a try - to the opposition 90m away down the other end of the field...

 

[HoldenV8]

Which is exactly why I don't understand the calls for him to be dropped. Yes, he could go looking for the ball a little more, but for someone with his pace, the players around him should be utilising it to our advantage, as he has the pace to get around centres and wingers with ease if the men on the inside do their job.

Agreed. And when he does come off his wing and goes looking for the ball, he gets criticised for getting ragdolled when tackled by forwards who outweigh him by 20 kg. Yet most of the time other than kick returns or hit ups in early tackles, that's the only time he's really been seeing the ball and a lot of that is down to Siro and Suli. Siro has a tendency to try and cut back inside just about every time he gets it, if he's not trying to play unders with DCE. And Suli rarely passes because he's trying to break every tackle and often dies with the ball.

When Tom plays, Reubs does see more of it because Tom likes to come into the line and throw cut out passes to the wingers, especially when attacking the opposition line. Problem is ... Tom's not playing right now and won't be for at least another 2-4 weeks. And you can't expect the same from Elliot because he's not anywhere near that good in attack.

 

[Ryan]

Hope everyone is well

Really need a win this week to lift the spirits on the boards. Think we can do it, too.

Decimated by injuries this year. Our 1, 6 and 9 are all out from our preferred starting players.

Chin up everyone. We are a good team when healthy (people predicted us a premiership Darkhorse).

 

[BOZO]

No


scratching out scrappy wins isn’t my idea of getting the job done. The idea of doing enough doesn’t lead to getting better - which we need to be just to scape into the finals, let alone win a game in those finals

there a several players who haven’t delivered all year and simply don’t deserve a spot in the side

Any win against top sides like the Roosters , raiders and the Eels is a great wins IMO
Those several players were part of our great wins but I do agree with you that they need to play with more consistency and they all have until the end of the year to show us what they are made of in our quest for premiership success .

 

[BOZO]

Hope everyone is well

Really need a win this week to lift the spirits on the boards. Think we can do it, too.

Decimated by injuries this year. Our 1, 6 and 9 are all out from our preferred starting players.

Chin up everyone. We are a good team when healthy (people predicted us a premiership Darkhorse).

Hi feathered friend , I hope you have been keeping well too .
We do have injuries like most teams and this is a great OPPORTUNITY for all our players to show us they are NRL winning quality
They need to show us that they are consistent winning performers
Consistency is the key to premiership winning success

TO ALL OF OUR PLAYERS .......

 

[40 years an eagle]

I feel we are in for a serious hiding. I don't like it, I don't want it...but I feel it coming.

I hope my gut is horribly wrong.

 

[BOZO]

I feel we are in for a serious hiding. I don't like it, I don't want it...but I feel it coming.

I hope my gut is horribly wrong.

I Understand where you are coming from
When we picture our pathetic performance last week one cannot feel anything but a hiding
When we picture our past resilient wins with our backs against the wall then a win against the Knights is REALISTIC . * Dear Des Will the REAL Manly stand up this week ??? *

 

[ManlyTragic]

I feel we are in for a serious hiding. I don't like it, I don't want it...but I feel it coming.

I hope my gut is horribly wrong.

We are Doomed I tell you .... doomed!

 

[BOZO]

We are Doomed I tell you .... doomed!

We are Eagles . We have Wings . We will Rise once Again !!!
Sing feathered friend !!!

 

[The better Robbo]

I actually tipped us. I see a similar game to the eels game where we just had to win

 

[JackDaytona]

I feel we are in for a serious hiding. I don't like it, I don't want it...but I feel it coming.

I hope my gut is horribly wrong.

mate i want us to win bad but seriously cant see how our weaknesses are so exposed blind pukking freddie can coach against a win against us