The Middle- no Good

[castle eagle]

We fans want 50 each week

last night i don't think it was a matter of wanting 50 & not getting it, more a matter of defending every play as if its the game on the line & last night they didn't.

 

[nightster]

Sipley makes a difference, could be a starter tbh.
Josh A was off the pace.
Keppie got no runs.

and Jake was slow at marker ... Lawton will make a difference

 

[The better Robbo]

The storm were ordinary and below their best against the cowboys
Rabbits were off a little last week
Likewise panthers and eels
Roosters average for 5 weeks

We fans want 50 each week
The coach and team have other markers during this run into the finals and would be working on plans we are not aware of

Not our best performance as a team or as individuals but still got a win

Not worried about how we played this week

You only play the team your playing against and should not consider what happens if we play the storm the same way we played the tigers

Congratulations to cherry to play strong in a joint that booed you as captain last time

Congratulations HARPER for just always having a go

Congratulations Jake on your return from a long lay off

like so many of our very good sides of the past we have loads of individual game changers

if the team is clunky the individuals find a way to help

If we click as a team and individuals I am convinced no one will get close to us

100% its all about timing our run for the finals now. Training will start to change in the next couple weeks and we will more than likely see a few flat games but Des knows as good as anyone how to plan for the finals and have us peaking at the right time

 

[manlyfan76]

100% its all about timing our run for the finals now. Training will start to change in the next couple weeks and we will more than likely see a few flat games but Des knows as good as anyone how to plan for the finals and have us peaking at the right time

Good to see Foran popping up on the right linking to DCE and vice versa not just staying in channels

 

[Woodsie]

So we want to compete against Storm
With that middle will be Busted
The ability is there but clocking off against quality opposition will see you shot
No doubt Manly can pile on points, but you can't win every game in a shootout
My main point, if Tigers easily put points on, the better teams will add more and this is EXACTLY where Storm snd these others will attack us...

Don't know if anybody else has said this ... but I am not certain what our game plan regarding the middle is, or that you can blame the players ... it seems like a plot, a plan, a scheme ...

I am not certain why we are not engaging opposing teams forwards ... we appear to be going back to the Manly teams of the 90's and playing expansive footy from the get go ...

For example ... last night we had more grunt in the 17 than all season ... yet first prop rotation saw Walker come on with Josh ... then the starting 2 props came back ... and Keppie and Sipley only thrown on in the last 10 mins as an afterthought ...

It's great to increase the minutes of props and build up their fitness ... but if the plan is to go around them rather than over and through them ... I hope it works when we play the big boys ..

 

[The better Robbo]

Don't know if anybody else has said this ... but I am not certain what our game plan regarding the middle is, or that you can blame the players ... it seems like a plot, a plan, a scheme ...

I am not certain why we are not engaging opposing teams forwards ... we appear to be going back to the Manly teams of the 90's and playing expansive footy from the get go ...

For example ... last night we had more grunt in the 17 than all season ... yet first prop rotation saw Walker come on with Josh ... then the starting 2 props came back ... and Keppie and Sipley only thrown on in the last 10 mins as an afterthought ...

It's great to increase the minutes of props and build up their fitness ... but if the plan is to go around them rather than over and through them ... I hope it works when we play the big boys ..

That certainly was strange having 2 props sitting on the bench for 70 minutes especially when we seemed to lack some go forward at times.

 

[Shoe1]

Anyway I’m not going to whinge too much as it was a reasonable win. First half was too close for comfort but second half was much better. We seem to play well in the first 20 of the second half.

Agree. I wasn’t that pissed off until the last 10 mins, which was very sloppy. If their heads were screwed on properly they would have pushed towards 60 points.

 

[Will on the hill]

Don't know if anybody else has said this ... but I am not certain what our game plan regarding the middle is, or that you can blame the players ... it seems like a plot, a plan, a scheme ...

I am not certain why we are not engaging opposing teams forwards ... we appear to be going back to the Manly teams of the 90's and playing expansive footy from the get go ...

For example ... last night we had more grunt in the 17 than all season ... yet first prop rotation saw Walker come on with Josh ... then the starting 2 props came back ... and Keppie and Sipley only thrown on in the last 10 mins as an afterthought ...

It's great to increase the minutes of props and build up their fitness ... but if the plan is to go around them rather than over and through them ... I hope it works when we play the big boys ..

Can't take too much out of the middle rotation. If we had more depth I reckon Sipley and Keppie get a rest. Given the way it played out it was smart to give them minimal minutes. Come Finals the middle rotation will look completely different. 4 bigs along with Jake and Keppie is my prediction.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Don't know if anybody else has said this ... but I am not certain what our game plan regarding the middle is, or that you can blame the players ... it seems like a plot, a plan, a scheme ...

I am not certain why we are not engaging opposing teams forwards ... we appear to be going back to the Manly teams of the 90's and playing expansive footy from the get go ...

