Realistically is 2019 a Top 8 Shot ??

[KenArthursonStand]

I don't see the loss of Brian Kelly as a disappointment. Defensively he was horrendous, he looked lost when Taufau wasn't playing on his wing. He is lucky the attack was focused on attacking Brad Parker and Moses Suli who were just as worse last season. Not sure how the new fellas are gonna go but they can't do worse then Kelly, Parker and Suli.

 

[court83]

We will be better than this year.. But won't make much of a run in 2019..
I've said it before, if a team like storm or roosters trotted out the exact same team we have, everyone would be over the moon cos they wouldn't have a chance in hell at the top 8.. Maroon and white coloured glasses makes our team look more competitive than it really is.

Plus we have no depth. We lose Tom to injury, season over. Lose dce, season over.
Look at what happened when we lose Api this year, season took a massive nose dive, and Api isn't even the top 3 players in the squad.
Storm lose slater.. No worries, his replacement kills it.
Lose cronk, still make the gf.
Lose Smith, no worries.. Cheat as they may, the team still have nrl quality guys ready to step up and have proven it time and time again.. What do we have. A bunch of cheap rejects and a few kids who maybe/hopefully/possibily will be able to step up..

My bet is anywhere from scraping into 8 on f/a to 12th.. But won't be a force anyone is afraid to play against..

2020-2021 will be when we get dangerous but there's ALOT of players movement needed to make us a team who have a real shot at the comp

 

[Bearfax]

We will be better than this year.. But won't make much of a run in 2019..
I've said it before, if a team like storm or roosters trotted out the exact same team we have, everyone would be over the moon cos they wouldn't have a chance in hell at the top 8.. Maroon and white coloured glasses makes our team look more competitive than it really is.

Plus we have no depth. We lose Tom to injury, season over. Lose dce, season over.
Look at what happened when we lose Api this year, season took a massive nose dive, and Api isn't even the top 3 players in the squad.
Storm lose slater.. No worries, his replacement kills it.
Lose cronk, still make the gf.
Lose Smith, no worries.. Cheat as they may, the team still have nrl quality guys ready to step up and have proven it time and time again.. What do we have. A bunch of cheap rejects and a few kids who maybe/hopefully/possibily will be able to step up..

My bet is anywhere from scraping into 8 on f/a to 12th.. But won't be a force anyone is afraid to play against..

2020-2021 will be when we get dangerous but there's ALOT of players movement needed to make us a team who have a real shot at the comp

Agree with much that you say except for the Smith issue. They lose Smith, they struggle as has been seen several time in the past including Manly's Grand final 40-0 win. Who was absent...Smith. He's their lynchpin and without him they lose their organisational quality

 

[Go manly]

I think our prospects are ok
But like some have said
I have got maroon and white glasses and to tell you the truth , I am quite fond of them
Go Manly

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

My ambitions for us for 2019 are pretty simple. More aggression and mongrel in the forwards, nice structure and organisation in attack and having a red hot crack every game for 80 mins. Rome wasn't built in a day. If we improve in many areas and look like a team with some direction and on the up I'll be happy.

If we achieve this, I’ll be over the moon!!

As to where we’ll finish????

Maybe 8-15

 

[BOZO]

I don't see the loss of Brian Kelly as a disappointment. Defensively he was horrendous, he looked lost when Taufau wasn't playing on his wing. He is lucky the attack was focused on attacking Brad Parker and Moses Suli who were just as worse last season. Not sure how the new fellas are gonna go but they can't do worse then Kelly, Parker and Suli.

You are 100 percent correct there Ken and it is defence that holds out the opposition and wins games . Its the grit defence that builds tough cultures and under the incompetent Trent we have been defensively very poor .

One on one defensively our whole 2018 back line was not up to NRL standard and as you quite rightly say if the 2018 backs are the benchmark the 2019 new boys cant do any worse than them .

Des has always been big on tough packs , players and defence .

A great coach was once quoted " ATTACK WILL GIVE YOU A FEW WINS BUT GREAT DEFENCE WINS YOU TITLES "

Defensively our 2019 boys have to be like soldiers on the battlefield and not like turn styles in the supermarket .

