POST GAME Round 10 - Cowboys vs Broncos

[Huge]

Hate to rain on your parade here but what has he done well? Sure he scored 2 tries but he didnt have to do much (like all his tries). I expect all wingers to be able to score them, its their job. He offers nothing in attack and does not look threatening with the ball. Would prefer Vidot/Copely anyday. Vidot at least makes metres and Copely looks more dangerous in attack.

And i dont mind if Hodges runs from dummy half, but not on tackle 4! It just ruins the set, instead we should spread it wide.

Our first 20 was perfect. Intensity, throwing the ball, offloads but then we go in our shell and just do direct hitups with no emphasis in second play which makes us easy picking and we cant get no metres at all. I only recall 1 offload in the 2nd half from Gillo; he was our best. Didnt run the ball as much but tackled his heart out and made some crucial ones at times. Milford looking more dangerous at 6 and i think he should kick more to get some confidence in him.

Our goal line D is great and improved out of sight, but we cant slide on our line 5 metres out especially against quick players like Morgan, there is no room for error and it showed all with the same play.

Gee, I think you're a too hard marker ! Maranta has done everything that you would want from a winger and has been incredibly safe which is above and beyond a lot of this competitions wingers. I don't know what you expect from a winger but as far as I know they have been considered finishers of movements rather than creators. I remember only a few games back him cutting through the centre and turning a ball back inside for Milford ( I think ) to score.

I don't think Maranta has any reason to feel ashamed in fact, I'd go so far to say he has been one of our best. You may believe WB favours him but I think he is there on his merits and certainly is not being dropped or shopped like Vidot. If Vidot were that good, he'd have a wing spot sown up and no one on here or on the coaching staff feel as though he has done enough to do so.

 

[Wolfie]

This is weird.

all I can think of when I see this is that pretty fly for a white guy video clip!

 

[Ari Gold]

I actually thought Maranta looked better last night than he has in the past. That first try is the kind of try he's fucked up in the past and that Vidot has this year. It's not just about it being a "flashy" put down, but by scoring in that manner you take out the defender's ability to knock the ball out or the carrier over the sideline.

 

[bingale16]

I think Copely is a much better option, he can finish, and can attack. I dont think i have seen Maranta make a tackle bust ever

 

[Porthoz]

I know we didn't have much ball in the second half, but James Tamou on his own, managed to match the ball carries and even exceed the distance our 4 props added together. That is mind boggling!

 

[Cult]

I know we didn't have much ball in the second half, but James Tamou on his own, managed to match the ball carries and even exceed the distance our 4 props added together. That is mind boggling!

He's lucky he's quick because he rarely makes a metre after the defense hits him.

 

[Ari Gold]

I know we didn't have much ball in the second half, but James Tamou on his own, managed to match the ball carries and even exceed the distance our 4 props added together. That is mind boggling!

Probably less mind boggling when you consider we have Adam Blair. Outside our first game against the Cowboys, has Blair even made over 100m this year? Seems like he's making about 50m game.

 

[CaptainHook]

I think Copely is a much better option, he can finish, and can attack. I dont think i have seen Maranta make a tackle bust ever

You're right - if only he could catch a bomb and tackle. Then he'd be the complete package.

 

[talanoa]

That's garbage. Milford defence this year has been a pleasant surprise and much better than expected. Why was he left to defend morgan on our goal line on his own. He needed support . You think if he's a fullback he magically makes those tackles.

The stats say otherwise, especially when we have been beaten. Against souths milford had 11 tackles and 4 missed...against the sharks he had 14 tackles and 3 missed. cowboys he had 12 tackles and 3 missed. titans 14 tackles and 2 missed, cowboys mach 2 he had 10 tackles and 4 missed.
Now ill admit he has had some games where he hasn't missed a tackle, but that's not what I was pointing out. He is a spot player and will continue to be.
So are you suggesting that reed or glenn leave there man to tackle morgan for milford instead???
If he is a full back he doesn't need to make tackles in the front line, common sense hey.

 

[Socnorb]

The stats say otherwise, especially when we have been beaten. Against souths milford had 11 tackles and 4 missed...against the sharks he had 14 tackles and 3 missed. cowboys he had 12 tackles and 3 missed. titans 14 tackles and 2 missed, cowboys mach 2 he had 10 tackles and 4 missed.
Now ill admit he has had some games where he hasn't missed a tackle, but that's not what I was pointing out. He is a spot player and will continue to be.
So are you suggesting that reed or glenn leave there man to tackle morgan for milford instead???
If he is a full back he doesn't need to make tackles in the front line, common sense hey.

The goal line is the last line . What I'm suggesting is pure physics. If you have a smaller body in the defencive line , they need assistance. You think it's unusual to see more than one defender making a tackle on the goal line. Yet thats what we saw last night. You could be quoting lockyers defencive stats by the way.

 

[Allo]

The stats say otherwise, especially when we have been beaten. Against souths milford had 11 tackles and 4 missed...against the sharks he had 14 tackles and 3 missed. cowboys he had 12 tackles and 3 missed. titans 14 tackles and 2 missed, cowboys mach 2 he had 10 tackles and 4 missed.
Now ill admit he has had some games where he hasn't missed a tackle, but that's not what I was pointing out. He is a spot player and will continue to be.
So are you suggesting that reed or glenn leave there man to tackle morgan for milford instead???
If he is a full back he doesn't need to make tackles in the front line, common sense hey.

When Morgan continues to dummy and go over play after play, yes.

 

[Morkel]

I read somewhere that the Cowboys had a 100% completion rate. NRLStats has them at 35/36 regardless. I can't recall a team even being beaten with that sort of stat. I think it's a matter of we were simply beaten by a better team on the night. It's unlikely we'll come up with that scenario (97% completion) any time soon. Yet we were well in the game. In reality, it was like playing a Storm team at their best. Just takes one mistake (the Blair dropped ball) and you're shut out for the rest of the match.

