POST GAME [Round 24, 2022] Broncos vs Eels

[rnabokov]

Really shows the importance of the hooker.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Broncos: Round 24

Kurt Capewell and Kevin Walters chat to the media after their Round 24 clash with the Eels

www.nrl.com

**** me dead, not a good look for Kevin. The best he could muster was hanging his hopes on the return of Carrigan and Cobbo and muttering about attitude.

Attitude has been a big problem at this club since well before you took the job, Kev.....

Also apparently Brenko Lee did his hammy at some point, so there's his last hurrah.

 

[Big Pete]

It comes down to a combination of factors.

Firstly there's no doubt they've hit a wall. Reynolds is struggling with a rib, back and injured hand. He really shouldn't be on the field but it's the pointy end of the season and the team needs him out there. What's happening is he's putting himself in these poor positions since teams are really going after him and he's getting caught with all these accidental contacts. Throw in injuries to Capewell, Haas, Farnworth, Cobbo, Brenko, Flegler, Kobe, Ezra etc and they've just lost several steps that made them so competitive.

Like Melbourne, these injuries didn't just occur to the top line player but the depth players as well. Prospects you'd be hoping to bring in like Paix, Robati, Piakura etc. have all been affected and haven't been able to get the runs on the board to come in and provide those options.

As an aside, I think fans are being harsh to suggest Hosking was let go to keep Riki. Riki, Piakura, Capewell and Robati all signed long term before Hosking was even at the Seagulls. He's been a quality depth player but it was never a case of Sophie's Choice and it doesn't appear he's an option at 13. He played OK, but still think he's a depth option.

On top of battered players, the fill-in players really struggled. For mine the contest lasted about 15 minutes. Brisbane had a few opportunities to make their mark and they were just found out and it was the fill-ins in the middle of it. Pereira got exposed against Sivo, Walters filling in for Reynolds gets pinged on a forward pass (don't start me), Turpin with the strip, Brenko with the defensive error that leads to the Mam penalty etc.

To be clear it's not on them and that Staggs penalty from the kick-off was poor as well but those little moments make a huge difference in this era of momentum. In the end, Parra had all the ball and Brisbane were rudderless thanks partially to losing their captain 12 minutes into the game.

The other is that they still have to improve in a lot of areas and I'm not sure if their roster or coach is capable of it. Obviously defence is a key concern, they struggle to get their counter-parts on the ground and just lose far too many rucks. Line-speed at times is non-existent and players are either unfit through bad cardio or injuries to be in the right position. I like Kobe's technique, but he seems to struggle with the cardio demands and the only other player I really rate is Carrigan who has clearly improved that area. The rest all need work and they'll have to take it up another notch this pre-season.

There's a lot of areas they need to work on. Really if they want to make finals and draw some kind of silver lining it's on the line next week. Personally I don't care and I've been ready for Round 1 2023 since Walsh signed but I know it'll improve the mood and their confidence if they make it and put in a decent showing.

 

[BooKhaki]

Parramatta Eels -28.5 @ 9.84 - Was so confident on this bet when I put it on.

 

[vertigo]

`The sudden steep decline bothers me. WTF?

I also wouldn't underestimate the impact of Patty's absence. His leadership is seriously important to us, and the proof is in the puddings

We lost to the roosters and tigers with him in the team. The slide was already on.

 

[Big Pete]

We lost to the roosters and tigers with him in the team. The slide was already on.

Just Tigers, and that's when they tried to use the footy more and it backfired.

 

[heartly87]

It is sad really. The players just don't look like they even like each other any more. I don't know what happened but something stinks and stinks bad. The body language was 2020 levels of poor.

How Kev can't see the impact that the change our 9 rotation has had on our footy I will never know. I hope that the guys who's job it is to manage the roster are doing something to fix this. Reynolds has looked frustrated since Turpin is back in the team, he goes the wrong way every time. The loss is not just on him it's on all the of them but his service really hinders our attack.

The reality is if we make it into the finals it will be just 2019 all over again and will mean jack squat anyway. Kev blundered his selections in a crucial period and moved away from what was working back into his original season team and the outcome was the same. The changes that lead to success in the end were forced changes that ended up working. This is what frustrates me the most, Kev wanted to be loyal because he told these guys "your my man" and then tried to weasel them back in and only made 80% of them in do or die footy. So now the combinations are disjointed, egos are disjointed and possibly there is even some distrust or animosity. I think Kev has blown it regretfully and it hurts to say it as I really thought he had it in him to do the job, I am not so confident in him right now but I wont be calling for his head in his second year. He has fucked up but hopefully has learned something from this.

