Dragons V Roosters *SPOILER*

[OXY-351]

Teams can have bad patches due to various reasons, but I just don't think they lose their skill over night. Wouldn't be surprised if the dragons find their stride come finals time, while say someone like the Storm, who have been so strong for 10 weeks now, start to have a few bad games of their own.

The Dragons are playing a little ordinary now, but you'd be brave to write them off.

 

[Kaz]

Loved Soward getting hooked. Muwahahaha. I think his low point was watching that ball bounce for Anasta to catch and flick pass out the back. Lol. WTF Soward.

I think Soward was still carrying that injury.

He was playing on the wing for quite some time & he wasn't kicking.

 

[Alec]

I think that while Brett Morris is clearly talented, he has the least amount of heart or passion than anyone else in the NRL.

 

[Kaz]

I think that while Brett Morris is clearly talented, he has the least amount of heart or passion than anyone else in the NRL.

It's a toss up between him & his twin Josh.

 

[Charmamba]

Teams can have bad patches due to various reasons, but I just don't think they lose their skill over night. Wouldn't be surprised if the dragons find their stride come finals time, while say someone like the Storm, who have been so strong for 10 weeks now, start to have a few bad games of their own.

The Dragons are playing a little ordinary now, but you'd be brave to write them off.

I write them off, knocked out in the second week... if lucky

 

[Coxy]

I preface this by saying I have huge admiration for Wayne Bennett. He's the greatest coach I've ever seen in any sport.

But the Dragons of 2009 and 2011 confirms what I didn't want to admit. Bennett is responsible for late season slumps with his teams. It's too much of a coincidence to see the Broncos do it regularly from 2001-2008 and then Dragons to do the same 2 out of 3 years since.

Why does it happen?

 

[Fozz]

I preface this by saying I have huge admiration for Wayne Bennett. He's the greatest coach I've ever seen in any sport.

But the Dragons of 2009 and 2011 confirms what I didn't want to admit. Bennett is responsible for late season slumps with his teams. It's too much of a coincidence to see the Broncos do it regularly from 2001-2008 and then Dragons to do the same 2 out of 3 years since.

Why does it happen?

I think it's just mental fatigue. WB gets the team to perform at a high level for a long period but it's hard to keep it going for a full season. His key players usually have a higher workload too as they usually end up playing rep footy.

 

[Coxy]

I think it's just mental fatigue. WB gets the team to perform at a high level for a long period but it's hard to keep it going for a full season. His key players usually have a higher workload too as they usually end up playing rep footy.

Makes sense. Surprising that it's been the best part of a decade with regular repeats of it and still Bennett has no way to handle it.

 

[Jeba]

Makes sense. Surprising that it's been the best part of a decade with regular repeats of it and still Bennett has no way to handle it.

And whilst I also rate him as the best coach of all time, it's weird that 2006 was the only season that he was able to get his team out of a slump (and that's why I'll forgive him for the slumps of other years ;-)

There's still no coach in history that gets the best out of his players but like Fozz said, it's hard to get them to perform at their peak for 30 weeks.

And Coxy, just to be pedantic ;-), I don't think 2007 or 2008 were slumps. 2007 we were raped by injury and 2008 we played some damn good football towards the end of the season before being knocked out by cheats.

 

[Meat77]

Doesn't he always hide on the wing?

 

[Anonymous person]

Let's not forget that Wayne Bennett coached sides always have a ridiculous amount of players that have had rep duty during the season too. That could be a big factor.

i think the rep card gets overplayed.

this year theres been what, 3 origins and 1 test match? the players that play in origin miss the game before the origin, so theyre playing the same amount of games as usual. lots of them dont back up for the following weekend either. sure origins are tough, but theyre professional athletes.

IMO bennett goes about the season the wrong way. being number 1 from weeks 1-16 or so means nothing. like ive said before, the other teams all use the first half of the season to experiment with gameplans, tactics, player positions, interchanges, etc - but bennett always just sticks to his guns and plays how hes going to play his team in september in march-september. it makes his team predictable when it gets to the pointy end of the season, and it also puts so much unnecessary pressure on the players because they were number 1/2/3 for most of the season and all of a sudden theyre losing games and theyre copping criticism when it comes to the backend of the season.

the other good teams 'time their run' in to the finals. they pick up the pace at crunch time. they fire on all cylinders. bennetts teams have never really done this.

 

[Coxy]

And whilst I also rate him as the best coach of all time, it's weird that 2006 was the only season that he was able to get his team out of a slump (and that's why I'll forgive him for the slumps of other years ;-)

There's still no coach in history that gets the best out of his players but like Fozz said, it's hard to get them to perform at their peak for 30 weeks.

And Coxy, just to be pedantic ;-), I don't think 2007 or 2008 were slumps. 2007 we were raped by injury and 2008 we played some damn good football towards the end of the season before being knocked out by cheats.

I should clarify I wasn't saying every time the Broncos missed out on a premiership between 2001-2008 that it was a slump. Certainly 2007 was injury related, and 2008 I thought the Broncos were building quite nicely and yes, were unlucky.

2001: 6 game slump leading into the finals (snapped out of it with a win in round 26)
2002: Lost 4 of last 5 games before the finals
2003: Lost last 8 games in a row
2004: Lost 4 and drew 1 of last 6 games
2005: Lost last 7 games in a row
2006: Lost 5 games in a row post-Origin (earlier, calculated slump, revived at season's end to peak to a premiership, woohoo)

Anyway, I think a lot of it comes down to the difference in teams, and the reintroduction of limited interchange.
In the Broncos early days and early 90s, they could attack from anywhere and you could count on them scoring 20-odd points a game, even if the defence leaked a bit.
In the late 90s/2000, with unlimited interchange, the Broncos had a pack that would just rumble forward relentlessly, wear the opposition out and then gaps would appear for the backline to score points. Conversely the opposition had little in the tank to try and bust the Broncos' defence.
2001 - along came limited interchange. Broncos continued to try and use the power game. Rumble up the middle. Defend to the death. Wait for an opportunity. Attack. Worked well until teams had their more creative attack happening with more ball movement, more dynamic lines being run etc. Result was tired Broncos forwards struggled to shut down mobile opposition, leaked points, and in turn Broncos lacked petrol in the tank to mount counter attacks.

Apart from 2006 and to a lesser extent 2008 and 2010, Bennett teams have failed to "go with" the other teams and lift to another level of mobility and dynamics. And as Rock says, that could have a lot to do with rep wear and tear. In 2006 the Broncos deliberately gave players a full 2 weeks off training after Origin. Result was the performance in games dropped, but it meant they were able to build back into it later in the season.

I dunno, but the fact is Bennett has failed to work out how to counter this phenomenon consistently.

 

[mrslong]

Jamie Soward has been attrocious since named overrated. He's definitely a confidence player.

 

[OXY-351]

Rep footy might have something to do with it too

 

[mrslong]

Rep footy might have something to do with it too

Ricky Stuart breaks play makers.

 

[Coxy]

Ricky Stuart breaks play makers.

He certainly broken himself a few times during his career. Raiders fans still say he cost them the 1993 premiership when he broke his leg.

 

[mrslong]

:rockon:thanks Sticky!

 

[Big Pete]

A lot of those slumps the Broncos suffered were generally triggered by injuries as well.