 

[court83]

Agree with much that you say except for the Smith issue. They lose Smith, they struggle as has been seen several time in the past including Manly's Grand final 40-0 win. Who was absent...Smith. He's their lynchpin and without him they lose their organisational quality

Yea, but the Smith factor is def less than it used to be..
Last year storm won all 3 origin games minus Smith. This year he missed a couple and storm still won.
10 years ago he absolutely was the diff between a win and a loss, but lately they seem to have him covered

 

[brad]

If walker goes we make a big signing

Love ur thinking bro.

 

[brad]

You are 100 percent correct there Ken and it is defence that holds out the opposition and wins games . Its the grit defence that builds tough cultures and under the incompetent Trent we have been defensively very poor .

One on one defensively our whole 2018 back line was not up to NRL standard and as you quite rightly say if the 2018 backs are the benchmark the 2019 new boys cant do any worse than them .

Des has always been big on tough packs , players and defence .

A great coach was once quoted " ATTACK WILL GIVE YOU A FEW WINS BUT GREAT DEFENCE WINS YOU TITLES "

Defensively our 2019 boys have to be like soldiers on the battlefield and not like turn styles in the supermarket .

View attachment 10457

Yeeeeeeeer.

 

[BOZO]

Yeeeeeeeer.

Great defence does not only stop the opposition from scoring it also rattles their confidence and puts them off their game .

Great defence destroys the opposition both physically and psychologically . It totally fcks the mother fckers up !!!

Think about it feathered friend .

 

[HoldenV8]

We will be better than this year.. But won't make much of a run in 2019..
I've said it before, if a team like storm or roosters trotted out the exact same team we have, everyone would be over the moon cos they wouldn't have a chance in hell at the top 8.. Maroon and white coloured glasses makes our team look more competitive than it really is.

Plus we have no depth. We lose Tom to injury, season over. Lose dce, season over.
Look at what happened when we lose Api this year, season took a massive nose dive, and Api isn't even the top 3 players in the squad.
Storm lose slater.. No worries, his replacement kills it.
Lose cronk, still make the gf.
Lose Smith, no worries.. Cheat as they may, the team still have nrl quality guys ready to step up and have proven it time and time again.. What do we have. A bunch of cheap rejects and a few kids who maybe/hopefully/possibily will be able to step up..

My bet is anywhere from scraping into 8 on f/a to 12th.. But won't be a force anyone is afraid to play against..

2020-2021 will be when we get dangerous but there's ALOT of players movement needed to make us a team who have a real shot at the comp

While I tend to agree (I don't think we're even close to top 4 without a lot of luck, though the 8 is a good possibility if things go well), the issue with losing Api showed the lack of vision or thought that our "coach" had. We went into the season with only one recognised hooker, any backups such as Hastings, Brown, Matt Wright and later Hodko were players who would be out of position. And when Api got injured, that folly was fully exposed as we saw with the crap that happened just to bring Fainu into the squad. And that was after Barrett had trumped Fainu's virtues in the pre-season. He did that, then left him out of the squad all together. It defied belief.

And all that pointed to the fact that Barrett didn't seem to have any solid backup plans in place should things go wrong, like injuries in key positions such as hooker or halfback. And that wasn't just restricted to squad selection because we never seemed to have backup plans in place should things go wrong on the field (e.g. when we would blow match winning leads). There never seemed to be anything like "well, if that happens then this is what we do" and we seemingly never learned from the constant mistakes. It was like watching Everybody Loves Raymond on 10 Bold....repeat after repeat after repeat.....

I don't think Des would have made that same mistake. Take 2008 for example. Not only did we have at least two recognised hookers in the squad, most games including the GF we had both in the 17.

 

[HoldenV8]

Please, no more talk of Barrett.
You will never make any sense of the F wit and his decision making

What decision making?

 

[Ryan]

Apparently they should be going to church and praying to sky fairies instead of dens of iniquity.

Sounds all funny @Briza , the way you word it.

As one example though:
I'd suggest after getting sacked from 2 previous clubs due to lack of fitness and commitment, maybe a change of heart that may help embrace a long term career in a sport that pays quite a fair bit of money, may be important?

Then again, maybe Des the Magician will circumvent nature, pull out his wand, and distort reality? There will be a new product just out of the box.

 

[Briza]

Sounds all funny @Briza , the way you word it.

