POST GAME Round 7 - Dragons vs Broncos

[rod78]

You can't just include errors that cost points as game changing- if a player makes an error that costs 80m and then they score on the back of a fumbled kick next play. It isn't only the fumbled kick that cost you points.

Its not the mistake it is the kind of mistake, Its the lack of concentration to be aware of your surroundings with both mistakes last night. Its the avoidable mistakes that make the difference in winning big matches. You drop a high ball under pressure which leads to a try so be it but if you dive 1 handed to put a ball down it is not acceptable to lose it, if it was hit out when he had two hands on the ball it sucks but it would have been a good defence.

 

[morganmorgan]

So all this milford hate....

What defines a good half?

 

[rnabokov]

So all this milford hate....

What defines a good half?

JT

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

Milford looked like he was going to cry after the match. Leeson Ah Mau went up to him twice after full time, to offer some support, but he was dead set terrible. Surely this five-eighth experiment is not working.

Forget about setting the world on fire, but for someone with his supposed "skill-set" he should be able to show something that will suggest he'll be a decent five-eighth. At least be able to throw a decent pass. He's been compared to JT and Lockyer, but honestly, at Milford's age, surely they could all pass, kick and do the basics.

Even during his time at Canberra he showed he lacked ballplaying or playmaking ability. Its actually embarrassing how he can't even throw a pass. Like seriously he can't do anything required of a five-eighth. He threw a horrible looking pass to Reed which went like three metres forward and barely even got to him. He's kicks are for the most part terrible. He has no organisational skill. I'd dare say Hoffman offered more in the same amount of time.

If you look at most young halves, Brooks, Moses, Elgey, even Bird who was a centre/second-rower in the NYC, they have all shown some playmaking ability. Milford has shown nothing that suggests he's a half.

Absolutely 100% correct. The moment he was touted as being our 5/8 i said exactly the same thing. He has never shown any ball playing or playmaking skills in his first grade career. Hodges, boyd, kahu etc all have better passing games than he does. He is a ball runner first and foremost. He needs space. Its so fucking obvious, and the only people that disagree just happen to be ones that think Bennett can do no wrong. Its plain as day this experiment should be ended now but Boyd needs to play fullback coz wayne said so, so we will just ruin milfs career instead.

 

[1910]

Absolutely 100% correct. The moment he was touted as being our 5/8 i said exactly the same thing. He has never shown any ball playing or playmaking skills in his first grade career. Hodges, boyd, kahu etc all have better passing games than he does. He is a ball runner first and foremost. He needs space. Its so ****ing obvious, and the only people that disagree just happen to be ones that think Bennett can do no wrong. Its plain as day this experiment should be ended now but Boyd needs to play fullback coz wayne said so, so we will just ruin milfs career instead.

Interesting stat of his: 32% winning at fullback, 67% at 6 (12 games) in his NRL career.

 

[bazza]

Interesting stat of his: 32% winning at fullback, 67% at 6 (12 games) in his NRL career.

That's just coincidence that the Raiders started the year poorly under Ricky, and got better as the year progressed to a point that they started winning matches at the end of the season. Out of the five straight wins he had at five-eighth with us this year as well as the ones at Canberra, they all count to his stats, but in how many of them did he do anything significant that suggests he's a better five-eighth than fullback. Absolutely nothing!

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

Interesting stat of his: 32% winning at fullback, 67% at 6 (12 games) in his NRL career.

Totally meaningless. He has a 5/7 win rate at 6 for the broncos, but that doesnt mean he has been good, or even above average. He has been mediocre to average in all of his games except the one where he scored 2 tries (neither of which were the result of any playmaking or half skills).

The broncos have played exceptionally well this year, milford however, has certainly not

 

[Charmamba]

Interesting stat of his: 32% winning at fullback, 67% at 6 (12 games) in his NRL career.

