Its clear to see the boys have been putting in effort but refs calls, bad bounces and just downright bad coaching have been killing us along with everything else going on.
Here are a few observations from this season that have really irked me and have been heavily exposed in this game:
-our attack especially when we get a mountain of ball has been weak, lateral and slow. It needs to get squared up, faster and players need to support each other
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Hiku needs to get moved from centre (especially away from
Nikorima) or atleast lose some weight so hes quicker off the mark. He looks slightly overweight and slow and the Storm kept running block plays at him with Papenhuyzen running the sweep line which exposed him for his lack of quickness off the mark. He is a talented ballrunner nonetheless and seems more suited for a role in the back 3 so he may get an opportunity to impress and gain fitness with
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck out.
-Green played better than usual this week but if he is 96kg as stated on his profile, hes about 5kg overweight for a halfback and its painfully clear to see in the way that he moves and doesn't threaten the line even when he takes them on. He handles himself in D but needs to take a step back in attack as evidenced by how bad our attack has been ever since he took over as the main playmaker. Has looked much less potent running the right side of attack vs 2018 when he ran the left hand side. Also his 5th tackle options, especially his cross field grubbers in good ball zone and defensive bombs, are so predictable and almost a crime when you have Maumolo,
Fusitua and
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck as your back three along with mobile centres.
-Maumolo is a workhorse and has carried the Warriors on his back so many times but he looks too slow to be playing on the wing. Losing a few kgs could help him get quicker off the mark and we need the forwards to pump out the metres anyway. Here's hoping its just injury rust but he was exposed this game and him going for an ankle tap instead of getting a shoulder into Vunivalu was disappointing.
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Nikorima needs to step up in running the attack and needs a bodyguard in defence due to his size and no Papalii is not gonna cut it since hes not an edge forward. Really want to see him go to the right edge where
Beale/
Herbert and
Murchie could cover him in D.
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Roger Tuivasa-Sheck isn't a ballplayer. Atleast not yet. Him trying to run that right side has been painful to watch and his weapon is his left foot step which is better suited to the left edge for cutting against the grain. 2nd receiver is what suits him until he gets some better coaching cos he has the talent but it has not worked out.
-Young forwards such as
Jamayne Tounua-Brown,
Vuniyayawa,
Katoa esp, have really stepped up along with
Blair (has been bumped off a few times in D tho) and
Harris. It's a more mobile game now so they need to start running together (refer to the Roosters since the restart) and
Tevaga could immediately make a difference as long as he is fit and injury free. It would really help if our halves and fullback kept pushing up in support of our forwards since they all have offloads in them
-Craig Twentyman (head of strength and conditioning) needs to be held accountable since we've had way too many injuries this season and its a real concern that this has coincided with big conditioning and preseason changes. It could be pure luck but the chances are pretty low imo.
-There should be a clear game plan for each player which minimises the effects of player losses due to injury and homesickness. It's time we played in a smarter and more calculated way and stopped relying on big names to carry us through.
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Jamayne Tounua-Brown should start due to size,
Fusitua is a winger for now,
Herbert and
Beale are centres,
Lawton has been a great sub, Papalii needs to play as a lock,
Burr is a right edge 2nd rower,
Harris shouldn't be overworked and is labouring through 80 minutes in the middle,
Vuniyayawa has what it takes and Ale and ATG look more promising than
Murchie on the edge and speaking of the edge, where is
Pulu at.
I really wanna get an Aussie membership but this team and its subpar coaching is killing me and all of us almost week in week out.
