Round 9 - Cowboys v Broncos - Post-Match Discussion

[Alec]

It's really so so simple. If you don't control the middle, you lose most of the time.

After last night, I'd rather Scott than Milford any day.

Except for Hannant and Parker, quite honestly, our front rowers are powder puffs. McGuire is a journeyman and a good workhorse, Wallace shows promise, but all in all, last night, against a quality front row, we just couldn't cut it.

Our backs for mine will come good as the combinations settle and Hook manages to get the timing and execution of the plays right, even with Hoffman at 5/8 and, provided Barba keeps evolving as our 2nd play maker, but, unless we control the middle (we will NEVER dominate it against the best packs), our backs will never have the platform to shine.

Without Hannant we are 2nd rate. As for Thaiday, his early form was good. Hope to have that energy back. He can make a difference when he plays with maximum energy and enthusiasm.

I think McGuire is starting to evolve past that, he actually does have punch in his runs this year. You still really want that type of front rower that can make some big runs off the bench though, but I don't think it's Wallace.

 

[loc]

Barba has to go into the halves next week. You can see he'd make a decent half once Jack Reed is either sent to Queensland Cup or taught how to ground a ball.

 

[rnabokov]

I think McGuire is starting to evolve past that, he actually does have punch in his runs this year. You still really want that type of front rower that can make some big runs off the bench though, but I don't think it's Wallace.

I agree with McGuire's energy and determination. I also agree that he is a great asset to this side. I just want to see him seriously bend the line and make line breaks, or at least bend the line and off load.

I am a fan of Wallace, however,it is early days and I am just hoping he develops his power into a weapon.

 

[heartly87]

McGuire is a fine Front rower in a somewhat mixed traditional and non-traditional form and an asset to our team non the less, but to really shine he needs a partner that is the pure front rower for example Scott or dare I say or HANNANT. Wallace could be this man maybe, his stats are still somewhat poor. I think he has a good tackle technique but must improve his decision, he has heart though as there was a few moments when his involvement forced an error by him making a solid effort in D. I truly think the coach should bring out some archive footage for his forwards, show the tapes of Laz, webke, tallis, carrol, petro, thorn and even webb another under achiever who at least did more good with his size and talent then bad. Get them fired up, show them what it means to be a rampaging Bronco who holds the northern wall with pride.

 

[broncos4life]

That's the look of a captain who's preparing to overthrow the coach IMO.

Please let it be. I don't think I can respect hodgo more but that would do it

 

[broncos4life]

It's really so so simple. If you don't control the middle, you lose most of the time.

After last night, I'd rather Scott than Milford any day.

Except for Hannant and Parker, quite honestly, our front rowers are powder puffs. McGuire is a journeyman and a good workhorse, Wallace shows promise, but all in all, last night, against a quality front row, we just couldn't cut it.

Our backs for mine will come good as the combinations settle and Hook manages to get the timing and execution of the plays right, even with Hoffman at 5/8 and, provided Barba keeps evolving as our 2nd play maker, but, unless we control the middle (we will NEVER dominate it against the best packs), our backs will never have the platform to shine.

Without Hannant we are 2nd rate. As for Thaiday, his early form was good. Hope to have that energy back. He can make a difference when he plays with maximum energy and enthusiasm.

How is McGuire a journeyman?

 

[rnabokov]

McGuire is a fine Front rower in a somewhat mixed traditional and non-traditional form and an asset to our team non the less, but to really shine he needs a partner that is the pure front rower for example Scott or dare I say or HANNANT. Wallace could be this man maybe, his stats are still somewhat poor. I think he has a good tackle technique but must improve his decision, he has heart though as there was a few moments when his involvement forced an error by him making a solid effort in D. I truly think the coach should bring out some archive footage for his forwards, show the tapes of Laz, webke, tallis, carrol, petro, thorn and even webb another under achiever who at least did more good with his size and talent then bad. Get them fired up, show them what it means to be a rampaging Bronco who holds the northern wall with pride.

I don't think Hook has it in him atm at least, to know how to bring out the best in his players, unlike Bennett.

As for holding the northern wall, the polar bear would be a help to get rid of the wildlings

 

[rnabokov]

How is McGuire a journeyman?

He does his job well insofar as he runs hard and defends pretty well. He is an asset to the side, and would be too any side for that role.

The rest I've said.

 

[CaptainHook]

Now i turn on the tv because I have to, hope we win knowing we probably won't, feel sad for the guys that are trying their guts out but constantly being let down by the coach and other players and have a massive since of relief at full time because my duty is done.

**** you griffin for what you have done. I honestly could not hate you more.

Strong post, b4l. I don't really disagree but it was only after the Souths game you were saying guys like me should be on suicide watch for posting stuff like that.

 

[ozzball]

I well remember those heady days of yore when I'd flick the top off a stubbie, open a jumbo pack of Samboys and settle back in the lay-z-boy at the start of the game to watch Langer ... the Walters boys ... the Pearl etc etc run rings around some hapless bunch of idiots with consummate ease. It wasn't a case of would we win ... it was a case of by how many !!! .. These days I empty the jumbo chip packet as quickly as possible so I can pull the bugger over my head to avoid watching ... and the beer is there just to dull the pain.

