Pick Your Team 2023 Finals Week 1 - Penrith vs Warriors

[Bruce]

I didn't mean so much the attacking kick but rather when we are kicking for territory.

Your friend Bunty has been watching different games to me.
SJ and Volkman are kicking to a pattern, there is no doubt about that.
The percentage play is to catch them back in their ten or twenty working it out.
Their height is for the chasers, and Volkman sure has height.
SJ has more experience with the shot kick to in goal.
I like Volkman's boot compared with Metcalf.

 

[rugged]

Really
Where does that leave Taine

I don't think any player has done enough to make themselves locked in as first choice 5/8 for 2024. TMM could well cement it in the next couple of weeks but if he is patchy then I think CHT will definitely be in the race.

I would take what is said on the eve of the finals about 2024 positions with a grain of salt as he will be guarding player confidence as well

 

[Zaggo]

The Knights are not a pretty team to watch, nor do they have any rock stars apart from Ponga.
So why I am I talking about the Knights?
Because I reckon we will get them at home Saturday week.

Their entire backline is dangerous. Gagai is in a rich vein of form, and Young/Marzhew are similar to DWZ/Montoya.

They will be trading on confidence and form. Our home crowd should help nullify that, especially if we can get a couple of tries on the board early.

All theoretical though because we are going to spank o Penrith on the weekend. See you at Eden Park Bruce!

 

[j_p]

Nice little touch.

 

[Up the guttz]

Webby said this week CHT is the backup fullback, RTS is paying centre.

Hmmm I heard Webby say that Taine is their back up full back in the presser

 

[sup42]

Anyone else worried about our kick to the same corner every game. Surely teams just run practice sets from that exact position in training then boom they have multiple plays to get out of it...

We are not the first team to rely heavily on kicking to a corner and pinning teams.

I am not worried because we are good at it. Sure it would be nice to have variation, but hey I would like a Lamborghini.

I like that we are starting to stick to what works. Part of why we have been shithouse for decades is that when we find something good, the first time it doesn't work, the first time a team counters it, we put it away and thereby end up with no consistency in our approach to games.

Part of why we kick to one side is that we are kicking for our best Kick chaser, Rocco Berry.

Berry does not have a lot of off the ball strengths, he is not a hit up guy, his defence is ok but not dominant, he has no kicking game (doesn't need one) and he is not a center that is going to create a try out of nothing. So it makes sense to find a role for him and use it for all it is worth, because he has spare fuel in the tank, a real luxury in today's game.

What are the alternatives at the end of a set of 6 that are better tactics?

40/20: great if you can get one, but players typically pull off very few a season, the 20/40 is even rarer.

Touch finders: An ok option, somewhat out of favor due to the risk to the defensive side from a set scrum move, and the rest it allows the recieving team after they have just made up to five tackles.

The Bomb: We all know how that works, SJ is good at bombs and goes to them a lot. success depends on the kicker, the chasers and the Ref monitoring escorts etc.

Outside of those kicks, you are really only looking at short range options when we are camped deep in their half. These kicks have a hail Mary element to them, the Grubber, cross field kicks (conventional, banana, aim at the posts) and the chip over the top.

So from within your own half, the only bread and butter kicks are touch finder, Bomb, and the kick to the corners.

Three conventional options, with the kick to the corner being the most reliable.

All year commentator experts have remarked at how the Warriors now employ a tactic that was used against them. Give them the ball, and wait till they make mistakes.

I guess you probably want to see us at least able to vary what corner we kick to, the question then becomes, do we want to kick away from Berry and do we want to use a potentially less favorable and easy kicking direction?

 

[Burty]

Your friend Bunty has been watching different games to me.
SJ and Volkman are kicking to a pattern, there is no doubt about that.
The percentage play is to catch them back in their ten or twenty working it out.
Their height is for the chasers, and Volkman sure has height.
SJ has more experience with the shot kick to in goal.
I like Volkman's boot compared with Metcalf.

Context, wasn't referring to territorial kicks.
Unfortunately the few attacking kicks Ronnie put in on the weekend didn't come to fruition, although we didn't get too many opportunities within decent attacking range compared to games of late.

 

[Billyspleen75]

Double header again this week
NSW Cup team plays Raiders at 3pm NZT

Likely on NSWRL TV as there is an NRLW match that is scheduled to be screened on Fox/Sky

 

[Lance155]

We are not the first team to rely heavily on kicking to a corner and pinning teams.

I am not worried because we are good at it. Sure it would be nice to have variation, but hey I would like a Lamborghini.

I like that we are starting to stick to what works. Part of why we have been shithouse for decades is that when we find something good, the first time it doesn't work, the first time a team counters it, we put it away and thereby end up with no consistency in our approach to games.

Part of why we kick to one side is that we are kicking for our best Kick chaser, Rocco Berry.

Berry does not have a lot of off the ball strengths, he is not a hit up guy, his defence is ok but not dominant, he has no kicking game (doesn't need one) and he is not a center that is going to create a try out of nothing. So it makes sense to find a role for him and use it for all it is worth, because he has spare fuel in the tank, a real luxury in today's game.

What are the alternatives at the end of a set of 6 that are better tactics?

40/20: great if you can get one, but players typically pull off very few a season, the 20/40 is even rarer.

Touch finders: An ok option, somewhat out of favor due to the risk to the defensive side from a set scrum move, and the rest it allows the recieving team after they have just made up to five tackles.

The Bomb: We all know how that works, SJ is good at bombs and goes to them a lot. success depends on the kicker, the chasers and the Ref monitoring escorts etc.

Outside of those kicks, you are really only looking at short range options when we are camped deep in their half. These kicks have a hail Mary element to them, the Grubber, cross field kicks (conventional, banana, aim at the posts) and the chip over the top.

So from within your own half, the only bread and butter kicks are touch finder, Bomb, and the kick to the corners.

Three conventional options, with the kick to the corner being the most reliable.

All year commentator experts have remarked at how the Warriors now employ a tactic that was used against them. Give them the ball, and wait till they make mistakes.

I guess you probably want to see us at least able to vary what corner we kick to, the question then becomes, do we want to kick away from Berry and do we want to use a potentially less favorable and easy kicking direction?

Yea other corner or even in the middle. Do I think our plan works? Yes. Do I think we are giving the opposition easy knowledge on what to expect. Also yes.
However I am firmly in the camp of Webby has some finals plans up his sleeve so I wouldn't be surprised at all if we mix things up a bit more now

 

[sup42]

Yea other corner or even in the middle. Do I think our plan works? Yes. Do I think we are giving the opposition easy knowledge on what to expect. Also yes.
However I am firmly in the camp of Webby has some finals plans up his sleeve so I wouldn't be surprised at all if we mix things up a bit more now

They don't kick down the middle because this gives the spine player (the fullback) the ball in a position to link the fullback with two wings, giving him (the fullback) those options you are concerned about.
Kicking to a corner brings the sideline into play as an extra defender and only allows the receiver to pass in one direction.

One of the major benefits of kicking to one side is that it puts all the pressure and the workload on one player for 80 minutes. Dulling one winger is probably better than giving the wings a shared workload.

Whatever the Panthers plan to counter, their options are still limited by the speed and execution of the chase and Berry is the guy that reliably takes out the receiver best in our team, the rest is up to the (typically 2-3) chasers and more importantly the entire Warriors line coming up fast and tight.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Really
Where does that leave Taine

Tain is staying, he fidny say CHT was the back up Fullback.

 

[Lance155]

I agree in part. Berry definitely does more than the one tackle, often chases out of marker tmfor tackle 2 at least. Spreading it wide early is an easy counter to that and our whole line will need to step up

 

[gREVUS]

i only have one question. What level of finals reffing are they going to throw at the team. After the weekends absurd rulings and deliberately ignoring all the forward passes etc, i have no faith in the warriors getting a fair play against the minor Prems.
We all know finals rules are different but how different is it going to be this year? And are the boys ready for the changes?

 

[Bruce]

Nice little touch.

I was gonna say I hate taggers then I saw it was the Autex building and they were not taggers.

 

[Bruce]

i only have one question. What level of finals reffing are they going to throw at the team. After the weekends absurd rulings and deliberately ignoring all the forward passes etc, i have no faith in the warriors getting a fair play against the minor Prems.
We all know finals rules are different but how different is it going to be this year? And are the boys ready for the changes?

Two things....
if we are hard on the refs they are worse on each other. They are just a bunch of gaslighters.
Secondly in the finals we get the best performed officials.

 

[Lance155]

i only have one question. What level of finals reffing are they going to throw at the team. After the weekends absurd rulings and deliberately ignoring all the forward passes etc, i have no faith in the warriors getting a fair play against the minor Prems.
We all know finals rules are different but how different is it going to be this year? And are the boys ready for the changes?

For me they generally put it away and you can slow the ruck down a lot more. Teams with finals experience are normally the first to adapt to this.

 

[Bruce]

For me they generally put it away and you can slow the ruck down a lot more. Teams with finals experience are normally the first to adapt to this.

Webby will know heaps about finals football...and Penrith...that is why I was so intrigued by his attitude after last week.

 

[gREVUS]

Two things....
if we are hard on the refs they are worse on each other. They are just a bunch of gaslighters.
Secondly in the finals we get the best performed officials.

yea but the rules do change. Things that could have got you sent off before, suddenly are OK. the NRL comes down from on high and dictates that the ref is not to ruin the spectacle that is the great game. Harrigan always ran an open and fast game for finals. and the NRL loved it. Thats why they always have a chat to the refs about now, on what they should let away.

The biggest difference in what Harrigan did and what the new boys do is that the refs now coach for individuals in games. They admitted this years ago. Therefore to take an old example, Manu was known to drop a ball or two. So if a ball comes loose the ref had already decided it was his own fault and would instantly give the advantage to the opposition. Irrelevant of how the ball came loose.
If they would stop this sort of shit and just play what was in front of them instead of pre-deciding which player is doing what then i would be much happier.

Webby will know heaps about finals football...and Penrith...that is why I was so intrigued by his attitude after last week.

Do you mean after this weekends game?

 

[Bruce]

Do you mean after this weekends game?

no. his last presser, almost over confident mate...honest

 

[gREVUS]

no. his last presser, almost over confident mate...honest

ouch didnt see it, thats scary.
I have them down for a loss after this weekend game, with a home game win in Auck next week.