Round 21 - Knights vs. Broncos - Post Match Discussion

Surprised I haven't seen it mentioned yet...I'm loathe to bring it up but having just watched the game (was out lastnight so taped it) - the refs definitely impacted that second half. They put their whistles away for the Knights, I swear. Forward passes all over the place. They got the ball back after our knock on after Gagai kicks ahead in an attempt to score - no advantage, dafuq?? If he scored it was an advantage - he didn't but he still took the advantage, should've been Broncos ball. The penalty for "inside the 10" which was blown after we'd tackled and wrestled them for "minutes" (in Sterlo's opinion) was a gee-up for sure. McGuire got hit high as he was falling at one point but no penalty. I'm sure there were others but the forward passes were the most blatant. I'm not even going to say it didn't lose us the win because at 8 points up with 8 mins to go, them getting a leg-up into our half most of the sets killed us.

Wallace was shit. Prince is generally a speedbump. Maranta isn't a NRL quality winger at this time and I doubt he has the instinct to be.

Aside from that though, we really should have won that one. Hodges over the line; Maranta AGAIN just had to pin his ears back but no, steps back inside and falls over. Reed just had to pass inside to Hodges - poor bugger, he knew it too! Oates HAD to step back inside, and he knew it too, poor bugger - but he's still a better winger than Maranta, at least he can beat a tackle! There was another couple of botched opportunities too. Very unlucky not to come away with the win.

But, the good - and there was a lot of good to come from it still - Ben Hunt, again, a fucking blinder!! I've been saying it all year, about fucking time he's got the starting spot. A few poor calls but he knew it, I can live with that. He's got vision, he's got more than just a bomb...I love the kid.

McGuire showing his true form, he's been interrupted this year with injury, great to see him getting back into it. Best game of the year for him tonight, and I'll be VERY surprised if he's not in Maroon next year. He fucking should be!!

Oates, again, damn he's a find!! Aside from the end of his break, that was another great game from him. And Dodds gets a mention, thought he could've used more minutes but he was very good again.

All in all, I guess I'm almost satisfied, hard to really pin down how I feel about the game. That second half was all heart, we were out on our feet - see "conditioning" - pretty ordinary IMO, considering the game wasn't really played THAT fast. Coaching staff, over to you. Should have won, could have won, but it's still better than a loss. And at least we're mixing it up a bit, keeping the opposition guessing - haven't seen that for soooo long, it is a pleasure to watch. Finals are gone for us now IMO, but we can hopefully get a roll on at the back end of the year anyway. Build for next season and all that.

EDIT: OK, no, I'm still sad after that game even with the promising signs - should have won it. Defeat from the jaws of victory. ****!
 
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Brett said:
Hey guys, first post, so go easy. :P

Happy overall, but guttered we didn't get the result. I thought we could have put the game to bed, but we were just too damn tired. Our fitness went out the window after about 65 mins and the only guys with anything in the tank was McGuire, Hoffman and Parker.

Ben Hunt - Hunt reminds me so much of how Lockyer played. I wouldn't be surprised if Lockyer was one of Hunt's heroes growing up because he certainly emulates his playing style. The kid has such great vision and feel for the game. I truly wonder what type of team we would be this year if Hunt was given all of last year to play Halfback aswell as this year. The chip and chase, the left foot step to beat Mullen, then the speed to get into the back field, the crisp passing to Hodges - he has it all. He's not perfect though - His long kicking game needs some serious work, hit fitness needs some work and his execution needs to get better. He takes the wrong options at times, but hell, even the great Lockyer took the wrong plays at times. I'd really like to see Hunt get involved when the game is on the line too.

McGuire - Wowsers. Sign this guy up on a long contract. He is an amazing player. Big, strong, agile, can play before the line, at the line or through the line, he's fast and he can throw a great pass. Probably the best up and coming forward in the game.

Wallace - Why is this guy in our first grade team? Ben Hunt makes Peter Wallace look like he's got hooves. Seriously, just get him out of our f**king team. When he came on our attack went out the window, same as it did last week, and we became soft around the middle defensively.

McCullough - When teamed with Ben Hunt, Macca seems so much more comfortable to play his natural game. They have a real understanding there and work well together. I can see now what Hook has seen in Macca in the 20's, but again, why it's taken this f**king long to get Hunt into the #7 jersey no one will ever know.

Oates - Anyone doubting his pace has been shut up after that game. Out ran Mullen, who is no slouch, and was only caught because he was knocked off balance. Once he gets up to speed, he's quite quick. Showed some inexperience at the back though. The dropped ball and then being out of position for the Uate try. He should have never come in on Gagai, Reed had him covered easily. Hopefully he learns from that, or hopefully we can get a specialist winger back soon. But overall, Oates played a big part in taking some of the really hard meters out from our own end, and he hits the ball up hard and bends the line back. He will be something this guy.

I thought our defence in the first half was great, but again, when Wallace came on, I thought we got a bit soft around the middle, and towards the end of the second half we looked so tired it was almost embarrassing.

