POST GAME Round 10 - Tigers vs Broncos

[broncsgoat]

Milford has been shit house this year, but it seems inevitable that the half back we have for about $200k-400k will be the new scapegoat for his failings.... and then when Dearden comes in and the team still looks shit house this forum will probably call for his head as well, because the 25yr old millionaire "still has potential".

It doesn't really matter who the **** we have in the halves when our forward pack is conceding 70m sets and our back 5 can't make any meters to get field position... but yeah sure apparently it's the halves being unable to "game manage" us out of our own 20m that is the ultimate reason we are where we are.

Maybe Dearden will be able to "manage" our piss poor edge defence as well... can't wait to see this silver bullet for all our failings finally take the field.

Also FWIW it has been said copious amounts of times that Dearden was meant to spend this year in Qcup playing against men, because he hadn't played a game of football since about July last year.

Given Croft was signed through to 2022 and Dearden has been talked about as the future in our halves since 2018 I daresay the plan has been all along that the million dollar anchor will be jettisoned from this team at the end of 2021... but let's see how many more scapegoats this guy can rack up until then

Milf is 10x the player Croft will ever be. When our coach isn’t a fucking potato next year Milf will be back to his best.

 

[theshed]

Milf is 10x the player Croft will ever be. When our coach isn’t a fucking potato next year Milf will be back to his best.

Milf mostly sucked under Bennett too. Teams worked out his natural ability and the only adjustments he’s been able to make is a decent kicking game. He needed to also learn a passing and management game to stay relevant. Benji went through the same thing and came out the other side a far smarter player, but Benji was always far more capable in those departments than Milf has ever shown.

 

[ostin86]

Milf is 10x the player Croft will ever be. When our coach isn’t a fucking potato next year Milf will be back to his best.

Milf has been a bust mate. He was a better player as a rookie, he has well and truly gone backwards. A spiral bomb and the odd nice grubber are literally his only weapons now. He has proven to be inept at running our footy side and his defence just outright stinks. The sooner we move on from him the better!

 

[Great white hope]

Milf has been a bust mate. He was a better player as a rookie, he has well and truly gone backwards. A spiral bomb and the odd nice grubber are literally his only weapons now. He has proven to be inept at running our footy side and his defence just outright stinks. The sooner we move on from him the better!

In fairness to Milford he has been "worked out" because he is the only threat and is defended tighter as such. What are his options inside or out? NIL at the moment. Look at the Roosters and when Keary takes the ball to the line he has 4 legitimate options that are all threats.
1. Short to back rower (Cordner)
2. Out ball to centre (Manu or Morris)
3. 2nd man block play to Tedesco
4. Run
All these options create doubt in the defensive line and they cannot overplay any one option. The Broncos presently have no players in motion without the ball and create no doubt. Opposition defenses just need to focus solely on the ball carrier.
Switch Milford and Kleary and Milford would be killing it and Keary would be getting criticized.
The structure and lack of effort off the ball are the biggest problems affecting Milfird and the team in general

 

[ostin86]

In fairness to Milford he has been "worked out" because he is the only threat and is defended tighter as such. What are his options inside or out? NIL at the moment. Look at the Roosters and when Keary takes the ball to the line he has 4 legitimate options that are all threats.
1. Short to back rower (Cordner)
2. Out ball to centre (Manu or Morris)
3. 2nd man block play to Tedesco
4. Run
All these options create doubt in the defensive line and they cannot overplay any one option. The Broncos presently have no players in motion without the ball and create no doubt. Opposition defenses just need to focus solely on the ball carrier.
Switch Milford and Kleary and Milford would be killing it and Keary would be getting criticized.
The structure and lack of effort off the ball are the biggest problems affecting Milfird and the team in general

The same could probably be said for any half in the comp just about. It feels like we are just making excuses for Milf. When I think of some of the better halves to have played our game there are certain attributes that come to mind. First off they are clever, constantly scheming and planning how they will break down their opposition. Another trait is just pure competiveness. Great players give everything they have and their efforts are hard not to notice. With Milf I just don't see him as much of a thinker and he certainly no competitor.

Its a cop out to say he would flourish in the Roosters far superior system, as I said most NRL level halves probably would.

 

[mrslong]

Milford has been shit house this year, but it seems inevitable that the half back we have for about $200k-400k will be the new scapegoat for his failings.... and then when Dearden comes in and the team still looks shit house this forum will probably call for his head as well, because the 25yr old millionaire "still has potential".

It doesn't really matter who the **** we have in the halves when our forward pack is conceding 70m sets and our back 5 can't make any meters to get field position... but yeah sure apparently it's the halves being unable to "game manage" us out of our own 20m that is the ultimate reason we are where we are.

