Broncos - 2015 Discussion

[theshed]

Now you're just being a dickhead. There's no what ifs about saying melbournes halves missed some opportunities our defence presented.

Yeah I said maybe someone like Cronk would've instead of just saying they didn't do their jobs.

Dumb comments like that are exactly why we can't have meaningful discussion on this board. My opinion wasn't in extreme opposition to yours so stop trying to force the issue.

 

[Alec]

I reckon Melb might have won with Cronk or Slater. Slater would have probably scored off one of the many kicks into the ingoal, and Cronk would have improved their attack tenfold, especially on the right where Hampton was 100% MIA, just shit in general.

 

[rnabokov]

Actually it is relevant. Because the counter-argument is that it's possible, likely even, that those "holes" you speak of would be forming less often had Parker been there. Not only does he get high tackle counts, but his effective tackle count is way up there too, meaning he doesn't miss much and doesn't give opponents chances.



From memory we've always been quite easy to earn dropouts from. Perhaps it's our sliding defence? We seem to be compressed enough to not concede through the middle, yet fast & fit enough to get across to threats out wide. However, the act of our defence sliding is potentially opening up the gaps which is allowing those short, sharp grubbers at the line to consistently get through? Ie, throw a dummy to spread the ball wide, our defence reacts, gaps appear that aren't big enough for a runner to go through, but are big enough for a kick to go through.

Hmmm ... our sliding defence v Storm I thought was absolutely brilliant: reading the play, moving as one, reacting almost perfectly for 80 mins.

A problem is when someone leaves "their man" and thus leaves a gap, and good attack knows how to exploit it however my main issue is the free metres we surrender in the middle third which gives a huge assist to the attacking side's field position, letting them camp in our red zone as the Storm did.

Again, for mine, our defensive structure v Roosters in most, but not all ways is our benchmark: hit them when they get the ball, not let them run 10 metres to our wall as someone posted which to me is a recipe for disaster against a team with class halves and FB.

I think our defensive line speed is the only real flaw in our otherwise superb, evolving overall game, thanks to Bennett's and Kearney's amazing coaching.

 

[Rally Towel]

I reckon Melb might have won with Cronk or Slater. Slater would have probably scored off one of the many kicks into the ingoal, and Cronk would have improved their attack tenfold, especially on the right where Hampton was 100% MIA, just shit in general.

Tend to agree with this. We were herculean in defence but Cronk and Slater may well have provided the necessary polish to convert the close callscalls into points.

Cronk is miles ahead of Hampton in every aspect of play, while Slater is much better at setting up his outside men. We missed Cozza and Hodges, but the Storm are far more dependent on their big three .

 

[john1420]

I reckon Melb might have won with Cronk or Slater. Slater would have probably scored off one of the many kicks into the ingoal, and Cronk would have improved their attack tenfold, especially on the right where Hampton was 100% MIA, just shit in general.

I couldn't give a crap if Melbourne might have won with Cronk and Slater

They didn't have Cronk and Slater and they didn't win

They might not have won even with them

I reckon the Broncos win if you add in Cronk and Slater, as well as Hodges and Parker

Not that it matters

Broncos defeated Storm

That's what matters

 

[Cult]

Imagine all the tries Milford would have scored off Parker offloads. I am going to say 3. And Hodges would have scored 1 and set up another. 40-18 to the Broncos. Woo we won!

 

[broncos4life]

Now you're just being a dickhead. There's no what ifs about saying melbournes halves missed some opportunities our defence presented.

Yeah I said maybe someone like Cronk would've instead of just saying they didn't do their jobs.

Dumb comments like that are exactly why we can't have meaningful discussion on this board. My opinion wasn't in extreme opposition to yours so stop trying to force the issue.

No I'm not actually being a dickhead, I'm making a point in the least offensive way possible, because what I really want to say is what this is a lot of bulshit.

Also I didn't direct it at you, I didn't even quote your post so I'm not sure why you are acting defensive.

How do you have meaningful discussion when you are talking about if's, buts and maybes?!? I'm all for meaningful discussion but to base that on "If this player played they would have scored my points" as a statement of fact is absurd because there are so many variables that come into that even if that person does play.

