What are we missing the most?

[TheSoaringEagle2023]

Absolutely this.

Our players need to wake up & show some hunger & determination, like Jake does every minute of every game every week.

Since it’s simply not possible to get rid of all our players & start afresh, the only solution is for the players we have to get onboard.

In a flick of a switch they could make Jake captain over night and that would be a first step towards achieving that, but the circus still rolls on.

 

[Marto1970]

I feel we are missing the most a good strong leader that will push the players more when the going gets tough. I would like to see Jake get the job as Captain as he would be better at being that captain. I feel a lot of the players are just going through the motions at the moment and they need a captain that will not accept that but will expect their best performances on the field.

Jake does a lot of talking on the field, behind the posts , halftime , before they run out ,he is the forward's leader in attack and defence, so putting a C beside his name will make everyone play better , he is a leader now, he does everything except toss the coin

 

[Brocky]

Making Jake captain will not change a thing, we simply lack pace. There is no speed or structure, DCE is way too slow off the mark and when the backs get the ball they are terrible. Forwards were run over by panthers, it was like watching a game of touch football. Never have i seen Manly play that bad period. Would not of mattered if turbo was fit or no. They all got a hard lesson of how bad the are.

 

[Chunkytuna]

A 5/8 thats going to be there every game so he can build a combination with his halfback. Maybe blood Humphries. Like I said in an earlier post, its hard for our current halfback to build combinations when he has had 3 different 5/8s in three games, in a week

They’re on different sides of the field most of the time. I don’t see that as being a major issue. DCE more needs to get more coordinated with the backrowers. He doesn’t combine with Gauc well at all.

 

[alafua siaosi]

After the first few rounds , we are only 3 points from the top spot so we do not need to panic until the second half of the draw .My opinion from the start has not changed in that our errors and injuries will be the only problems with the team we have in 2023 .Tuipulotu ,Koula and Schuster's injuries in the backs have definitely affected our attack and errors in defense are also a problem right now .For our next game would be nice to have Bullemor in for Aloai and try out a new center for Harper and might even give Woods a run on the bench . Stick with Weekes at 5/8 until Schuster is back .
Looking forward for the Maaaaaanly chant to get the boys home against the Storm .

 

[Chunkytuna]

I like your thinking...If we could somehow sign big Nelson who is off contract as well as Wiremu, we would have a monster pack that would be feared. Add in a scheming rotation hooker combo of Weekes/Gordy and we have the ingredients for a competitive team.
I'd let go of Keppe, Aloai, Paseka,Croker,Tuilagi,etc.

Forward pack would look like this

13 Jake
12 Mole
11 Bully
10 Greig
9 Gordy
8 Nelson

Bench:
14 Weekes
15 TSips
16 Woods
17 Fainu

Woods before paseka? You serious??

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

After the first few rounds , we are only 3 points from the top spot so we do not need to panic until the second half of the draw .My opinion from the start has not changed in that our errors and injuries will be the only problems with the team we have in 2023 .Tuipulotu ,Koula and Schuster's injuries in the backs have definitely affected our attack and errors in defense are also a problem right now .For our next game would be nice to have Bullemor in for Aloai and try out a new center for Harper and might even give Woods a run on the bench . Stick with Weekes at 5/8 until Schuster is back .
Looking forward for the Maaaaaanly chant to get the boys home against the Storm .

This place has just exploded , over ONE bad game.

The worst thing ( and it annoys me) is there are many or sit back and are completely silent if we are winning , or going ok BUT as soon as there’s a bad result , in they pile!!

They are the ultimate pessimists.

 

[Eagle 1]

I wish the NRL never forced us to cancel our partnership with the sunshine coast, that was a far superior feeder system.

Thought the team that was our feeder at the time on the SC wanted out of the arrangement, didn't think the NRL had the power to direct a non NRL club to do anything tbh.