Maybe Dearden will be able to "manage" our piss poor edge defence as well... can't wait to see this silver bullet for all our failings finally take the field.

Also FWIW it has been said copious amounts of times that Dearden was meant to spend this year in Qcup playing against men, because he hadn't played a game of football since about July last year.

Given Croft was signed through to 2022 and Dearden has been talked about as the future in our halves since 2018 I daresay the plan has been all along that the million dollar anchor will be jettisoned from this team at the end of 2021... but let's see how many more scapegoats this guy can rack up until then

It’s not mutually exclusive. You can say Brodie Croft is a shit signing and pea heart at tackling and also believe Milford is a waste of space. You don’t have to list every failure every time you point something out.
Fact is, Croft is seibold’s signing and his failure 100%

 

[Galah]

We need a new halves combination that much is clear but the lack of off the ball work is phenomenal, no one is running lines and there is no depth. Now is that the halves fault? Or is that a coaches fault or is it just plain fucking laziness? I think it’s all of the above.

 

[McHunt]

Brent Tate "turned it off:"

"I had a real sense of sadness so I ended up turning it off. I actually couldn't watch it. It's so sad to see the demise of the club. I started watching the second half and when the Tigers scored early, I was done. It's really hard to put your finger on what's going on when you're not in there among it all. "

"But I think a lot of them are really starting to disrespect that jersey. I feel as though it's now disrespectful and that's when I start to have a problem with it. Some of those blokes are earning really good money. Not only are they disrespecting their teammates and themselves, they're starting to disrespect all the Broncos that have put the jersey on. I almost took it personally."

"The way the salary is now, if your million dollar players aren't performing, that kills you. That's what is happening there at the moment. I don't care if you don't like the coach. I've played for coaches where I've disagreed with them or haven't agreed with what they are doing."

"At the end of the day, they are the boss so you go out and do your best for your teammates and the jersey and yourself. That's how we were brought up to play, that's what the likes of Wayne Bennett and Mal Meninga drove into you every day."

"Whether you like the coach or don't, you still have to have some pride in your performance and what they are dishing up at the moment, it's embarrassing. We've all been flogged and beaten ... but not on effort."

King Wally says they've fucked up by promoting too many noobs:

"It's one of the necessities for success in sport. You have to have a great mix of experience and youth and determination. You have to have the champions that lead the way, the upstarts that come along and do their best and show a lot of talent at a young age. They will realise the value of those players in times like this. I've been to virtually every training session the Broncos have had ... you can see the distress on the face of the players and you can see them thinking ‘how are we going to get out of this?'. There is an enormous challenge in the lap of Anthony Seibold at the moment."

Wendell's calling for the guillotine:

"You have to drop some of the bigger names. These kids are going 'why is Milf still there?'. Tom Dearden, he's not injured, give him a start in the halves. You have to pull the trigger on your highest-paid player, Anthony Milford. His kicking game wasn't good enough, his defence wasn't good enough, his leadership wasn't good enough. If Milford gets the the trigger pulled, it might be the best thing Seibold has done for him, otherwise Seibold might get a tap on the shoulder."

McHunt

 

[Great white hope]

The same could probably be said for any half in the comp just about. It feels like we are just making excuses for Milf. When I think of some of the better halves to have played our game there are certain attributes that come to mind. First off they are clever, constantly scheming and planning how they will break down their opposition. Another trait is just pure competiveness. Great players give everything they have and their efforts are hard not to notice. With Milf I just don't see him as much of a thinker and he certainly no competitor.

Its a cop out to say he would flourish in the Roosters far superior system, as I said most NRL level halves probably would.

I do agree with you that Milford isnt the sort of bloke to pull the team up on his coat tails. Milford thrived in 2015 with Hidges and Parker there to pull the boys into line and hold them accountable.
Even if all I mentioned earlier didnt occur it would be great if he would at least demand the ball and get multiple touches every set.
I just think the system is broken.
No effort
Poor coaching
No resilience
And haven't mentioned the defence. Poor attitude and absolute lack of trust and communication.
When Boyd and Issako were shoulder to shoulder with a winger outside them both. WTF is doing there!

 

[rnabokov]

In fairness to Milford he has been "worked out" because he is the only threat and is defended tighter as such. What are his options inside or out? NIL at the moment. Look at the Roosters and when Keary takes the ball to the line he has 4 legitimate options that are all threats.
1. Short to back rower (Cordner)
2. Out ball to centre (Manu or Morris)
3. 2nd man block play to Tedesco
4. Run
All these options create doubt in the defensive line and they cannot overplay any one option. The Broncos presently have no players in motion without the ball and create no doubt. Opposition defenses just need to focus solely on the ball carrier.
Switch Milford and Kleary and Milford would be killing it and Keary would be getting criticized.
The structure and lack of effort off the ball are the biggest problems affecting Milfird and the team in general

Great post.