Both Tamou and Scott were enormous. They got better as the night ran on and were the primary reason we were on the back foot. Whether McGuire would have been able to help is debatable, Blair and Dodds (if he were available) are the only ones who can consistently stop props in their tracks. When you couple that with a couple of really small but crucial things, like the 6-again they got when it was not deserved, McCullogh going for the 40/20 and not coming off (they started their set on their 40), and Hunt's chip & chase (same result as Macca's), then that's the game. I think the decision to go for goal to even up the scores was the right call. If they go for the 6 and miss out, then they're behind and struggling, whereas obviously they have the confidence to back themselves in a dog fight when the scores are even.

In contrast, I saw some really good improvements in attack. Some didn't come off but were very nice to see, and shows that we're now getting comfortable enough as a team to start being creative. Hunt following Hodges for the sneak offload was wonderful. Milford is coming along great in attack. His defensive issues were exposed but will only take some tweaks and drills for Milford himself and the rest of our left side defensive unit. The fact that they were all scored in the same way means it can all be fixed in the same way. And Boyd is warming up already. Oh, and still top of the ladder (for now).

I'm still confident.

 

[morganmorgan]

I read somewhere that the Cowboys had a 100% completion rate. NRLStats has them at 35/36 regardless. I can't recall a team even being beaten with that sort of stat. I think it's a matter of we were simply beaten by a better team on the night. It's unlikely we'll come up with that scenario (97% completion) any time soon. Yet we were well in the game. In reality, it was like playing a Storm team at their best. Just takes one mistake (the Blair dropped ball) and you're shut out for the rest of the match.

Both Tamou and Scott were enormous. They got better as the night ran on and were the primary reason we were on the back foot. Whether McGuire would have been able to help is debatable, Blair and Dodds (if he were available) are the only ones who can consistently stop props in their tracks. When you couple that with a couple of really small but crucial things, like the 6-again they got when it was not deserved, McCullogh going for the 40/20 and not coming off (they started their set on their 40), and Hunt's chip & chase (same result as Macca's), then that's the game. I think the decision to go for goal to even up the scores was the right call. If they go for the 6 and miss out, then they're behind and struggling, whereas obviously they have the confidence to back themselves in a dog fight when the scores are even.

In contrast, I saw some really good improvements in attack. Some didn't come off but were very nice to see, and shows that we're now getting comfortable enough as a team to start being creative. Hunt following Hodges for the sneak offload was wonderful. Milford is coming along great in attack. His defensive issues were exposed but will only take some tweaks and drills for Milford himself and the rest of our left side defensive unit. The fact that they were all scored in the same way means it can all be fixed in the same way. And Boyd is warming up already. Oh, and still top of the ladder (for now).

I'm still confident.

Great analysis.

I think it is a credit to our defence by only losing by 11. Most other teams would lose by 30+.

Was good to see our defence getting a good workout repelling 7 sets in a row or somthing crazy.

Yes milford was caught out in defence but it will happen forever. Same with locky.

We wil finish top 4

 

[rnabokov]

Great analysis.

I think it is a credit to our defence by only losing by 11. Most other teams would lose by 30+.

Was good to see our defence getting a good workout repelling 7 sets in a row or somthing crazy.

Yes milford was caught out in defence but it will happen forever. Same with locky.

We wil finish top 4

If that's the case, then he has no right to play 5/8 - letting in 3 tries? I don't ever recall Locky doing that.

For mine, his front-on, one-on-one defence needs to improve ASAP or we are in trouble for every team will target him on our line, and trying to "protect" him is just not the answer. It can leave holes in the defensive line somewhere else.

At this stage, he is defending more like a FB than a 5/8, and time is running out

 

[morganmorgan]

If that's the case, then he has no right to play 5/8 - letting in 3 tries? I don't ever recall Locky doing that.

For mine, his front-on, one-on-one defence needs to improve ASAP or we are in trouble for every team will target him on our line, and trying to "protect" him is just not the answer. It can leave holes in the defensive line somewhere else.

At this stage, he is defending more like a FB than a 5/8, and time is running out

I mean locky was always a liability in defence...

His time is not running out. He will be 5/8 for the next 2 seasons... at least

 

[Socnorb]

If that's the case, then he has no right to play 5/8 - letting in 3 tries? I don't ever recall Locky doing that.

For mine, his front-on, one-on-one defence needs to improve ASAP or we are in trouble for every team will target him on our line, and trying to "protect" him is just not the answer. It can leave holes in the defensive line somewhere else.

At this stage, he is defending more like a FB than a 5/8, and time is running out

L
Tony Carroll would never have let that happen. Which is kind of the point.

 

[Broncs1459]

I mean locky was always a liability in defence...

He had a few shockers. Remember that Ben Roberts miss?

I doubt many halves in the game could stop Morgan 1v1 like that. Thurston wouldn't. Cowboys were very good in attack and managed to isolate him which shouldn't happen.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

After having a few days to think about it, it was actually a pretty good game from us. Up until Blair's lazy **** up, we were controlling the game and playing exciting footy while we were doing it, which was a sight for sore eyes. Hunt showed a decent kicking game at times, and we managed to mostly subdue Granville who had the potential to be threatening all night.

Literally the only thing we have to fear is Origin and its effect on our season. If we can snag a few wins and stay in touch with the top 4 at least, I think we'll be a very dangerous side coming into the finals.

I cannot wait to see how Milford, Hunt and Boyd perform together on the big stage of finals footy, in front of a packed Suncorp crowd if we finish in the top 4.