Even to break it down to the simplest form and make an assumption that if Cronk plays and plays at his optimal performance and you say for example "If Cronk plays he puts on 2 more tries", then what is to say that "Well if parker played his defense would have stopped on of those tries and his offloads would have lead to at least one milford try/try assist"

It's meaningless, the very opposite of meaningless discussion.

 

[theshed]

No I'm not actually being a dickhead, I'm making a point in the least offensive way possible, because what I really want to say is what this is a lot of bulshit.

Also I didn't direct it at you, I didn't even quote your post so I'm not sure why you are acting defensive.

How do you have meaningful discussion when you are talking about if's, buts and maybes?!? I'm all for meaningful discussion but to base that on "If this player played they would have scored my points" as a statement of fact is absurd because there are so many variables that come into that even if that person does play.

Even to break it down to the simplest form and make an assumption that if Cronk plays and plays at his optimal performance and you say for example "If Cronk plays he puts on 2 more tries", then what is to say that "Well if parker played his defense would have stopped on of those tries and his offloads would have lead to at least one milford try/try assist"

It's meaningless, the very opposite of meaningless discussion.

My apologies but the timin of your post at least definitely seemed to include me.

The point I was making has donuts to do with anyone else playing. All I'm saying is in THAT game there were times when clever playmaking could've ripped us between the markers and players getting onside.

I'm not mentionin Corey or just one because they weren't there and I said Cronk and Slater because there's no better example in the NRL of a combination that would've explores it than the inside ball from Cronk to slater. I don't give a **** if your nephew from under 10s touch footy was at fullback and Peter wallace's ruptured testicle was in the halves. If they looked at the gaps we kept leaving in that area at some point it would cause us an issue during that game.

 

[broncos4life]

My apologies but the timin of your post at least definitely seemed to include me.

The point I was making has donuts to do with anyone else playing. All I'm saying is in THAT game there were times when clever playmaking could've ripped us between the markers and players getting onside.

I'm not mentionin Corey or just one because they weren't there and I said Cronk and Slater because there's no better example in the NRL of a combination that would've explores it than the inside ball from Cronk to slater. I don't give a **** if your nephew from under 10s touch footy was at fullback and Peter wallace's ruptured testicle was in the halves. If they looked at the gaps we kept leaving in that area at some point it would cause us an issue during that game.

Don't apologise, I'm usually a dickhead so can't blame you for assuming I was being one

 

[theshed]

Yeah I just finished lunch and lost that rage almost instantly. I'll blame poor sugar levels or something.

 

[Sproj]

In the Roosters game, we saw what this team can do with faster line speed. Get the goal line defense rock solid and step up the speed in the final 5-6 rounds leading into the finals when the best teams go up a level. It isn't rocket science that we are not playing our best footy yet and nor do we want to be. BUT we are winning on already decent defense. How good is this!!

 

[Foordy]

Don't apologise, I'm usually a dickhead so can't blame you for assuming I was being one

Exactly ... We need to point out when you're NOT being a dickhead, because those are the rare moments. :tongue:

 

[Porthoz]

We don't know what would've happened, but what people are doing, is giving opinions based on hypotheticals, which is normally a huge part of discussion boards.
I personally don't like to linger too much on what could've been, but rather analyse what happened and use it to look at what we can improve and need to be weary about in the future.

No one can say what would or wouldn't have happened if Melbourne and Brisbane had all their players on board. We might have had 6 less drop-outs, scored more tries, or the Storm could've scored a few more and beat us.

Where I have no doubt, is that the Storm missed their players more than we missed ours.
Yes, we would have probably been a bit better with Hodgo and Parker on board, but Kahu was very good in Hodgo's spot (probably defends better than Justin), and our forwards were all very good as well.
In comparison, the Storm had pretty much no halfback and their fullback, while full of promise, suffered without a halfback, and still goes himself too often.

Would we still have won? Possibly not, but we can only play what is in front of us.

Will we win more games in the same fashion? Probably not against the top teams in the comp.

 

[Big Pete]

2015 has easily been the most enjoyable season since 2008.