As one example though:
I'd suggest after getting sacked from 2 previous clubs due to lack of fitness and commitment, maybe a change of heart that may help embrace a long term career in a sport that pays quite a fair bit of money, may be important?

Then again, maybe Des the Magician will circumvent nature, pull out his wand, and distort reality? There will be a new product just out of the box.

While I don't particularly care what players do away from the training paddock and game day, I also expect them to be professionals which means staying away from troublesome situations.

 

[Freagle]

I may be wrong, but I’m about 90% sure I just saw Des walking the streets of sunny Queenstown, NZ. If it wasn’t him, there is a floppy-haired dude who looks a hell of a lot like him over here...

Didn’t even look like he was scouting for talent...and they call him a workaholic...tut tut.

 

[Ryan]

While I don't particularly care what players do away from the training paddock and game day, I also expect them to be professionals which means staying away from troublesome situations.

Agree. Des, Lyall have admitted an unpleasant partying under current presently within the group. That culture is part of a 15th placed finish last season.

Something needs to change. Lyall said it was being addressed, but even today these kids are riding on motorbikes on The Gold Coast filming themselves on their mobile phones while riding (Suli / Fainu). Seems pretty irresponsible.

Anyway, I don't get it.

 

[Ryan]

2 20yr olds... filming themselves... On scooters...on their Xmas/New Year break.

Geez your a harsh man if your calling that irresponsible. Plenty before them have done alot worse....

If they are doing everything asked of them in pre season by Des, not in trouble with the law...I say let them be 20yr Olds and have some fun. They have a long season ahead, enjoy the downtime and put the game face on when Dessie says so.

PS - do you not think Des would have someone monitoring these guys social media accounts? I'm sure if he has issues, he'll address them.

Sorry mate, you're off there, surely.

My brother died being irresponsible on a motorcycle.

So yes, phone in hand, while riding & filming yourself, watching the camera and laughing / talking (while in motion) down a main street is being irresponsible, football player or not.
Just because they throw a football to each other, doesn't make them above the law, nor does it allow them to put others/themselves in danger.

Then, they are in a position of celebrity, in the community. They chose the profession, they need to set the example, sorry.

 

[Ryan]

Jesus, your as bad as Esme Watson
Come on, stop slinging off at Des. He has done it before and he will do it again
At least wait until they play a few games?

What are you dribbling about Z? As I said (and I'll try and simplify for you with smaller words below):

X I love Des being back
X He is great

Hopefully that was refined and diluted enough for you to comprehend.

That being said (and I hope this doesn't confuse your complex mind), he isn't a miracle worker. There is no magic button.

It's a building process that needs time to evolve. FFS, people are suggesting "Des has player X or player Y up his sleeve. Where does this player of note get summoned / created from? The abyss?

But, my point stands (and if you want to defend it , I'm not sure I CAN legitimately debate something with you), if anyone was riding down a main Street on a motorbike, filming themselves for Instagram on their phones, laughing, and chatting away, they are morons. Not only for their own safety, but for padestrians as well.

Lastly, a party culture isn't instantly dissolved because of the Des affect. That will also take time, effort and energy. It will take quality character's around the club. Again, no magic button.

That's not "slinging off at Des". That's being a realist.

 

[winnyason]

Sorry mate, you're off there, surely.

My brother died being irresponsible on a motorcycle.

So yes, phone in hand, while riding & filming yourself, watching the camera and laughing / talking (while in motion) down a main street is being irresponsible, football player or not.
Just because they throw a football to each other, doesn't make them above the law, nor does it allow them to put others/themselves in danger.

Then, they are in a position of celebrity, in the community. They chose the profession, they need to set the example, sorry.

Look see where your coming from m8. That said jack goewiski been drunk for about 10 days going off his social media account he just as bad

 

[BOZO]

@Ryan
I see you are passionate...tick
You love Manly...tick
You are conscious of a slow rebuild...tick
You are monitoring the the players on social media like a wet nurse...no tick here
Des has no magic button...no tick here. Des is the magician we need
Sorry if I cannot comprehend your negative posts, I also just choose not to.
Love your passion, but if you were a racehorse, I guess green pastures may be to your liking.
Happy NY ryanno, Manly all the way in 2019

Des does have a magic button and that is he is a Proven Experienced coach something that CoCo boy was not .
That is the big difference and that will make a big difference !