Round 10 - Broncos vs Titans - Post Match Discussion

[rnabokov]

This game showed me some good individual performances: Hodges, Gillett, McGuire, Copley for starters, but how stark was it, how obvious, that we really don't have anyone with any real vision to organize the plays!

Hoffman simply has no football brain for any position other than one which requires running the ball. As I have observed before, he clogs and chokes and clutters our attack. I had some hopes Barba would compensate, but not on last night's showing.

Hunt seriously disappointed me with what seemed to me an inability to read the game. There were an avalanche of opportunities on the right hand side which were largely ignored. Hunt needs to steady and look around what's on offer and take advantage of it a hell of a lot more than he does.

If this team ever missed an organizer more, last night showed it. Maybe next week. We have such fire power but at the moment, they are mainly unguided missiles.

 

[jarro65]

This game showed me some good individual performances: Hodges, Gillett, McGuire, Copley for starters, but how stark was it, how obvious, that we really don't have anyone with any real vision to organize the plays!

Hoffman simply has no football brain for any position other than one which requires running the ball. As I have observed before, he clogs and chokes and clutters our attack. I had some hopes Barba would compensate, but not on last night's showing.

Hunt seriously disappointed me with what seemed to me an inability to read the game. There were an avalanche of opportunities on the right hand side which were largely ignored. Hunt needs to steady and look around what's on offer and take advantage of it a hell of a lot more than he does.

If this team ever missed an organizer more, last night showed it. Maybe next week. We have such fire power but at the moment, they are mainly unguided missiles.

And in all reality, any other coach would have seen this in pre-season and tried another player in the 5/8 position.

Hoffman being there ruins the whole dynamic of the side ..... our potent ballrunning backrowers are lost as they have no idea what Hoffman will or won't do.

Barba too is lost as there is simply no set structures there.

 

[rnabokov]

And in all reality, any other coach would have seen this in pre-season and tried another player in the 5/8 position.

Hoffman being there ruins the whole dynamic of the side ..... our potent ballrunning backrowers are lost as they have no idea what Hoffman will or won't do.

Barba too is lost as there is simply no set structures there.

THIS 1000%

 

[Danoz Direct]

And in all reality, any other coach would have seen this in pre-season and tried another player in the 5/8 position.

Hoffman being there ruins the whole dynamic of the side ..... our potent ballrunning backrowers are lost as they have no idea what Hoffman will or won't do.

Barba too is lost as there is simply no set structures there.

I think when Milford comes this will be fixed, he knows generally when to throw the right ball.

 

[Huge]

Can someone explain why the try disallowed due to obstruction was ruled that way ? I only saw it on my ipad and have no slow motion but it seemed fine ....puzzled

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Oates didn't even make the 20 minute mark but when he came off, he looked absolutely shagged.

 

[rnabokov]

It's time. Change just one player and you change the whole way this team can perform, individually, and collectively, as a team.

I was prepared to give him a chance, and hoped Hunt and Barba would step up into the play making roles which they have in many ways. Trouble is, they are compromised, with the middle and left edge in particular being clogged and crippled.

It really is folly now to persist with Hoffman at 5/8, Origin period looming or not. Put Barba there and Hoffman at the back and be done with it.

 

[Morkel]

Can someone explain why the try disallowed due to obstruction was ruled that way ? I only saw it on my ipad and have no slow motion but it seemed fine ....puzzled

Because Refs. That's why. There was an almost identical one in the Storm game, where the ref actually referred it as a no try, but the video ref over-ruled it.

 

[Morkel]

It's time. Change just one player and you change the whole way this team can perform, individually, and collectively, as a team.

I was prepared to give him a chance, and hoped Hunt and Barba would step up into the play making roles which they have in many ways. Trouble is, they are compromised, with the middle and left edge in particular being clogged and crippled.

It really is folly now to persist with Hoffman at 5/8, Origin period looming or not.

yeah I agree, I was of the mindset that it was a work in progress, and was giving the BOD in the hope that there'd be improvement in Hoffman's passing game. 10 weeks now. That's almost half the season, and while he looked good for one game, he's regressed back to his round 1 uselessness. Experiment over. Hodges to 5/8. If Hodgo is out, pray to the deity of your choosing.

