The halves, the squad, off season recruitment

[jbb/james]

there all good topics, , always good having a look at them all. Another good aspect to consider since Des has been in charge is the 80 minute game,Des has got them to 2 GF's they have always been there or there abouts and mostly been very very competitive. Great job Des

Apart from the 2 GF years and in some cases in those years as well, manly have not really been a 80 minute team

Last seasons fade outs and many more seasons of slow starts to games. In the end if your there at the end who cares and he has a pretty good track record. Manly had a great final series smashing all comers in 08 but rarely in all those years, no matter how dominant, have put teams to the sword. They have the cattle, the backline, the stars, the possesion, the dominance but still struggle to get the win

I'm not talking about a few wins here, an 08 final series , I'm talking about the last 6 or 7 years.. Des look like an excellent team coach, does a great job protecting those he is responsible for, cant knock him, but i have always felt his tension and its obvious he is tense is felt all through the camp.And manly play accordingly.Its rare to see manly break the shackles and play free flowing footy.Apart from a few players they look tentative at most times

Somewhere , somehow, manly have to lighten the **** up, remember its just a game, its not life or death and play like they train. Happy

We have been the fittest team ,looked the fattest at times, have all the high tech training but still struggle just to play a game of footy from wo to go. Too much thinking and not enough footy imo

They give away too many penalties trying to stifle teams rather than just getting on with there game believing they will win if they play well regardless of the opposition

I understand the leave no stone unturned analogy, and get 100% out of every play but lets get that out of manly this year rather than try and get 90% out of the opposition

Personally i like gritty footy, I'm hate games with huge scorelines, love the 80's defence orientated footy, but that defence is on the field and not in the mind

 

[WAMF]

Well said JBB.

I think the game has been broken down into decimal points and so has each position. There is no longer the 'give the ball to Cliffy and let him do as he pleases'. The game has changed over the years. It's all quite mechanical these days.

 

[mickqld]

Excellent post jbb and sums manly up perfectly for the last 2 seasons. Too much tension, pressure, anxiety in Des and it shows through the team. They definitely need to just lighten up have some fun and dont worry about anything but just playing footy. Too much science and not enough of the old fashioned grit, bust a gut and give it to 'em attitude.

 

[Loyal Eagle]

Hi guys... new to this forum & struggling through the off season.  I've been a sea eagles member for last couple years, even though I live in Far North QLD..

Read the comments about limitations of our squad and agree for the most part, except lets face it.. in our squad as with all NRL teams there are many athletes, but how many actual footballers are there?

In our squad, think its fair to say we have Jamie Lyon and Glenn Stewart as out and out footballers and maybe snake too, lets face it he is always in the right spot at the right time - he has awareness (game sense) like no other...   

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

There is always a lot of talk about our lack of attack, but our attack numbers are always up among the best in the comp

2007- 2nd
2008- 2nd
2009- 5th
2010- 4th

 

[Stevo]

Personally i like gritty footy, I'm hate games with huge scorelines, love the 80's defence orientated footy, but that defence is on the field and not in the mind

I'm the complete opposite mate. My fingernails cop a hiding when Manly has a close game. I like burying opponents. As you can probably agree with, 40-0 is my kind of score line.

Jase, i can't agree with you less mate. I hate the phrase 'athletes not footballers' with a passion. Anthony Watmough is definately not an athlete. He runs like a T-rex ffs. King, Kite, Rose, Guluvao, Matai, Williams. Not really many natural athletes here. Just boof heads!

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Jase

Welcome aboard mate....so I have your contact details for anything happening with the Townsville game can I get your e-mail address for my [email protected]

Jbb...as usual thoughtful and provocative.

I think there's one large issue that has been hanging over our players heads these last two years....it started at the 2009 season launch and the pressure valve was released in late 2010.

When speaking with Graham Lowe pre Xmas he said to me "Mark our team has been playing with a heavy heart these last two years, we are very hopefull that 2011 with see a new and renewed committment from our players"

Don't be surprised to see us have a great year in 2011, maybe not a Premiership but a much better year than the last two.

 

[Jatz Crackers]

When speaking with Graham Lowe pre Xmas he said to me \"Mark our team has been playing with a heavy heart these last two years, we are very hopefull that 2011 with see a new and renewed committment from our players\"

My take on this is very similar. Players didnt have their head in the game and a will to go the extra yards.

But in addition we had a hangover (sic) from the 08 premiership & WCC and a complacency from contract extensions.

A fit & firing Brett could well combine with a renewed will (team wide) to win to surprise us this coming year.

 

[jbb/james]

There is always a lot of talk about our lack of attack, but our attack numbers are always up among the best in the comp

2007- 2nd
2008- 2nd
2009- 5th
2010- 4th

The numbers are there kiwi as you state, but its only part of my point. NO use scoring 30 and allowing the other team to score 34. Defending a scoreline that is a winning margin is also part of it. And free flowing footy can be played when you are up by 20. Going into there shells to protect it is not and a major part of my point

And i have also stated a period of time longer than the 4 you offered

Defending with a happy attitude rather that freaking out . Manly defended like this for a time in 07 and 08 , scrambling and relying on the other to make a tackle

What is strange is the fear of failure seems to be rife within the camp but no one ever gets dropped, so the consequences are purely on the scoreboard

When manly lost there leaders on the field as most teams do they have struggled. It just looks so evident that they are almost clueless by the time they take the field

Hand the players back some control please

 

[mosto]

I think it's just the phase that football is in at the moment. Look at the most successfull teams over the past few years, Melbourne (salary cap I know but we're talking about style of football), Manly, St George. All teams, at their best, have been described as 'clinical' ie boring but effective. I agree with Jase's point that there are only a few players at present who can play off the top of their head like Marshall, Thurston or Hayne. These players respective teams are some of the 'prettier' teams to watch but ultimately are not that effective. I'll take a boring premiership over a pretty 8th any day.

