tired team

[susan]

any honest appraisal of that performance would conclude one thing-although we are toiling honestly but we are a tired side with players carrying injury who are  marking time waiting to be deivered the final blow.

momentum is the key to winning GF's a nd we dont have it unfortunately.2 great players out for season,another one obviously suffering due to his brothers circumstance,and many niggling injuries have robbed us of our spark.

I' sure i will get howled down but I really think the player we are missing(aside from the obvious) is farrar.He may have problems under the high ball but he provides a bit of spark to our backline be it chiming in or running on to a grubber kick.His return could help.

The much maligned players,TH and Williams were good tonight,Lyon his usual good self,Oldfield really impressive and as kiwi said,the rest were hot and cold.Keiran Foran will be a top line  bustling lock forward in my opinion(always has been my opinion) and I think we have future decisions to make not only at 7 but 6 as well.DCE's ability is becoming more important by the minute.

Finally,a try like mannering scored happens every week and that is why we are making up the numbers IMO.remember fui fui in round 2 and La franchi against the titans,Uagainst knights.the list is long and all very similar.

Anyway plenty of marks for ticker tonight at the back end but other than that it just left me feeling flat.

 

[Darren]

they hung in there Sue and that was impressive. We look old, slow, tired and lacking of anyone being a matchwinner but they are probably doing the best they can do. Alot of people at the start of the year noted how we ran out of puff at the 60 minute mark. Maybe fitness has ben the issue all along?

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Would be unusual for a Donny Singe trained, Des Hasler coached side to be unfit. We are missing a lot of good troops, and injury's have hurt us throughout the season and again at the time that counts the most. I can't see us going much further than week one of the finals, but conbsidering I suppose not a bad effort.

Susan you yourself said there were  "issues" inside the camp, I tend to feel that it's not tired it's just not pulling together as a team.

And agree, we had more spark when Ben was playing, I hear here's back in round 26??

 

[Ryan]

Next week:-

01. Ben Farrar
02. Michael Robertson
03. Steve Matai
04. Jamie Lyon
05. Michael Oldfield
06. Keiran Foran
07. Trent Hodkinson
08. Jason King
09. Matt Ballin
10. Brent Kite
11. Anthony Watmough
12. Tony Williams
13. Glenn Stewart

14. William Hopoate
15. George Rose
16. Matt Cross
17. Joe Galuvao

Different, but strengthens from this week:-

1. Fullback
2. Left Wing
3. Right Wing
4. Utility

Admittedly, we go back a little in the backrow, but at the same time, may shock us all, and give us a small insight into 2011???

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

You are correct on Farrar Sue

People tend to overlook the big impact he has on our game from the back because he has dropped a few high balls this year

On momentum, there is still time for it to be gained. I only see the Titans and Dragons with any momentum at the moment

 

[Terry-Randal]

  Tony Williams can only  be a winger and  he knows how to score tries from that position. It will be suicide to put him in the forwards and remove pretty much the only guy who knows how to find the line at the moment.  Des will not listen to these stupid suggestions.

I'm not saying we can win the premiership either but without Trex on the wing we will be zero odds. I agree Farra adds some attacking and defensive options but he also has a terrible weakness with the high ball.

 

[Utility Player]

You have to consider the short turn around from Monday and what was a fairly brutal contest against the Dragons. The Roosters got done by the Sharks after their Sunday game against St George so to get a win over the Worriers with less of a spell was a good effort.

 

[Andrew..]

Any thoughts on using Lama Tasi to replace Rodney in the backrow ?

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Anyway plenty of marks for ticker tonight at the back end but other than that it just left me feeling flat.

We played all but a couple of minutes without Rodney who has consistently been our best forward. The lack of game time that Cross and Bailey have had recently probably also doesn't help, they should be a better next week.

To guts out a win like that was heartening, we found a way to win. Similar to against the bunnies. To win after a performance that was less than perfect in execution - and in which we were robbed of a fair try that would have taken us to the lead at a time when we had a lot of momentum - was indeed gutsy, although not pretty. Injuries are a concern. Just heard on channel nine that Rodney looks gone for the season.