 

[rnabokov]

yeah I agree, I was of the mindset that it was a work in progress, and was giving the BOD in the hope that there'd be improvement in Hoffman's passing game. 10 weeks now. That's almost half the season, and while he looked good for one game, he's regressed back to his round 1 uselessness. Experiment over. Hodges to 5/8. If Hodgo is out, pray to the deity of your choosing.

I think it's a whole lot more than his passing game. He just doesn't have a football brain for a half. He doesn't read the play, can't organize.

When there are opportunities, I think he just doesn't see them 'cos he can't. Either that, or his ego is bigger than I thought.

His presence at 5/8 is a festering sore which is infecting the entire team's structures, such as they are, and I guess it was blind optimism to hope Barba could play both full time FB and 5/8, which I think is Hook's strategy. As it stands, Barba has put on weight from what I have read and can see in his running game. While he can add a fair bit as a 2nd play maker, his role as FB is compromised.

Hook can't have it both ways. He is blunting Barba's style and weakening the entire team's potential.

Just look at how Slater played last night. That's what we need from Barba - our 3rd play maker whose primary role is FB.

This problem is being compounded by the extra pressure on Hunt who looks like he is having a few problems of his own in organizing and reading the game. Last night showed that, aside from his excellent grubbers which is a good sign that he is starting to think like a half and not a bench hooker.

Solution? For mine, it's either Hodges or Barba at 5/8. I reckon even Gillett would do a better job than Hoffman, which means Oates could get a good run in the back row.

Something has to change, or this season becomes a lottery.

I don't know about others but each game now, I reach for my blood pressure pills and valium, washed down with liberal shots of vodka and pirogi.

 

[Broncoman]

HODGO (Turn the sound up)

 

[rnabokov]

HODGO (Turn the sound up)

What was also particularly good about that play was that we actually had 2 decent half back plays setting up the opportunity: Hunt > Barba who did really well as a 5/8 and almost scored. Then the magic of Hodges capitalizing on the opportunity created by Hunt and Barba.

Put Barba at 5/8 and be done with it

 

[Brett]

Barba got so close on that play and it was because of Gillett running the inside line. In weeks gone by, the inside pass to Gillett has produced tries, this time Barba dummied and went himself. Now, put another runner on the outside, or cutting back inside (Hoffman, Hodges, Parker - doesn't matter), and all of a sudden Barba has 4 or 5 legitimate options, instead of just the inside ball to Gillett or go himself. Teams like the Roosters use these plays well and have a lot of bodies in motion.

I still think Hunt would be better with the ball in his hands as the second receiver there because his vision is superior to Barba's.

 

[Big Pete]

Barba got so close on that play and it was because of Gillett running the inside line.

Now that was a good dummy.

I also think he read the defence well on that particular occasion since both Sezer & Zillman were injured which left a pretty foreign pairing together. I'm unsure who was defending at five eigth but you had big Dave Taylor in the centres and Barba had him beat for pace.

I've been critical of Benny, I think he's capable of more but one aspect that deserves more focus is his try saving ability. It's been his best feature so far and he's stopping tries that last year, would have been scored if Norman was playing fullback.

On one hand, that's a credit to Ben, on another it highlights that the Broncos defence still needs a ton of work and I think they need to move Kearney on.

I wouldn't move him to five eigth as I believe he's better at providing us guidance from fullback free of front line defensive duties but think we've got to move Hoffy out of five eigth. However, I implore members to save it for another thread and to save this thread for specific thoughts on this game.

 

[Huge]

EIGHT+H =EIGHTH

 

[Big Pete]

Save it for another rant.

 

[broncos4life]

EIGHT+H =EIGHTH

Get over it. Most people type either on their phone or just quickly. This isn't school, work or university and people are just trying to get their point across. No one cares about a spelling nazi

 

[Huge]

​lol