Summation of Manly's home and away season 2024

[sheridanstand78]

No doubt there is a definite improvement on season 2023.

Our attack in general is strong, averaging 26 points a game is going to win you plenty of games and I believe this will improve in seasons to come.

Our defence is something that is a problem, 22 points a game conceded on average is too high for a team with aspirations of a top four finish or winning a premiership.

Home form apart from two games was really solid at Brookvale, the win in Vegas was a bonus and lets hope we never ever give the Donkeys a leg up by giving away home advantage again!

Away form left a lot to be desired, only four wins and countless games frittered away after establishing strong leads, Parra, Warriors, Dolphins and Tigers are prime examples of this, win 2 of them and we are near top 4

I think the team left a lot out there to be honest! Maybe it is a learning curve the team has to overcome.

The team needs to be more consistent, we were in most matches during the season which was encouraging.

Our game management is a consistent weakness and it cost us dearly at times.

We must do better next year in controlling the ruck as we always seem to be on the wrong end of penalty counts and six again decisions and that is where me need to seriously improve.

Discipline is another area where we can improve, it ties into some of the games we squandered over the season where we do not handle things after a penalty is conceded and we give up too many easy tries.

There is the makings of a good team, there is room for improvement and we need some new blood in the team especially around our 9 and 13. We need some depth in those areas!

Overall it was a step up, the vibe is great, Brooky averaging 16.5K a gate is fantastic! All games bar 2 sold out, are you watching State government??

This season is not done! There is an opportunity to push deep into the finals, it will be all good experience for the team!

 

[Simonmyers11]

Great summary.

Some key positions notably hooker and an edge back-rower are positions we could hopefully look to improve.

Agree with the energy and crowd, unreal!

There are times we looked genuine contenders, beating all of the top 8 sides bar Sharks. This was usually off the back of a strong forward game and minimizing mistakes. When we turned up with the right attitude we looked great, unfortunately just not as consistent as sides like Melbourne yet. When you look at some of the games we threw away, could have easily finished fourth. We lost more games to the bottom 8 sides than the top 8 sides, which was the opposite last year so that's a big improvement.

Looking forward to Sunday, if we turn up and cut out the errors Manly has enough strike and dangerous players to beat the dogs. It will just come down to their attitude.

 

[Chunky]

Beat every team above us except Sharks. Lost to the bottom 3 teams. Lost to teams 9-12. Drew with team 13. That to me says everything about this team - they have talent undoubtedly, but not the ability to use that talent to be consistent. Coughed up how many double figure leads in those losses to the teams below us on the ladder?

 

[Nordburg]

Whilst I believe there’s a slight improvement on last season,they still have the same problems they’ve had for a while.Defence is the biggest concern.Same weak mentality when things turn pear shape.The right side of DCE,Haumole and whoever is playing centre,this season Garrick,still gets worked over.I can’t understand how this can still be a weakness after all these years.I believe the rubbish Seibold spews out that the comp as a whole is struggling with stopping points(words to that effect).Just seems to be a cop out from him.
No.9 is also a major concern.I used to stick up for Croker because he always played with ticker but the team needs more than that now.After Simpkin was signed and subsequent games played,I was convinced he was the answer but it appears Seibold doesn’t agree and I suspect a few of his teammates think Croker needs to be there.
The reliance on TomT is and will always be there but with the other good outside backs,the team should be using him as a decoy more often,much the same as Olakau’atu,who just seems to be thrown the ball and asked to trample over the opposition.
Lots of positives though.The arrival of Hopoate was a surprise and has surely locked in his spot for the future ahead of a couple in the reggies I’d be happy to never see again.Olakau’atu was fantastic,barring a few off games.
Another positive is we can finally put to bed any threads suggesting Tom should move to the centres
A deep run into the finals can turn opinions around though and I’m quite happy to see them back in the finals

 

[Disco]

Away form left a lot to be desired, only four wins and countless games frittered away after establishing strong leads, Parra, Warriors, Dolphins and Tigers are prime examples of this, win 2 of them and we are near top 4

I think the team left a lot out there to be honest! Maybe it is a learning curve the team has to overcome.

I think a big issue is we can lack resilience and composure.

When things go against us we can lose our heads and crumble.

On some occasions it is from dropping our shoulders but on others it is getting hot headed and overplaying our hand.

Either way we need to be mentally tougher

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I think a big issue is we can lack resilience and composure.

When things go against us we can lose our heads and crumble.

On some occasions it is from dropping our shoulders but on others it is getting hot headed and overplaying our hand.

Either way we need to be mentally tougher

So we need to employ a “ head “ coach , wonder if Penn is prepared to stump up the cash ??

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

As I said at the start of the year , and a few times in between, we all know that whilst backs score all the try’s , forwards win the games, and we are short of some very good forwards.

When the forwards do well , we do well , when the forwards are poor , we lose.

When our first rotation of forwards are on we can often skip to 16-20 point leads , they go off , more than often we are overtaken.

When everything goes their way we are world beaters, when it doesn’t we are a rabble.

