It begins....

[noisetheory]

If twitter is a problem ... deactivate your account?

he seems to enjoy it.

 

[CaptainHook]

Barba will come good. It's all nonsense talk in the press. We just have to keep working hard and he will be back to his best in no time flat.

 

[Old Mate]

Barba is the least of our concerns.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

If this had any truth to it at all, a much more reputable source than the Lurker would be all over it.

 

[rnabokov]

The only "it" which concerns me atm is that "it" started and ended in 2012. We had better do something about it ASAP.

 

[azza]

Ive said it before on here, that before the season started I was at a pretty popular drinking hole in the city and Barba was practically betting on everything. Hes free to do what he likes but if the guy has had a problem with gambling its certainly still around. Wish him all the best

 

[noisetheory]

i have a few friends that will have a day/night out occasionally and 'bet on everything' because thats just what they do but its not a problem in their lives.

 

[azza]

You are right. It might not be a problem at all for him and he just enjoys it , but from all reports it is and if thats spilling onto the field for him then those rumours are worrying.

 

[noisetheory]

yeah but these "reports" only turn up after he has a bad game though..

to me he just looks down on confidence under the high ball. its happened before at the dogs.

aside from that i firmly believe he's trying hard out there. as i posted in another thread he's got 7 'try saves' so far this season and the next best in the NRL is 4. he's putting in the effort.

in attack the role they're trying to get him to play is not suiting him. he's a finisher. he thrives off the back of lead up play in front of him. we dont provide that.

 

[azza]

Yeah I do believe the club has been really unfair on him. There was a massive amount of expectation on him to pull us out of a hole and score points while trying to create the attacking options himself because we have a shit #6. I feel bad for Hunt too trying to do it himself, he has really improved but Hooks just put them both in a shit position.

Hopefully last week was a one off, Barba was shit along with Hodges (he gets that desperation where he thinks he has to win it himself too).

 

[rnabokov]

yeah but these "reports" only turn up after he has a bad game though..

....

in attack the role they're trying to get him to play is not suiting him. he's a finisher. he thrives off the back of lead up play in front of him. we dont provide that.

This.

And I forget who wrote this but it's so true. Ben Barba is one of the players who can unlock a tight game.

Sometimes it’s just the threat posed by a player like Barba that creates opportunities elsewhere. Look at what Lachlan Maranta and Dale Copley did to the Dogs out wide while Barba made no official line breaks. He was a threat.

I'm expecting a big improvement from him against the Knights, despite our odd game plan which fails to give him opportunities yet I see his confidence will keep growing.

The key is for him to get up behind the lead up work of our forwards and look for offloads from Parker, Gillett, Hannant, Hodges, and run with Hunt and gulp, Hoffman, screaming for the ball. Maybe then Hoffman look, and then will pass to him.

 

[noisetheory]

barba has been hanging around the forwards all season. its not like his support play has been bad. theres been some very near misses which if the "bounce of the ball" had gone our way we would have been praising his efforts.

our forwards need to create more opportunities, and that starts with less one out rubbish and more short passes before the line. running in pairs/etc.

 

[KnToad]

Barba is the least of our concerns.

???

Someone else gonna top him.....??

 

[Old Mate]

???

Someone else gonna top him.....??

Others already have.

 

[rnabokov]

barba has been hanging around the forwards all season. its not like his support play has been bad. theres been some very near misses which if the "bounce of the ball" had gone our way we would have been praising his efforts.

our forwards need to create more opportunities, and that starts with less one out rubbish and more short passes before the line. running in pairs/etc.

Again, THIS.

The Eels did it to us, Hasler coached the Dogs that way when Barba was at his best ... and we have shown that we can do it too ... for 5 minutes a month.

We are our own worst enemies

 

[OXY-351]

If he's got a problem with horses, then he's come to the wrong club.

 

[noisetheory]

i wouldnt be betting on Buck at the moment. not much form to go on

 

[jarro65]

This.

And I forget who wrote this but it's so true. Ben Barba is one of the players who can unlock a tight game.

Sometimes it’s just the threat posed by a player like Barba that creates opportunities elsewhere. Look at what Lachlan Maranta and Dale Copley did to the Dogs out wide while Barba made no official line breaks. He was a threat.

I'm expecting a big improvement from him against the Knights, despite our odd game plan which fails to give him opportunities yet I see his confidence will keep growing.

The key is for him to get up behind the lead up work of our forwards and look for offloads from Parker, Gillett, Hannant, Hodges, and run with Hunt and gulp, Hoffman, screaming for the ball. Maybe then Hoffman look, and then will pass to him.

I'm also hoping he'll bounce back and have a good game against the Knights.

They'll certainly be sending a lot of bombs his way if they get the chance, but if our forwards can keep them far enough away from our tryline then it'll take away that threat.

Regardless, we need to run a different pattern in attack ... starting now.

It's been mentioned a hundred times in here already but the one-out crap just doesn't cut it anymore.....guys like Scott/Smith/Mason will slay us if we run one out.

Fingers crossed for a change in this match.