 

[heartly87]

Before a ball was kicked in Round 1, what was your expectation in terms of where we finish?

If it were top 4, you're as deluded as anyone else on here.

I said to mates 10-8 finish and I would be happy. But I am more disappointed now because I know these lads have it in them. But to be honest they likely over achieved this year and still don't know how to stay up when it counts.

 

[heartly87]

It's odd that "tacklebot" is an insult in a team that's hemorrhaging points. Riki is the team's best defender over the entire season, and his error rate is lower than anyone else on his edge.

Sorry mate, half the reason we need to tackle so much stems from the service and the follow on effect it has on the play. Turpin has the worst service in the NRL, his defense is not a problem it is everything else in his game.

 

[Manofoneway]

Obviously nothing went our way tonight. Flegler, Reynolds, hetherington, Brenko all injured. One thing I have learned is that payne haas is not worth the money. He has a big motor, he's fit and can make post contact meters but he just stands there in defence and concedes meters. He's almost a liability.

 

[heartly87]

I’d drop Staggs before Riki but they both need to improve. I think Riki isn’t an 80 minute player and should be getting subbed for Robati or Piakura

we had like 30% of possession, no centre in the history of the game is turning the game for you with that amount of ball. Staggs looks shit when the team is playing shit and every centre in the comp bar Manu is the same.

 

[mitch222]

Staggs has been absolutely rubbish since origin 1
Why hasn’t the media put some pressure on him ffs

 

[Galah]

Obviously nothing went our way tonight. Flegler, Reynolds, hetherington, Brenko all injured. One thing I have learned is that payne haas is not worth the money. He has a big motor, he's fit and can make post contact meters but he just stands there in defence and concedes meters. He's almost a liability.

“Correction” he is a liability.

 

[mrslong]

Can I just say that Walters doesn’t get hammered as much as Turpin because….HE WAS PART OF THE DAMNATION 7 GAME WINNING STREAK. You know who wasn’t? TUUURRRPPPIIIINNNNNNNN.

 

[Dexter]

Staggs has been absolutely rubbish since origin 1
Why hasn’t the media put some pressure on him ffs

isnt that kevs job

 

[Dexter]

I'm not a fan of Haas but my beef is to do with fair value.
I thought we would have lost by more tonight if he wasn't there.

 

[Mustafur]

I said before in the pre game thread that our middle resilience that has been lacking for us was the key thing that will determine if we can turn this around or get smashed again and it would be the deciding factor and it's what happened.

Our middle despite the fact ability wise isn't bad even without Carrigan is mentally weak as shit atm they had no chance against one of the best middle forward teams in the competition and it showed.

I think long term results like this can benefit us long term if we make actions for the future and actually act on it, we need harder heads in our team in that area, Carrigan from my view that I see is the only player in our middle that has those attributes but we need atleast another, Haas is an excellent forward but he is weak as piss mentally and doesn't have the communication skills required to get players to go with him on the effort areas, I get the coach is a crucial part but you need a few players in each area to keep the message on field and your not getting it with what we have.

We need to offload Haas and spend that on a hardened Hooker or Prop/Lock with high leadership that has skills and ability to match.

Just off the top of my head Tino and Hunt are the ones that stick out that we can get there.


I think from what we could of done now is obviously having Gamble in the 17 as a Lock/Halves cover player, he has been under utilised massively this season and because of that we now see him wanting to leave, the guy literally played 2 games at lock in his entire career and his second game against the titans resulted in basically all our points, he might be on the low ability side as a half but I see a very high ability lock in him that hasn't been looked at, but his communication skills are honestly goated.

Ability alone isn't enough otherwise the Kangaroos would never lose a game.

 

[Swordfish]

I really wanted Kev to succeed but dear o dear, he thought he was innovating with his team selections and use of bench. In reality, he's self inflicting more harm than anybody else can.

Poor line speed both in attack & defence,
no wrestle in tackles, no wrapping up the ball when defending which leads to opposition to offload at will,
no support play's, no game plan what so ever rather purely depend on individual brilliance and the list can go on & on......

It's a disgrace that a fan & past players favorite cannot coach at all. Most people including myself thought Kev would at least bring us out of the deep hole we're in the last few years.

Do yourself a favor & walk away Kev. That's the best & the only smart thing you can do now.