Hi guys, I've had some time to digest that one and am on the up. I've watched the first half again and just want to break down some areas of concern, some trends, bad habits etc.
Firstly we have to acknowledge Cronulla. They had a clear game plan which was to attack the edges.
Shaun Johnson and Asi went through a mountain load of tackles. They specifically attacked the edges because they saw a weakness there. The middles would only get tackles once the edges were hit causing a quick PTB and the dissecting the ruck. All of this generated extremely quick PTB plus their speed running on to the ball they were chewing through our defence and I believe having the 12 men didnt change their mindset, they saw the weakness we had and continued to exploit it with no remorse.
They have a expansive attack, They were able to spread to the edges early in the tackle count, they had nice short side raids, they could go side to side, a great ruck attack. There hooker seems to make the right play everytime. They always have shape, purpose and an end to what they are trying to achieve, there were no wasted tackles.
On defence they were dominant in the tackle and compressed their line getting an easy 3-4 in, they pushed the limits of holding the ball players arm and ball, they mustve recognised this ref wouldnt call many penalties because all of our ptb were extremely slow but i'll give them the benefit due to being at home and the more agressive team.
The sad news is we are struggling to generate any go forward or quick ptbs. Lodge was the only one bending the line and creating positive runs. Adin was average. Our backrowers are weak in their carries and get turned over easily. The outside backs are just as bad on returns, they have no ability to bend the line. This coincides with the fact our sets are extremely basic and predictable. It is one out with the telegraphed side to where the ball is going. This team cant create other ways of getting fast ptb, its concerning that we are very predictable and lack any kind of misdirection or decoy. We cant get a roll on atm.
Atm the offence revolves around what
Shaun Johnson chooses to do with the ball. He is utterly spent creatively as a player these days. His persistence to drop
katoa underneath irks me and his constant playing the flat pass to our backrowers who cannot break the line tells me hes going through the motions out there. I dont think anyone really knows what he is doing out there, early on he kicked in goal for a repeat set but it wasn't designed it was off the cuff because Asi was previously tackled. The dude is improvising and it makes for an ugly attack that no one can make sense of. Alot of it has to do with him no longer wanting to engage the line and be tackled. He isnt asking questions anymore of the defence and hence theres never any space on his outsides. This is alarming and potentially hazardous if he continues down this path, he could end up having a very negative impact on this team moving forward.
We have a propensity to screw up a play thats shaping up well.
Egan is so random at times i dont think he has a good feel for the game and alot of the time makes the wrong read. I feel for walsh he isnt getting enough touches due to guys choosing to go solo instead of following through with the play.
Defensively our edges are shot, we need some stability there with
Tohu Harris coming back. I felt
Jazz's defence was weak, i havent seen him do much at lock, i feel he is more impact player these days, I think
curran keeps his spot at lock. We cant control the ruck atm. We are always falling on players and cant get our hands on the ball. There are some real issues there that hopefully with the return of some players can help that.
Overall i think we are truely a bottom 8 team. Theres too many issues right now that arent being resolved that I have us trending down atm. The attack is so ineffective and lacks creativity or any threat while our defence is barely surviving and the edges are shot with poor centres and weak defenders in the halves. I dont expect to see any changes unless the coaches and leadership group can turn this around. I just cant see it.