Post Match Warriors v Titans - [Round 21, 2025]

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Realistic scenario is we don’t win a game from here & miss the 8. If we don’t change our right edge then how do we win another game? Why hasn’t the penny dropped for Webster that DWZ isn’t first grade standard - what he’s doing now he’s done his entire career, there is no fix for him. Capewell just as much to blame. If Webster picks that side again then the Dolphins put 50 on us.
 

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Completion rates, one out runs, get to the last, kick chase, repeat and rinse… it’s what I saw tonight. We don’t set the world on fire with second phase play.
Those things do not necessarily also mean less of the latter? But I'm still a bit confused on which players he's made worse once they've got into FG.
Some quick examples of players who seemed to have retained that 'spark' under Webster to go after attack (offlads, LBs, support play etc). who he has selected just this year and stuck in his 17.

1. Vaimauga never told to put away offloading. Source on why.
SJ: "I feel like you change the game with your late offloading. What's the licensing around it? What's been said? Has there been some hard words or has it been 'you knock the front door down, back the skill'?"
Vaimauga: "He's said to the group he's not gonna stop us from offloading. Like, it's got to be measured obviously... They've given me the green light."

2. Metcalf never told to kill his "non-traditional" attack style. Source on why.
Sterlo: "Webby mentioned pre-game that the attack might look very different this year. Is that just a way of keeping your running game? I imagine if you were that 7, it'd possibly go away?"
Metcalf: "I think it's grown into being a part of the role. And it's something I never want to lose."

3. Leka hasn't been told to ease back.

I just don't really get the idea that Webster is currently trying to make players play differently to how they did in NSW Cup or in other teams.
So, I'm unsure where this assumption that Webster is going to pigeon-hole Healey into as generic a hooker as possible is coming from, or the idea that he sets up players to fail or that he is hurting their development.

On the other hand, I do fully understand the outrage/criticism/exhaustion at his picks of players above some others (e.g., CNK > TT). But I don't think he's saying to TT, "You need to be more like CNK to be picked ahead of him," fucking up TT's development. It sounds more like he's saying: "We've picked CNK in the preseason, our gameplan involves a player like him, and we're going to stick to it. You need to keep being TT, you'll be second pick. Be ready to be the best TT when it's your time." Now, I think it's a totally fair debate: How many injuries/losses does it take before the coach has to change the original gameplan to let the more inexperienced (i'd somewhat argue better) players ahead of these older, broken players?
 
I think he will stick with the same team and if we get destroyed again at home he’ll ring the changes.

Though the fact he swapped CHT and TMM is a concession who can light up the attack when your 7 is a traditional robot. When all your FB does is taking 2 hit ups per set from the back and you can’t do jack when you arrive in the redzone….did I type this in 2024? 😂

Btw was TT in the team when we had a run of losses towards the end of last season?
 

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Preface what I'm saying with; I was at the game watching high and side on. Have no idea about the stats nor had multiple views. So later I'll likely double down or double back on this.

Surprised to see so many only mention attacking within the 20 and our defense on the edges. I'll need to rewatch but I honestly think we lost because we did not play our style well.

We lost the grind, plain and simple. They gained more meters per run than we did. Kicked further than we did. When they got a penalty they were more ambitious with kicks for meters instead of us. Which just resulted in them having more chance on ourside. Where it felt like we only had about 20 mins of the game in there's defensively or offensively.

It felt like a mixture of our kicks just not getting as far as they used to as the titans put immense amounts of pressure on Boyd.
Our kick chase being non existent (maybe if we booted it more to our one good edge on the left...).
And finally we had no defensive line speed. Foren had all the time in the world to do anything he wanted. They made massive meters per run compared to us.

There are only a few teams who can match the titans in speed. We are probably the worst at it. If we cannot grind them until we're on their 20 to start some attacking sets. We are not scoring. No linebreaks before then has a player (outside of Leka) who has the speed to score anymore.
So the game was over for us in the last 15 when we started trying that.

Pretty much how it looked on tele.

Our linespeed was abysmal. Their metres very noticable and also their willingness to offload. They looked remarkably like the Broncos that beat us in the 2023 semi at times.

May not have been seen live but at one point boyd received the ball and literally had no option other than a wide ball to Leka, no runners in motion, no nothing - he made the pass and threw his hands in the air in "wtf you guys doing" type motion.
 
