Round 1 - Bulldogs vs Broncos - Post Match Discussion

[Russell Coight]

Agendas are great

such as your agenda against me?

 

[Nashy]

Calm down. Both move on.

 

[Splinter]

I don't understand how Wallace didn't play given Lowrie went off. I do understand we have some high minutes players in our team, but if that is how Griffin intends to distribute minutes, then we quite simply must have Nikorima on the bench. Not to be screwed over as a backup hooker like Hunt, but in case we fall behind, because it's so obvious Hoffman wont win us a game from five-eight. I'd love to see Nikorima start, but failing that, can we at least have him ready off the bench in case we fall behind, and even as a bit of a live wire threat to test tired defences.

Also, was anyone else put off by the congratulating of Pritchard for KO'ing Lowrie. I would 1000% understand if he made a tackle on him that shut down our attack or forced the ball loose and they were applauding that, but honestly it seemed to me they were just hi fiving an injury.

There is also a period where Gillett did really well in defence. It's about the 71 minute mark, he makes 3 one on one tackles in a row. The 3rd one he shuts down the dummy half and kills all the momentum Morris got them on the play before. He's a shit defender at times, but he can have very positive impacts too, and that was definitely one of them.

yeah
I thought the high fiving was a disgrace but nothing more than I would expect from the Dogs

 

[MrMoore]

Here is my take on the game:

1. Barba was the Broncos this game, with out him, they'd be the same shit as last year. Alot of pressure put on him this game and he done it, played both Fullback and 5/8th. Hunt was laughable (lol at the people who said give him a full pre season and he is the shiz....) so many lolicopter kicks/plays.....Hoffman....jeez, I could go on all night about how in effective he was a 5/8th. Actually, did he even play 5/8th..the times I saw him ( apart from say..3? plays the whole game where he actually passed it) he took a tackle, EXACTLY AS HE DID AT FULLBACK LAST YEAR.

2. Copely, welcome back brother, well done.

3. Vidot, very nice, something we needed on the fringe.

4. Maranta.....I will give you credit by not telling you to get fucked....other than that, you need more than one fair game to change my mind on you.

Comment on Griffin: I almost felt so sorry for you half time during that interview, I was like 'yeah this guy can take us to the top'....but then I saw Hoffman full on fucking it up, not just the first half, but I don't think he even existed in the second half..... Your career on the line and you play a winger who can't kick or pass at 5/8th.

I will put my cards on the table, Barba will be the only thing that saves the broncos from 10th+ on the ladder, if we make it.

 

[Nashy]

I think it is pretty obvious that Hoffman is not a 5/8th or a fullback. After seeing Maranta and Copley play tonight, I would happily play them over Hoffman. When we needed a 5/8, he was nowhere to be found. When he was there, he forgot that he was meant to pass the ball.

Hunt has the right ideas, but his execution is rubbish.

Not sold on the Parker move either.

 

[vertigo]

Having McCullough 80 mins and Copley at centre ticks a couple of boxes I've wanted for a while now.

Just leave Parkers minutes and position alone (80@13) And replace Hoffman with Niko.

 

[Mr Fourex]

Yeah, and he can do it in the 3/4 line too. We need a ball player who can actually kick the ball too.

Hunt isn't very good either, so 3 ball players is very important, not 2 ball players and an inside centre.

IMO .....this is what's going to stop us getting away with using Hoffman and Barba as 5/8.

If Hunt was a talented ball player himself, having both of those two lurking around could be very good for us in attack.

Hunt looks lost out there.

 

[Fighting Irish]

Griffen has not learnt a thing from last year about the interchange - 5 minutes after half time he took i think Kennedy off and put Sam back on - why??????? do that after they have just had a 10 to 15 minutes break

So for the last 25 minutes of the game we played with only 15 players - why the hell didnt he put Wallace on as fresh legs - if he didnt trust him to do the job then don't pick him to play at all.

Barba was fantastic - Hunt's kicking game was woeful - absolutely woeful and never ever allow Hoffman to kick a ball again
Hoffman apart from 2 very soft passes refused to pass the ball - you see Josh you should listen to Hodgo - he does know something about the game - if you play 5/8th you need to create space and pass the ball EFFECTIVELY.

Does anyone know the carry over points for Kennedy and Macca - Kennedy i reckon is looking at 2 weeks minimum and Macca 1 week???

Overall a gutsy performance - they still need to improve the kicking game somehow - dont know how - but the need to do it fast
Lets see how they cope with JT next week!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[broncos4life]

All in all I was impressed.

Barba is amazing, we would probably not have an attack without him.