And we have a what 100% win rate with Maranta at fullback? (Maybe 90% can't remember previous years)

 

[Super Freak]

On the set after the 40/20, I thought Kodi should have put a chip kick over to Vidot.

Aitken and Nabuli weren't there. Vidot was unmarked and he had plenty of room.

He probably wouldn't have scored, but he had a good chance of scoring.

 

[Morkel]

I feel better now. I mean, I hate losing, but it's the loss we needed to have. If we won after that woeful performance, complacency would set in and we'd lose to the Eels by 40.

Instead, it wasn't enough to break the team's confidence or spirit, but says to us we need to do all the little things better, because if we were 2% better we'd have won.

It's no surprise that Milford went backwards. Young, inexperienced, with so many shuffles in the backing in 80 minutes, he doesn't have a "default" setting to defer to. The set plays and combinations he's practised would only have been with one or two different players in each role. Ever. So play X he's only ever done with Kahu or Maranta at fullback. Nikorima is totally different, so he wouldn't be comfortable or remotely fluid with him. And to those who say he has no playmaking ability, clearly you didn't see how many tries he set up last year, not just scored.

On the refs, there were dud calls for both teams. The mid-air tackles were BS, because every one should have been penalties to us for being run off the ball. The one we gave away on the 5th that led to them being camped on our line, well no one even touched the Dragon, it was just masterful milking that fooled the refs. However, Thaiday could easily have given one away for that sloppy play-the-ball (instead of it going our way) because he does them all the time. And the one where the Dragons lose it, we pick it up, get tackled, and lose it playing it, well that shouldn't be "no advantage, go back to first error". If it was called no advantage when tackled then fine, but to call it back because they fucked the PTB is incredibly lucky and if the opposition got that call then I'd be filthy.

And for the commentators, I have no problem. It's an underdog thing. Last week they were praising us for everything, this week we were expected to win so when the Dragons outplayed us it was great theatre.

 

[4evaBroncs]

What happened to Greg Eden?

 

[K-Style]

What happened to Greg Eden?

Scoring tries for Wynnum. Pretty sure he got one tonight against the Falcons. Couldnt make it to the game so watched the replay But it was skipping time badly. He oftens combines with Wynnums 1. Dan Odgen to score points. Wynnum picked up Pat Templeman at No. 5. He has a huge kick on him and it has bailed Wynnum out of trouble many times. Makes me sad to see Hunts 30-40m dropouts.

 

[rnabokov]

Just watched our 1st try against the Dragons. Now that was inspired play.

Why can't we do that sort of innovative, well executed, creative plays more than once a game, every 6 games?

It was so beautiful to watch.

Macca > Hunt > Gillett > Hodges > Vidot = superb try.

That side is so dangerous when someone gets it to do something, especially using Gillett where he belongs.

 

[FaceOfMutiny]

I just really can't wait for the Broncos to be back in the position where we don't have some players playing different positions in attack and defence.

 

[levikaden]

Jeez the knives are out. FFS we only lost by 2 to a pretty decent defensive unit, despite dropping a tonne of ball, finishing with 15 men and considering we were coming off the high of belting the roosters- not a bad result for mine.

 

[broncos4life]

Jeez the knives are out. FFS we only lost by 2 to a pretty decent defensive unit, despite dropping a tonne of ball, finishing with 15 men and considering we were coming off the high of belting the roosters- not a bad result for mine.

This. It's a real shame there aren't more posters like you on here.

 

[Wolfie]

Milford will make a good half imo. He is a work in progress however and Wayne is obviously happy to carry him while he learns the role. His short kicking game has been good, he does need to work on a few things though. I just wonder if he will be mentally tough enough to cope with all the criticism that will come his way. I think some people forget the legend that is Locky didnt set the world on fire when he first played 5/8.

 

[rnabokov]

So no comments on what superb play we can achieve as we did in that 1st try against the Dragons? That's what it's all about - team plays and combinations.

And Milford wasn't involved