From the Bunty Afoa fan club:

We’re getting beaten up in the forward pack. Everything flows from here. Halves struggle; DWZ gets exposed, lose the penalties and 6 again count, lose to spooners.

Bunty was a regular part of the team until round 12 and never seen again. Up to round 12 we had 3 losses total. We’ve had 3 losses in the 7 games since.

2024 Bunty regular part of team until round 12 (AGAIN) then never seen again. Prior to round 12 we had 6 losses. Rest of the season 8 more losses in the same amount of games…

2023 Bunty was a regular playing 18 games and we finished top 4.

We play better with Bunty! Bring him back and solidify the pack.
 
But I'm still a bit confused on which players he's made worse once they've got into FG.
One example of a forgotten man:

Lussick - was a key part of the 2023 success but despite getting older, more experienced and presumably better - never seen again.

Would be more suited than TMM as a utility at the moment?

TMM is a spine player who in my opinion has been serviceable but offered nothing as a utility. To small and a spine specialist.
 

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One example of a forgotten man:

Lussick - was a key part of the 2023 success but despite getting older, more experienced and presumably better - never seen again.

Would be more suited than TMM as a utility at the moment?

TMM is a spine player who in my opinion has been serviceable but offered nothing as a utility. To small and a spine specialist.
No way on Lussick. He's a below average hooker and an okay prop apparently
 

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Marata seems like he’s trying to be a wrecking ball. He runs into players full speed, does some damage but gets stopped every single time.

He needed to be run into space to pose more of a threat..
Yeah, he hardly runs at all though, our second rowers are rarely used and never given opportunities to hit holes on the edge.
 
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Foran being interviewed about the try they score off the cut out pass he through.

"I did some homework on Dallin during the week".

If he came to the conclusion he comes in and gets caught in field. His homework wouldn't have taken very long.
I think he just got back from school each night and started watching TV.

Yeah mum, I got dal this week. Should be easy!
 
Probably all been said on the thread already but can’t be bothered trolling back through all the pages.

Was at the game and obviously we came out ready to roll. I thought we would go on with it.

Their first try was just a numbers game with Egan on the deck. Taken advantage of well.

The second, which was on Dals edge was on Capewell coming flying in leaving him in no man’s land.

From there we could just get no momentum with the titans completing high, and numerous six agains and penalties, which was frustrating as hell to watch. Sutton didn’t have a great game.

We also lost out way when Fish and Clark were off at the same time.

Yes DWZ is well out of form and I’d prefer TT there at present, but Capewell wasn’t great last night. I can now see why he has the highest missed tackle count - rushes up quickly and makes contact but hardly ever seemed to stick.

Our missing troops really showed through tonight. I didn’t think Tanah was that bad, took on the line a number of times and is pretty crisp with his distribution, but we miss Metcalf’s speed and X factor for sure.

I always think a teams PD is a better indicator of where they should be on the ladder, and think 6th is deserved. Just hope the boys hang in there over the next month or so and notch up enough wins, but can also see some teams smelling blood at this point.
 

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From the Bunty Afoa fan club:

We’re getting beaten up in the forward pack. Everything flows from here. Halves struggle; DWZ gets exposed, lose the penalties and 6 again count, lose to spooners.

Bunty was a regular part of the team until round 12 and never seen again. Up to round 12 we had 3 losses total. We’ve had 3 losses in the 7 games since.

2024 Bunty regular part of team until round 12 (AGAIN) then never seen again. Prior to round 12 we had 6 losses. Rest of the season 8 more losses in the same amount of games…

2023 Bunty was a regular playing 18 games and we finished top 4.

We play better with Bunty! Bring him back and solidify the pack.
I dont think we are getting beaten up in the forward pack. We are making good yardage most of the time.
 

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I reckon we miss Rocco more than anyone else we have out. Our game plan relies on the right side kick chase and without him we give them ten extra meters every set.
Tough to ask him to seamlessly slot back in after long injury layoff but he has been apart of that right edge targeted and exploited too. We really have an issue here because titans went there each time and many teams have been over the last month or two or more. There is no cohesion between DWZ and whoever is defending inside him and that goes for multiple players used at centre on the right
 
Just an observation, often we commit 3 to a tackle and frequently are left with 1 still on the ground leaving us a defender short (take a bow Ford).

This is where the numbers are getting out when they go to our edges, add in their fullback chiming in and our edge defence is in taters.

Yes, DWZ can’t read the attack to save himself but to many times he’s marking the centre and winger as our centres struggling to mark his man.
 
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