Round 21 Discussion

[theshed]

Well it appears I got Payten wrong, I thought he looked the goods after his Warriors stint. Not looking great now. By this stage of a first year coach, there should be signs of going in the right direction like even Kevvie is doing. The Cows are looking worse than before he got there somehow.

Yeah I thought he had them looking great before the bye. It’s all fallen to shit though. I think allowing Clifford to leave early was a massive error, a long with his treatment of Lolo.

 

[Sproj]

Yeah I thought he had them looking great before the bye. It’s all fallen to shit though. I think allowing Clifford to leave early was a massive error, a long with his treatment of Lolo.

I liked his no nonsense approach at the Warriors but I wonder if that has kind of soured into him just coming across as a hard taskmaster who is impossible to please and isn't afraid to throw players under the bus, not great for team morale.

 

[Jedhead]

Did he really see Tracey Deardongs and Chad Townsend as upgrades on Clifford? Or was he listening too much to the laughing clown?
If the former he’s got a lot to learn if the latter he’s listening to the wrong teacher.

 

[Foordy]

Did he really see Tracey Deardongs and Chad Townsend as upgrades on Clifford? Or was he listening too much to the laughing clown?
If the former he’s got a lot to learn if the latter he’s listening to the wrong teacher.

I don't think he saw either as an upgrade on Clifford, who IIRC signed with the Knights before Payten was appointed coach.

What I think happened is Payten and the Cowboys panicked when Reynolds told them "thanks, but no thanks"

 

[Foordy]

did Chambers really throw a Warriors players boot into the stands, lol

 

[Jedhead]

"Elsewhere, Annesley conceded the NRL Bunker erred in confirming a try from a kick to Newcastle back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon when Bradman Best had obstructed Broncos flyer Jamayne Isaako."

Frikkn bunker had his eyes painted on for that one it seems.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

"Elsewhere, Annesley conceded the NRL Bunker erred in confirming a try from a kick to Newcastle back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon when Bradman Best had obstructed Broncos flyer Jamayne Isaako."

Frikkn bunker had his eyes painted on for that one it seems.

Oh yeah sure they did. Best holding Isaako back only dominated the entire background of the frame when they were inspecting the grounding. It's almost as if they had already made up their minds.

 

[Super Freak]

I think the question has to be asked, was Cameron Smith as good as everyone made him out to be?

The Storm are not struggling without him one bit. They are actually playing better than what they were last year.

They haven't gone down a notch. They have went up several. So was he as important to the side as originally thought?

First half of the season I couldn't see anyone beating Penrith. Now, I can't see anyone beating Storm. I can't see them not going back-to-back.

 

[1910]

I think the question has to be asked, was Cameron Smith as good as everyone made him out to be?

The Storm are not struggling without him one bit. They are actually playing better than what they were last year.

They haven't gone down a notch. They have went up several. So was he as important to the side as originally thought?

First half of the season I couldn't see anyone beating Penrith. Now, I can't see anyone beating Storm. I can't see them not going back-to-back.

His value will be found if the Storm are 16-16 in a final with four minutes to go or down by two with four minutes to go. Then you will find out how calm they are and able to stick to the plan.

Munster wanted to go the short kick off last year in the Grand Final with Penrith coming back- Smith had to say no. With no Smith there what do they come up with.

 

[Big Pete]

I don't think this season can be held against Smithy.

The competition is in a really strange place right now with teams struggling to field a consistent 17 week to week. With COVID restrictions and the fall-out of the 2020 season teams haven't necessarily had to play well across the 80 to win matches.

Take the Storm's win against the Broncos which kicked off this 17 game winning streak. Melbourne actually started poorly in that game and handed a try to Xavier Coates to give Brisbane an early buffer. It was really only around the 30th minute mark where they put Brisbane to the sword and from that point on it was game on.

They've done incredibly well Melbourne but as far as I can tell, it's more about their systems and how the game has inadvertently complimented their style of play. The set restart was brought into curb the wrestle, but the Storm still know how to milk every second in the ruck because they know what the referees are looking for. On top of that, they've become the masters of shepparding play with their edges going extremely early to force the ball one way.

I think Melbourne learned that last year, but weren't aware of the full extent of it. Combined with teams self-destructing either through injury or trying to build the right combinations for the modern game and it's all led to one way traffic.