The missing ingredient is, as you say above, no bodies in motion, which is no consistent, functioning integration of players in settled structures and shapes that becomes second nature to the players. Our middle and edge is by and large, a dog's breakfast. No one really knows what's happening with rare exceptions when we set a shape and score some good tries. But that's the exception not the rule. The rest of our attack is more "leave it to the stars to do something special, like Fifita Staggs and TPJ".

Things just happen as they do with the Roosters as one example of a top side, because that is the way they are coached to do just that, and importantly, have been so coached for years, and using a more than less settled roster. Same with the Raiders, same coach for 7 years, same with the Eels.

So, and this has been canvassed here before, Seibold must be cut some slack on this issue, especially given the injuries to key players like Bird and Turps, a rookie FB in a key spine position, the departure of Macca around who this team has been built for years (whether we like the way it has or not, it still was built around him at dummy half), a new dummy half in Luke who isn't really doing any organising of note yet, a half back in his 1st season with us and a pack of really young forwards. Seibold has to make do with the cattle he has.

We desperately need an organiser in the middle, someone to whom the players will listen AND respond, and we desperately need a functioning spine which we just don't have yet. Turpin's return will go some way to fixing that.

As for Milford, he can't do what he is best at doing, as the post above says, given the shambles in the middle. His confidence is shot. And yes, maybe he does need a rest but then, will more changes to the spine return instant results? Will Dearden make a difference, at 19, with a few 1st grade games under his belt, trying to lead a disorganised rabble in the middle and edges? For mine, I doubt it.

Nevertheless, Seibold hs to be seen to do something so I can see Milford or Croft getting a rest, or it will be Seibold getting a rest, a long rest. No doubt that will make a lot of people on her happy. Personally, I don't think sacking Seibold in the short term is the answer to our problems.

Having said all that, I have 2 big issues with Seibold's coaching. First I don't think he is able to get the team to respond to his game plan. The effort against the Tigers was simply appalling, and continued what has been happening by and large for the last 6 weeks. As many others here have noted, it isn't rocket science so, maybe he is making it into rocket science, as a few of our players seem to feel from (alleged) media bites I have read. Or is it that Seibold is being undermined? Are our players just dumb, too young, etc etc. Whatever, setting a deep attacking line with forwards like Haas running onto the ball is just plain common sense. I can't get my head around why they don't.

However my biggest issue with Seibold though, related to the above, is that he just isn't getting the best out of our players. The best coaches do. Seibold is on really really thin ice here. The Tigers were a great example of that the other night. They were all over us, aggressive, disciplined and enthusiastic. Madge has made a lot of changes to his team over the past weeks. It has worked., and I think we have reached the point, as most of us are saying, that Seibold has to do the same, NOW, if for no other reason that he has to be seen to be doing something, whether or not it is the best thing, or whether or not it will work.

It will be most interesting to see the team picked on Tuesday, and of course, more interesting to see how we go against the Storm. Seibold's future is really on the line now.

There, my Sunday essay.

 

[Huge]

I watched a replay of this game and tried to see who or what was responsible for the nine try rout.
Biggest failure on the night. Isaako. We all know about the loss of his father. We also understand he's unlikely to have another game this poor.
Isaako played a major role in four of the trys. He was, sadly terrible and cost the team a minimum of 22 points.
Second worst offender was Milford who played the villan in the first and last trys with the last an absolute disgrace.
Croft was next and just couldn't get a grab on the bigger guys in the rain and was destroyed when isolated. Two trys are partially down to him.
Haas and Te'o owned one try, neither moved and old mate strolled through.

Boyd not talking: this one is totally false.
People are only remembering the footage after the 6th try.

What's been forgotten or overlooked is the footage after the third try. Here we see Boyd being VERY VOCAL AND ANIMATED, talking to the guys and trying to rally the troops. Also Milford has a bit to say. By the time the remembered footage of Boyd occurs the damage was already done and his words would have been pointless.

We had one very very poor performer and two others less poor with the rest having mixed efforts. On the bright side we did have some good runs, good defence, good efforts but the three players mentioned, Isaako, Milford and Croft heavily contributed to the loss. I actively looked at Boyd too, I cast a critical eye over his efforts and simply couldn't see he'd done much wrong.

As a team, there were parts where we were quite reasonable but it wasn't a sustained and committed effort.