Worst thing about that performance

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maxta

First Grader
Premium Member
Apart from the fact we were obviously flat, the thing that had plenty 2022 about it, was how quickly the Manly side allowed Newcastle to play the ball, especially through the middle.
We were back to (1 Man Tackles), so even when Jake or Keppie make a great shot, Newcastle still won the quick play ball as there was no 2nd and 3rd defender to support the hit and control the wrestle to peel off and control tempo.
Again the energy was down and after the Souths game, I was pretty worries we would also be effected by that titanic struggle which was like a semi final in R4.
Anyways, the resolve to fight back from 12 down to lead before that brain snap was gutsy and something we don't do in 2022, but the test this week Vs Penrith at Penrith is what I'm keen to see, hopefully with a fresh, angry, hungry Manly side.
 
That performance leaves me fearing we are no better than 2022. Same sub-standard roster with several non-first graders. Just as soft when pressure is applied. Just as undisciplined (throwing away what should have been a certain win). Poorly coached and led.
And with no better depth - the lower grades are worse.
Am I exaggerating? I hope so.
 
That performance leaves me fearing we are no better than 2022. Same sub-standard roster with several non-first graders. Just as soft when pressure is applied. Just as undisciplined (throwing away what should have been a certain win). Poorly coached and led.
And with no better depth - the lower grades are worse.
Am I exaggerating? I hope so.
Yet we were a completely different team when we played Souths last week. Defensively it was chalk and cheese. We are a work in progress with the potential to be much better than last year. We've shown glimpses of that but so far lack consistency.
Lower grades definitely a concern...
 
Not enough credit is being given to the Knights ... they are a good side, that has developed a steel backbone ...

Our middle was disrupted because Knights changed the point of attack each run .. just enough to make those 2/3 man hits un-doable ... no excuse, we didn't counter.
 
Giving up on Dom Young twice, and letting him stroll across the deadball line to score under the posts, instead of out wide, was the icing on the cake of an obviously flat performance.
And it was Turbo too. Future captain, Games greatest player, leading by example in the wrong way.
 
That performance leaves me fearing we are no better than 2022. Same sub-standard roster with several non-first graders. Just as soft when pressure is applied. Just as undisciplined (throwing away what should have been a certain win). Poorly coached and led.
And with no better depth - the lower grades are worse.
Am I exaggerating? I hope so.
Our biggest problem is we are carrying a few players who clearly are not first grade NRL players..
Harper
Johns
Tippytoes
Ben T

And then there are guys who play well above their natural ability but still not really NRL quality
Crocker
Parks

Not to mention plodders and ready for retirement players like
Boyle
Woods

There are 6 to 8 players that should never be on our team sheet, but they will be and it's no coincidence when there's a few of these names on our team sheet we will play substandard footy..

Reality people..

I really hope letting Fifita go doesn't smack us in the face, because right now hes better than any forward in that list above.

I love my team and will never not support them, have done so for over 47 years and there's one fact that always rings true, we as fans call it as we see it, there's no bias there's no political play or choice of words to keep the peace or play the " lets stay in everyone's good books at work " mentality, we as fans have been saying for years now that the players above should not be in our team because to us there's no pressure or favouritism.. if only the club looked at it and was actually honest im pretty sure they wouldnt pick these players either.
 
Does anyone notice the difference between smart teams who manage the clock/game when they have a player in the sin bin or with 5 to go?!



We certainly have not been in the "smart" category for a long time now unfortunately!
 
Did anyone watch the south’s game ??

They were the same.

That game , and yesterday took a lot out of the team , I’d expect the same next week v the Panthers.

And I’d expect the same from the Knights next week v the Warriors.

Let’s remember , we lost the previous game by 1, and drew yesterday.

Both games were slogfests.
 
Our biggest problem is we are carrying a few players who clearly are not first grade NRL players..
Harper
Johns
Tippytoes
Ben T

And then there are guys who play well above their natural ability but still not really NRL quality
Crocker
Parks

Not to mention plodders and ready for retirement players like
Boyle
Woods

There are 6 to 8 players that should never be on our team sheet, but they will be and it's no coincidence when there's a few of these names on our team sheet we will play substandard footy..

Reality people..

I really hope letting Fifita go doesn't smack us in the face, because right now hes better than any forward in that list above.

