Opinion 3 More Wins

[Howie B]

I know its been spoken about many times before but I am hungover at work and trying to kill some time before lunch so thought I would see what peoples thoughts were on how many more wins we would have had this year if they got team selections right. Last night was one of the rare times this year when I believe the team selected was pretty close to the mark.

However on so many occasions this year the team selections have defied belief.

- Montoya and Holland were selected at centre quiet a number of times in front of Lafai and Smith ;
- DWZ also had a number of games in the centres when he should never play anywhere except wing ;
- Meaney continued to get selected on the wing despite getting monstered every time he touches the ball (look at the difference Okonbur has made) ;
- Averillo only getting a run in the halves for the past 2 games ;
- Limited minutes for Too'maga all year ;

I think we would have won at least 3 more games with decent team selections. Maybe as many as 5

 

[djdeep4172]

Plain and simple if the forwards run hard like they are inning through walls like tonight it allows spread out wide and spaces everywhere else.
I would like to think next year under Barrett all the close losses we had we can nail and get them as wins.
If we can do that we are in top 8 frame.
Nick cotric,Jayden and DWZ are good metre eaters

 

[Howie B]

Plain and simple if the forwards run hard like they are inning through walls like tonight it allows spread out wide and spaces everywhere else.
I would like to think next year under Barrett all the close losses we had we can nail and get them as wins.
If we can do that we are in top 8 frame.
Nick cotric,Jayden and DWZ are good metre eaters

The difference Okonbur has made has been immense. In the warriors game particularly we were stuck in our end the whole second half. His runs help us get on the front foot and then the forwards can take advantage of the retreating defensive line

 

[c-b-b]

Why do I get the feeling Montoya and Holland play next week for their swan song with the club.

 

[maroondog72]

If avo plays six all year we finish 9th or 10th maybe 8th IMO

 

[djdeep4172]

The difference Okonbur has made has been immense. In the warriors game particularly we were stuck in our end the whole second half. His runs help us get on the front foot and then the forwards can take advantage of the retreating defensive line

It’s sad u know the fact that we lost Harper who was our best the year we won the reserved grade grand final ,
We have so many young kids that can make the grade we need someone like Barrett who believes in these young kids and gives them a shot.
Anyway 2021 we will see some more youngsters come up, Hill said they marked 9 players who would be somethings special but never saw what names,anyway 2020 has been a year of torment football wise and with everything else,as long as roosters don’t three peat I’ll be happy

 

[Spoonman84]

The Dragons and Eels games should have resulted in wins without a doubt. That Montoya error against the Dragons should have never happened because he shouldn’t have been playing in the first place.

 

[Bulldogz82]

Why do I get the feeling Montoya and Holland play next week for their swan song with the club.

Please don't say that bro I feel like throwing up

 

[BULLDVGS]

Definitely more wins, I think Lafai shouldnt be in the team tho. Very bad defensively, Hoppa to centre and Meaney at the back. Im stumped on Lewis vs Wakeham. By no means should we be trying to avoid the spoon.

 

[Bulldog Joe]

The Dragons and Eels games should have resulted in wins without a doubt. That Montoya error against the Dragons should have never happened because he shouldn’t have been playing in the first place.

He is so uncoordinated, he looks as though he is going to trip over his own feet every time he tries to stride out, l hope he enjoyed his time in the NRL as if we don’t keep him no other team would look sideways at him.

 

[Spoonman84]

He is so uncoordinated, he looks as though he is going to trip over his own feet every time he tries to stride out, l hope he enjoyed his time in the NRL as if we don’t keep him no other team would look sideways at him.

I have no idea how he slipped through the cracks to have more then a season at NRL level.

 

[Howie B]

The Dragons and Eels games should have resulted in wins without a doubt. That Montoya error against the Dragons should have never happened because he shouldn’t have been playing in the first place.

Couldnt agree more. And when the team was selected against the Titans with Montoya and Holland in it I knew that would cost us.

In that game Holland made a crucial error coming out of trouble. From the scrum the slowest halfback in the comp ran straight around Montoya for a try.