Not that I think we can afford them but just imagine if you added AFB & Carrigan into our side , we’d almost be unstoppable.

Not sure how the club can fix this , especially with Jake on superstar money , and our almost constantly injured fullback , who when he’s playing can win games but is lucky to play 40% of games each season and in 1.3 million.

But in my humble opinion this is our biggest issue , we are at least 2 very good forwards short of being a top 2 side.

The backs !!!!

Are good enough to beat any side , if they are playing off the back of dominant forwards.

 

[LeonardCohen]

I’m pretty adamant that too much is being read into early wins against Penrith, Melbourne and Roosters. The Tigers beat us the other night but I think most fair minded people see us as a better side than the Tigers and they jagged a win when we were off. Unfortunately, that’s what happened when Manly had those great wins. We got the two points against those sides before the competition really heated up and the great sides separated from the also rans. Yes, we played well but does anyone seriously believe that we beat those teams because we are a superior side? Or did we just win on that particular day, in those circumstances?!

There are patterns in RL across a season that can’t be ignored. It’s obvious even in our good wins that the edge defence would not hold up against quality teams when the whips are cracking.

Dare to dream and all that, but the reality is we haven’t looked like a top 4 side this year. It’s no surprise to me that we’ve finished near the bottom of the 8 and I am happy with the improvement we’ve made.

A win next week or even the week after is just a bonus. I don’t see a genuine premiership chance right now so I’m gonna enjoy the ride and look forward to seeing us hopefully improve further next year.

 

[joeboy]

we were consistently better than last year, but still too many players who can’t positively affect the result without negatively doing it In The same game. Mistakes will happen, it’s the nature of footy but we just have to many players trading one good play for one bad one

Garrick, croker, paseka, dce, Brookes Saab are the Main offenders here.

We also still look cumbersome and slow. And lack serious composure on both sides of the ball.

Out back 5 needs to learn how to effectively tuck it out of our end. Hopoate at his tender age is probably the only one consistently good aT it. They need to hit the advantage line at pace., hit between defenders and achieve quick play the balls. We are the worst in the comp at this I reckon

Still we had some great wins and some very dissaponting losses, I know we are not in the upper echelon of teams but we are as close to a window for success we are gonna get for a while given out recruitment and retention policies, so maybe this is the most we could’ve hoped for?

 

[JenEagle]

Good season however the losses to the Tigers and Raiders were unacceptable. Ultimately cost us top 4 spot and / or a home final.

Agree with the above that our window is closing fast and Jake Tom and DCE are closer to the end of their career now. Four finals appearances in ten years of their era so for them Sunday is so so important.

 

[Disco]

Loving the thought and reasoning across this thread, lots of good points.

 

[Disco]

I’m pretty adamant that too much is being read into early wins against Penrith, Melbourne and Roosters. The Tigers beat us the other night but I think most fair minded people see us as a better side than the Tigers and they jagged a win when we were off. Unfortunately, that’s what happened when Manly had those great wins. We got the two points against those sides before the competition really heated up and the great sides separated from the also rans. Yes, we played well but does anyone seriously believe that we beat those teams because we are a superior side? Or did we just win on that particular day, in those circumstances?!

To be far I dont think I've seen anyone say we are a superior team to a Panthers or Storm.

I do think theere is an argument that if we play our best we are in the game with anyone.

I agree the competition is a far fetched idea this season. Not because we couldnt put together a performance worthy of winning on the 6th of October but because we have not demonstrated we can put four performances like that together.

 

[Carl]

Great summary.

Some key positions notably hooker and an edge back-rower are positions we could hopefully look to improve.

Agree with the energy and crowd, unreal!

There are times we looked genuine contenders, beating all of the top 8 sides bar Sharks. This was usually off the back of a strong forward game and minimizing mistakes. When we turned up with the right attitude we looked great, unfortunately just not as consistent as sides like Melbourne yet. When you look at some of the games we threw away, could have easily finished fourth. We lost more games to the bottom 8 sides than the top 8 sides, which was the opposite last year so that's a big improvement.

Looking forward to Sunday, if we turn up and cut out the errors Manly has enough strike and dangerous players to beat the dogs. It will just come down to their attitude.

I would agree that we beat all the top 8 sides except the sharks, including the team that came 7th on occasion.

 

[LeonardCohen]

To be far I dont think I've seen anyone say we are a superior team to a Panthers or Storm.

Probably worded incorrectly and maybe I am reading it wrong but I think there might be (I could be wrong) a faction of supporters that believe the issue is not so much a footballing problem, rather it is an application issue, wherein we fail to turn up and that explains why we lost.

From that, I infer that they believed we beat Melbourne, Penrith and Roosters because we 'turned up' and should we do that again, we can get another win. Conversely, my perspective is that although we did indeed 'turn up' for those games and give 110% against quality opposition, 2 out of 3 matches against those same teams would see Manly lose for footballing reasons, i.e. inferior team and structures.

