POST GAME Round 9 - Sharks vs Broncos

[Mr Fourex]

I have to agree, I think to some extent Huge, Bull Shark, Rnka and myself were doing exactly this. And I made the same point as BP in my earlier post that until our halves show that they have the capacity to stay cool when the heat is on, take the right options and close games out, we are not a legitimate premiership hope. Hunt's form in particular is worrying.

We're not a legitimate hope......? Really?


Which team/s are a legitimate hope?
>insert NQ's fan boys<
Why? Because they have JT .....Morgan.....Coote ? Yet they have lost just as many games as Brisbane......Eels and the Sharks. So what does this prove....?

......proves just as with any other team (yes, even the mighty Cowboys) that if you don't show up to play, you're going to get beaten and it won't matter who is in the side.

To put things into perspective and not make reactionary statements based on a singular loss or victory. If we're at our best and the Cowboys are at their best.....the NRL in 2016 is pretty much a two horse race and we're one of them. I'd say that pretty much makes us a "legitimate hope"......

Hunt's form in particular is worrying.

Agreed ......still though, I don't believe he has become completely devoid of all footballing skill. His confidence is down....things he's trying, just aren't working. It's going to click......I just can't see him being down at this level all year.

 

[Fernando]

Might be a bit simplistic here but we played like shit and got beaten.

Very frustrating, we could have put a gap in the chasing teams. Now we go into the origin period neck and neck with 3 other sides.

 

[Fernando]

I have to agree, I think to some extent Huge, Bull Shark, Rnka and myself were doing exactly this. And I made the same point as BP in my earlier post that until our halves show that they have the capacity to stay cool when the heat is on, take the right options and close games out, we are not a legitimate premiership hope. Hunt's form in particular is worrying.

Agree with this. Hunt can pull off some incredible plays but until we win a comp with him at halfback I won't be convinced. Harsh I know but that's the way it is.

His kicking game was really poor today. Again. People expecting it to improve suddenly are really optimistic lol

 

[K-Style]

Bennett has made big improvements since he arrived but I dont understand why Parker is still kicking.
Kahu's sideline percentages arent much better but i dont think Parkers percenatge from the sideline must be worse than ever this year.
Niko is leading the kicking challenge so id be interested to see him have a crack when he is on.

@BB. Dont be rude to your Mum.

 

[Porthoz]

You have completely missed the point anyway but I'm sure you've done it intentionally. Every single week Reed and Kahu play different positions and every single week they are compared and one is considered better than the other based on that particular game or any other time they've played together. Only one of them avoids criticism when he has a shit game (and he's had a few this year) whilst the other one can't make an error without having ten posts saying he's not first grade material. I can tell you one thing, Reed has had more good games at centre than Kahu has. Or are we only considering their first 8 games in the position?

Oh look, Kahu fumbled a ball after a shit bounce... let's bring our "Reed is better than Kahu" agenda out! :laugh:

Anyway, back to the game, I think what we missed most, was Macca's composure. Our halves can't direct a **** in a brothel without him!
The amount of bad decisions when we needed to apply pressure, was far too high, and this is not the first time we've seen it happen. In fact, we don't seem to be able to do better against the really good opponents, and only sheer individual brilliance saves our hide.

Of course, Macca and Blair's ruck work was also dearly missed today, and it broke our defensive structure, especially our right side, which saw Gillett often come to aid the middle defense at the cost of our right side solidity, and the Sharks were smart enough to take advantage of it. With Wallace, and especially Offa in the team, we were able to shore the middle up, which meant our second rowers didn't need to come in as much, resulting in a much more solid display.

Waddell can get a second shot, but he was as bad as most feared unfortunately. I'll accept the lack of routine and players standing too shallow excuse once, but not again. I hope we draw plenty of lessons from today's first half, but still, plenty of credit and merit in the way we fought back in the second half. We had Gallen and consorts on the ropes and shitting their pants, but couldn't manage to bring it home.

Please Wayne, stop being stubborn and give Kahu the Goal Kicker gig!

 

[Cult]

Can you help me out, I'm having trouble figuring out which agenda this is, is it that Reed is underrated and actually a highly valuable member of the team, or is it that Kahu is overrated.. or is it that Reed is bad but Kahu isn't the long-term answer.. Or potentially all of the above.

Mostly just the hypocrisy of BHQ and how they're constantly willing to look past the good things players do and claim they don't count if they've already got an opinion on them. Reed was better than Kahu today but next time Reed is shit and Kahu is ok, we won't remember today and for some ridiculous reason we won't be able to use today as an example.

 

[Cult]

Oh look, Kahu fumbled a ball after a shit bounce... let's bring our "Reed is better than Kahu" agenda out! :laugh:

Anyway, back to the game, I think what we missed most, was Macca's composure. Our halves can't direct a **** in a brothel without him!
The amount of bad decisions when we needed to apply pressure, was far too high, and this is not the first time we've seen it happen. In fact, we don't seem to be able to do better against the really good opponents, and only sheer individual brilliance saves our hide.

