POST GAME Round 16 - Bulldogs vs Broncos

[Stix]

Yeah we're missing a forward who can run with some venom when it's needed and the instability of our centres has to be contributing as well....Jimmy has played like 1 good game so far and Reed was back to his shitfull self again so far this year, Kahu and opa have had chances and been injured... Let's hope Kahu, Glenn and Macca are good to go soon

 

[1910]

It's easy to blame our outside backs & halves for this loss, but nobody should, the forwards need to be accountable. McGuire had arguably his worst game of the season and was still comfortably our best prop, and gained the most metres of our forwards. Wonder boy Wallace was back to his old plodding ways, Gillett was rubbish, Blair, Pangai & Ese'ese were below their usual performances, Su'A tried his hardest but isn't a renown metre eater.

People may not want to hear it, but we need to start thinking about getting guys in the team who's sole job is to make 10 metres per run, make a lot of runs, and tackle people, yes, I'm referring to Jai Arrow. I'm sick of this stigma that your forwards have to be able to ball play and shit, it's retarded, the best teams this season have forwards who just dig their ****ing heels in and run hard, and let their creative players do the creating.. Cowboys, Storm, Sharks.

I think Blair needs to either be starting at lock, or not in the team, he doesn't offer enough punch off the bench and doesn't gain enough metres per run to be considered a starting calibre prop.

You wanted all the named guys in the team; then you move on to the next one when they don't kill it.

 

[1910]

Broncos just couldn't keep up with the pace of the Dogs'. Dogs get to an edge quicker than any side then bring it back to big men who if you haven't controlled the ball and made them work are just huge monsters running loose.

 

[Wolfie]

Agree about us needed some bigger props. Bennett needs to get in the ear of Chris Hill. Best prop in the England side imo.

 

[animal eater]

Real bummer about Opacic. He looked solid and I was having a quick delightful fantasy about seeing the end of Reed's Bronco career,

 

[winslow_wong]

It's madness that our tiny ass forward pack thinks it can bash it up one out against much bigger sides. Wayne must be still living in the webcke petro era

 

[Stix]

Real bummer about Opacic. He looked solid and I was having a quick delightful fantasy about seeing the end of Reed's Bronco career,

We can't win, I was having the same dream 2 weeks ago before Kahu got injured....

 

[Stix]

jeez we have been having a bad run with juniors and injury's. We've always had a good juniors system but I can't remember the last time a young bloke came into the side and set the world on fire... I know it's rare but I keep seeing sydney clubs whip these talented juniors out whenever they need f*** every club seems to

 

[Stix]

Every club seems to have talented juniors to step in during injury affected periods and do well... Suposedly we have all these great juniors coming through but when they get the chance I'm always like 'meh' 'maybe'.... I don't know maybe I'm too harsh on our guys, it just shits me watching young stars rip it up in other games and we've got Eden and Maranta running around... We're the Broncos for f***sake

 

[Waynesaurus]

It's madness that our tiny ass forward pack thinks it can bash it up one out against much bigger sides. Wayne must be still living in the webcke petro era

Totally!............and we were just running one out and getting smashed in the tackle by 3 dogs at a time.

 

[Dexter]

I'm sick of origin impacting us. I've given it some thought lately, and what other sport would allow a few games which have no bearing on the premiership to impact negatively on a handful of teams for a full quarter of the season??? It's absolute bullshit. Origin needs to be a standalone month, with no club games during that period. 2 weeks leadup, then a week between the 3 games. This middle-of-the-season bullshit has got to stop. Suspensions gained in clubland should be served in clubland, and those in rep games in rep games. Yeah I'm a bit more passionate about it this year because Origin has really fucked us more than usually, but why the hell should some clubs suffer while others get a golden run? It's fucked.

It's not just the Origin, it's the whole schedule which could be managed better for a team which is known to be most affected.

We played the warriors away off a bye, same with the Dogs and same after Origin 3 against the Rabbits. Add this to the already lopsided nature of the comp with some teams playing struggling sides twice. When we play shit sides is also a major factor.

Some of this can't be fixed because you don't always know which teams will be shite but the Warriors game was a situation ( on paper) which could have been changed. We played them twice so why not play them away early then home after Origin to save us the travel.