 

[Eagle 1]

After the first few rounds , we are only 3 points from the top spot so we do not need to panic until the second half of the draw .My opinion from the start has not changed in that our errors and injuries will be the only problems with the team we have in 2023 .Tuipulotu ,Koula and Schuster's injuries in the backs have definitely affected our attack and errors in defense are also a problem right now .For our next game would be nice to have Bullemor in for Aloai and try out a new center for Harper and might even give Woods a run on the bench . Stick with Weekes at 5/8 until Schuster is back .
Looking forward for the Maaaaaanly chant to get the boys home against the Storm .

Wholeheartedly agree, only 3pts from top spot, and its only early April, lot of people on here need to get a grip for goodness sakes.

 

[MW66]

Talking about centres I could never understand how/why we let Feledy go. He was the Ball captain from memory and highly rated. He also plays in a position that we have been very light on for a few years. I always assumed it was because we tied L Fainu up on big bucks and a) couldn't offer him what he wanted; or b) felt slightly miffed we didn't offer him the same.

We have Myers hopefully coming through but still seem a little short in the centre position.

p.s. where is Latu Fainu?

 

[Daddycool]

Mental Toughness
Any game that gets tough and into an arm wrestle, we seem to break first.
Teams like Penrith and Melbourne thrive on these games and I guess that's why they bully us and other mid and bottom teams over the past few seasons
It's like teams know we are not too resilient and in those arm wrestle games, know they just need to hang in that bit longer and we'll crack.
Till we improve this area, will continue to be beaten up by the Top 4 teams.

Yep, agree with this but Penrith and Melbourne have developed this “mental toughness” thru winning games. In that they both play a style that wins regularly. Part of it comes from good coaching. However a lot of it, is the playing group having confidence in both the system and the team leaders.
I’ve long been of the opinion that Cherry Evans doesn’t really lead the team. He’s the Captain but nobody really looks to him for leadership. They all stand around waiting for Tom to do something. I’ve said before, Tom should be Captain although perhaps Jake could be Captain for a couple of years before handing over to Tom.
Give Paseka and Olakau’atu more say in game planning and these 4 can form the basis of the leadership group. We’re stuck with Cherry Evans for 2 more years after this one. If he went back to just being a senior player and not Captain, perhaps he’d be less inclined to overplay his role and be more productive.

 

[alafua siaosi]

Talking about centres I could never understand how/why we let Feledy go. He was the Ball captain from memory and highly rated. He also plays in a position that we have been very light on for a few years. I always assumed it was because we tied L Fainu up on big bucks and a) couldn't offer him what he wanted; or b) felt slightly miffed we didn't offer him the same.

We have Myers hopefully coming through but still seem a little short in the centre position.

p.s. where is Latu Fainu?

We should have bought some centres from the Tigers instead of forwards .I'm sure Latu won't be available till next year .

 

[robbiea]

It’s pretty clear our centre depth is almost non existent.

I’ve been saying for a couple of years now, a decent hooker , a real hard nose prop and a really good strike centre would change our team overnight.

Not easy considering cap issues , but that’s what we need.

This ,but for the last 3 years.

 

[robbiea]

Talking about centres I could never understand how/why we let Feledy go. He was the Ball captain from memory and highly rated. He also plays in a position that we have been very light on for a few years. I always assumed it was because we tied L Fainu up on big bucks and a) couldn't offer him what he wanted; or b) felt slightly miffed we didn't offer him the same.

We have Myers hopefully coming through but still seem a little short in the centre position.

p.s. where is Latu Fainu?

Latu Fainu is nowhere close to being the answer to anything we need here this year.

 

[LeonardCohen]

This place has just exploded , over ONE bad game.

The worst thing ( and it annoys me) is there are many or sit back and are completely silent if we are winning , or going ok BUT as soon as there’s a bad result , in they pile!!

They are the ultimate pessimists.