Of course, Macca and Blair's ruck work was also dearly missed today, and it broke our defensive structure, especially our right side, which saw Gillett often come to aid the middle defense at the cost of our right side solidity, and the Sharks were smart enough to take advantage of it. With Wallace, and especially Offa in the team, we were able to shore the middle up, which meant our second rowers didn't need to come in as much, resulting in a much more solid display.

Waddell can get a second shot, but he was as bad as most feared unfortunately. I'll accept the lack of routine and players standing too shallow excuse once, but not again. I hope we draw plenty of lessons from today's first half, but still, plenty of credit and merit in the way we fought back in the second half. We had Gallen and consorts on the ropes and shitting their pants, but couldn't manage to bring it home.

Please Wayne, stop being stubborn and give Kahu the Goal Kicker gig!

You're kidding, I don't think I've ever once said Reed is a better player than Kahu. What I have said is the one sided arguments are bullshit because the examples we use are treated like they don't count because of some stupid reason.

 

[Alec]

Forgot to add. A couple of Boyd's "attempts" at defending kicks were fucking embarassing. Pretty sure they scored at least two tries by someone getting the ball from a kick straight in front of him. Wish he'd pass more too, especially on the right side.

 

[Porthoz]

You're kidding, I don't think I've ever once said Reed is a better player than Kahu. What I have said is the one sided arguments are bullshit because the examples we use are treated like they don't count because of some stupid reason.

Maybe you haven't said it in so many words, but the gist of your posts definitely points in that direction.

Reed is the best we can do at the moment at centre, and I will never criticise the ranga for his work ethic and attitude. Unfortunately, I could say the same about Luke Covell's stint at the Sharks...
Nevertheless, despite the discrepancy in talent and ability, I would have Reed ahead of someone like Hurrell for example. Simply because you can only rely on one of those two to do their best game after game!

 

[Mr Fourex]

Most of the backs had off days ('cept Roberts, maybe Oates)......Boyd had been pretty near back to his 2010 Dragons form.

Not convinced we missed McCullough in attack....defence sure. I think missing Blair hurt most overall.

 

[Super Freak]

A first-half ambush has propelled the Sharks to their sixth win a row to join three other teams at the top of the NRL Telstra Premiership. The Broncos fought back valiantly after the break but ended up falling just short, going down 30-28.

Sharks make it six straight to go top of the table

Cronulla's thrilling two-point win was enough to send them to the top of the NRL Telstra Premiership alongside the Broncos, Storm and Cowboys.

The win was their sixth in a row and coach Shane Flanagan said the 7-2 start to the season was something he couldn't have even imagined.

"I couldn't be happier to tell you the truth," an ecstatic Flanagan said after the game.

"Going into the rep weekend where we're at, if someone said at the start of the year we'd be in this position then I would have taken it. I'm really proud of the effort the guys have put in. We're in a really good place but there's still a lot of work to be done."

After earning a reputation as a team known purely for their physicality, the Sharks' biggest difference in 2016 according to skipper Paul Gallen was the flair that had crept into the side thanks to players like Ben Barba, Valentine Holmes and Jack Bird.

"We've got some young, enthusiastic boys out there who can come up with some freaky plays," Gallen said.

"We've got a good balance at the moment but as I've said we haven't really done anything yet."

Broncos undone by shocking first half

The Broncos went into Sunday's clash with the best defence in the NRL, but left Southern Cross Group Stadium after their worst showing of the season.

The 2015 grand finalists had only conceded eight points in their past three games, and hadn't allowed more than 23 in any game in 2016, but that all changed as the Sharks ran in 28 points before the half-time siren had even sounded.

Brisbane captain Corey Parker admitted the Broncos were so embarrassed with their performance that they couldn't even acknowledge the men sitting next to them.

"We were sitting in the sheds and to a man not many guys could look each other in the eye and that's pretty embarrassing thing for the boys," the dejected skipper said.

"We spoke about it and thought there's only one way we can get out of this and that's with the guys that are sitting here. I thought in the second half we went out there and as Wayne said we just fell short. But at least we can look each other in the eye now."

Bunker ruling almost changes the game

Ahead by two with barely two minutes left in the game, the Sharks muscled up in defence to pin their opponents deep inside their own territory.

Under pressure to score, the Broncos resorted to running it on the last but halfback Ben Hunt was subsequently smashed by Jayson Bukuya in what appeared to be a classic big hit.

However, the bunker controversially intervened, ruling Bukuya had in fact felled the star Bronco with a shoulder charge.

The ruling ultimately had no bearing on the game, but if it did, Flanagan admitted he might have been forced to cough up a few dollars.

"I saw Todd (NRL CEO Todd Greenberg) up there so I'm not giving him any money," he joked.

"I thought it was a great tackle at the time, but as I said we'll have a look at it on Monday and dissect it from there. I need to slow it down and have a look at it but for me it was a great shot from Jayson Bukuya and I think most of the fans thought it was a great shot as well."