I love my team and will never not support them, have done so for over 47 years and there's one fact that always rings true, we as fans call it as we see it, there's no bias there's no political play or choice of words to keep the peace or play the " lets stay in everyone's good books at work " mentality, we as fans have been saying for years now that the players above should not be in our team because to us there's no pressure or favouritism.. if only the club looked at it and was actually honest im pretty sure they wouldnt pick these players ei

Our biggest problem is we are carrying a few players who clearly are not first grade NRL players..
Harper
Johns
Tippytoes
Ben T

And then there are guys who play well above their natural ability but still not really NRL quality
Crocker
Parks

Not to mention plodders and ready for retirement players like
Boyle
Woods

There are 6 to 8 players that should never be on our team sheet, but they will be and it's no coincidence when there's a few of these names on our team sheet we will play substandard footy..

Reality people..

I really hope letting Fifita go doesn't smack us in the face, because right now hes better than any forward in that list above.

I love my team and will never not support them, have done so for over 47 years and there's one fact that always rings true, we as fans call it as we see it, there's no bias there's no political play or choice of words to keep the peace or play the " lets stay in everyone's good books at work " mentality, we as fans have been saying for years now that the players above should not be in our team because to us there's no pressure or favouritism.. if only the club looked at it and was actually honest im pretty sure they wouldnt pick these players either.
Good post. I think you have put those players in the right categories as well.

I personally think you can be a contending team with Parker and Croker in there. But as you point out you can't have those two guys and then mix in those fringe players around them as well.

I get it there are injuries. But we also have better options - Weekes should have started and Lawman should have played this past weekend. Plus GCKT if possible off the bench.
 
That performance leaves me fearing we are no better than 2022. Same sub-standard roster with several non-first graders. Just as soft when pressure is applied. Just as undisciplined (throwing away what should have been a certain win). Poorly coached and led.
And with no better depth - the lower grades are worse.
Am I exaggerating? I hope so.
You are, because it's round 5, our only loss has been a golden point defeat against an actual title contender and we are still sitting firmly in the top 4. If you think this is still 2022 Manly, you are wrong.
 
You could see the difference between an average hooker and an above average one with Brailey controlling the pace of the ruck and looking threatening and making sure his forwards play the ball quick, whilst Croker just doesn't have the zip, pace and the technical ability to do that. It was such a significant difference. Until Weekes came on and we saw someone with some actual threat out of dummy half.
 
DCE might not be fully fit ATM.

Yesterday we seemed to have only one play maker in our team, and that was Turbo.

Both our actual halves had one game plan, which was simply give it to turbo.
 
You could see the difference between an average hooker and an above average one with Brailey controlling the pace of the ruck and looking threatening and making sure his forwards play the ball quick, whilst Croker just doesn't have the zip, pace and the technical ability to do that. It was such a significant difference. Until Weekes came on and we saw someone with some actual threat out of dummy half.
+1. Brailey made him look very ordinary, as did Mahoney in game 1. Croker missed 9 tackles against the Knights, irrespective of what he brings defensively, thats a lot of missed tackles. The service from Weekes was crisp and he brought speed and attacking intent. Things just seem to go in slow motion when Croker is at dummy half. There was a passage of play where he danced around half way and gave a hospital pass to Tommy T and it resulted in a poor 5th tackle kick. I even seemed to think Lawton was at least half decent last week against the Rabbits.
Im of the belief that maybe some people out there view GCKT's size as a real liability, but guys like Mahoney and Damien Cook of the similar mould and can hold their own despite their small stature.
 
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Hopefully it was just an off day combined with the after effects of last week’s battle against souffs.

It was a tough game to watch yesterday, that’s for sure.
Agree on the after effects of the Souths game, the good thing is, it's only the beginning of April. Lot's of ups and downs to come, every side goes through this in the course of a season..
 
+1. Brailey made him look very ordinary, as did Mahoney in game 1. Croker missed 9 tackles against the Knights, irrespective of what he brings defensively, thats a lot of missed tackles. The service from Weekes was crisp and he brought speed and attacking intent. Things just seem to go in slow motion when Croker is at dummy half. There was a passage of play where he danced around half way and gave a hospital pass to Tommy T and it resulted in a poor 5th tackle kick. I even seemed to think Lawton was at least half decent last week against the Rabbits.
Maybe Croker is still carrying his shoulder injury? He only missed two in Round 1 and none in Round 3.
 
Maybe Croker is still carrying his shoulder injury? He only missed two in Round 1 and none in Round 3.
He was holding his shoulder during the game, maybe that's the issue. If that being the case, he really should have sat it out and had Lawton who is fresh replace him in the side.
 

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