Rd.1 - a win against poor error-riddled Bulldogs opposition
Rd.2 - Bye
Rd.3 - leaked 30+ against Eels
Rd.4 - fair effort against a weakened Souths pack
Rd.5 - paper thin defence to leak 30+ points against Knights
Rd.6 - one of the poorest displays I have ever seen from a Manly side

I understand your sentiment and to a degree, you are right about the fickle nature of our supporters, but it's not losing that sends this place into meltdown, it's the fashion in which it occurs. Most fans are forgiving of a loss, but when you're down 32-0 at half-time and it looks like some players aren't having a dig, you're gonna get a scathing response on this forum.

Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that we're only a few points off top spot?! It's round 6 and we've had a bye. We've won two games and scrapped a draw against the Knights. It's not panic stations but it's certainly not looking promising.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

We are missing really rich owners and the club DNA of Fulton, Eadie, Randall and Krilich and the other legends that bled maroon and white.

Not just ‘really rich’ but smart enough to know when to allow people, who know what they’re about, to get on with it.

In saying that, I think the jury is still out on Fulton’s last stint at Brookvale.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Rd.1 - a win against poor error-riddled Bulldogs opposition
Rd.2 - Bye
Rd.3 - leaked 30+ against Eels
Rd.4 - fair effort against a weakened Souths pack
Rd.5 - paper thin defence to leak 30+ points against Knights
Rd.6 - one of the poorest displays I have ever seen from a Manly side

I understand your sentiment and to a degree, you are right about the fickle nature of our supporters, but it's not losing that sends this place into meltdown, it's the fashion in which it occurs. Most fans are forgiving of a loss, but when you're down 32-0 at half-time and it looks like some players aren't having a dig, you're gonna get a scathing response on this forum.

Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that we're only a few points off top spot?! It's round 6 and we've had a bye. We've won two games and scrapped a draw against the Knights. It's not panic stations but it's certainly not looking promising.

All fair comments , but guess what , we aren’t Robinson Caruso , almost every club is having a somewhat up and down year.

The front runners got knocked off by a side that lost 53-6 last weekend.

The side running 17th almost jagged a win v last years Grand Finalists.

You go with the favourites in your footy tipping and are lucky to get 4/8.

But yes I agree , we aren’t perfect , we aren’t crushing every side we play , we aren’t red hot favourites for the Grand Final or going to see half our side in SOO this year.

So yes I suppose on that basis it’s an absolute **** year to date.

 

[47MVEagle]

It’s worth noting that when we play well, no one in the team stands out as having played poorly.

When we play poorly, no one in the team stands out as having played well.

If the effort made in round 1 against the Bulldogs was made in every game, I don’t think we’d be seeing such pessimism, even if our win/loss ratio was the same.

I don’t think it’s a personnel issue, I think it’s an attitude issue.

Something isn’t quite right in the background & we’re seeing the symptoms of it on game day.

Whatever it is needs to be fixed, no amount of new personnel can solve it.

 

[Chunkytuna]

It’s worth noting that when we play well, no one in the team stands out as having played poorly.

When we play poorly, no one in the team stands out as having played well.

If the effort made in round 1 against the Bulldogs was made in every game, I don’t think we’d be seeing such pessimism, even if our win/loss ratio was the same.

I don’t think it’s a personnel issue, I think it’s an attitude issue.

Something isn’t quite right in the background & we’re seeing the symptoms of it on game day.

Whatever it is needs to be fixed, no amount of new personnel can solve it.

I saw some players having a dig and demonstrating a good attitude on the weekend. Jake, Aloia and Taniela are three that come to mind. Others tried, but failed miserably such as DCE and Parks. Not many of the others seemed to have their heads in the game. Classic case would be Kelma who seemed to be in Disneyland in defence. He literally let Edwards walk around him and into the in goal for a try. And when Penrith did get past us out wide (regularly) no one turned round and tried to cut them off and keep them out wide to make the conversion more difficult. That to me is a really poor sign of motivation.

 

[Bearfax]

Probably wont happen but what I've seen suggests that we need Koula and Weekes in the centres (or Turbo at centre and Weekes at full back), Fainu on the bench and perhaps Woods in for experience and forward leadership. Sometimes I think the side is structurally flawed somehow. Some very good players there, but lacks cohesion.