POST GAME [Round 17, 2022] Broncos vs Dragons

[Skathen]

I dont know if this has been mentioned yet but when the old boys were leaving the ground before the game, each of them made a point of walking over to Haas and shaking his hand. Make of that what you will.

Hmm, that may actually mean he's staying. Half those blokes would be of the old school mentality of, if you're leaving like that, you're dead to us.

 

[Skathen]

Reviewing the stats, we were really lucky the dragqueens were rubbish without BHunt to run them around.

71% completion rate
12 errors
45 missed tackles

Bring on post origin and hopefully less injuries, we need our A team back and firing.

 

[Huge]

I flagged before the game that one of my big concerns was going to the be the meters and having to rely on guys like Ryan James, etc. in the middle and I have to give Kevvie some credit with the coaching here.

I haven't looked at the stats, but it looked like every time you'd expect Ryan James to take the hit up on a get out set, he would instead go out the back to Reynolds and we would shift it along the backline to Staggs.

To me it was a smart bit of coaching, because instead of looking to get meters from our lesser middles we went pretty safely along the backline and got them out of Staggs instead... it could be seen as us trying to attack from inside our own half, but I think it was just us looking to get Staggs into the game, get some hitups out of him and get some meters out of him.

Looking at the stats Ryan James had 78m, whereas Staggs had 139m... that's basically one substituting for the other, because we would normally expect Staggs to get about 80m... so some really good tactical coaching there to me

That's not really right!!!

Staggs metres are for ALL of the game so if he was doing the grunt work of a forward it surely must be divided amongst all of the forwards he's compensating for. Haas usually plays big minutes so metres and minutes played makes a difference.

Take Kennedy for example, he only played 29 minutes, yet he almost doubled James's metres ( from 38 mins) and equalled Hoeter ,Pereira, Stagg's and Hetherington's contributions ( purely talking metres here as was your point)

If anyone was taking up the slack from missing our big star forwards it was Kennedy. Absolutely should start long before James even though I saw a better effort today from James. Kennedy probably would have amassed 200 metres if he wasn't taken out by Sims cheap shot.

Palasia had 157 metres from 60 Min, Kennedy 134 from less than half that time!

 

[Mustafur]

I don't see why some people are so critical of Niu.

He had a great game, arguably our MOTM. He made some errors, but the good thing is he got over them. He didn't go into his shell and instead took the game on and played a big part on our win scoring a try, having a hand in two others and almost a third.

Considering it was first game since he did his hamstring in Round 6, he did pretty good.

Alot of people here judge errors too much, it's a big issue if we can't defend but we are a better side then we where and having attacking players with that ability are not common he has a tonne of ability to do the elite plays, not to mention he was good on the high ball all game like all the backs.

 

[Organix]

That's not really right!!!

Staggs metres are for ALL of the game so if he was doing the grunt work of a forward it surely must be divided amongst all of the forwards he's compensating for. Haas usually plays big minutes so metres and minutes played makes a difference.

Take Kennedy for example, he only played 29 minutes, yet he almost doubled James's metres ( from 38 mins) and equalled Hoeter ,Pereira, Stagg's and Hetherington's contributions ( purely talking metres here as was your point)

If anyone was taking up the slack from missing our big star forwards it was Kennedy. Absolutely should start long before James even though I saw a better effort today from James. Kennedy probably would have amassed 200 metres if he wasn't taken out by Sims cheap shot.

Palasia had 157 metres from 60 Min, Kennedy 134 from less than half that time!

yeah, Kennedy was an absolute gun tonight. Even had a 1v1 strip. Great that he came back after that head knock. He was really impressive and I'm actually a bit sad that he's moving on after really finding good form.

 

[BroncosFever]

I don't see why some people are so critical of Niu.

He had a great game, arguably our MOTM. He made some errors, but the good thing is he got over them. He didn't go into his shell and instead took the game on and played a big part on our win scoring a try, having a hand in two others and almost a third.

Considering it was first game since he did his hamstring in Round 6, he did pretty good.

I think people are very unforgiving, especially when some form the view that a particular individual is someone that club should be looking to release immediately.

He was easily one of our best, easily. I can tell you one thing, a club like the Dragons would be looking at the qualities of their best option and then looking at what Tesi Niu can offer and probably thinking "we could do a lot worse than to sign that bloke".

 

[bert_lifts]

Kennedy was an absolute gun tonight

I've been very critical of him in the past. But he's been an absolute gun this year. I'm actually sad to see him go next season. Actually think he's been better than some others, but he seems to fallen out of favor for whatever reason. Oh well.

 

[Evander]

Tesi was great but he didn't have as much influence on the game as the 3 I mentioned, and don't lie to yourself if TMM becomes available during the week you'll be screaming for him to come back in.

I strongly disagree, Tesi was great apart from a few silly errors.

 

[Allo]

I think with Tesi people have a lot of PTSD from Isaako and Tesi himself over the last few years, and they’re ready to go off when he does something dumb or perceived as lazy

They both have a lot of what-the-**** moments in their game that can be the snowball that starts the collapse avalanche. They also can have games where they look like genius gods of football but the margins in both how often they happen and those performance levels are miles apart

Tesi had a good game and was able to keep us in it early with his try from dummy-half. But his defence is still horrific, both in reads and contact. When we play a (better) top 8 team, he’ll have to be a lot better - you can’t rely on attack the entire time.

