report card - one third way in

[The Who]

Fair summation.

I'd say a B-

To me our squad still isn't 100% right

No damaging big Prop (yeah Marty on $850K hurts)
No attacking Number 9, Froggy is defending well and getting better, but he's still average
We are yet to see Koula in space BUT he may well be the answer to the strike centre situation. otherwise we need to look for one for 2023.

Bloody injuries, they are killing us

And don't write off Bullemor yet, he's hardly been given much time in his preferred position.

And honestly, I'm a Tommy Turbo fan BUT jeez, he is like tissue paper at present and has been for 2-3 years.

Just on Bully. Why does he get such limited time on the field?

 

[Snake]

I apologise if I seem overly critical at the moment but I’ve decided to raise my standard of expectations after spending the last 18 months making concessions for failures, only to wind up disappointed time and again.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Just on Bully. Why does he get such limited time on the field?

Don’t know , he really hasn’t had a chance to shine , even last night only used for about 10 minutes

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I apologise if I seem overly critical at the moment but I’ve decided to raise my standard of expectations after spending the last 18 months making concessions for failures, only to wind up disappointed time and again.

There’s a reason for this or a combination of reasons.

Squad selection on the first place
Then team selections
Coaching tactics ( or lack thereof ).
Plenty of heart from a few , but others not so much.

Remember how tight our 2007-13 team was , I’m not seeing much of that now.

Sadly I think a fair bit has to change for us to get a lot better, and be consistently a lot better.

 

[Snake]

There’s a reason for this or a combination of reasons.

Squad selection on the first place
Then team selections
Coaching tactics ( or lack thereof ).
Plenty of heart from a few , but others not so much.

Remember how tight our 2007-13 team was , I’m not seeing much of that now.

Sadly I think a fair bit has to change for us to get a lot better, and be consistently a lot better.

Can’t argue with any of that. The desperation and desire we saw last night should be evident in every game, not just when a player has been sent off.

 

[Jerry1]

D
Not meeting potential - I know we have a lot of players out. Where we are on the ladder probably flatters us.

 

[mickqld]

Can’t argue with any of that. The desperation and desire we saw last night should be evident in every game, not just when a player has been sent off.

Des is outdated and lacking the qualities to bring us up to the highest standard. He just seems to have lost that hard edge and it shows in our squad. The smart alec remarks to the media at the end of the presser and DCE's smirking reactions just shows me we don't have seriously professional leadership that has the hard edge needed.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

Regardless of the circumstances, four from eight is a pretty fair indication of where the team is at: right now we are a bog average, middle-of-the-road footy team. Hope we're better than that by the end of the year.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

D now added as a poll option!

In assessing anything (or anyone) the context should always be a consideration. That could be looking at the whole class, or in this case all the other teams.
A quick look at results shows that there is a lack of consistency through most of the sides and also an evenness in the comp that is a bit obscured by the consistency of the current top 2.

So even though we've had some floggings I don't think we rate C or D (or F!) because at this strage of the year what is important is that there is some development underway, and we have shown some good signs of development. In handling the lack of Turbo for one thing, in the side taking on more of Foran's mindset for another.

The introduction of Koula and Tui, even though their spots might not yet be totally 'locked in', is potentially a big boost to the power of our back 5, one of the shortcomings we needed to address. Still need more starch up front, hopefully Davey and Aloiai can come back at some stage to help with that.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

D now added as a poll option!

In assessing anything (or anyone) the context should always be a consideration. That could be looking at the whole class, or in this case all the other teams.
A quick look at results shows that there is a lack of consistency through most of the sides and also an evenness in the comp that is a bit obscured by the consistency of the current top 2.

So even though we've had some floggings I don't think we rate C or D (or F!) because at this strage of the year what is important is that there is some development underway, and we have shown some good signs of development. In handling the lack of Turbo for one thing, in the side taking on more of Foran's mindset for another.

The introduction of Koula and Tui, even though their spots might not yet be totally 'locked in', is potentially a big boost to the power of our back 5, one of the shortcomings we needed to address. Still need more starch up front, hopefully Davey and Aloiai can come back at some stage to help with that.

The Goosters and Squeals losses last night re-enforce your summation.

There’s only two sides in it at present.

 

[Heckenberg]

Des is outdated and lacking the qualities to bring us up to the highest standard. He just seems to have lost that hard edge and it shows in our squad. The smart alec remarks to the media at the end of the presser and DCE's smirking reactions just shows me we don't have seriously professional leadership that has the hard edge needed.

I think the Daly smirk was in reponse to the journo asking if schuster would be taking the six jersey from Foran after Foran was the best player on the field. It’s a ridiculous thing to ask.

 

[Technical Coach]

Mentally soft in the grind, physcially wilt under the pressure, lose the go forward stakes more often than not in the first half right after the first few arm wrestle fresh sets, defensive ill discipline off the back of losing field position from poor go forward, attacking ill discipline because we want to take the easy way out, low percentage offloads and second phase due to poor field position.