Interesting indeed, I've wondered too.
Dino Des may have emerged from prehistoric times or at least the dark ages and devised a cunning plot (or scheme) aimed at overcoming the Storm and Panthers at season's end. Those teams have almost perfected defensive patterns and are very hard to score against. I reckon we'll be spreading the ball from sideline to sideline and when that stretches their middle a bit and a little gap is left in the middle we strike!
For that plan to work we need a) the ability to skillfully and swiftly move the ball both sides, and b) credible threats on each edge to actually attract the defence and c) some potent strike in the middle to take advantage.
I suspect the success of Walker in his new role might be a key component to this grand scheme. If he can nail it we just may pull this off 🙂

 

[alafua8]

On the credit side - Schuster threw a look pass!

I think some of our backs should start throwing some no lookers to our poor wingers .

 

[alafua8]

The storm were ordinary and below their best against the cowboys
Rabbits were off a little last week
Likewise panthers and eels
Roosters average for 5 weeks

We fans want 50 each week
The coach and team have other markers during this run into the finals and would be working on plans we are not aware of

Not our best performance as a team or as individuals but still got a win

Not worried about how we played this week

You only play the team your playing against and should not consider what happens if we play the storm the same way we played the tigers

Congratulations to cherry to play strong in a joint that booed you as captain last time

Congratulations HARPER for just always having a go

Congratulations Jake on your return from a long lay off

like so many of our very good sides of the past we have loads of individual game changers

if the team is clunky the individuals find a way to help

If we click as a team and individuals I am convinced no one will get close to us

Agreed ,and when it happens there will be a new challenger for this years title .

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Don't kid yourself, we are already a challenger. Some betting markets now have us as 4th favourite to win the comp, ahead of Eels and Chooks.
(Gamble responsibly)

 

[Little Grubber Kick]

I am not certain why we are not engaging opposing teams forwards ... we appear to be going back to the Manly teams of the 90's and playing expansive footy from the get go ...

Insightful observation. This was definitely evident against the Raiders 2 weeks earlier and I think what brought us unstuck on that occasion.

No problem with expansive but must secure the middle first.

 

[Woodsie]

Interesting indeed, I've wondered too.
Dino Des may have emerged from prehistoric times or at least the dark ages and devised a cunning plot (or scheme) aimed at overcoming the Storm and Panthers at season's end. Those teams have almost perfected defensive patterns and are very hard to score against. I reckon we'll be spreading the ball from sideline to sideline and when that stretches their middle a bit and a little gap is left in the middle we strike!
For that plan to work we need a) the ability to skillfully and swiftly move the ball both sides, and b) credible threats on each edge to actually attract the defence and c) some potent strike in the middle to take advantage.
I suspect the success of Walker in his new role might be a key component to this grand scheme. If he can nail it we just may pull this off 🙂

I agree that may be the thinking ... if it works, happy days ... but that is the attacking side of the plot, the defensive side with an under-powered middle is of concern to me ... even with all the changes to the game ... forward power and field position are still reliant to a large degree on meat head props .. and middle domination ...

 

[KNUCKLES]

The score flattered us, I thought apart from some nice attack against sub par defence, we were pretty bloody ordinary. No respect for the ball, no urgency.

I feel we're slowly getting into a mindset where we think we can score off every play, touch footy stuff. A false sense of security perhaps? Given our draw of late? The better teams will make us pay for poor ball security.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

but that is the attacking side of the plot, the defensive side with an under-powered middle is of concern to me ... even with all the changes to the game ... forward power and field position are still reliant to a large degree on meat head props .. and middle domination ...

We've got some forward power, certainly if most of our guys stay fit. The combinations we are working on (alluded to by Des I think it was before the Tigers game) could well be all about getting the best out of the great number of skilled players we have, so we can fire the ball this way and that in the blink of an eye.

If that is the plan it will be great watching it unfold. As for defence, Des has always been known as a coach who considers defence to be a non-negotiable, so I'm sure he is mindful of the risks and balances.

Let's remember, after a strong start Manly had a miserable season last year, in the absence of Turbo. I'm sure that hurt Des and so the mad professor put his thinking cap on over the off-season.

All just speculation of course but I admit I'm loving watching our team play this attacking footy. And its working, since the narrow loss to Panthers on 1 May we've only lost to the Knights thanks to a shut-out by the ref, and to Raiders while missing key components in our new attacking style (Jake, Turbo, DCE and Schuster).

 

[Vyssini]

I think the mad professor might be working on having one less big forward in his 17 man rotation, primarily because it is becoming quite likely that the rest of the season will be played in Queensland, with a significantly warmer climate than Sydney in September.

 

[Dan]

I will chalk that one up to a lot of rusty players through the middle. Jurbo and Garlic Sauce were both very rusty, slow and got in the way more than they helped. Im confident Jurbo will come good and we can get back to guys like Garlic just being metre eaters and tackling machines