As some have pointed out, we were infinitely more competitive and capable last time we played the Storm… in Melbourne… with a much worse squad.
Goes to show it’s not a talent issue, it’s about effort and commitment and desire - which we’ve been sorely and obviously lacking for weeks now. It’s baffling how massive and sudden the turnaround has been since the Parra game and it’s hard not to point the finger at the coach, whose job is to keep the players performing at a high level.
I agree players like James, Riki and Turpin shouldn’t be in the starting side, but if we we’re playing with the appropriate intensity and effort like we did earlier in the year then they are still serviceable options and we showed we can mix it with the best… when the entire team is playing poorly then those weak links are really exposed.
It was compounded last night by the Storm playing their own game, manipulating the ruck and controlling the tempo of their game (as they always do), but it’s not an excuse and we can’t control it … we showed we can overcome that and go toe to toe with them when we want to… but the players just don’t want it - they are done for the year, you can just see it. Maybe it’s late season fatigue and mounting niggling injuries and we just peaked too early.
Either way…Absolutely disgraceful performance. At this point I’d rather almost miss the finals than have to get flogged by the Roosters or someone else again in week 1 to finish the year.
