Round 20 - Cowboys vs. Broncos - Pre Match Discussion

[jarro65]

On replay I believe the responsibility was on Dodds to come in but he just wasn't quick enough. Hoffman couldn't have been expected to be any further inside otherwise Kahu would have been isolated.

Agreed.

Dodds was the man to attempt the tackle, but he was way too slow.

Hoffman knew he had to try but also had to be aware of a shift wide and cover his man.

Carney just summed it up perfectly really.

 

[coreyh88]

The above posts are a dilemma. Personally, I believe every player should ALWAYS be looking on either side to pass or offload.

Hoffman can pass but seems almost reluctant, but then as I always maintain, it's pointless passing to vacant space. When Hoffa made that excellent line break there was no one following him. Support play is the Broncos single biggest failure.

As for defence reads, am I wrong or did Hoffman let Carney through a gap by not anticipating what Carney always does when he runs laterally then straightens and accelerates? Carney is good, but to a good one-on-one defender, he is predictable in that play.

Lyons is lucky. Invariably, he has a support runner, no doubt because the coach insists on that. Couple that with Lyons's knowing that moving the ball is what wins matches explains my view he is the best centre in the world (GI is a born FB, not a centre)

Doesn't Hook coach support play?

it wasn't hoffy's error it was the defender on his inside who didn't slide and just stood there lazily as Carney slices through the hole he left. Hoffman never had a chance at stopping him as he was running in the opposite direction by the time he realized what was happening

 

[subsbligh]

All things even I'd say they're both equal when it comes to defence. Sure, wingers have to field bombs and such but centres have to be apart of that AND have a far tougher job defending in the front line. Not only do you have to be a strong defender, you have to be able to read and have the relative mobility/speed to be a good defensive centre.

In the end the idea of a running centre/ball-playing centre comes down to preference. However, in this case it's between two running centres in Hoffman vs. Oates.

Oates seems to me like a promising back rower.

Other clubs seem to have a wealth of speedy, powerful, winger/centres, whereas we have this pool of makeshift second rower centres (Reed, Glenn, Gillett, Oates).

It's like the pathway to the Broncos forward pack is through the centres.

Other teams seem to break promising backrowers into the side through limited minutes off the bench.

 

[subsbligh]

Also Hala is definitely a bench prop. God he looked unfit out there starting.

I'm happy if Hook names the following forwards/bench

8. Hannant
9. Macca
10. McGuire
11. Glenn
12. Thaiday
13. Parker

14. Hunt
15. Gillett
16. Tasi
17. Hala

Also, 18th man should be J Wallace over Anderson. This kid looks the goods to me. Dodds is OK, but we look like a wet paper towel when Dodds, Lui and Hala are all on the field.

 

[Culhwch]

Agreed.

Dodds was the man to attempt the tackle, but he was way too slow.

Hoffman knew he had to try but also had to be aware of a shift wide and cover his man.

Carney just summed it up perfectly really.

Yeah, if Hoffman comes in on Carney, doesn't Carney just exploit the overlap outside him and put the ball through the hands?

Putting that miss on Hoffman is beyond harsh.

 

[Splinter]

The above posts are a dilemma. Personally, I believe every player should ALWAYS be looking on either side to pass or offload.

Hoffman can pass but seems almost reluctant, but then as I always maintain, it's pointless passing to vacant space. When Hoffa made that excellent line break there was no one following him. Support play is the Broncos single biggest failure.

As for defence reads, am I wrong or did Hoffman let Carney through a gap by not anticipating what Carney always does when he runs laterally then straightens and accelerates? Carney is good, but to a good one-on-one defender, he is predictable in that play.

Lyons is lucky. Invariably, he has a support runner, no doubt because the coach insists on that. Couple that with Lyons's knowing that moving the ball is what wins matches explains my view he is the best centre in the world (GI is a born FB, not a centre)

Doesn't Hook coach support play?

One thing i will not blame Hook for is support play. The players at this level should be doing it anyway, it should come naturally

 

[subsbligh]

Yeah, if Hoffman comes in on Carney, doesn't Carney just exploit the overlap outside him and put the ball through the hands?

Putting that miss on Hoffman is beyond harsh.

It's all academic anyway. Even the best centres make mistakes, especially against Carney.

I don't think anyone is writing him off as a centre, but he needs time and coaching to get up to speed.

I would still prefer Reed on that side. He's rock solid in defence and in attack is great under the highball and can slip an offload.

 

[subsbligh]

One thing i will not blame Hook for is support play. The players at this level should be doing it anyway, it should come naturally

True. If I've got half a footballing brain (which you'd need to be playing NRL standard) I'm expecting an offload from Parker everytime he touches the ball. I'd put Gillett in that category too.

Stop trying to make that fucking retarded in-out play work - dummy half to Wallace, back into Norman.

 

[Splinter]

I am hearing whispers that Kahu could have a broken hand now and that Hannants calf is more serious than first thought and may struggle to get back on the field in the short term.
Can anyone confirm this?

 

[noisetheory]

strange. hannant said on the footy show yesterday he will be 100% without shadow of a doubt be playing the next game.

 

[Splinter]

Glad to hear that as what i heard was he did his calf before last match running backwards at training and they are very concerned it may keep reoccurring without complete rest

 

[Renegade]

So, if we lose this game, are we still potentially a top 4 squad? :loool:

 

[Splinter]

So, if we lose this game, are we still potentially a top 4 squad? :loool:

According to Hook

 

[Alec]

We are potentially a top 4 squad. If there were only 4 teams.

 

[Financeguy]

We are potentially a top 4 squad. If there were only 4 teams.

Lol, in that case there are probably 10-12 potential top 4 squads in the NRL.

 

[vertigo]

Potentially is the key word.

Just need a coach, fullback, halves and hooker overhaul :thumbup1:

 

[_wwong]

it doesn't matter if we are ever top 4 or wooden spooners. as long as the effort is there then a win is just around the corner

 

[rnabokov]

Yeah, if Hoffman comes in on Carney, doesn't Carney just exploit the overlap outside him and put the ball through the hands?

Putting that miss on Hoffman is beyond harsh.

Show and tell me I'm wrong please.

We had Hoffman and Kahu, they had Carney and his winger. It was 2 on 2.

Whether or not Carney passes inside was not Hoffa's problem. His job was one-on-one on Carney. For mine, Hoffman ought to have had eyes only for Carney and adjusted his position accordingly, in particular, knowing Kahu had the outside man covered.

For mine, it was a poor read by Hoffman. Carney saw the hesitation and just took off. Class play.

For mine, in general, our one-on-one defence is not good: poor reads and missed tackles kill us, and **** completion rates