Copley gets better and better, looks primed for a big year

Maranta looks like a different player, hope this version stays because he was fantastic. Take out the tries he saved and that last try and we lose. Gotta laugh though, he has bombed so many easy tries and when it comes to a really hard opportunity to win the match he makes it look easy

Hunts kicking was awful but I thought he was ok besides that

Hoffman isn't, wasn't and never will be a five eight, end the experiment now griffin

Glenn, McGuire and thaiday had good games

Kennedy was good but needs to dial it down. If he can control the aggression he will be great for us. Loved seeing him giving it to ennis, I'm still disgusted he played for us

Parker was great as always but we need him back at lock

Macca was excellent IMHO. Played 80 with ease and lead the way well. Honestly can't see how anyone could knock his performance, but have no doubt they will

Great to start the season with the win. There is obviously lots to work on still but that's not a surprise. Really impressed by the improvement in fitness and commitment in defence. Positive signs

 

[vertigo]

Like I said in an earlier thread, I really thought Hunt would kick on and make the position his own but after the trial and tonight maybe the pressure is too much..

 

[Kimlo]

My changes for next week

1. Barba
2. Vidot
3. Copley
4. Reed
5. Hoffman
6. Nikorima
7. Hunt (he needs to stop being useless real soon)
8. McGuire
9. Macca
10. Kennedy
11. Gillett
12. Thaiday
13. Parker
14. Glenn
15. Granville (our attack is so bad running two dummy halves will help out)
16. Hannant
17. Hala (10-15 minutes each side of half time.)
18. Lowrie

Wallace, Maranta out. Sorry boys.

 

[Fighting Irish]

My changes for next week

1. Barba
2. Vidot
3. Copley
4. Reed
5. Hoffman
6. Nikorima
7. Hunt (he needs to stop being useless real soon)
8. McGuire
9. Macca
10. Kennedy
11. Gillett
12. Thaiday
13. Parker
14. Glenn
15. Granville (our attack is so bad running two dummy halves will help out)
16. Hannant
17. Hala (10-15 minutes each side of half time.)
18. Lowrie

Wallace, Maranta out. Sorry boys.

i agree with your team but maybe we may be forced to make other changes cause i think Kennedy will be gone for 2 weeks and Macca for one unless they have no points up at all and take early pleas but if they give Kennedy 2 weeks then he will be gone for 1 week anyway - won't he??????????

 

[Brocko]

Absolutely stoked with a first up win, but still can't hall but feel against a better team that effort in attack would have fallen very short. In defence I thought we worked well as a unit and covered each other pretty well. We were still giving away penalties for holding down each and every time we tried to slow the play the ball down which is infuriating considering it happens to us each and every game....

Our kicking game and attacking play in general through Hunt and Hoffman was simply atrocious. However I'm almost certain winning the game tonight will lead to the same 2 playing 6 and 7 next week.

Barba - Outstanding, saved a few tries and looked pretty dangerous. Best kick of the night for Copley, and even his kick late in the 2nd half downfield, at least found the grass rather than the throat of a bulldogs player like anything that Hunt and Hoffman produced.

Maranta - Easily his best game for us, looked good for once. No negatives.

Vidot - Quality signing, strong but quick ball runner. Will be good for us.

Reed - Still not 100% sure on him, he still has an error/bombed try or 3 in him, but he was ok.

Copley - Very happy to see him back, and he looks to have bulked up a fair bit. Did fantastically in defence and was great in attack. Have to find a spot for him even when Hodges returns. Would happily see him play left side over Reed.

Hoffman and Hunt - Awful in attack but Hoff did ok in def.

Mcguire, Hannant, Kennedy - All did ok. Hannant in particular was great. Would like to see him get a start for his efforts tonight.

Parker - Back to lock ASAP please. Looked like the early minutes at front row gassed him a bit. Still had a good game.

Thaiday - Love him being back in the 2nd row, ran hard, defended well.

Glenn and Gillet - One of these guys imo needs to be on the bench, while the other plays 11, so Parker can go back to lock. Both were good tonight, Glenn ran well and Gillett for the most part defended well.

Macca - Was his usual solid self. Great effort.

Lowrie - Not much to say really. The celebration from the dogs was downright disgraceful though, absolutely ridiculous.

Griffin - Just hope he sees what we saw in regards to the halves especially. Also, really wish he'd rotate his forwards properly.

At the end of the day though it's 2 points, we'll take it happily and move on.

 

[MrMoore]

Our kicking game and attacking play in general through Hunt and Hoffman was simply atrocious. However I'm almost certain winning the game tonight will lead to the same 2 playing 6 and 7 next week.

Griffin is like "just 12 more wins and Milford will save me.."

 

[Brett]

My game review immediately after the game:

Our first half was great. We looked sharp and focused. Second half, not so great. We lost our way a bit there for a while, but a few individual quality plays from Copley, Hoffman and Thaiday kept us in the game. The great run from Copley late in the game for about 50 meters and then the penalty was a great play at the right time for us. The hit Hoffman put on the Bulldogs player a couple sets later to jolt the ball free showed desperation. He also made a few good runs towards the end of the game when the big guys were quite tired. Thaiday with his kick return after we scored and ran about 40 meters after palming off a Bulldogs player. Big plays from our guys when they were needed.

The positives:

Barba: Playing his first game with us, I thought he was invaluable. Playing as a natural 5/8 he seemed to have so much time to work and I think he will form a good combination on the left there with Reed.

Vidot: Big game from Vidot. He really took a lot of pressure off our forwards with his hitups and some of his Winger work was great. Scored a strong try and should have had another down the other end, but it wasn't to be with the play being called back for a knock on.

