The first month of this season is a real worry

[COMMANDER]

Melbourne away, Roosters away, Knights at home and Souths away; the first four weeks draw is a tough one but could be a nightmare for us.

Killer injured, Wolfman Rodney and B Stewart coming back from long stints off; G Stewart short of a run (won't play until round one) no Steve Matai.

Untried halfback.

If we have a losing start there will be real dramas getting a sponsor on board in the short term.  3 of those four games are on channel nine as well.

Hope Des is on top of it.

 

[Stevo]

Wow. Another downer thread to start the day!

 

[Ralphie]

I share your concerns, but get ready to be abused and sent to the whinge thread for making a sensible point.

At the beginning of last season I predicted a difficult year. I cited the rookie halves and the weakened forward pack. This year seems to me to be the same as last year. Remember, at the beginning of last season we had Snake and we weren't aware that Wolfie was gone for the season, so don't throw that one at me. History tells us that players returning from major injury, understandably take a long time to get back to their best. We won't see the best of either this season.

Our only hope is for some big names to recapture their form of 2008. I'm talking about Kite, G Stewart, Choc, King, Matai (When Back).

I luv my footy team and I'll be there at every home game, but my expectations for this season is to keep alive our record of never having a spoon. More than that is a bonus.

 

[Fro]

the whinge forum is for pointless garbage,

CC actually made a cogent argument, I'm sure a lot of people are a bit worried about the early part of the year, but if we do well, wont that be a good sign for the season??

 

[COMMANDER]

Just hope they manage these guys with injuries well, it's critical for those individuals and the team that they don't break down again.

 

[Berkeley_Eagle]

maybe Des may have to use the kids more

 

[susan]

first month looks ok to me.

we beat storm without slater comfortably,we go well in melbourne generally,maybe struggle a bit with chooks away but we have great record against them in recent years,will get the knights when they play away as we always do and souths are the most overrated side in the comp IMO. 2 from 4 at worst,good chance of 3.

i am assuming a healthy squad as we have now(except whare,all ok).lyon is fine and will play.

 

[eagles2win]

the sky's falling! the sky's falling!!

 

[Corso_Pete]

What does "cogent" mean?

 

[Fro]

Just for you pete. Think of Matas and Dans religous argument......cogent is the opposite

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co·gent   /ˈkoʊdʒənt/  Show Spelled
[koh-juhnt]  Show IPA

–adjective
1. convincing or believable by virtue of forcible, clear, or incisive presentation; telling.
2. to the point; relevant; pertinent.

 

[Mybludog]

Good points Commander but there are a lot of if's

I'm not expecting Brett to play Rd 1 but i think he'll be fine. May not have his speed back straight away but he'll still be ok

I actually think we're in a better position than last year.

Hoppa, Oldfeild, Whare all have a few games under there belt and another off season training with the squad so the depth is better.

Forwards could be a worry but don't be surprised if one of these young blokes steps up big time and makes a name for himself.

DCE could be our next superstar. I think he's got the right make up to handle this job from day 1. 

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Is that you Pete ?

I'm surprised you remembered your Login.........hahaha

 

[eagleE]

Melbourne away, Roosters away, Knights at home and Souths away; the first four weeks draw is a tough one but could be a nightmare for us.

Killer injured, Wolfman Rodney and B Stewart coming back from long stints off; G Stewart short of a run (won't play until round one) no Steve Matai.

Untried halfback.

If we have a losing start there will be real dramas getting a sponsor on board in the short term.  3 of those four games are on channel nine as well.

Hope Des is on top of it.

Every game is tough. Everybody does what they can do to be ready. You just hope it is enough and the players want it enough.

 

[mickqld]

first month looks ok to me.

we beat storm without slater comfortably,we go well in melbourne generally,maybe struggle a bit with chooks away but we have great record against them in recent years,will get the knights when they play away as we always do and souths are the most overrated side in the comp IMO. 2 from 4 at worst,good chance of 3.

i am assuming a healthy squad as we have now(except whare,all ok).lyon is fine and will play.

Storm have no forwards I think we will get over them up front.Who are their centers? No Slater. Roosters tough but beatable Souths are Souths and always will be (****house) but I think the Knights are a more dangerous opponent. Glad we are playing them at Brookie.

