Match Discussion Round 6: Rabbitohs vs Cowboys

[Bruster]

I think we really missed Cody in this game. I do like Latrell at 5/8 and if he played and trained there for a month or so he would be very successful. That is probably the case for Latrell in any position though. However I think we need to bring Dodd into the halves and move Latrell back to the centre position and Aitken to back row until CG is back. Also I thought Aitken was good in his first game for a while.

 

[Bruster]

Because it wasn’t the ref who made the call.

It was the bunker.

And Todd Smith was incompetent yesterday and that’s being kind to him.

But to be fair he was incompetent to both sides.

I was packaging them all together as refs. Onfield, bunker, sideline and Storm captain. Oops he's retired.

 

[Shauno]

Have they released the charges yet?

Nah they’re not out yet. Hoping sanity prevails but expecting the worst.

 

[skinnyvick63]

Seriously, if he gets charged and they don't challenge, that will do me....

 

[rebrab]

The one thing when on a losing side to avoid is blaming the ref. And the ref is NOT the reason we lost that game. That's the disclaimer and here is the .....but. The tackle Wighton made was a momentum changer. How could you not bag out the ref for that decision? A great cover tackle causing a knock on turned into a penalty for a hip drop? Surely we challange this.

To be fairer still it wasn’t Todd’s call it was an intervention by the bunker and like with Jye Grays hip drop against Cronulla it suggests the bunker is interpreting any tackle from behind as suspicious and any contact with ball carriers leg prima facie intent. It’s similar to what we see with the high contact policy, it’s not designed for on field decision making but video review - if so it should be restricted to post match action - not in play. If a referee asks for a review because of an injury or to make a determinative decision then that would be ok - but they should not be allowed to second guess the players / event the Cows player as ok with it.

 

[Bruster]

My takeaway from yeaterdays game was our competitiveness. Although we lost I would not rule out a top 4 finish based on one game. That would be like saying AJ won't get the record because he didn't score a try yesterday. Even with a lot of potential and class watching from the side lines we could have easily taken the game away from the Cows. The first 30 minutes or so our line speed and kick chase was good. The Cows dropped a bit of ball but some of their errors we forced. We didn't do that in the 2nd half. But in the first 30 mins we looked likely to break their defence at any stage. Our attack looked dangerous. Unfortunately it did not last but with a few players back and Wayne's coaching it is looking good for the back half of the season.

 

[bundyrabbit]

My takeaway from yeaterdays game was our competitiveness. Although we lost I would not rule out a top 4 finish based on one game. That would be like saying AJ won't get the record because he didn't score a try yesterday. Even with a lot of potential and class watching from the side lines we could have easily taken the game away from the Cows. The first 30 minutes or so our line speed and kick chase was good. The Cows dropped a bit of ball but some of their errors we forced. We didn't do that in the 2nd half. But in the first 30 mins we looked likely to break their defence at any stage. Our attack looked dangerous. Unfortunately it did not last but with a few players back and Wayne's coaching, it is looking good for the back half of the season.

They played for field position, which is all well and good, but unless you have a very good lead, then going into your shell is gonna get your arse smacked against good attacking units. They should have been taking risks and letting the ball talk instead of having a jockey taking 4th carry hitups.

 

[Pplspoet]

We miss Cam Murray.

 

[Nifty]

Wighton is becoming a serious problem salary cap wise.

Like him and respect his career but his numbers could be replicated by any random 19 year old kid coming through.

Playing what position.

Wightons numbers are better than all but one of our forwards.

 

[olBj]

Mitchell did okay since it was (more or less) his first game at pivot, barring about 5 games there for the Roosters years ago. Got two try assists, and good kick metres. However I would personally prefer to see him with a "run first" mentality considering his strength and line breaking ability and look to ball work once he has them guessing if he'll run or distribute.

A far bigger issue for me was the fact none of our forwards hit over 100 metres, that's just not acceptable. We allowed them to make us their bitches in the middle.

I also don't think we use the ball enough, we play a very boring style and in some ways it negates the x factor of players Like Gray Not Grey and Trell.

Someone needs to tell our players it's not illegal to spread the ball sometimes.

Speaking of illegal, the Wighton so called hip drop was an awful decision, but that's not why we lost.

We lost because of some dumb errors and a total lack of application in the middle.

I also thought Aitken did pretty well for his first game, but gee I wish we could replace Havili and Tass in the team.

Mitchell made 6 tackles last week and 4 tackles this week..... and very ordinary run metres
He gets $1 million a season how on earth is that ok????
Cody has averaged 15 tackles per game in 4 full games this year and Trell does 10 over 2 matches
Is anyone putting fuel in the Ferrari?

 

[Bruster]

To be fairer still it wasn’t Todd’s call it was an intervention by the bunker and like with Jye Grays hip drop against Cronulla it suggests the bunker is interpreting any tackle from behind as suspicious and any contact with ball carriers leg prima facie intent. It’s similar to what we see with the high contact policy, it’s not designed for on field decision making but video review - if so it should be restricted to post match action - not in play. If a referee asks for a review because of an injury or to make a determinative decision then that would be ok - but they should not be allowed to second guess the players / event the Cows player as ok with it.

And to be fairer than fair, the onfield ref has the last say. In 2023, the onfield ref over ruled the bunkers decision in 2 consecutive rounds.

 

[Shauno]

Be interested to see the Dally M’s for this game.
Surely Gray polled again

 

[Sonic Star]

Mitchell made 6 tackles last week and 4 tackles this week..... and very ordinary run metres
He gets $1 million a season how on earth is that ok????
Cody has averaged 15 tackles per game in 4 full games this year and Trell does 10 over 2 matches
Is anyone putting fuel in the Ferrari?

Who would you rather ran at?

Cody or Trell?

Attacking teams always aim for the smallest players on the field, try and get their big men running at them one on one

 

[daRque]

Mitchell made 6 tackles last week and 4 tackles this week..... and very ordinary run metres
He gets $1 million a season how on earth is that ok????
Cody has averaged 15 tackles per game in 4 full games this year and Trell does 10 over 2 matches
Is anyone putting fuel in the Ferrari?

Over the two games you mention how were his kick metres, LBA's and TA's?

A 5/8 is not there to be a defensive machine.
As long as he is kicking us out of trouble and setting up tries then he is doing his job.

He's also played one game for us at 5/8, perhaps allowing him some time might be appropriate.
He's just come back after a long lay off.

 

[daRque]

Be interested to see the Dally M’s for this game.
Surely Gray polled again

Was wondering about that.
Being on the losing side won't help.