No idea why we played Lui ahead of Tasi. That selection made me scratch my head. Lui was largely ineffective and missed some crucial tackles by running up out of the line, one out.

Things look really good for next year dare I say. Surely Ben Hunt has done enough now to make the #7 jersey his for next year. He just needs to work on a few things, and we need a good ball/line running 5/8 with a long kicking game to back him up - someone with some good speed because Hunt showed tonight he can motor. Hunt finding Hodges/Barba in the backline, then on to Reed/Hoffman next year is going to be exciting.

3. McGuire
2. Hunt
1. McCullough
Click to expand...

Awesome first post. Welcome aboard!
 
I only caught the last 20 plus the Golden Field Goal athon but we were lucky to get the draw. The knights butchered a set or 2 for a field goal attempt.

Plus the knights goal kicking lolz
Surely Hooks misuse of the bench has to be contributing to the fatigue at the end of the game.
 
Was it Hoffman at the end that charged down the Knights' final drop goal attempt from pretty much dead in front? Fantastic effort. The Knights were a mess at the end, but then the Broncos weren't much better. I thought Wallace was the wrong option for the drop goal. Sterlo was right in commentary - they should have sold it as Wallace but passed it to Hunt or Prince set up on the other side. Hunt's first shot looked well struck, just unfortunately off line. From closer in I think he'd have nailed it.

I'm not unhappy with the draw, although I'd have preferred it had come at the eighty minute mark rather than the ninety minute mark. I don't have a lot to add to what's already been said. Hunt looked very, very good for periods, especially in the first half. I don't know that he went missing so much in the second half as that he didn't get the same opportunities. He seemed to get steadier, too, like he realised he'd overplayed his hand at times earlier. A good sign. I said in the game thread, but I'm astounded it took this long for him to get his shot.

McGuire was awesome. Hodges was great again. Reed looked good in his first game back. They created plenty of opportunities and should have led by more at the half and heading towards fulltime, but there was a lack of polish to the finishing. Too often they went for the flashy play rather than the safe play - Reed kicking after line breaks rather than passing, Oates not going back inside and taking the tackle. Their fitness again caught up with them.
 
Culhwch said:
Was it Hoffman at the end that charged down the Knights' final drop goal attempt from pretty much dead in front? Fantastic effort.
Click to expand...

Glad you brought this up, Chulldawg! I meant to mention it, but completely forgot.

I was 99% sure the Knights were going to win the match right there and then, but Hoffman's phenomenal effort denied them.

Love Josh Hoffman, such a champ. :rockon:
 
I think hunt feels sorry for wallace or is just too polite to him. As soon ad wallace comes on hunt goes into his shell a bit. Piss wallace off and let hunt grow as our half back.
 
Someone said that the telecast at the Knights stadium is generally filmed from higher up than other stadiums, so passes look flatter than usual. I guess it's a good enough explanation for me, because both sides looked like they threw a few of them.
 
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Gee says McGuire is our no.1 prop now, I can't say I disagree, I love the guy and would hate to ever lose him to another team.
"I just want to be the best player I can be, whether that is the best prop I don't know. There are good front-rowers at the club so I'm just trying to get better each week. As long as I'm playing for the club that's good enough for me."
Click to expand...
 
I don't think there's much between him and Hannant right now. McGuire is a better defender while Hannant provides a slight ball playing game.
 
broncospwn said:
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Gee says McGuire is our no.1 prop now, I can't say I disagree, I love the guy and would hate to ever lose him to another team.
Click to expand...

Like I said in my game break down post. Sign Josh up for a long contract - 5 years at least. He will be one of the best forwards in the game for years to come and will most likely play Origin next year.
 
Assuming Hunt keeps repeating his 1st 20 minutes and making it last longer, and with his ability to create opportunities and pass the ball, then with 2 ball playing props, with Hodges roaming about a bit, there are so many good things this team could do
 
Surprisingly I'm looking forward to watching the rest of our games this season, the team is starting to produce a more exciting and better quality game.
I give the boys credit for this game, and I'm impressed with how well we've stayed in games despite only having 1 winger on the field for most of this season.
Hodgo and Mcquire have really been putting their hand up and are starting to lead by example IMO
 
What an exciting game - the Broncos finally played some fucking footy!

Ben Hunt was awesome. The Cowboys game wasn't a fluke. If all it took was a: "Ben, the 7 is all yours for the next 18 months no matter what you do" then booya. Hope he gets the same latitude that Norman did (from the coach, club and fans). To me he will repay it in spades. His attitude seems better than Norman.

Corey Oates showed more ability moonlighting as a winger than Maranta has all year. This guy is a keeper.

The most disappointing thing was probably relying on Wallace for the clutch play. I'll give the team the benefit of the doubt and say it was probably a set play rehearsed all year. Should have been Hunt having a go though.

Honestly, our goal should be simply to play like that for the rest of the year, finals or not.
 
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