 

[DSM5]

I see 4 from 4.  See above for reasons.

 

[Wolfpack]

I think we will do okay, but wont look great doing it. Combinations will take a while to come together, though I think the team will be better off with a long distraction free off-season under their collective belts.

Not banking on Snake playing from Rnd 1 but we are in the great position where we have the depth in place that we can afford to not rush him back (unlike 2010). Forwards should be much better this year, great pack on paper.

I see the first 5 rounds going roughly like this;

Round 1 Storm Sea Eagles - Us winning in a close one. As has been previously mentioned Melbourne's pack is woeful & we should dominate up front. They'll have their own combination troubles to work out as well, still unsure where Widdop will be playing. A combo of Kelly + Cronk would surely have less impact than Widdop + Cronk. Can't see either team winning big though, we both have lots of cob webs to blow out.

Round 2 Roosters Sea Eagles - As much as I would like to win this one I can't see it happening. We have been fairly poor at the SFS recently & the Roosters are a improved side. If they let the media hype get to them we could spring an upset but given our poor starts to the season I give the edge to the sleeve tattoos.

Round 3 Sea Eagles Knights - Us. Manly to give the knights an ass whoopin' (Knock on wood). They haven't been to Brookie in a while & it's never been a happy hunting ground for them. Unless Jarrod Mullen recovers his true form right from the get-go of the season I think we should do them & do them well.

Round 4 Rabbitohs Sea Eagles - Hard to call, it's a toss up but probably edge to the Rabbits. The hype machine runs strong with them, not looking forward to the 1.5m articles in the Terror about how "Buzz" batting off over their roster (How did he get that nickname anyway? Doesn't make any sense). It's a Bluetounge as well so probably more of a home ground advantage for them then us. Better than going to bloody Homebush though.

Round 5 Sharks Sea Eagles - I love trips across the 38th parallel into the Shire. After getting slaughtered by them there for years it's always great to go there & put it on those tards. Get in lads!

So if my predictions are anywhere near being right (which they probably wont, given previous history) we should start the year 3-2. Which isn't bad at all given our propensity to start slow but finish strong. So many intangibles in play though, makes our season very hard to predict.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

As is often the case I don't always agree with the Commander...great guy (except he supports the Maroons) but whilst his opinion does have some merits I just can't see how you can predict what our season will be like before a tackle has been made ( forget the trials they are bull**** games).

Apart from the Dragons (who largely have the same side as 2010)and the Roosters (who have played in one GF and lost and will have a lot to prove) I think all sides have an equal opportunity in the 2011 season.

I think our roster is as good as most although I would concur that DCE is untried at First Grade however what I saw of him and Foran together (in the under 20's ) and then him in the QLD Cup last year I think he is ready and will step up to the big time...he will be as good, and potentially even better, than Dogkinson was in 2010...he was a star in the making and won a couple of games for us with field goals BUT really didn't do much from the moment he agreed to terms with the Hounds.

We will Miss "Shoulders" in the centres and T-Rex there worries me but I won't be calling them all "duds and dad's army" until we have a couple of rounds under the belt.

And knowing (as we now know) that last years radical training methods have been canned and we are back to Donny running them up and down sand dunes I feel MUCH better.

By the way CC....this "could" be the year the Blues make a series of it....you never know.

 

[Fluffy]

Win 2 from 4 and we are top 4 guarenteed then since its all easy after that

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

And I'd say Wolfie would be close to on the money with his predictions....I think we'll get the Storm, Roosters will be tough, we'll get the Knights, Rabbits is a 50-50...maybe give it to them due to the fact it's away and yes Shark Park will be our usual happy hunting ground, so 2 from 5, and if lucky maybe 3 from 5...and effectivly just one game at home...so not too bad I feel.

 

[eagles2win]

Haven't Brian Smiths coached teams struggled the year after excelling one year recently?

Parramatta made a grand final and then struggled.
Knights made the 8(I think) and then struggled.

 

[Wolfpack]

Haven't Brian Smiths coached teams struggled the year after excelling one year recently?

Parramatta made a grand final and then struggled.
Knights made the 8(I think) and then struggled.

You are right there Ant. Lets hope that history holds true in that respect for this season at least.

Would love to see the Roosters flounder this year.