What has been dished up this year is crap, the good thing is some young blood with leg drive and speed has been introduced and we need a few in the forwards also.

The list goes on but you get the drift.

Probably perform well against the Tigers on a dry day time track so i guess we always have next week to look foward to right....

To me Manly is a squad that lacks the physical ingredients and go forward for consistent results throughout the season yet if you placed the squad in a GF they probably would grasp the opportunity.

We are soft and lack substance, performing well with nothing to lose and expectations low is not something to be proud about with a man down for 70mins, it just means we perform well when the pressure of expectation is released, same goes with coming back from 34-0 down.

 

[Snake]

Mentally soft in the grind, physcially wilt under the pressure, lose the go forward stakes more often than not in the first half right after the first few arm wrestle fresh sets, defensive ill discipline off the back of losing field position from poor go forward, attacking ill discipline because we want to take the easy way out, low percentage offloads and second phase due to poor field position.

What has been dished up this year is crap, the good thing is some young blood with leg drive and speed has been introduced and we need a few in the forwards also.

The list goes on but you get the drift.

Probably perform well against the Tigers on a dry day time track so i guess we always have next week to look foward to right....

To me Manly is a squad that lacks the physical ingredients and go forward for consistent results throughout the season yet if you placed the squad in a GF they probably would grasp the opportunity.

We are soft and lack substance, performing well with nothing to lose and expectations low is not something to be proud about with a man down for 70mins, it just means we perform well when the pressure of expectation is released, same goes with coming back from 34-0 down.

Pretty good summation on most aspects but I wouldn't say there is a pattern of low percentage offloads...we don't offload the ball much at all anymore. It was just that dumb Taupau offload.

 

[double hoops]

C+. I can see the improvement, what DES is and has been working on. No doubt this is a better team generally than 12 months ago.

ATM to me, the team feel stuck in a transition phase. Like we are changing our game up, but right now its a bit of the old and a bit of the new whilst we wait for something! Positional changes to take place, or a new piece of the puzzle (not turbo) to arrive. Things to gel before the foot goes down.

DES know best. Perhaps it's just the ability to really change things up at the drop of a hat.

Rule changes in the last 18 months have seen the way you would try and coach a team to play now change 3 times in that period.

More than anything, as a team, are we just way to slow adapting to change, learning from mistakes, compared to our competitors?

 

[double hoops]

Don’t know , he really hasn’t had a chance to shine , even last night only used for about 10 minutes

I reckon I seen enough against the Sharks to say he looks so much more comfortable in the middle than on an edge.

I see him and Keppie probably competing for the one spot. And with our Chino struggling a bit this year it seems a real easy call.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I reckon I seen enough against the Sharks to say he looks so much more comfortable in the middle than on an edge.

I see him and Keppie probably competing for the one spot. And with our Chino struggling a bit this year it seems a real easy call.

Yeah think he’s a middle forward and we haven’t seen him play much of that yet , still think he’s got huge possibilities.

 

[Technical Coach]

Pretty good summation on most aspects but I wouldn't say there is a pattern of low percentage offloads...we don't offload the ball much at all anymore. It was just that dumb Taupau offload

Yes the offloads are not as prevalent as the past but the high risk low quality offloads are still evident under pressure to get Manly out of poor field position.

More evidence of taking the low effort high risk path for field position was evident with DCE's cross field kick against Newcastle when Manly were once again losing the go forward stakes, this best illustrates the underlying mentality of the squad under fatigue and pressure, for our Captain and leader to promote this by his actions is not good enough.

 

[Dion Johnson]

We are 8 games into a 24 game regular season, time for a report card! Yes injuries and Covid have affected us but that is to be expected this year and we aren't the only side affected.

Attitude: B
Some great signs but lack consistency. Foran starting to make a real mark as inspiration

Application: B-
Again inconsistent but generally energetic and determined, need more attention to detail. Signs of improvement

Squad strength: B
Forward depth is being severely tested and is holding up but only just. Shortage of dummy halves may be exposed with no Lawton
Garrick has proved adequate as FB cover
Bullemor might take a bit longer than expected
Harper blew a gasket sadly and needs repair
Koula & Tuipulotu stepping up very nicely indeed

Religion: C
Footy gods clearly not thrilled with Manly at this stage, need to do better!

Overall rating: B
Sitting on edge of the 8, could do better. We have beaten teams below us and lost to those we were expected to lose to

C+ for me, some good signs with Koula and Tippytoes getting a run in the top grade, need more from Jake, DCE, Alioia, Tent when he is back.

The middle is a concern, some of the senior players are off the pace, an injection of youth would help, like to see Tuitavake get a run from the bench, the way he plays can be inspiring for the rest of the team, high energy.

The obvious one is known with the number 9, could be worth seeing how GCKT goes in NSW cup, if he shows anything there he could be worth getting in the 17.