 

[Ryan]

The Halves are cute
The Squad is sexy
Off season recruitment is hot

Wonder when this pinger is gonna wear off though.

 

[eagles2win]

The Halves are cute
The Squad is sexy
Off season recruitment is hot

Wonder when this pinger is gonna wear off though.

You'd have to ask Danny Wicks about that

 

[SwornEagle]

JBB, I have to agree with everything you've said there.. except not liking us smashing teams in a game..

There were times last season (in the first 30mins of games) where I saw Manly play some free-flowing football and it was the most offensively potent I've seen in the NRL for many years, then a silly mistake would be made by someone, frustration or over-confidence would take hold, the opposition would score a couple and we'd play with heluva lot of tension.

I think its all gearing up to a bumper couple of seasons for the sea eagles and I agree we have to play a bit more carefree football at times and keep those silly mistakes to a minimum, but all-in-all Dessie game plans always build to sometime BIG!

 

[Berkeley_Eagle]

Yeah I would absolutely love to see Manly go on and absolutely thrash some teams this year and not by just 30 - 40

its been a while
Biggest Winning Margins
70 - 7 v Penrith at CUA Stadium on July 29, 1973 (Rd 19)
61 - 0 v St George at Brookvale Oval on July 3, 1994 (Rd 14)
66 - 8 v Wests at Brookvale Oval on March 26, 1994 (Rd 3)
56 - 0 v Sydney Roosters at Brookvale Oval on July 7, 2007 (Rd 17)
54 - 0 v South Sydney at Brookvale Oval on August 24, 1975 (Rd 22)
53 - 0 v Sydney Roosters at Sports Ground on July 17, 1966 (Rd 14)

 

[The Eagle]

BE didnt we slam the warriors a few years ago? 08?

 

[Berkeley_Eagle]

BE didnt we slam the warriors a few years ago? 08?

Biggest Head-to-Head Wins
Manly 52 - 6 Brookvale Oval 31/3/2008 (Rd 3)
Warriors 36 - 10 Brookvale Oval 21/3/1999 (Rd 3)

 

[Masked Eagle]

JBB, I have to agree with everything you've said there.. except not liking us smashing teams in a game..

There were times last season (in the first 30mins of games) where I saw Manly play some free-flowing football and it was the most offensively potent I've seen in the NRL for many years, then a silly mistake would be made by someone, frustration or over-confidence would take hold, the opposition would score a couple and we'd play with heluva lot of tension.

I think its all gearing up to a bumper couple of seasons for the sea eagles and I agree we have to play a bit more carefree football at times and keep those silly mistakes to a minimum, but all-in-all Dessie game plans always build to sometime BIG!

That was a problem last year, being too good out of the blokes.  Refs give too much help to teams behind on the scoreboard, giving them too much latitude in the ruck, maybe a few more penalties etc and then the momentum swings and your fighting a tidal wave of possession.  That being said, it wasn't the sole reason for our fadeouts but it was definitely a contributing factor.

 

[Rex]

Our fitness levels last season were by far the worst of all the teams.  Dominating through size and aggression doesn't work like it used to, except in spurts.  Refereeing decisions decide games now like never before.

Are our tactics this season still to be based on successes under a one referee system?

 

[MadMarcus]

Well said JBB.

I think the game has been broken down into decimal points and so has each position. There is no longer the 'give the ball to Cliffy and let him do as he pleases'. The game has changed over the years. It's all quite mechanical these days.

I agree WAMF.  The game has become mechanical and quite predictable most of the time.  There is an unnatural obsession with a quick play the ball these days.  Have a look at a game from the 80s or 90s and just about every tackle would be a penalty in today's game.

Nowdays breaking the line is all about getting a quick play the ball so the opposition are offside or at least on the back foot.  Very rarely is a set defensive line broken.  It is all about speed these days (no Danny Wicks jokes please!) running up against a broken line (again, no Danny Wicks jokes please!).  A player like Cliffy would not be nearly as effective in today's game, which I think is a shame.

As a result of these changes the refs have more power to control a game than ever before.  So many times through 2010 we have seen the momentum change through a string of penalties against the team who is leading.  The 10m is frequently 12m for one side and 8m or 9m for the other and you often see penalties for holding down when the other side made a tackle a few minutes earlier and stayed on the tackled player for longer.

This is not an excuse for not putting teams away.  If we were good enough we could deal with this adversity and still run away with matches like other teams such as the Dragons have manged to do.  I think the key is to stop the opposition scoring when they get the piggy backs and then score a try of your own.  Unfortunately we haven't been good enough over the past 2 seasons.

I'm quietly optimistic this will change in 2011 if Snake can stay fit and in form.  Everyone knows we missed him in attack, but I don't think everyone appreciates how much we missed him in defence.  He is a great talker and organiser, and more often than not he has the instinct to be in the right place at the right time to save a try.