Josh Curran - Bloke In A Bar

[ElMagicElMasri]

The other big part is understanding that everything is interconnected and has an impact on each other. Defence doesn't just start when your tackling, it starts well before that.

For example, a paper thin and undersized middle that get singled out and rolled for quick PTBs every single set. We’re essentially going into the season hoping Curran playing 60 mins at lock will mitigate that.

 

[Cook]

Warriors had the personnel. You know a real fullback, halfback and frontrow. They also didn't just rip off the Panther system and made adjustments for the side they had. Rugby league is played by too many bums, very little tactical nous in the game and a bunch of coaches all just looking to copy each other

And if we had those positions covered, you’d say we haven’t got wingers, a strong bench etc etc. I think our defence will be the surprise packet of the year.

 

[Alan79]

Biggest takeaway was that finally someone stated the fact that CC, who MANY have ignorantly said can't coach (defensively) INVENTED the fabled Penrith system.

Our defensive woes of last season were a combination of a new system being implemented, injuries and much more importantly, a group of players who wouldn't buy in (as confirmed by Kiraz)

Expect a VAST improvement this season in D.

I think vast defensive improvement is the only way it can go

Not much possibility of getting worse. But I agree. I think the mindset will be better, we'll be fitter and touch wood, our bad run of injury is done. I think our backline additions are generally better defenders to begin with.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

And if we had those positions covered, you’d say we haven’t got wingers, a strong bench etc etc. I think our defence will be the surprise packet of the year.

No I'm happy with our backline, even willing to cut Fox loose.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

For example, a paper thin and undersized middle that get singled out and rolled for quick PTBs every single set. We’re essentially going into the season hoping Curran playing 60 mins at lock will mitigate that.

Panthers back 3 contributed massively to their aggressive defensive style too. All those early yardage carries allowed the Panther forwards to direct most of their energy to their defensive efforts and set the tone early in game. Cleary's kicking game is also another massive contributor, he consistently drives the ball deep and into corners which allows them to control field position and he tempo of the game.

The Panthers are simply efficient and there's basically no wasted movements in the way they play. Everything they do is done for a reason and allows them to play the way they want to play.

But no, it's just attitude lol.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

My whole point is it was much harder to implement an attacking system which Baz tried to do with our players without having the key players to do so e.g Cleary, Yeo compared to Flanagan and Jackson for example. Defence is totally different, while there is an element of skill required for everything, defence is reliant more on attitude.

Happy? It’s now a discussion

Explain our defence this season then? Attack and defence are just two sides of the same coin. If you're missing the assignment on one side your probably missing it on the other too.

 

[ElMagicElMasri]

Panthers back 3 contributed massively to their aggressive defensive style too. All those early yardage carries allowed the Panther forwards to direct most of their energy to their defensive efforts and set the tone early in game. Cleary's kicking game is also another massive contributor, he consistently drives the ball deep and into corners which allows them to control field position and he tempo of the game.

The Panthers are simply efficient and there's basically no wasted movements in the way they play. Everything they do is done for a reason and allows them to play the way they want to play.

But no, it's just attitude lol.

agree, lots of components go into it

Re panthers back 3, it’s why I’ll be shocked if Taffee gets the nod at fullback. Probably the easiest way to mitigate our lack of go forward is a powerful backline, carrying BT and JAC will not help us. If CC goes with Skelton and Tracey I might actually start to believe we can compete for extended periods.

If burton doesn’t show he can at least be a consistent, deep corner kicker then we need to switch to hutcho early

 

[CrittaMagic69]

agree, lots of components go into it

Re panthers back 3, it’s why I’ll be shocked if Taffee gets the nod at fullback. Probably the easiest way to mitigate our lack of go forward is a powerful backline, carrying BT and JAC will not help us. If CC goes with Skelton and Tracey I might actually start to believe we can compete for extended periods.

If burton doesn’t show he can at least be a consistent, deep corner kicker then we need to switch to hutcho early

Yup, surely Tracey is the fullback though? He had basically forced Talakai out of the left centre spot so I can't imagine he joined us just to also play centre and compete against Crichton and Xerri for a spot.

 

[Cook]

No I'm happy with our backline, even willing to cut Fox loose.

Burton??

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Burton??

I'm happy for Burton to play centre, previously said I think he runs one of the best lines at centre. As a 5/8, no. Massively underwhelmed.

 

[Cook]

I'm happy for Burton to play centre, previously said I think he runs one of the best lines at centre. As a 5/8, no. Massively underwhelmed.

Great hole runner. Which would make u think he should know where to pass for cwntres

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Great hole runner. Which would make u think he should know where to pass for cwntres

Possibly, but it sure doesn't look that way. As a half he's too tentative and looks very unnatural playmaking positions whereas in typical backline situations he looks far more confident and sharp.

The two best examples I can give you from his time with us are him off a scrum where we ran that play down the left edge with some success. Burton was always running a line here and was very good at it while the likes of Hayze or Alamoti were in the playmaking roles. The other example I can give is him pushing up into space for us last season at various times. When Averillo shifted to fullback last season he would go on a few probing runs across field, during this Burton would almost always look to be a willing runner attacking the space.

 

[dogwhisperer]

Explain our defence this season then? Attack and defence are just two sides of the same coin. If you're missing the assignment on one side your probably missing it on the other too.

Not really, some teams are better attackers than defenders, high points for but also high points against. Some teams are better defenders than attackers. Plenty of teams come to mind in both categories from the past and present.

It also depends on what attack you are talking about, getting out of our own half or attacking in the opposition 20m red zone. Even defensive structures are different depending on where on the field you are defending. Earlier in the season we relied a lot on our back three for meters. Which isn’t a bad strategy if you lack a bit in the forwards. We didn’t really lack in attack from far, we lacked in attack in good ball positions on the field usually inside the opponents 20m.

Your statement that if you’re missing the assignment on one side, you’re probably missing it on the other is not really true half the time. We started the season relatively better than our previous 5 years with 3/5, could have very easily been 4/5 but got rorted with the AFB obstruction on Mahoney for Johnson’s try. We fell away as the season went on for various legitimate reasons with half our squad missing with injuries, but I can’t say that can I because according to you there’s a question mark on our training methods that may be related to our injuries but you still haven’t proven that, it’s just your guess.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Not really, some teams are better attackers than defenders, high points for but also high points against. Some teams are better defenders than attackers. Plenty of teams come to mind in both categories from the past and present.

It also depends on what attack you are talking about, getting out of our own half or attacking in the opposition 20m red zone. Even defensive structures are different depending on where on the field you are defending. Earlier in the season we relied a lot on our back three for meters. Which isn’t a bad strategy if you lack a bit in the forwards. We didn’t really lack in attack from far, we lacked in attack in good ball positions on the field usually inside the opponents 20m.

Your statement that if you’re missing the assignment on one side, you’re probably missing it on the other is not really true half the time. We started the season relatively better than our previous 5 years with 3/5, could have very easily been 4/5 but got rorted with the AFB obstruction on Mahoney for Johnson’s try. We fell away as the season went on for various legitimate reasons with half our squad missing with injuries, but I can’t say that can I because according to you there’s a question mark on our training methods that may be related to our injuries but you still haven’t proven that, it’s just your guess.

Bro, look at our injuries, it's just not normal. Even the players that were "fit" didn't even look remotely fit just a couple of months into the season.

Yes we absolutely started well and if you remember I was one of the few not calling for mass changes unlike most on here. I was happy. I wasn't happy with what happened after that though. The NRL is practically a year long competition when you factor in preseason and if your squad looks burnt out just months into the season then something has probably gone wrong at training.

No doubt Ciraldo wanted to get the boys up to a certain level but if you break them before getting there then what's the point? Yes this is obviously just speculation on my part but if it happens again this which I don't think it will due to a review then I think you will all need to start taking this theory more seriously.