Everyone loves their Sunday afternoon footy...except Brisbane

It's not often you see the Broncos play during the day - in fact Sunday's fixture was their first afternoon game since Round 19 last year – and it seems the earlier kick-off time seemed to have an effect on the team.

Brisbane never got out of first gear and were seemingly ambushed by a team that appeared hungrier in every facet of the game.

Down 28-6 at the break, the table-topping Broncos suddenly sparked back into life; and it probably coincided with the going down of the sun.

The visitors ran in four unanswered tries to set up a grandstand finish but couldn't manage to complete the miracle comeback.

They have one more afternoon game in Round 13 against the Warriors, but that shapes as their only remaining fixture that won't be played under lights.

Sharks shut down Milford

He might be one of the hottest players running around in 2016 but Broncos five-eighth Anthony Milford was a marked man on Sunday afternoon.

Milford was limited to just 83 metres – well below his season average – while missing two tackles and coming up with a couple of errors in his least impressive showing of 2016.

Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said his star No.6 should expect similar attention as the season rolls on.

"He got the same last week against South Sydney so he's just going to have to get used to it," the master coach said.

"He's a talented player and everybody knows that. He'll come through this little period he's in. It's just testament to the fact of how good he is."

Sharks coach Shane Flanagan was happy with the way his side handled the game's most electric playmaker.

"He caused us a bit of danger there a few times where he poked his nose through a few times," Flanagan said.

"He's a quality player and obviously sitting here yesterday doing our preview and so on we knew what sort of player he was.

"Credit to the team they defended him really well. He got some bumps and bruises early on when we ran into him but he'll bounce back because he's a quality player."

Sharks v Broncos: Five key points - NRL.com

 

[Super Freak]

Was Parker purposely ignoring the players in that first half? It looked like he was.

I saw a a few times there, he would just be standing off to the side, not saying a word to the boys.

Is that really what we want from our captain?

 

[rnabokov]

I'm glad we lost this game early in the season against a quality, well coached side who stuck to a plan and executed it well. It exposed our weaknesses and showed exactly what needs to be done to turn them into strengths. We are fortunate to have a coach who can build on that, and to an extent, our 2nd half performance showed that.

From SF's post above:

"Brisbane captain Corey Parker admitted the Broncos were so embarrassed with their performance that they couldn't even acknowledge the men sitting next to them.

"We were sitting in the sheds and to a man not many guys could look each other in the eye and that's pretty embarrassing thing for the boys," the dejected skipper said.

"We spoke about it and thought there's only one way we can get out of this and that's with the guys that are sitting here. I thought in the second half we went out there and as Wayne said we just fell short. But at least we can look each other in the eye now."

I'll never forget the steely resolve in Parker's eyes as he walked back after scoring his try. This gives me as much hope for this season as if we had won.

 

[bb_gun]

@BB. Dont be rude to your Mum.

My bad, I probably should have added a little winking face emoji after that comment so it was clear I was joking.

She's still a god damn bitch for spoiling the result though ;)

 

[Super Freak]

I've noticed people complaining about the Roberts try.

Not sure what the complaint is about. Ennis initiates the contact with Joe and the ball is caught on the outside shoulder.

That's not an obstruction. Even under the black and white interpretation.

Pretty simple really.

 

[Ironbroncos]

I'll never forget the steely resolve in Parker's eyes as he walked back after scoring his try.

yep that was a great shot of him walking back after scoring; you could just see it in his eyes he was fired up :mad2:

 

[Stix]

Lot of razzed dazzle from the Sharkies, most of their try's were from 50/50 kind of passes and could of quite easily gone against them. When it's your day, those passes stick and you can do no wrong. Our first half was much like the second half in the Panthers game being unable to stop the second phase play and allowimg ourselves to get frustrated with the lack of possession, they just smothered us and the flood gates opened... But to do what they did in the second half shows what kind of side they are. Think the Sharks are playing at their best and we played like arse and still only lost by 2 points... I'm happy.

 

[Dash]

Credit to the sharks, they played exactly how you want to play against the Broncos. They didn't let us 'rope-a-dope' in defence, by regularly offloading and shifting wide early in the game. Hunt loves to punish teams who charge at him on the 5th, but you could see them start to charge then back off, ready for him to run. They were all over Milford, who's just a kid still and prone to bad choices when forced to play outside of instinct.

On our end, our biggest problem was slow ruck speed. Our forwards were being met behind the play the ball nearly every tackle. Prior must have been offside about 1000 times, but we're never going to get the penalties so we have to work on that. The halves needed to take over and shift the ball wide every now and then to keep the sharks on their heels (this is where we missed Blair's ball playing). 5 hit ups one off the ruck will get you nowhere when being swarmed like that.

It was terrific to see the effort in the second half. We went from playing at 2/10 to 6/10 and still nearly ran down a 22 point deficit. Get it to 10/10 and not even the cowboys can stop us.