POST GAME Round 21 - Eels vs Broncos

[jd87]

feels like we have an identity issue and struggle to work out what sort of team we want to be. sometimes we wanna play crazy expensive football and entertain other times we wanna be safe as houses and try to game manage perfectly like the lockyer years

i know you need a little both to be a real premiership threat but we just dont seems to have the balance the boys look confused sometimes.

i believe we need a real leadership shake up were the boys are told this is the type of team we wanna be and then lead the way

 

[Danoz Direct]

Hey I am one of his biggest knockers but I though he was pretty good in his first stint.

 

[Accept]

Yeah....I have no doubt that we have the talent and the ability, but we are really missing the scramble, desperation and enthusiasm.

Time to regroup and work on a few things. Thoroughly outplayed tonight but tomorrow is another day. I don't see a premiership but I still am confident that they can make some noise.

 

[Wild Horse]

Exactly. It's one away loss.

I get what ya's are saying, but by how much did we miss a top 4 spot last year? Thats right - one loss.

 

[Lockysillegitimatechild]

Milford was terrible but at least he played a major role in all our tries before he vanished in to thin air. Hunt needs to go, and go now. He may rediscover form at hooker if McCullough is out though but defensively we will struggle. Tpj and ofa need to come on for Blair and sims, we started off great but those tries had nothing to do with the forwards, we need to scare the opposition, but more importantly we need to finish strong and if they don't start they aren't subbed back on in the final 20 mins. The refs (ash Klein has to be our worst percentage ref for sure?) was massively against us tonight but the good teams defend bad decisions, and additionally, the good captains use bad decisions as leverage against the ref later in the game to get a few back (smith, Thurston>>>>>Boyd)

 

[cakeGG]

Our away record is now 5-5. Not good enough if you want to compete in the finals.

 

[JayPee]

I don't see how the Broncos top 4 chances have taken a massive hit. Sure tonight didn't help but if we don't beat the Roosters and the Storm dust up the Eags tomorrow they still are the favourites going on the draw. Not the hardest going around.

 

[winslow_wong]

Boyd just looks so pedestrian these days. Absolutely no acceleration or speed. Some goes for Milford. Sad

 

[Aldo]

Teams are reading our block play so easily now and not rushing in. Problem is, it's the only move we use. Need some more offloads, angled runs, outside in plays, better support play.........****, even a chip and chase wouldn't go astray every now and then.

 

[Pushkin]

What the hell wrong with Broncos. Player don't have passion for club. Wayne need to make hard decisions.

 

[Jason Simmons]

I thought McGuire had a poor game tonight. Usually he turns up in the rough and willing games, but seemed like he was barely there tonight, when he wasn't doing loose carries...

 

[Mr Fourex]

McCullough is a numpty in attack

Maybe not a popular comment, but perhaps McCullough's injury is a blessing in disguise. Hunt might actual be able to remember how to play footy from dummy half.

Bring Marshall on in the 7........give Milford some room in attack.

 

[KnToad]

The Eels knew what they were doing. They are a well coached side. They played to a plan, they played for each, running from depth and with Norman and Moses playing a similar smart, structured play to that of Cronk and Munster.

They controlled the middle and the edges. Our halves did **** all.

We play opportunistic flat and boring. The Broncos are a poorly coached side, and blaming any 1 player misses the whole point of tonight's dreadful performance

Spot on RNA

 

[KnToad]

Maybe not a popular comment, but perhaps McCullough's injury is a blessing in disguise. Hunt might actual be able to remember how to play footy from dummy half.

Bring Marshall on in the 7........give Milford some room in attack.

He better improve some... his service tonight was poor. very rusty

 

[Porthoz]

Milford is a shadow of the player he was and can be. He is at his best running amok and playing what he sees in front of him, not being the leading or controlling half of the team that the coach wants to transform him into.

As good as he absolutely is as a leader of men, Wayne is stuck in a coaching mentality that has passed the game by years and years ago. We can't go with teams that apply constant pressure in the ruck, run hard, get quick PTB's while we refuse to wrestle, and in turn get slowed down in the ruck by the same wrestling, which the NRL has proven no willingness to do anything against.

