NEWS The alarming decline of Milford's biggest weapon

[BroncsFan]

Do we know that milf's running game has "deteriorated" or has it been curtailed by the game plan??

Milf's running game relies on being close to the ball and playing off the back of second phase play... the current game plan was conservative with instructions to put away the offload so no second phase available to him.

We also played with split halves who appeared to always be standing at second receiver... difficult to exploit the ruck when you are receiving the ball from middle forwards two passes wide.

I would absolutely love to see milf and kodi playing first receiver on either side of the ruck. There are so many times when Macca attempts to run out of dummy half but he is a lone hand with nowhere near enough pace to exploit it and inevitably gets tackled meekly.

Imagine milf and kodi standing either side of macca through the ruck when a quick play the ball occurs.

Both halves also have the speed to switch to either side of the ruck when they want both halves linking up on sweeps, etc.

The whole offensive game plan needs an overhaul.

 

[Dee]

Do we know that milf's running game has "deteriorated" or has it been curtailed by the game plan??

Milf's running game relies on being close to the ball and playing off the back of second phase play... the current game plan was conservative with instructions to put away the offload so no second phase available to him.

We also played with split halves who appeared to always be standing at second receiver... difficult to exploit the ruck when you are receiving the ball from middle forwards two passes wide.

I would absolutely love to see milf and kodi playing first receiver on either side of the ruck. There are so many times when Macca attempts to run out of dummy half but he is a lone hand with nowhere near enough pace to exploit it and inevitably gets tackled meekly.

Imagine milf and kodi standing either side of macca through the ruck when a quick play the ball occurs.

Both halves also have the speed to switch to either side of the ruck when they want both halves linking up on sweeps, etc.

The whole offensive game plan needs an overhaul.

Trust me, our offense is fine. It's our defence that needs some serious work and I don't necessarily mean tackle technique or positioning, although these things can be better as well.

What we need as a squad is an attitude adjustment. They need to WANT to defend exceptionally well. Look at the Roosters, their entire philosophy and game plan is all about defence. We need that. I'm not worried about scoring points as we have a few attacking weapons who can break the game wide open for us. I believe if we suffocate and frustrate teams out of games with brick wall defense, then the attack will come naturally off the back of the oppositions frustration, they will give up and we'll get them.

 

[Sirlee oldman]

Or we could be cunning and improve both our defence and attack!

 

[BroncsFan]

Trust me, our offense is fine. It's our defence that needs some serious work and I don't necessarily mean tackle technique or positioning, although these things can be better as well.

What we need as a squad is an attitude adjustment. They need to WANT to defend exceptionally well. Look at the Roosters, their entire philosophy and game plan is all about defence. We need that. I'm not worried about scoring points as we have a few attacking weapons who can break the game wide open for us. I believe if we suffocate and frustrate teams out of games with brick wall defense, then the attack will come naturally off the back of the oppositions frustration, they will give up and we'll get them.

I was attempting to indicate how the current offense isn't really geared towards Milf or Kodi, and how that gives the impression that Milf's running game has declined.

I think a change in offensive tactics would ease the pressure on Milf and Kodi and would help them in the future and also allows them to go cruise control for the easier games.

At present they are having to rely on winning games in a structure that forces them to work against their natural tendencies. Gearing it back towards their natural running games would make them more comfortable with executing a game plan and should improve results against lesser teams.

How many times were we saying they should blow this team out only to see them struggle. Having to score points in a fashion that's not suited to them creates pressure on them if that style of play isn't working on the day. It then becomes hard for them to recognize what the issue is, why it's not working and how to fix it on the field, because it's not their normal game

To me it's why we looked stale in attack, we seemingly implemented the same game plan for every match with mixed results and the halves weren't capable of fixing the plan on the run when it wasn't working so they just kept going with it until the clock ran out or until the game was too far gone.

 

[Broncapz]

Giving TPJ and Lodge a license to offload is going to really allow Niko and Milf to shine. Milf is building a skill set that will last him long into his career, where running games tend to fall away later on.

 

[john1420]

Do we know that milf's running game has "deteriorated" or has it been curtailed by the game plan??

Milf's running game relies on being close to the ball and playing off the back of second phase play... the current game plan was conservative with instructions to put away the offload so no second phase available to him.

We also played with split halves who appeared to always be standing at second receiver... difficult to exploit the ruck when you are receiving the ball from middle forwards two passes wide.

I would absolutely love to see milf and kodi playing first receiver on either side of the ruck. There are so many times when Macca attempts to run out of dummy half but he is a lone hand with nowhere near enough pace to exploit it and inevitably gets tackled meekly.

Imagine milf and kodi standing either side of macca through the ruck when a quick play the ball occurs.

Both halves also have the speed to switch to either side of the ruck when they want both halves linking up on sweeps, etc.

The whole offensive game plan needs an overhaul.

Hopefully this is something AS will bring

 

[Dexter]

He hasn't lost his running game just put it away as he improved in the other areas he needed to.
We will see him on an upward plane from next year as his kicking/game management becomes second nature.