 

[uptheguts]

How slow was Reed when he took the intercept ? I think he is slower then ever this year . His legs look kind of fat like he has been doing too much weight training and he has lost whatever moderate pace pace he had. He does not just need some time in Q cup , he needs to find a permanent home there ( if he can).

Hoffman did pass more but with no real skill and he still hogged the ball at crucial stages eg two man overlap on the cows line he of course steps of his left and cuts back in and of course is tackled fairly easily. That really pissed me off and set the tone for the rest of the game.

I have lost a lot of confidence in Coreys goal kicking. We can not hope to win close games with that quality of goal kicking.

As for dropping Hannant who was right in origin contention for no good reason , well that was just vindictive to the detriment of the team and totally dismissive of the support that Ben has among the supporters. That alone has me finally agreeing to the calls to end this nightmare and sack the coach.

If you think we are going ordinary now , wait for origin time.

 

[GCBRONCO]

griffin should have a stint in the qld cup. when players don't perform they get dropped. what about the coach? our bench is so poorly utilized

Which Qld Cup side do you break the news to that suffers this fate?

 

[broncos4life]

Which Qld Cup side do you break the news to that suffers this fate?

Sunshine Coast falcons. It will be history repeating itself

 

[GCBRONCO]

Sunshine Coast falcons. It will be history repeating itself

Henjak will be thrilled.

 

[Oztintin]

Barba is being made to play a completely different style here, he will take time to perfect it but is improving every game. You want to drop him and remove the only playmaker we have besides hunt? Also the sort of biscuit he takes home is fairly minimal seeing he is on the low wage he was on at the bulldogs for the next two years

I agree with you, it will take time for Barba to adjust to the type of football that Griffin has the team playing (bland) but I don't see the teams current style as complex, so how long should he be given?. They certainly aren't playing as a well oiled machine, most of the attack this year has been from individual touches of brilliance, not too many set moves or play.Arguably this has a lot to do with the ball being killed by the 5/8. Barba has been given a free roaming roll by Griffin to inject himself when he wants, this is no different to Haslers tactics. Barba is capable of a whole lot more, he is being found out positionally week in week out, he's lost his confidence with the high ball and his errors are frequent and uncharacteristic.

Now we are talking about a player whom is tauted as a origin player and a former Dally M player of the year. These type of players shouldn't need time to "perfect" their game, you don't get a chance to do this if selected for Qld or Australia. Great players perform regardless of the team. As for the money that he is on, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it in the order of 350k +/- endorsements, I'd hardly call this chicken feed.

 

[Brett]

I well remember those heady days of yore when I'd flick the top off a stubbie, open a jumbo pack of Samboys and settle back in the lay-z-boy at the start of the game to watch Langer ... the Walters boys ... the Pearl etc etc run rings around some hapless bunch of idiots with consummate ease. It wasn't a case of would we win ... it was a case of by how many !!! .. These days I empty the jumbo chip packet as quickly as possible so I can pull the bugger over my head to avoid watching ... and the beer is there just to dull the pain.

I loved this post. I still remember watching the '92 Grand Final with my Dad. We were unstoppable in those days.

 

[rnabokov]

I watched this again. I watched Scott in particular rip us to shreds.

I watched us v Souths. I watched Burgess and Inglis trample us.

Up the middle. Always up the middle. We are so soft in the middle.

At the same time, I look at the scores the teams who just beat us put on others. For mine, on this analysis, we are very very competitive against anyone.

Seems to to me pretty obvious where our real weakness lies. Not the only one, but the key one, defence and attack - controlling the middle.

When we spread the ball, we trouble every team ... until crunch time comes and we have to control the middle, and the edges on a few occasions, especially in the last 5-10 minutes.

So Hook drops Hannant. Good move, yeah.

For mine, our real problem is not ⅝ but our forward pack. I said it before and I'll say it again: in the middle, against teams with strong packs, we are powder puffs and that is where we will lose all the games we end up losing.

Milford? Nah. He's not gonna do anything behind the pack and bench Hook puts (and doesn't put) on.

 

[LittleDavey]

Absolutely [MENTION=1847]rnabokov[/MENTION], and it's been a problem for a while. We never recovered from losing Locky, sure - not from losing Webcke, Tunza, Civo etc either. It's been a while now since we've had good, big, big men. McGuire, I love him, he's got the right attitude and work ethic but he doesn't have the size to match it with the big props. Parker/Thaiday are not props and should never be played there. Ever. Kennedy - he's playing like he's 100kg, where's the aggression?? The younger guys are still developing and are a long way off starting, but I like the look of Wallace; Hala if he can stay fit should be a great impact bench player; and by all reports some of the younger guys (Molo etc) are coming along real well - but they're still a way off I believe.

Against a lot of packs we can be competitive with the right mindset and attitude. But against the better-quality ones (eg. Cowboys, Souffs) we don't stand a chance, as seen over the past few weeks.