Our realistic chances?

[Dexter]

did you see them play the first 15 weeks?

did you see the broncos play last year or the first 10 weeks of this year?



im not criticising him because hes only in his second year, we were 1 game short of the grand final last year, and have had a horrible run with injuries and origin representation this year, along with a hugely noticable drop in form from our halves the last 6-8 weeks.

could we be playing better? definitely. is it all the coaches fault? nope, hes not the one getting tackled with the ball on 5th tackle every second set, and you can be damn sure hes not telling wallace/norman to get tackled with it on 5th. hes not the one missing easy tackles and not putting his hand up to take a hitup.

there is a huge difference because in our 2 years without bennett we have shown more promise in attack and defence than we did from 2001-2008, excluding about a 6 game period at the end of 2006. thats with a lineup FAR younger and more inexperienced, and lockyer in the dying stages of his career. with bennett it was the same old come out flying up top of the ladder, lost 10 games in a row mid season, win a few, then get bundled out of the finals. it was the same thing every single year. griffin hasnt even remotely shown that that is going to happen with him.

if we just continue this slide and miss the finals or just get bundled out without a fight then yes, there might be cause for concern. but you have to remember that this is the first time in, well, ever that the broncos havent had probably the best player in the game in their team. lewis, langer, lockyer.....wallace? we were ALWAYS going to struggle, new coach or 30+ year coach, and it was remarkable that we even made it this far in the top 4.

Ok, I agree with a lot of your points, what I don't agree with is what we are showing in attack this year. Even when we had Reed and Hodges they rarely got the ball except from dummy half. I don't think I'm being overly critical of Griffin as a coach either. He has done a great job since being there unexpectedly.

The thing I dislike mainly is how we have, in the last 6 weeks, become more conservative in our playing style. We were playing a better brand of football in the first 10 weeks than we are now. If we can play with a short passing game and a few second man plays at the start of the year then why not now.

What is the tactic with not using the 4 players off the bench? How many times do we cross field kick and send someone up to knock it back? Then there is the second man play with the fullback which we can't manage to execute. When was the last time we even did a simple run around?

Looking forward to the next few years, what is going to change that will make this squad genuine premiership contenders?
The squad won't change that much so the only thing that can is the way we play.

I'm hoping that happens this year because this comp is there to be won particularly if we make top 4 and Manly are coming from the bottom half of the finals.

 

[broncos4life]

Ya really got me with that one. :loser:

uh oh the loser emoticon... ok ok im backing down, I know a badass when I see one

 

[gUt]

Need to remember how to tackle.

 

[Bucking Beads]

We will be lucky to make the 8 at this stage

 

[gUt]

Our young team looks tired and flat after such a long season. Let's hope they can regather themselves and get back to somewhere close to where they were early on.

 

[noisetheory]

it seems inevitable we'll slide away like 2010.

 

[Dexter]

I'm still hopeful that we could finish top 4. We need to find a way to win next week, then we will have a few of the injured brigade back for our 3 game run against Dogs, Manly and Storm.
Win 1 of them without leaking to many points in any loss and then we have Penriff. 32 points might be enough if results fall our way.

 

[subsbligh]

it seems inevitable we'll slide away like 2010.

Maybe, maybe not. I think we'll know this time on Sunday afternoon.

I think we might fluke a win against one of Bulldogs, Manly or Storm, Raiders this week is a 50/50 call depending on which Raiders and Broncos sides show up and Penrith at home for Petero's last game we should be able to rally there.

That puts us in the bottom half of the 8 and anything can happen from there. To make the finals, from here, would be a bonus.

 

[Bucking Beads]

We need to win 4 of the next 5 to have the momentum we need to even bother showing up come finals time. Possibly 3 out of 5 with a very close loss to Manly or the Storm. We need to beat the Bulldogs.

 

[noisetheory]

I think we'll know this time on Sunday afternoon.

well that depends on which raiders team turns up. if the crap one does we could win 30 to 12 and still play nearly as bad as last night.

the dogs game and onwards is where we will truly measure ourselves. maybe the team as a whole got that three game jaunt in the back of their minds and thats why they forgot to turn up last night.

we just need a win against the raiders, but with some actual positive signs. it can build from there to the dogs and forward into the finals.

we know our team can defend. we just need our heads right (and a few players in the right positions).

 

[ningnangnong]

I'm still hopeful that we could finish top 4. We need to find a way to win next week, then we will have a few of the injured brigade back for our 3 game run against Dogs, Manly and Storm.
Win 1 of them without leaking to many points in any loss and then we have Penriff. 32 points might be enough if results fall our way.

:handshake:

I'm feeling fairly glum about our chances, but even if we lose next week and can't really make the top four, I think if we can somehow snag a win or two from our matches against Canterbury, Melbourne and Manly, it could give us a real boost and perhaps spark us into some form.

 

[Bull Shark]

it seems inevitable we'll slide away like 2010.

and 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2007 ...

Since season '01 the broncos' record in all games from round 20 onwards is 40 wins, 60 losses ...

 

[subsbligh]

and 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2007 ...

Since season '01 the broncos' record in all games from round 20 onwards is 40 wins, 60 losses ...

I wonder if the Storm's W/L record is much the same over that period over the past 10 years.

 

[broncos4life]

Honestly I think at this point all thoughts of premiership or top 4 need to be gone. I think the goal now just has to be make the finals and avoid the embarassment of missing the top 8 again... thats about it

 

[rnabokov]

The more I read the stuff around about the effects of Origin on players, particularly this Series, the Origin Effect might well explain our form, and probably that of the Storm.

Maybe the time to really click is just around the corner

 

[Anonymous person]

I wonder if the Storm's W/L record is much the same over that period over the past 10 years.

2001 - 2 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses
2002 - 2 wins, 5 losses
2003 - 6 wins, 1 loss, Finals - 1 win, 1 loss
2004 - 4 wins, 3 losses, Finals - 1 win, 1 loss
2005 - 4 wins, 3 losses, Finals - 1 win, 1 loss
2006 - 6 wins, 1 loss, Finals - 2 wins, 1 loss
2007 - 5 wins, 1 loss, Finals - 3 wins, 0 losses
2008 - 5 wins, 2 losses, Finals - 2 wins, 2 losses
2009 - 4 wins, 3 losses, Finals - 3 wins
2010 - cant tell off wiki since they didnt get any points for a win
2011 - 5 wins, 2 losses, Finals - 1 win, 1 loss

so all up from 2001-2011 (2010 excluded): 57 wins, 1 draw, 32 losses

 

[noisetheory]

im no expert but i reckon origin would take its toll on forwards moreso than backs.

our whole pack just about played origin.

 

[Dexter]

What a joke, we will probably make the 8 losing 8 of our last 11 thanks to all the crapness beneath us. All we have to do is beat the Panthers and that should see us scrape in or miss out on for and against.