We just happened to win those games in those particular contexts. Sometimes it's as simple as an opposition team having a key injury or they've scaled back the intensity of their training after a short turn around or a decision didn't go their way in a game and the wheels fell off. The most obvious explanation is it's early in the season and clubs are still finding their groove. There are always upsets and inconsistencies during this phase of the competition. The variables are endless but do not equate to Manly being a good chance against those same teams on a regular basis, and certainly not in a finals context.

From a footballing perspective, I see our pack get monstered most weeks and our edge defence get torched. That sort of problem does not just suddenly go away because we decide to 'turn up' with intent. It's an issue that will manifest when the blowtorch of a good team, come September, exposes it.

Essentially, all I am trying to say is that beating Penrith, Melbourne and the Roosters earlier in year, does not equate to Manly being at their level. We are a rung below and expectations should be tempered accordingly.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

I would agree that we beat all the top 8 sides except the sharks, including the team that came 7th on occasion.

Yep, we beat ourselves more times than we beat any other team in the top eight.

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

I give up as to which one fronts up next Sunday

 

[Rocky]

I said it in another thread, but Manly plays a high-risk game style, pushing the envelope constantly.

When it comes off, we have a "high ceiling" and are capable of winning against any team, when it doesn't we look bad and are capable of losing to any team.

To me, we reflect DCE and his personality and playing style.

This season and the results i.e. such as losing to the bottom 3 teams, but beating the top 3 teams show this.

 

[Go manly]

Probably worded incorrectly and maybe I am reading it wrong but I think there might be (I could be wrong) a faction of supporters that believe the issue is not so much a footballing problem, rather it is an application issue, wherein we fail to turn up and that explains why we lost.

From that, I infer that they believed we beat Melbourne, Penrith and Roosters because we 'turned up' and should we do that again, we can get another win. Conversely, my perspective is that although we did indeed 'turn up' for those games and give 110% against quality opposition, 2 out of 3 matches against those same teams would see Manly lose for footballing reasons, i.e. inferior team and structures.

We just happened to win those games in those particular contexts. Sometimes it's as simple as an opposition team having a key injury or they've scaled back the intensity of their training after a short turn around or a decision didn't go their way in a game and the wheels fell off. The most obvious explanation is it's early in the season and clubs are still finding their groove. There are always upsets and inconsistencies during this phase of the competition. The variables are endless but do not equate to Manly being a good chance against those same teams on a regular basis, and certainly not in a finals context.

From a footballing perspective, I see our pack get monstered most weeks and our edge defence get torched. That sort of problem does not just suddenly go away because we decide to 'turn up' with intent. It's an issue that will manifest when the blowtorch of a good team, come September, exposes it.

Essentially, all I am trying to say is that beating Penrith, Melbourne and the Roosters earlier in year, does not equate to Manly being at their level. We are a rung below and expectations should be tempered accordingly.

I like your thinking Leonard
But think games will never be equivalent and others will have un planned hiccups at times in game days
Certainly some more than others
But events such as injuries referee interpretation and simple errors have a habit on either bringing sides closer or further apart
We have been on both sides of the coin and on the wrong side many times
So while this is good fan based conjecture it rarely enters the playing group or coaches discussions
I can assure you that our players believe that if we get it right , we can win games and exploit any favours that come our way

They also know that we don’t always get tight and end up on the average side of right
However there is still a feeling that we can have success if we get it right

Go manly

 

[StuBoot]

Good season however the losses to the Tigers and Raiders were unacceptable. Ultimately cost us top 4 spot and / or a home final.

So this seems to be a common thread.

On one hand the games like the Raiders and Tigers have cost us finishing 4th or 5th.

On the other we're nowhere near a Top 4 side.

Would winning those 2-3 games be a true indicator (and everyone be happy) or not?

Whether we beat the Big 3 on off day or not, we still beat them so they're not untouchable.

Every team wants to be in the Top 8 and we are, so we're better than last year as are the Cowboys, the other six are the same.

Do l think we can win the comp? No.
Do l think we can make the last 4? Not really.
I think week 2 is where we're at so if we bow out this weekend l think that's slightly under par, especially when compared to the Dogs.

But we've improved massively from last year and are trying to play expansive football so at least we can see what we're trying to do.

 

[Rosko]

As I said at the start of the year , and a few times in between, we all know that whilst backs score all the try’s , forwards win the games, and we are short of some very good forwards.

When the forwards do well , we do well , when the forwards are poor , we lose.

When our first rotation of forwards are on we can often skip to 16-20 point leads , they go off , more than often we are overtaken.

When everything goes their way we are world beaters, when it doesn’t we are a rabble.

Not that I think we can afford them but just imagine if you added AFB & Carrigan into our side , we’d almost be unstoppable.

Not sure how the club can fix this , especially with Jake on superstar money , and our almost constantly injured fullback , who when he’s playing can win games but is lucky to play 40% of games each season and in 1.3 million.

But in my humble opinion this is our biggest issue , we are at least 2 very good forwards short of being a top 2 side.

The backs !!!!

Are good enough to beat any side , if they are playing off the back of dominant forwards.

Totally agree Mark, but add - a genuine dummy half (even better, a class dummy half).