Round 11 - Bulldogs vs. Broncos - Pre-Match Discussion

[vertigo]

Got to give credit to Griffin for showing faith in Kahu and slotting him right in the other centre position and Giving Hunt & Granville another go at the expense of Prince.

Kempy... you're in the frame now, don't blow it.

 

[Son Edo]

Not keen on Hodges playing, he's clearly been rushed back.

1.Norman
2.Kemp
3.Kahu
4.Hoffman
5.Maranta

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Bulldogs side pretty much as expected:
Bulldogs: Ben Barba, Mitch Brown, Tim Lafai, Josh Morris, Sam Perrett, Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis, Sam Kasiano, Tony Williams, Frank Pritchard, Greg Eastwood. Interchange: Dene Halatau, Josh Jackson, James Graham, Dale Finucane, Martin Taupau, Tim Browne

 

[Dexter]

Much web spinning going on about a guy who played his best 5 years ago for us and couldn't force an out of his depth Maranta back into Q cup earlier this year.:001_unsure:

Hysteria is contagious.

 

[Big Pete]

If the report that Prince trained well is true, then the impression I get is that Hook isn't 100% satisfied with his condition and since Hunt has shown some positive signs he's in no real hurry to rush Prince back in the side.

Point is, when Prince is 100%, I completely expect to see Hunt drop back onto the bench.

It's a pretty bad hand to be dealt with honestly.

 

[Foordy]

Much web spinning going on about a guy who played his best 5 years ago for us and couldn't force an out of his depth Maranta back into Q cup earlier this year.:001_unsure:

Hysteria is contagious.

i agree, the most likely scenario is that if he playes he will show why he has been overlooked all year, but i do hope i'm wrong

 

[Alec]

I feel like starting a petition for attacking kicks that aren't just bombs.

 

[Big Pete]

You mean like grubbers into legs and desperate chip kicks that rarely come off?

 

[Alec]

Grubbers can be good, just not when McCullough is doing it. We scored a try from Granville's grubber. We can also trap them ingoal. Just for some variety. As for chip kicks, that's how Reed has scored a lot of his tries. Since he's useless at pretty much everything else now, it could be worth a shot too.

 

[Big Pete]

So really, your petition should be to see more attacking kicks.

Sure, variety would be nice but it's clear to see why the Broncs go for the high percentage plays.

 

[Alec]

Because there's just no creativity.

 

[Big Pete]

More often than not it allows the Broncos to win the territorial battle.

Broncos have issues, their kicking game isn't really one of them.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

I have to say I'm rather astonished by this course of action of leaving Prince out of the side. If Hodges is fit to play, surely Prince is as well. I would argue he's been silently dropped to continue this Hunt/Granville experiment. Great news in my opinion.

Personally, I'm hoping we now smash the Dogs with this setup, because that would make things very interesting on the selection front.

More often than not it allows the Broncos to win the territorial battle.

Broncos have issues, their kicking game isn't really one of them.

I would disagree entirely. Wallace bombs are fundamentally useless and he uses them way too often. What happened to Maccas 40/20 kicks? How about he get him off his arse to pull a few of those off again.

 

[Big Pete]

How are they useless? They usually end with the opposition being tackled inside their 10m zone and provides us with all the field territory and momentum in the next set.

Easier said than done on the 40/20 front.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

How are they useless? They usually end with the opposition being tackled inside their 10m zone and provides us with all the field territory and momentum in the next set.

Easier said than done on the 40/20 front.

Forcing a Line drop out is better then giving them field position. Wallace really needs to learn precision grubbers.

 

[Alec]

They just need variety in their kicking game. The best halves in the world all have variety. A low chip kick to Reed, a grubber into the in goal, they are both worth trying. Just putting up midfield bombs 99% of the time isn't helping anyone.

 

[Big Pete]

Okay a distinction needs to be made here.

A bomb - What Wallace usually kicks when we're 30-50m out from the line and usually directed down the left hand fringe for Reed to race for.

A cross-field kick. Attempted inside the opposition 10-20m zone and directed usually out towards Reeds fringe.

In which case, yes we abuse the cross field kicks too much, however, we do so usually because of how the set plays out. That needs to be addressed before the kick options are.

Alec - What chip kicks are you referring to? Examples?

 

[ningnangnong]

I have no idea why Wallace doesn't try and put in a few more grubbers during a match to earn a repeat set. As much as I think he sucks, if my memory serves me well, he actually has a decent grubber in him.

The simple grubber is something we've underused for a long time now IMO. Bring back Alfie!