rpfc

Well that’s not nice.

So… lots of upside?

Yes, I do sometimes stop and think about that. No team relishes playing us, and as I said in another thread last week - we should always be in games and a chance to win, even with our known forward issues.

We relied heavily on stoppage goals early, so our turnover game was not there, our press was cut through early too. Quick teams will always do well against a press. Thankfully May is a great backstop. It was hard to see on TV but we looked like we weren’t as aggressive with the high press and allowed more chains off half back - by definition it creates more spaces for forwards if you with it quick.

Are those that went to the game doing wind sprints in the aisles? Give me a break.

Ross the Boss has that team committed… what a great pressure performance from them. I think that we only won because of our efficient forward line and our desire to lower our eyes (on occasion). Ahhhh. Let’s just take the contested possession loss as an aberration. Move on. Sigh

I don’t think we are as bad as last year when it was obvious (to me at least) that we were kicking long to the near side pocket to protect our beaten up and beaten down mids and half forwards and minimise the sieve that we were for most of last year. So we are not as bad but you can’t argue our entries are anything but troublesome atm. We rarely spot up 65m out and go to 20m with a quick direct kick, we rarely hit to a lead after some forward movement and craft, and at our best we get a few transition ‘lollipop hands into the square’ goals. On the forward structure; the MC is putting its faith in the smaller and older brigade to provide that lead up and movement and I can’t blame them for moving in that route - for example, JVR was being ‘trained’ to the slow play pack form movement and it’s hard for kids to lead into spots the ball never goes… As for our defensive structure; it’s great, we can rarely turn the screws, but that’s when you need smart delivery and forward craft even more, when the ground is smaller because you made it smaller.

Great player, perfect blend of skill and hardness.

Still would take him, Dom and Jayden over Kelly…

I still have hope our best tall forward can right the ship. Although I recently rewatched mighty ducks 2 so I might be just affected by that.

Petty was coming back from injury and came back after repeated noises from Goodwin about him playing forward. Tomlinson shows a 3rd tall is still intrinsic to Lever performing well and our press clicking and then suddenly the Petty Forward Experiment is done… Adam can feel hard done by.

I think prospective members like points more than Inside 50s… #territorygame #kickitlongbutdontsingthesong

If we are relying on a stifled and poorly supplied 19 year old to kick a winning score - we are in huge trouble.

Oh, and can they just do some dusting at Marvel? It’s all coated in dust.

The MC must be really worried about their pace off HB at the Saints on that deck… Surprised at JVR but this just means I was right - he wasn’t ‘managed’ he was dropped and that is ok, he should come back in soon and be better for it. Glad Melksham gets to 100 with some semblance of form and Brown can straighten us up to some degree. He has great forward craft and leading patterns - we need to unlock it this year to win finals, especially without Fritsch.

I feel like we have done that so well that now I am pitching in the other direction - get Howes and Woey in, JVR needs to be a regular next year, Laurie needs 6 games to see if he is up to it, Turner needs opportunities etc. This is why I am comfortable with some turnover of more than just the obvious players (Harmes, Jordon etc) - we need to provide opportunities.

Jeez, I am sucker for the Father Son rule.

Isn’t this the intention when dropping promising youngsters? That they play well and get some confidence and form? JVR will have to come back as we figure out how to play without our best forward but there was nothing wrong with a 19 year old playing ‘2s’… that’s the least of querysome selection decisions of late.

The weight you give those that have coached is misplaced. The best NBA mind in the media is a bloke called Zach Lowe and he never got near being in an organisation. Also, Garry has great contacts at the club and would have quite a bit of background on how we are playing or meant to play.

Found him! But which one???

Evidently, this ‘building resilience by playing and training through niggles’ has hit its lowest point. Badly mismanaged by someone.

Without being rude, B, but how the F am I supposed to know if we will pull our collective fingers out? You don’t either, you hope we will as do I. I am trying to make the point that it is not a fait accompli that we return to the healthier movement, use of space, and delivery into the forward line that we have seen previously. ESPECIALLY, considering this was the original sin of this team in through 2020 - pumping the ball forward into nothingness. Personally, I think they need the leaders to take on the game more and take that extra half second and lower their eyes AND they may need to pair that with pulling back the press a bit to allow us to have more space to move the footy with confidence. It’s too suffocating and we have no space for structure and space to move into.

Maybe, but options who get burned tend to be shy the next time. Trust and commitment is hard won, easily forgotten, and not linear in its return.

You are alluding to the focus of the team changing slightly and that leading to higher scoring and better conversion. That may happen but I am more interested in how it would happen; players need to alter behaviour and look shorter or with hands, we need to work into space and not sit in it in the forward line, and we need to make better decisions with ball in hand. There is no switch for that. It is being predictable, trusting your teammate to do adhere to the above, and trusting yourself to take the extra second that our pressure doesn’t allow others. These are simple concepts but I have seen teams flirt with form and be unable to regain the above. So much of this game is mental and there is nothing as simple as a switch when it comes to the collective mind of a footy team.