I know Boyd has been a great servant of the club, has had a career year in 2016, and has matured in leaps and bounds, deservedly earning the captaincy. But while he can on occasion turn it on, he really isn't a match winner or someone we can rely on to regularly grab a game by the scruff of the neck, and guide the rest of the team to a win.
Which is why I find the notion that he commands close to a $1M a year, absolutely ridiculous!

Despite reaching the GF in 2015, and well aware we might not have come as far... I think that if not for Boyd as mandatory fullback, we could have looked towards the future and started building a dominant spine of:

1- Milf
6- Hunt
7- Taylor
9- Macca

Now, we might have a last chance with a good offer to Taylor, but not if we pay overs to Boyd, so we could have a spine of:

1- Kodi (Isaako/Allen as backup)
6- Milford
7- Taylor
9- Macca

No one will convince me any other spine combo with Boyd as FB would be better than either of the above, and Darius would perfectly cover our most glaring deficiency in the backline as left centre.

For the second time, Wayne is going to screw the team as a whole to reward his protégé, and potentially deny us the chance to grab the playmaker we really need...
I'm afraid this and Wayne's refusal to do what other teams do in slowing down the ruck, may well keep us away from the Holy Grail.

I am not a defeatist, because I know we have the cattle to turn it on and make a dent, and I really hope I am wrong about the above, but I am absolutely certain we could be better coached. 2015 really was the exception that confirms the rule, and unfortunately obfuscated the obvious...

P.S. Bring on the hate lads!

 

[Lebbo73]

For me it felt like this game was going to be the indicator as to as to weather we really wanted that top four spot. I thought we would win this and continue the trend to finish as high as 2nd.

This team is hard to get excited about.

WTF don't they want it??

Those are my thoughts exactly.

 

[tommy]

Going by all the other threads I think the consensus is pretty clear: Drop Boyd to qcup.. Pronto.

 

[JayPee]

Milford is a shadow of the player he was and can be. He is at his best running amok and playing what he sees in front of him, not being the leading or controlling half of the team that the coach wants to transform him into.

As good as he absolutely is as a leader of men, Wayne is stuck in a coaching mentality that has passed the game by years and years ago. We can't go with teams that apply constant pressure in the ruck, run hard, get quick PTB's while we refuse to wrestle, and in turn get slowed down in the ruck by the same wrestling, which the NRL has proven no willingness to do anything against.

I know Boyd has been a great servant of the club, has had a career year in 2016, and has matured in leaps and bounds, deservedly earning the captaincy. But while he can on occasion turn it on, he really isn't a match winner or someone we can rely on to regularly grab a game by the scruff of the neck, and guide the rest of the team to a win.
Which is why I find the notion that he commands close to a $1M a year, absolutely ridiculous!

Despite reaching the GF in 2015, and well aware we might not have come as far... I think that if not for Boyd as mandatory fullback, we could have looked towards the future and started building a dominant spine of:

1- Milf
6- Hunt
7- Taylor
9- Macca

Now, we might have a last chance with a good offer to Taylor, but not if we pay overs to Boyd, so we could have a spine of:

1- Kodi (Isaako/Allen as backup)
6- Milford
7- Taylor
9- Macca

No one will convince me any other spine combo with Boyd as FB would be better than either of the above, and Darius would perfectly cover our most glaring deficiency in the backline as left centre.

For the second time, Wayne is going to screw the team as a whole to reward his protégé, and potentially deny us the chance to grab the playmaker we really need...
I'm afraid this and Wayne's refusal to do what other teams do in slowing down the ruck, may well keep us away from the Holy Grail.

I am not a defeatist, because I know we have the cattle to turn it on and make a dent, and I really hope I am wrong about the above, but I am absolutely certain we could be better coached. 2015 really was the exception that confirms the rule, and unfortunately obfuscated the obvious...

P.S. Bring on the hate lads!

This is spot on. Same could be said for the Bird signing. That money could have been used for Taylor. The main position that you need to take the next level. Outside backs are the least of the problems. The front row is a big reason why the struggle to control the ruck occurs. Blair is a great club man and he offers alot but defensively he is just too small and struggles to contain big men. It doesn't help that he is playing next to a bloke that is just not up to it on either side of the ball and Thaiday has just fallen off a cliff form wise. Ofahengaue and Pangai need to be given more mins. Every time they come on they just offer more than the others. Taylor and another big front rower and it would be the difference imo