He’s not a lost cause though and the challenge is there for him to close the margins in his game to be the best player he can be, be it here or somewhere else in the future with Walsh coming back

 

[theshed]

I think with Tesi people have a lot of PTSD from Isaako and Tesi himself over the last few years, and they’re ready to go off when he does something dumb or perceived as lazy

They both have a lot of what-the-**** moments in their game that can be the snowball that starts the collapse avalanche. They also can have games where they look like genius gods of football but the margins in both how often they happen and those performance levels are miles apart

Tesi had a good game and was able to keep us in it early with his try from dummy-half. But his defence is still horrific, both in reads and contact. When we play a (better) top 8 team, he’ll have to be a lot better - you can’t rely on attack the entire time.

He’s not a lost cause though and the challenge is there for him to close the margins in his game to be the best player he can be, be it here or somewhere else in the future with Walsh coming back

Well put. Tesi had an overall great game, probably his best game and deserves credit. He still had a few poor errors and he wasn’t tested as all defensively as the dragons kicking game was non-existent.

The issue with Tesi has always been his consistency; both within a game and over a period of games. If he builds on this performance than I’ll give credit where it’s due.

 

[Sproj]

Kennedy - Real shame he is going but at the same time, yesterday showed why he is. We have middles coming out of our ears and unfortunately you can’t keep them all. I’m surprised though that no other NRL side picked him up, he’s better than a lot of forwards out there.

Niu - He is often compared to Isaako but he has one massive benefit over Jamayne, he is willing to pass the ball. Now whether that makes up for the errors, only time will tell but there is an out and out gun waiting to be unlocked there and again only time will tell if it actually happens.

 

[McHunt]

We need to develop some strategies, formations and structures to do a better job protecting him, otherwise we won’t have him later in the year when it counts. This ESPECIALLY counts for second rowers who should be constantly in position to guard Reynolds and flatten anyone who tries to hit him hard…. Hetherington could certainly be that fiery enforcer / bodyguard we need, but it’s something the whole team needs to work on.

It’s not like coaches don’t try this obvious tactic on other clubs… but teams like Penrith are so successful at letting nobody get to Cleary - we need to be able to do the same.

Suggest you look in the NRL rules under Obstruction for tips on how to prevent defenders from reaching the ball player. Some handy tips in there. Unfortunately, they do result in penalties if you're caught:

https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/operations/nrl-laws-and-interpretations-2018.pdf

 

[HarryAllan7]

Suggest you look in the NRL rules under Obstruction for tips on how to prevent defenders from reaching the ball player. Some handy tips in there. Unfortunately, they do result in penalties if you're caught:

https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/operations/nrl-laws-and-interpretations-2018.pdf

same rules prevent players from shielding a kicker on 5th tackle or impeding opposition chasers following a kick, but every single team does both… just about having good structures to put players in that position ‘incidentally’ so that they’re not just blatantly darting in front at the last moment (which always gets penalised).

some contact we won’t be able to prevent, sure, but that’s when we need someone like Kobe to come in and fold whoever hit Reynolds in half on the next set.

 

[McHunt]

same rules prevent players from shielding a kicker on 5th tackle or impeding opposition chasers following a kick, but every single team does both… just about having good structures to put players in that position ‘incidentally’ so that they’re not just blatantly darting in front at the last moment (which always gets penalised).

some contact we won’t be able to prevent, sure, but that’s when we need someone like Kobe to come in and fold whoever hit Reynolds in half on the next set.

Well if we got penalized attempting that we would have no right to complain. Same with revenge hits.

You have to rely on the ref to police late hits. Worked out a treat for us yesterday. Doesn't always.

 

[Cavalo]

Credit where it’s due, that’s a very important win and great for team confidence.
Kennedy is leaving for a starting spot, which is understandable, but he should probably be in the 17 leading in to finals or at least next off the rank.
All the guys stepping up did a job. I rated Hosking in the trials and he was good today. Hoeter, Pereira, even James all played their roles well and, like I hoped Hetho and Palasia played well with extended minutes.
Tesi just needs a solid run of games and to improve his general defence and positioning and he’ll get picked up by another team or he can stay as cover for Walsh - he’s probably too good for reggies long-term.

 

[Big Del]

He's not fulltime either, he is a chippie that got called in a month ago. Training fulltime would certainly help his strength.

Willison needs another off season in the gym .
He`s willing but still has a kid`s body .

 

[Big Del]

That's not really right!!!

Staggs metres are for ALL of the game so if he was doing the grunt work of a forward it surely must be divided amongst all of the forwards he's compensating for. Haas usually plays big minutes so metres and minutes played makes a difference.

Take Kennedy for example, he only played 29 minutes, yet he almost doubled James's metres ( from 38 mins) and equalled Hoeter ,Pereira, Stagg's and Hetherington's contributions ( purely talking metres here as was your point)

If anyone was taking up the slack from missing our big star forwards it was Kennedy. Absolutely should start long before James even though I saw a better effort today from James. Kennedy probably would have amassed 200 metres if he wasn't taken out by Sims cheap shot.

Palasia had 157 metres from 60 Min, Kennedy 134 from less than half that time!

Easier to make metres late in the game than from kick off .
RK was outstanding yesterday . But so was Ryan James . Both did jobs for their team .

 

[McHunt]

Hmm, that may actually mean he's staying. Half those blokes would be of the old school mentality of, if you're leaving like that, you're dead to us.

That would be a little hypocritical of Lazzo who left Brisbane to be the Storm's inaugural captain. Not to mention him being headhunted by former Broncos teammate Chris Johns. Or Gilly, who left to the Panthers. You can spot them in the background here: