Horriors2014
The article about the Warriors going backwards under Cappy hit the nail on the head. We can talk about a long term plan raising the standard. I certainly advocated that at the beginning of the season. But have we raised the standard? Results are not showing. Are there other indications? Let's look at each player individually:
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck-injured, so can't say. Took a while to get going, but when he did his stats were high.
Manu-Lots of injury but did not bounce back as well as he has in the past. Positives starting to get outweighed by negatives. Scored less than 10 tries for the first time this year.
Kata-high try-scorer. Defence improved. IMO he's not going to set his winger up much which means he should be a winger.
Ayshford-Solid enough. Not going to win a game for you but is an adequate stop-gap while we look for a better centre.
Konrad-Goes to Titans and is now back in the finals after showing great form. Need I say more?
Fusitua-the only problem with this guy is he seems to excel at everything he does. Excellent wing or centre.
Robson-Was a logical recruitment: an organiser who could compliment Shaun Johnson's running game. The combo didn't work though. was past his time.
Leuluai-Was injured for a lot of his tenure and that caused inconsistency at 6. 6 shouldn't have to be a strong defender, but he is. Noted defenders mask the weaknesses of others. Mannering and Leuluai do this for us. But it means we lose creativity in their positions.
Lolohea-not a FB obviously. Wasted on the wing. Should have been at 6 all year to take over from Leuluai.
Shaun Johnson-For the last 2 years has been transforming his game. Has put away the flashy plays and tries to be an organizer. Only see his brilliance when our backs are against the wall. Is this Cappy making him do the hard yards to become a complete player?
Lilyman-his standard has lowered over the past 2 years. Can still produce under pressure. But is probably in his last 2 years before retirement.
Matulino- Gets a lot of shit from this forum. And his form hasn't been good this year. Started off not too bad tbh. Did the awful 6 saga affect him too much?
Vete-Had quite a solid year. Gets the dropsies a bit at vital times. But I think he was the most improved of the props.
Lisone-Has yawning gaps in his defence. Small but can make big dents through sheer effort. A trier. Seen him go backwards too against bigger packs.
Gubb-Good bench player. Always gives his all. An honest player.
Afoa-Ditto.
T.Sipley-haven't seen enough of him, but didn't disgrace himself. No obvious work-ons.
Tevaga-solid, reliable player. A keeper.
Roache-dynamic off the bench. I reckon he works well rotating with Tevaga.
Hoffman-His usual professional self. Hard worker, leader, average attacker, fierce defender.
Thompson-The best forward this year IMO. Attacks well and defends well.
Mannering-Solid as ever. The glue.
Wright/Allwood-Can go home. Not needed.
If you look at it we have a huge amount of young players sprinkled with experience around them. You could say we are in a huge development phase. What is the answer to our woes?
I think the hard thing is not knowing the mind of the management team. What are their long term goals? Is Cappy making ludicrous decisons because there is a bigger goal they are working towards? Is changing coach again going to affect players negatively or are they just too pussy to say what they really think? Is he just not a good coach yet? Do we bring coaches into Fg too early these days? Why did Friendy, Paasi and Konnie make finals this year, but not with us?
We harp on about weird team selections and bench plays but Ivan made some strange choices too with Hohaia, Berrigan, Inu, Witt. BUT, every year we improved. So far every year we've declined under Cappy.
Glaring coaching errors: Lolohea not being used off the bench. Lolohea being used at FB after proving time and time again he can't catch the high ball and he is slow to get back in defence. Couldn't coach a fit Hurrell and let the most promising forwards (RFM and Taukeiaho) go elsewhere, who is now reaching his potential somewhere else. Every season we start the last quarter in the 8 and somehow lose from there on in. Cappy has repeatedly ended interviews with " I don't what the answer is" or some shit like that.
Conclusion: Cappy doesn't have the answers. But the players are saying they don't want 'change'. That means they might know the coach isn't the best, but they are committed to the big picture. If we are committed to long term gain for short term pain, then we have to stay the course with Cappy. We're going to have to endure more pain. Because I believe we've had to blood a heck of a lot of young guys. And that is why we suck. Next year Kata, Fusitua, Maumalo, Lisone, Vete, Lolohea, Gubb, Roache, Tevaga will be a year wiser. Hopefully Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Shaun Johnson won't get seriously injured.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck-injured, so can't say. Took a while to get going, but when he did his stats were high.