So many memorable moments and we're just over half-way through the season. Outside of defence and the tendancy to come up with the big plays at the right time, the biggest improvement has been the Broncos ability to spread the ball from one side to another. There were times under Griffin where the Broncos looked completely rudderless and couldn't offer more than one out plays. This was particularly frustrating because the Broncos were great at gaining field position but were terrible at capitilising on it. However, the acquisitions of Boyd, Blair & Milford has really helped the Broncos in this regard and they're playing with a lot more shape and energy.

Combined that with the improved defence (which 1910 absolutely nailed) and you can see why the Broncos are on a whole other level to last year.

Whether they can maintain or go up another gear remains to be seen and in all honesty isn't worth discussing until the competition hits Round 20. That's when we'll get a sense of where all the teams are at heading into the finals and whether the Broncos have the maturity to compete with the better sides.

Everything until then is just two points in the grand scheme of things. However, I'll lap up each win especially when they're against a side we haven't beaten in 5 years (or 10 if the other games don't count).

 

[Dexter]

Whether they can maintain or go up another gear remains to be seen and in all honesty isn't worth discussing until the competition hits Round 20. That's when we'll get a sense of where all the teams are at heading into the finals and whether the Broncos have the maturity to compete with the better sides.

Everything until then is just two points in the grand scheme of things. However, I'll lap up each win especially when they're against a side we haven't beaten in 5 years (or 10 if the other games don't count).

You got that right BP given our last 5 games are against Dogs (H), Dragons (H), Chooks (A), Rabbits ( A), Storm (H). That's some run into the finals and will give us a good indication where we are at, especially if the Dogs, Chooks and Rabbits have close to their full strength sides .

 

[LittleDavey]

You got that right BP given our last 5 games are against Dogs (H), Dragons (H), Chooks (A), Rabbits ( A), Storm (H). That's some run into the finals and will give us a good indication where we are at, especially if the Dogs, Chooks and Rabbits have close to their full strength sides .

Personally I'd prefer a tough run into the finals than an easy one. It'll get the boys into the mental zone you want heading into the finals, either "yeah we got one up on them, we can beat them again if we meet them in the finals" or "ok so we lost, we'll look at that and know we have to be better if we meet them again".

As opposed to "ohh yeahhh, another easy win, premiership is as good as ours.." or "phew, we only just beat those lightweights, I wonder if we have what it takes to beat the (Cows/Storm/Roosters/etc).."

Although I'm not as concerned about 'clocking off' as in years gone by. I've been saying for years now that mental toughness (or a lack of it) is what's held us back....Wayne has improved this out of sight, he's got the guys in a great mental space and it really shows.

I am concerned whether we can go up a gear towards the finals though. I think we have a lot more improvement in us, line speed is a big one that is blindingly obvious, and if we can take those couple of improvement steps I see no reason we can't take it out. We have the talent. We clearly have the team mentality, and the never-say-die mentality. We should go damn close. And I'm EXCITED!!

 

[FaceOfMutiny]

I think it would be nice to see faster line speed at the other end and the same line speed as now the closer they get to the try line. It's frustrating to watch one of Hunts decent kicks to a corner knowing they are going to just march up the field instead of pressure being applied. Though it also seems whenever pressure is applied down the other end Wallace does something to gift a penalty.

 

[Rally Towel]

Glad we've got a relatively tough draw over the last few rounds of the regular season. It will serve us in good stead , in terms of a realistic assessment of our prospects and progress.

Conversely, I was looking at our next few match ups. Knights, Dogs, Tigers, Titans and Manly. Provided the attitude and intensity is right, we have a really good chance to bank a few more wins and consolidate our position on the ladder. We've done well over our traditionally rocky Origin period, and I'm confident we can make the most of our current form over the next few weeks.

I'm still inclined to think we're still a bit short of the top tier teams, and expect that the Storm, Rabbitohs and Roosters may well give us a reality check when the whips are truly cracking at the business end of the season. However, the gap isn't that vast, and should we get the right bounce and/or rub of the green, there's no reason we can't stick it to them.

Wherever we finish up, it's been a great year thus far, and I've every faith good times are ahead this season and beyond.