 

[Eta Carinae]

First it was, "Milford needs to be the chief playmaker and work on his game management if he's on a Mil a year, plus his kicking game is shite"
Now its
"why is he becoming an organiser and kicker when he was better at running"

Can't win with you lot

When he is on the money he is indeed on, he should be whatever the team needs hm to be. Right now, I think the team needs a good organizer who can set up the plays so the outside backs and/or edge forwards can run riot. Problem is, he is very poor when it comes playmaking and organizing. His kicking isn't 'bad' but bad for a marquee 5/8. Maybe his running game has already passed it's prime. IMO he needs to lose a few kgs.

Bottom line is, as a 5/8 he may be overrated. If he continues to fizzle early next season, I wonder if Seibold would be open to trying a swap between him and Boyd or simply drop Boyd.

 

[Thelmus]

He hasn't lost his running game just put it away as he improved in the other areas he needed to.
We will see him on an upward plane from next year as his kicking/game management becomes second nature.

I think a lot of people have forgotten how contentious lockyer's move to 5/8 was. Milford is a different player but it is still relevant with regard to his role.
He has had to learn a whole new set of skills but he has pretty much got the kicking down pat and whilst his passing still needs work, experience and training will get him there.
These are the progression of skills that were always necessary for his long term survival in the game, and his success in acquiring them is admirable. We still need knik to step up with long kicking game but at least it is no longer the Achilles heal it was in our attack.
I hope bird shares some kicking as well. If he does it will take more pressure off our halves and give even more options in attack. I think he is capable provided he is fit.

 

[M.B.88]

I think a lot of people have forgotten how contentious lockyer's move to 5/8 was. Milford is a different player but it is still relevant with regard to his role.
He has had to learn a whole new set of skills but he has pretty much got the kicking down pat and whilst his passing still needs work, experience and training will get him there.
These are the progression of skills that were always necessary for his long term survival in the game, and his success in acquiring them is admirable. We still need knik to step up with long kicking game but at least it is no longer the Achilles heal it was in our attack.
I hope bird shares some kicking as well. If he does it will take more pressure off our halves and give even more options in attack. I think he is capable provided he is fit.

Milford was a 7 in junior grades

 

[GCBRONCO]

Lockyer was originally a 5/8th when he came into first grade at the Broncos in 1995(same year as Webcke made his debut) who was developed into a fullback because the Broncos already had Walters and Langer in the halves. Unlike Milford He already had the skills necessary to be a successful playmaking(alongside his superb running game) 5/8th(interesting thing to consider is how close Langer went to leaving the Broncos to head to the Adelaide Rams in 1997, had that happen you probably would have seen Lockyer @ 5/8th and Walters at halfback). Going back to 5/8th later in his career was a natural path for him after Walters and Langer moved on in the end despite those who thought he couldn't handle the transition it wasn't a question of if Lockyer could handle the transition back to 5/8th, it was more a matter of time and he proved that.

 

[Kimlo]

I actually don't care about running game that much honestly. There's a million young kids who can come in and be dangerous runners. His kicking game and management improved significantly last year, that's a much harder quality to find.

It's also not like you lose that natural talent, we still see glimpses of it and he's still young. His running game isn't going to disappear, he is still a threat as a runner and opposition teams know that.

 

[Dexter]

I actually don't care about running game that much honestly. There's a million young kids who can come in and be dangerous runners. His kicking game and management improved significantly last year, that's a much harder quality to find.

It's also not like you lose that natural talent, we still see glimpses of it and he's still young. His running game isn't going to disappear, he is still a threat as a runner and opposition teams know that.

One thing not mentioned is his fitness. If he can get himself fit like Lockyer we will see him pick teams off in the last 15 like DL used to do.

 

[Gaz]

One thing not mentioned is his fitness. If he can get himself fit like Lockyer we will see him pick teams off in the last 15 like DL used to do.

If only he could kick to the corners like DL used to.

 

[broncos4life]

If only he could kick to the corners like DL used to.

He did that many times as the season progressed this year.

 

[Gaz]

He did that many times as the season progressed this year.

He improved, but to say he kicked like Darren Lockyer is a bit odd.

 

[Morepudding]

When people say on $1m a year he needs to do more, that's just not the halves market at the moment. Turds like Moses and Norman are on 900k a season. Milford is a lot better than either of them, and a lot better than the $1.2m Ben hunt.

 

[Big Pete]

He improved, but to say he kicked like Darren Lockyer is a bit odd.

Round 23, 2018.

Broncos-Souths 18 all.

56 minutes gone.

Souths with all the momentum when Brisbane work their way into decent field position. On the 4th tackle, Milford kicks early down the left corner, allowing Pangai Jr to tackle Gagai over the dead-ball line.

Next set Kahu scores and Brisbane go onto win 38-18.

A match winning play from Milford that had all the hallmarks of Lockyer circa 2006.