PRE-GAME Round 9 - Broncos vs Panthers

[Morkel]

I can't see a win here. Griffin will have them up to give us hell. Cartwright will be better for last week. Their offloads and second phase play always hurt us. Our 5th tackle options need to improve. And we are down strike benchies.
Plus. They need a win. Badly

Them throwing the ball around might be a plus for us. Cartwright can offload but his radar is pretty fucked. If a few of them lead to lost possession I can see them getting frustrated like the Raiders do and just turning to steaming hot turdcakes. Here's hoping, anyway.

Big fast Islander forwards running different lines, with support, in order to isolate defenders, does seem to unsettle our defences, like the Eels did to us a season or two ago. The trick will be not just simply wrapping up the ball, but wrapping up the player and slowing them down. We're going to need Blair at his dominant best, and I think Sims will be a real asset if he comes on with the right mindset. And our bench is the best we've had in a long time, so we can actually fight fire with fire. We have the tools to blunt their strengths, it's just a matter of actually doing it.

 

[winslow_wong]

I can't see a win here. Griffin will have them up to give us hell. Cartwright will be better for last week. Their offloads and second phase play always hurt us. Our 5th tackle options need to improve. And we are down strike benchies.
Plus. They need a win. Badly

Plus the nrl, refs and media will want to make up for last weeks howlers by making an example of the broncos this week. Unless we blow them away 50-0 we won't be winning a close one that's for sure.

 

[Mister Wright]

This game has an awful smell about it (like the Bulldogs game). Panthers a team under pressure and the Broncos off their game. This has all the ingredients for a Panthers boil-over.

 

[theshed]

Penrith are only 2 losses away from statistically writing off their season. Clubs will be aware of this and make no mistake the panthers are under a lot of pressure here.

 

[Big Pete]

The troubling thing about the Panthers is that it's been their senior players like Moylan, Merrin & Cartwright who have let the team down in recent weeks. When teams go through those kind of issues, all it takes is one performance to turn things around and I'm sure they'll see this as a defining point in their season.

I'll be interested to see what changes Griffin makes later today.

 

[Morkel]

The best thing to do will be to go out there knowing there's a target on our back. Know that we'll be getting no favours, it's backs-to-the-wall, like an Origin mindset, make sure our discipline, ball control and defence is top notch.

Panicking, throwing the ball around without earning the right, that will be the sort of shit that will cause an implosion. It'll give Penrith too many chances and will play them in to form.

 

[lynx000]

I have been reading the Griffin threads on the Panthers forum on LU and it brought back unhappy memories of this place a few years ago. It was like deja vu time.

They are not playing well, it will take a substantial form reversal for them, not saying that this is not possible. We owe them for last season (twice). If we adopt the mind set that Morkel indicated (which they should be doing) and apply ourselves, don't make silly mistakes and keep the pressure on them, we should win this and win this well.

 

[winslow_wong]

The best thing to do will be to go out there knowing there's a target on our back. Know that we'll be getting no favours, it's backs-to-the-wall, like an Origin mindset, make sure our discipline, ball control and defence is top notch.

Panicking, throwing the ball around without earning the right, that will be the sort of shit that will cause an implosion. It'll give Penrith too many chances and will play them in to form.

Don't worry we have a sport hypnotist on the payroll. A few swings of his pocket chain watch and we'll be deeply immersed within that origin chakra

 

[Aldo]

Dude. It takes time! And we lost our halfback. You're knee jerking like all them journalists who always doubt doubt doubt. Trust.. Faith. We are the Broncos. We will not settle for mediocre systems

This isn't just since Ben Hunt got injured. This has been an observation since halfway through last year. No knee jerk reaction here bud.

 

[cakeGG]

Pricks have set up camp on the Gold Coast all week. Griffin taking this one seriously.

 

[tommy]

Pricks have set up camp on the Gold Coast all week. Griffin taking this one seriously.

Maybe Griffin would have more success if he took every game seriously, and not just the ones against Bennett.

 

[M.B.88]

This isn't just since Ben Hunt got injured. This has been an observation since halfway through last year. No knee jerk reaction here bud.

Oh I'm sorry.. Did we have a new attacking coach and new structure last year too did we????

 

[kat00]

Hope Cartwright plays, he will single handily lose the game for them, he is woeful :biggrin:
The rest of them aren't that far behind him. Moylan can't make up hi mind if he is a 1, 6, 7 or 13.
Betcha Roberts catches him out of position when he packs in at lock :biggrin:
I suspect after this game Gus will be looking for someone to blame. :biggrin:
2 Points in the bag as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Big Pete]

I have been reading the Griffin threads on the Panthers forum on LU and it brought back unhappy memories of this place a few years ago. It was like deja vu time.

They are not playing well, it will take a substantial form reversal for them, not saying that this is not possible. We owe them for last season (twice). If we adopt the mind set that Morkel indicated (which they should be doing) and apply ourselves, don't make silly mistakes and keep the pressure on them, we should win this and win this well.

Amazing isn't it? I was interested in their perspective as well and what it boiled down to was....

- Bench management.
- Not giving young guys like Harawira-Naera and Kikau a go
- Sticking with guys like Hiku
- Not getting the best out of senior players

3 years ago we were upset with the way he was using Wallace, couldn't understand how guys like Granville, Oates or Nikorima weren't being given a go, his fascination with guys like Hoffman and how the likes of Barba, Thaiday, Hannant etc were under performing.

 

[Battler]

We're talking about a man who played Hoffman at six... for pretty much the entire season. Hook is the worst, most clueless coach I've witnessed. It's not hyperbole when I say that I'd trust anyone on here over him as head coach for the Broncos.

 

[Thelmus]

Hope Cartwright plays, he will single handily lose the game for them, he is woeful :biggrin:
The rest of them aren't that far behind him. Moylan can't make up hi mind if he is a 1, 6, 7 or 13.
Betcha Roberts catches him out of position when he packs in at lock :biggrin:
I suspect after this game Gus will be looking for someone to blame. :biggrin:
2 Points in the bag as far as I'm concerned.

Careful, its always posts like that, which are quoted back with a i-told-you-so comment, but I hope you are right. I think we need to take morkel's advice and give the refs as little influence as possible on the contest. Play it up their end, defend well, stop the offloads, and pounce on the inevitable mistake. Our opponents offloading and second-phase got them in the match last week and its something we need to address. Still if earn our right to attack their line first, and then attack, we should be fine. That means grinding them down physically with repeat sets and early kicks to trap them deep, BUT ONLY, if we are fresher than them, Otherwise its 5 tackles and good simple touch finders until we recover, but always keep it down their end or we'll definitely be seeing some refereeing square ups.

 

[mrslong]

Amazing isn't it? I was interested in their perspective as well and what it boiled down to was....

- Bench management.
- Not giving young guys like Harawira-Naera and Kikau a go
- Sticking with guys like Hiku
- Not getting the best out of senior players

3 years ago we were upset with the way he was using Wallace, couldn't understand how guys like Granville, Oates or Nikorima weren't being given a go, his fascination with guys like Hoffman and how the likes of Barba, Thaiday, Hannant etc were under performing.

I remember every week blowing up about his bench management, it did my head in. He set us up to lose every freaking week - remember him taking macca off until 5 minutes to go or something stupid like that. Unfortunately this year we seem to be doing the same, but I don't think it's our bench management but the team on the field clocking off.

If we wrap up the offloads, play safe footy getting out of our end and don't stop attacking Cartwright we should win.

 

[tommy]

He used to take Parker off around the 20min mark and bring him back on 5-10 minutes later.