Maranta: All you Maranta haters would be crawling back into your shells right about now. He was nearly our best tonight. Extremely safe under the high ball, reads the play as good as anyone on our team, made a great break down field late in the game and scored a great try. He looks to have slimmed down A LOT this season. His face looks sucked in and his mid section is slim. Like I said, I thought he was one of our best.

Glenn: Great game from Glenn. Don't know the stats, but he made a mountain of hitups and defended well with Hoffman on the left edge.

Copley: Contained Josh Morris easily tonight and even put a couple moves on Morris himself. Put a good fend on Reynolds and made good meters when they were crucial for the team. I can see him having a break out season this year so long as he can stay fit.

Macca: Solid 80 minutes. The guy didn't even look tired at the end of the game. I thought he controlled the game really well, lead the forwards around, put in a couple good kicks and had some good runs.

Our defence: Amazing. I mean, I know the Bulldogs weren't at full strength, but our cover defence was great and the general attitude was exactly what was wanted.

Fitness: Although we did fatigue towards the end of the game, our overall fitness is miles ahead of last season. The Bulldogs had so many sets on our line and we kept turning up.

The negatives:

Parker: He's playing too much in the middle. It stifles his style of play so much. I think the middle should be left for Hannant, Kennedy, McGuire and someone else.

Gillett: He didn't have a bad game, but he just seemed a bit lost. I still think he's better on the left edge or used as an interchange.

Hannant: Looks a bit underdone still. Still a bit slow and not as sharp as some of the others.

Our use of the bench still intrigues me. I thought overall the use of the bench was much better tonight, but to not use your 17th player seems odd. If you're not going to use Wallace, don't pick him.

Overall: Extremely happy with the win and like I said in the pre game thread, I was hoping we turned up with a good attitude and a winning attitude and that we would have a go. We definitely had a red hot go. This will give the guys the confidence they need moving forward. I would pick the same team next week barring any injuries, but maybe pick a different #17, or actually play Wallace next week.

 

[Mortician]

Anthony Griffin - This young guy on the bench called Jarrod Wallace could've really helped us after Lowrie came off injured, can't even fathom why he didn't at least get a 15 minute run to give a few of our guys a rest.

This is what worries me the most. I can't for the life of me understand Griffin as a coach. Putting Wallace on sometime in the second half would have released a lot of pressure but yet again we have the same strange shit as last year happen.

On the other hand Copley has turned into a beast and Maranta has been went through a body swap because he was a different player tonight from the bag of crap from last year and good on him.

Still need to put Hoffman to wing, Parker to lock and use the fucking bench as it should be.... if only we had thrown every cent we had, as well as the kitchen sink, at one of the champion halves that came on the market in the last year or so!

 

[Wicko6]

Good first game back !

Barba was our best player, returning kicks, setting up tries with kicks, overall great game hopefully form continues. I thought it looked like he was playing five eighth in attack more so than Hoffman, but maybe that's just because he is a better ball player ?

Vidot Good signing, big boy for a winger, had a very good game in attack and didn't see anything wrong with his defense.

Reed Average, didn't really notice him on the field too much to be honest.

Copley What a game from the Aspley product ;) looks primed for a big year !

Maranta Lachlan Maranta, you wouldn't believe it but he was one of the best players on the field tonight, never looked out of place like in every other game he has played for us. Great defending kicks, and scored the match winner without hesitation, also had a big run in the second half.

Hoffman played decent as a ball runner, definitely not a great ball player as of yet, though Ben Barba looked to have that role.

Hunt needs to better organize his players, and produce better kicks. As he did last year, showed flashes of potential, but lackluster overall.

McGuire showed good aggression to start the game, came up with some good defense on our line.

Macca good game, looked to be getting the team going forward in patches there. Should do the kicking, rather then Hunt do it.

Parker was Parker, never stopped working, didn't see much of a difference in his game from moving to prop.

Glenn was average I thought, though he always has been. Not bad though, just not great.

Thaiday Really loving his new game. Thought he was way overrated, lazy player since Locky left. Looks to have stepped up his game

Gillette good hard running and offloading as always

Hannant was excellent, some big hard runs and heavy defense

Kennedy was our best forward for mine, not sure why he didn't get much time in the second half ? Defended like a mad man, shows awesome aggression that I think will lift the team. Also open fist punched Ennis which I liked.

Lowrie is a good workhorse defender, doesn't back down. Didn't offer much in attack but we don't really need him to do anything special

Wallace should have got some playing time

Overall I think we defended like the Broncos of old, players didn't get lazy, had good scramble defense and defended our line very well for the majority of the night. Although I do think we need to go up and meet the attack more, we still are waiting for them a bit. Attack looked better than last year, credit that mostly to Ben Barba. He injected creativity into the attack that wasn't being provided by the halfback/Five Eighth pairing. Good to see a bit of a change from the five hit up/bomb strategy, with some solid back-line movements that gained meters.

Now looking forward to the game next week, hopefully I'll be there !

 

[Super Freak]

Does anyone think that Broncos players reading the social media comments played a part in their performance tonight?