Looking ahead we hopefully have most of our squad filtering back and the draw is fairly kind.

Storm
Rabbits
Panthers
Chooks
Dragons
Eels
Dogs
Storm
Chooks

I have us finishing on 34 points including the bye and top 4. It wouldn't be the first time a WB coached team has eased off mid season to re focus on the back end.

 

[Stix]

What's going on with Billy Mconnachie?? I thought he was going to get a run this season?? He's got some sting in his runs

 

[winslow_wong]

It's not just the Origin, it's the whole schedule which could be managed better for a team which is known to be most affected.

We played the warriors away off a bye, same with the Dogs and same after Origin 3 against the Rabbits. Add this to the already lopsided nature of the comp with some teams playing struggling sides twice. When we play shit sides is also a major factor.

Some of this can't be fixed because you don't always know which teams will be shite but the Warriors game was a situation ( on paper) which could have been changed. We played them twice so why not play them away early then home after Origin to save us the travel.

Looking ahead we hopefully have most of our squad filtering back and the draw is fairly kind.

Storm
Rabbits
Panthers
Chooks
Dragons
Eels
Dogs
Storm
Chooks

I have us finishing on 34 points including the bye and top 4. It wouldn't be the first time a WB coached team has eased off mid season to re focus on the back end.

Maybe sir Wayne has done the mathletics and crunched the numbers to take it easy during origin period and knows we can still get top 4 once we ramp up after origin.

 

[FaceOfMutiny]

The game last night just showed that once again the Broncos biggest issue is the forwards dont make enough metres and let the opposition make too many metres.
There are good signs there for future players though. Pity about Opacic injury at 20m he looked really good.

 

[Unbreakable]

You wanted all the named guys in the team; then you move on to the next one when they don't kill it.

What? I don't want to move on to the next one, I still want Su'A & Pangai in the team every week, they've been great overall for us. I just think we need 1 or 2 more guys who can actually have some impact and make 10-12 metres most runs, rather than making 6 metres and getting pushed back 4 metres, which is more or less what some of our forwards do week in week out.

 

[Morkel]

Our forwards are versatile enough to combat any size forward pack. But it relies on a high completion rate (which we had in the first half) and a low missed tackle count (which was appalling in both halves). Get that right, and we suffocate the opposition. Conceding metres is inconsequential when the plan works.

Against a big team, once they naturally start to tire, the one-out runs are effective if the right defenders are targeted - further tiring them and forcing repeat efforts. It's then that that the opposition's lateral defence is strained - either gaps appear in the middle and Nikorima and Milford's running games come in to play, or the defence compresses to limit the gaps - meaning quick shifts to faster outside backs gets the points.

This hasn't been happening as effectively. What's been overlooked is marker play. Waddell is doing his best, but isn't McCullough. Macca knows the importance of getting in position quickly. And last year Blair excelled at not so much wrestling to slow down, but to position himself and the ball-carrier so he and the other marker are in position well before the ball is played. Without Macca, and with Blair clearly lacking in discipline this year, it's had a flow-on effect. Opposition ball-runners can run shoulder-to-shoulder with the hooker, meaning they get the ball fast and flat. They can then tuck in behind the ruck where the out-of-play markers leave gaps, meaning our whole line needs to effectively perform cover tackles. If leads to fatigue and another quick PTB with poorly positioned markers. Conversely, If the markers are in position they can shut this down, meaning the runners have to be wider, the passes are slower, the defence is set and another controlled tackle can be affected.

The good news is that it's only a tiny adjustment to fix. The bad news is that it needs intense discipline, and cohesion - two things that are lost when there are injuries and inexperienced players are brought in, and when confidence is low.

 

[Rabbir]

Real bummer about Opacic. He looked solid and I was having a quick delightful fantasy about seeing the end of Reed's Bronco career,

Jack Reed is a very good player.

 

[Jason Simmons]

You wanted all the named guys in the team; then you move on to the next one when they don't kill it.

Absolutely. I know it's a strange circumstance that when players aren't up to the job, fans look for someone else to do it...

Unheard of I know...