- Jul 28, 2016
- 35,614
- 52,075
I think storm's defence has dropped away massively.
Their edge defence was a concern last year and that has carried through to this year... most notably Munster who I dont recall being this bad in defence last year.
But it's mostly their centres that keep getting exploited... notably Meaney who is just too small to be a modern day centre.
He was getting dominated last year and so was Anderson when he was out there... but they've persisted with him despite being undersized.
I think Coates covered a bit of it with his ability to jam in or just knock down passes, but when Meaney gets caught 1v1 he's usually toast.
Warbrick missed most of last season, but he doesnt seem to have the same ability as Coates when it comes to defence off the wing.
Couple that with Munster being an absolute bunny on that same left edge and they are leaking points way more than they ever have.
I havent paid too much attention to Howarth, but he was a forward most of his juniors and they've converted him into a centre since he's been there, so he's potentially vulnerable to centres if most of them are quicker than him.
Sua is also completely useless in defence. If the opposition get through the line he isnt putting up any fight to stop it... Papy and Billy were also undersized, but they were elite at holding up the ball.
They need to figure out what theyre doing at centre, but they could move Meaney to fullback, that would be a big call to drop Sua, but his defence is so bad... they could try him on the wing (played there a few times last year and allows him to still be an x factor), but his defence out there is likely garbage as well... I cant recall how he went out there last year.
Coates has to be on the wing, but he did come through as a centre, so they could look at making that switch... they would potentially be losing a ton by not having him on the wing though.
That or drop Meaney altogether and find a better centre... easier said than done it would seem.
Their edge defence was a concern last year and that has carried through to this year... most notably Munster who I dont recall being this bad in defence last year.
But it's mostly their centres that keep getting exploited... notably Meaney who is just too small to be a modern day centre.
He was getting dominated last year and so was Anderson when he was out there... but they've persisted with him despite being undersized.
I think Coates covered a bit of it with his ability to jam in or just knock down passes, but when Meaney gets caught 1v1 he's usually toast.
Warbrick missed most of last season, but he doesnt seem to have the same ability as Coates when it comes to defence off the wing.
Couple that with Munster being an absolute bunny on that same left edge and they are leaking points way more than they ever have.
I havent paid too much attention to Howarth, but he was a forward most of his juniors and they've converted him into a centre since he's been there, so he's potentially vulnerable to centres if most of them are quicker than him.
Sua is also completely useless in defence. If the opposition get through the line he isnt putting up any fight to stop it... Papy and Billy were also undersized, but they were elite at holding up the ball.
They need to figure out what theyre doing at centre, but they could move Meaney to fullback, that would be a big call to drop Sua, but his defence is so bad... they could try him on the wing (played there a few times last year and allows him to still be an x factor), but his defence out there is likely garbage as well... I cant recall how he went out there last year.
Coates has to be on the wing, but he did come through as a centre, so they could look at making that switch... they would potentially be losing a ton by not having him on the wing though.
That or drop Meaney altogether and find a better centre... easier said than done it would seem.