Manu-Lots of injury but did not bounce back as well as he has in the past. Positives starting to get outweighed by negatives. Scored less than 10 tries for the first time this year.
Kata-high try-scorer. Defence improved. IMO he's not going to set his winger up much which means he should be a winger.
Ayshford-Solid enough. Not going to win a game for you but is an adequate stop-gap while we look for a better centre.
Konrad-Goes to Titans and is now back in the finals after showing great form. Need I say more?
Fusitua-the only problem with this guy is he seems to excel at everything he does. Excellent wing or centre.
Robson-Was a logical recruitment: an organiser who could compliment Shaun Johnson's running game. The combo didn't work though. was past his time.
Leuluai-Was injured for a lot of his tenure and that caused inconsistency at 6. 6 shouldn't have to be a strong defender, but he is. Noted defenders mask the weaknesses of others. Mannering and Leuluai do this for us. But it means we lose creativity in their positions.
Lolohea-not a FB obviously. Wasted on the wing. Should have been at 6 all year to take over from Leuluai.
Shaun Johnson-For the last 2 years has been transforming his game. Has put away the flashy plays and tries to be an organizer. Only see his brilliance when our backs are against the wall. Is this Cappy making him do the hard yards to become a complete player?
Lilyman-his standard has lowered over the past 2 years. Can still produce under pressure. But is probably in his last 2 years before retirement.
Matulino- Gets a lot of shit from this forum. And his form hasn't been good this year. Started off not too bad tbh. Did the awful 6 saga affect him too much?
Vete-Had quite a solid year. Gets the dropsies a bit at vital times. But I think he was the most improved of the props.
Lisone-Has yawning gaps in his defence. Small but can make big dents through sheer effort. A trier. Seen him go backwards too against bigger packs.
Gubb-Good bench player. Always gives his all. An honest player.
Afoa-Ditto.
T.Sipley-haven't seen enough of him, but didn't disgrace himself. No obvious work-ons.
Tevaga-solid, reliable player. A keeper.
Roache-dynamic off the bench. I reckon he works well rotating with Tevaga.
Hoffman-His usual professional self. Hard worker, leader, average attacker, fierce defender.
Thompson-The best forward this year IMO. Attacks well and defends well.
Mannering-Solid as ever. The glue.
Wright/Allwood-Can go home. Not needed.
If you look at it we have a huge amount of young players sprinkled with experience around them. You could say we are in a huge development phase. What is the answer to our woes?
I think the hard thing is not knowing the mind of the management team. What are their long term goals? Is Cappy making ludicrous decisons because there is a bigger goal they are working towards? Is changing coach again going to affect players negatively or are they just too pussy to say what they really think? Is he just not a good coach yet? Do we bring coaches into Fg too early these days? Why did Friendy, Paasi and Konnie make finals this year, but not with us?
We harp on about weird team selections and bench plays but Ivan made some strange choices too with Hohaia, Berrigan, Inu, Witt. BUT, every year we improved. So far every year we've declined under Cappy.
Glaring coaching errors: Lolohea not being used off the bench. Lolohea being used at FB after proving time and time again he can't catch the high ball and he is slow to get back in defence. Couldn't coach a fit Hurrell and let the most promising forwards (RFM and Taukeiaho) go elsewhere, who is now reaching his potential somewhere else. Every season we start the last quarter in the 8 and somehow lose from there on in. Cappy has repeatedly ended interviews with " I don't what the answer is" or some shit like that.
Conclusion: Cappy doesn't have the answers. But the players are saying they don't want 'change'. That means they might know the coach isn't the best, but they are committed to the big picture. If we are committed to long term gain for short term pain, then we have to stay the course with Cappy. We're going to have to endure more pain. Because I believe we've had to blood a heck of a lot of young guys. And that is why we suck. Next year Kata, Fusitua, Maumalo, Lisone, Vete, Lolohea, Gubb, Roache, Tevaga will be a year wiser. Hopefully Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Shaun Johnson won't get seriously injured.