 

[Chip and Chase]

I've heard a few of the players (Whatnow, King and Jamie) asked the question regarding whether fitness of the side and the second half fades we have been experiencing are related. In all cases they have said that it is not a fitness issue, that as far as they are concerned their physical preparation is up to scratch. Which can only mean it is a mental / attitude issue. We have definitely exhibited inconsistency in terms of intensity of performance this year, quite violent mood swings in fact. It's hard to be "up" every week, but there is a minimum level of application required to be a competition force, and we have fallen below that level on too many occassions this year to be considered a genuine premiership threat at this stage. The only saving grace is that if you make the 8 you only need to bring that hunger/desperation for a 4 week stretch and you can take the title. Remains to be seen whether we can do that or not.

 

[Central Coast Eagle]

Darren> maybe the plan from the start of the season was to run into peak fitness at the back end of the season?
But I don't think that injuries have/are helping our cause

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Agree with C & C, it makes sense that it is not physica,l it is a mental thing. It was quite predictable at the start of the year that we had a leadership hole to fill with the departure of Ox.

The fact the Lyon and also King have stood up and led with their individual play, and that our young halves have generally  done quite well in their playmaking roles, may have masked the leadership vacuum to some extent.

Think back to previous years and at various times you'd see Ox firing up the side and barking orders, etc. The youngsters aren't yet taking charge to that extent. Not sure why so few are prepared to concede that there is a lot to replace with Ox no longer there (not suggesting he should have stayed, just that it was always going to be a big transition).

 

[codewana]

Susan, I'm a very big fan of your posts. I think you sum it all up quite nicely most of the time.

Terry, I have no idea how you can think that we are no hopers without Williams on the wing. Are you related to the guy?

 

[torana355]

I really think people forget we have two very good players on the sideline this year. We are in 5th spot with numerous injury issues which is more then respectable. We have two young rookie half's, no specialist fullback except hoppa when he has played on top of all the injury's. Then on top of that we have shown we can beat the best teams in the comp. Sure we have much improvement in us but enough bloody doom and gloom please!!!

 

[The Who]

It was a gutsy effort, but underlined our lack of game-breakers. And now with Rodney out, and Choc probably out, I'm stumped for replacement answers. As I only see the Under 20s, and not the Sunshine Coast, the only possible forward replacement there is Lama Tasi. The rest were totally outclassed by the Under 20 Warriors.
Hopefully there is a forward in the Sunshine Coast who can play in the backrow. I know Lussick is injured, so you couldn't consider him, even if he was ready to return this week.
While TH broke the deadlock with his field goal I still don't think he is doing enough. It may be worth the gamble to try DCE go increase our attack. Foran hasn't played well, by his standards, for a long time, but obviously has to remain.
I'm fearful of how we will go if Easts play their razzle-dazzle football next week.
Like I said in the intro, it was a courageous win against The Warriors but the two injuries will almost certain spell our chances of going far in the finals.

 

[ALinda]

And agree, we had more spark when Ben was playing, I hear here's back in round 26??

Heard Zorba this morning say Ben's a good chance of playing next week. Also Hoppa's a definite and even Perry is quite possible. A bit of good news for a change. Here's hoping it's true and Farrar and/or Hoppa return as we'll need them!

 

[Merdy33]

I really think people forget we have two very good players on the sideline this year. We are in 5th spot with numerous injury issues which is more then respectable. We have two young rookie half's, no specialist fullback except hoppa when he has played on top of all the injury's. Then on top of that we have shown we can beat the best teams in the comp. Sure we have much improvement in us but enough bloody doom and gloom please!!!

Can't agree enough with this. We may or may not get too deep into the finals this year, but if we click, watch out. We only have to string half a dozen games together from here, and I'm not saying that's impossible.

Pretty much every commentator or panelist has commented favourably on our effort last night, and acknowledged what last Monday night took out of us. Look at the Dragons today....

Injuries are our major problem at the moment.

 

[Pablo]

Its def. a mental thing.
To me it sometimes feels like the '08 hang over is still lingering. Having already won a comp....kinda feels like the desire of some of the players isnt as strong as it should be and its been like this the last 2 seasons.
I may be way off the mark but thats all i can put it down too.

An injection of enthusiasm from a young fresh forward wouldnt go a stray. Some one who could come on,with blinkers on, and just run forward and not look to pass before the line would be a refreshing change.