Meanwhile Lafai and Smith were watching from the stands

 

[The__GM]

I'd go all the way back to the Okunbor / CHN preseason scandal. If that doesn't derail the season before it kicks-off we'd be right in the mix for the 8 (I'd have us as high as 6th).

Some easily winnable games had we had both of those two (keeping the likes of Montoya/ Holland/ out of the side or DWZ out of the centres):

• Round 1 - 8-2 loss to the Eels. Game was an absolute slog, they scored from 1 lucky try.
• Round 2 - 24-16 loss to the Cowboys. This was the game Stimson played and was an absolute turnstile in defence, did his shoulder. Their 3 early tries all scored down his edge. A fit and firing CHN should have been in his place.
• Round 6 - 20-18 loss to the Sharks. Again, more strike in CHN/ Okunbor would keep Crichton/ Britt out of the squad.
• Round 10 - 28-22 loss to the Dragons. Absolute shocker to end that game.
• Round 12 - 18-16 loss to the Eels. Refs fucked us with the opening try that we should have Captains challenged (Shouldn't have had to in the first place...).
• Round 14 - 18 losses to the Tigers, Warriors, Raiders, Titans and Manly all could have been won with a similar line-up/ performance to last night.

That's 10 results all up that didn't go our way/ we were in those games at some point or another. If we win say half of those games, we are right in mix for the top 8 with the Sharks.

 

[GrogDog]

I think from memory there would be around 5 games lost that we should have got. Maybe more.

 

[Raysie]

Fun Fact: We've beaten 2 top 8 sides in 2020. Sharks have beaten 0.

 

[Howie B]

I'd go all the way back to the Okunbor / CHN preseason scandal. If that doesn't derail the season before it kicks-off we'd be right in the mix for the 8 (I'd have us as high as 6th).

Some easily winnable games had we had both of those two (keeping the likes of Montoya/ Holland/ out of the side or DWZ out of the centres):

• Round 1 - 8-2 loss to the Eels. Game was an absolute slog, they scored from 1 lucky try.
• Round 2 - 24-16 loss to the Cowboys. This was the game Stimson played and was an absolute turnstile in defence, did his shoulder. Their 3 early tries all scored down his edge. A fit and firing CHN should have been in his place.
• Round 6 - 20-18 loss to the Sharks. Again, more strike in CHN/ Okunbor would keep Crichton/ Britt out of the squad.
• Round 10 - 28-22 loss to the Dragons. Absolute shocker to end that game.
• Round 12 - 18-16 loss to the Eels. Refs fucked us with the opening try that we should have Captains challenged (Shouldn't have had to in the first place...).
• Round 14 - 18 losses to the Tigers, Warriors, Raiders, Titans and Manly all could have been won with a similar line-up/ performance to last night.

That's 10 results all up that didn't go our way/ we were in those games at some point or another. If we win say half of those games, we are right in mix for the top 8 with the Sharks.

What about when he had Stimson defending at centre from the scrum ? Drinkwater over untouched

Tolman taking tap against Parra when 2 down

Cogger taking field goal attempt at 28-22 against tigers and giving away 7 tackle set that led to a try

Lots of what ifs

 

[The__GM]

The biggest leap the team will need to make is getting that grit and mental toughness back with our backs against the wall. We saw it to close out 2019, defending our rings off and not folding under pressure. This season, any scrum inside 20m, repeat set via set restart or ruck infringement restart, or drop-out almost always produced points for the opposition that week. I'm running out of fingers and toes to count the amount of DWZ knock-ons (with wasted captains challenges) or errors (PTB backwards, anyone?) that immediately resulted in points for the opposition that next set (For those playing at home, he has 25 errors in 17 matches - 4th highest across the NRL). And that's just 1 player. Missed Tackles you've got JMK (50 in 19 games) and Josh Jackson (45 in 19 games). Elliot, Britt and Lewis are also all in the top 25 for average missed tackles. The overall standard across the park needs to lift, especially for those in a contract year next season (or hoping for an extension for 2021).