What has changed with doggies style.

[Wolfmother]

I truly believe that Lewis has made the difference to our winning.. We look amazing don't get me wrong but we're still not scoring..
Lewis has definitely had some one on one try saves that would've unravelled all our brilliant defensive work.. He's actually the MVP in my opinion

 

[GDR]

I honestly believe only one player can be truly credited for our turn around and that's DWZ.. our turn around exactly coincided with his transfer...

Lewis attack is garbage anyone crediting the last try to his cut out is delusional.. Holland made that try all on his. The pass was a hail mary and got lucky with some great skill from Holland...

For all those that think Lewis is essential to the team, go and look carefully at the ladder.. you'll see that our defense is comparable to the teams in and around the bottom of the top 8. Then have a look at attack and then tell me if Lewis is still vital...

 

[maroondog72]

Said it in the game day thread DWZ has changed the culture of the side,his effort on effort plays and the aggression in the way he returns the ball has changed the tempo of the side.That said if Cogger comes on with 20 to go the other night I think we pick up another couple of try’s. Lewis is a fucking machine defence and attitude but lacks finesse and creativity in attack.cogger and Wakeham need to be our long term halves they are both genuine halves for mine

 

[Wolfmother]

I honestly believe only one player can be truly credited for our turn around and that's DWZ.. our turn around exactly coincided with his transfer...

Lewis attack is garbage anyone crediting the last try to his cut out is delusional.. Holland made that try all on his. The pass was a hail mary and got lucky with some great skill from Holland...

For all those that think Lewis is essential to the team, go and look carefully at the ladder.. you'll see that our defense is comparable to the teams in and around the bottom of the top 8. Then have a look at attack and then tell me if Lewis is still vital...

Are you actually serious did you even watch the game ? In the last game alone Lewis saved a try and directly assisted in 2 tries.

The defence stats you are comparing to other teams over the season cannot be a gauge used for an individual player.


I truly don't get your logic

 

[GDR]

Are you actually serious did you even watch the game ? In the last game alone Lewis saved a try and directly assisted in 2 tries.

The defence stats you are comparing to other teams over the season cannot be a gauge used for an individual player.


I truly don't get your logic

No offense, but I don't pay attention to the opinion of someone who only recently started watching league.. when you've been watching league 20 to 30 come and see me.

 

[Wolfmother]

No offense, but I don't pay attention to the opinion of someone who only recently started watching league.. when you've been watching league 20 to 30 come and see me.

Your loss, because I've been spot on with many unpopular opinions that have come to fruition

 

[Wolfmother]

Said it in the game day thread DWZ has changed the culture of the side,his effort on effort plays and the aggression in the way he returns the ball has changed the tempo of the side.That said if Cogger comes on with 20 to go the other night I think we pick up another couple of try’s. Lewis is a fucking machine defence and attitude but lacks finesse and creativity in attack.cogger and Wakeham need to be our long term halves they are both genuine halves for mine

I fully agree with your assessment even with reference to Lewis and his shortfall in the creativity department. My criteria for his value over cogger lies in his freakish try saving skills, his ability to anticipate and nail sure tries from opposition players.. There are others too that are just as good but Lewis looks like he's doing it on red cordial fuel.. He's everywhere

 

[Bazildog]

No offense, but I don't pay attention to the opinion of someone who only recently started watching league.. when you've been watching league 20 to 30 come and see me.

I have been watching and going to games and supporting the dogs for over 40 years and I disagree with your thoughts on Lewis? To be fair I think the real question is what is the best position for him in the team which is certainly debatable, but anyone that thinks he does not deserve to be in the team is a fruitcake..

 

[kaluah8123]

At the game, there was a noticeable change in tactics. Lewis was generally the first receiver, no longer a forward. ( except for charges directly from the ruck) This allowed runners like Elliott, Corey etc to take runs much wider. Opposition no longer can compress their defensive lines in the middle of the field. This has resulted in better ruck meters, making defensive lines work harder, allowing runners more space. Elliott, Jackson & co are making more line breaks (or half beaks ) then before. Added benefit of Lewis tackling like a demon. Foran is generally playing wider, also on either side of the ruck. This is the reason why Pay has not selected Cogger. He plays a style more like Foran, not as suited for the more traditional half back roles. This seem evident when both Remis Smith's & DWZ were off the field at the same time. Pay did not want to move Lewis from that close to the ruck position.

Great observation and it’s great to see it working.

 

[kaluah8123]

We are playing with more aggression in attack and defence.

The likes of Tolman. He no longer looks like he is running with cement in his boots. The same with all our players running harder.

Defensively, we are eager to get off our line faster and in their faces and more belief in each other to cover the man inside and out. Attitude comes to mind

Fitness. I can swear we had a very lazy off season. We looked sluggish and unfit early in the year. We couldn't keep up with the pace of games. We now look fitter and faster and the results are coming.

I know we were sluggish at the start of the year but if a couple of those close games went our way we are in the 8 at peak fitness and firing.
You cannot maintain peak fitness for the whole year and stay injury free. Body says no as it can only maintain this level for around a month. We will start better next year and hopefully hit our peak the same time next year when it counts.

 

[Malla]

Cogger is far more of a halfback than Lewis lol. Lewis offers fuck all running the ball and as a ball player while Foran does and links up far better with players around him. Think it's as simple as getting Foran in his favoured positions and carrying Lewis because of his defence and bigger boot compared to Cogger.

Pretty much spot on. The amount of defensive work Lewis does saves us about 12 points a game. He’s a pest and gets under people’s skin case in point Brown on Thursday.

We aren’t winning games by scoring more points. We play a very simple game of attrition. If we keep this team but bring on Api next season, we are going to score 2 more tries a game easy.

 

[GDR]

I have been watching and going to games and supporting the dogs for over 40 years and I disagree with your thoughts on Lewis? To be fair I think the real question is what is the best position for him in the team which is certainly debatable, but anyone that thinks he does not deserve to be in the team is a fruitcake..

I have no problem with him being in the team... But anyone who selects a half based on defense is a fruit cake.. and have you seen our points for total?.. its disgusting.. in comparison to our against which is in amongst the mid field.. so you tell me, what the main problem is.. early in the season we didn't lose those tight games on defense we lost them on attack...we kept certain teams to reasonable total we just couldn't score enough

 

[Bazildog]

I have no problem with him being in the team... But anyone who selects a half based on defense is a fruit cake.. and have you seen our points for total?.. its disgusting.. in comparison to our against which is in amongst the mid field.. so you tell me, what the main problem is.. early in the season we didn't lose those tight games on defense we lost them on attack...we kept certain teams to reasonable total we just couldn't score enough

Ok, then I am a Fruit cake I cant put my finger on it but there is no way we defended or played like we have in the last 8 weeks at the start of this year. Defence like we are now showing is much more like the 80-90's dog teams that would grind out wins. A Warren Ryan coached team to some was boring but I loved it.

We would strangle teams out of games and our style at the moment is more like that. Its not late 70's "Entertainer" style like under Ted Glossop, but those teams had 4 Mortimers, 3 Hughes brothers and guys like Steve Gearin and Greg Brentnall that ad libbed a lot of our play in attack and just backed each other up.

As we buy a few more players natural attrition will decide Lewis's fate but I have a feeling he will be in the mix somewhere, but at the moment he certainly appears to be the best option with Foran or with Cogger.

 

[GDR]

Ok, then I am a Fruit cake I cant put my finger on it but there is no way we defended or played like we have in the last 8 weeks at the start of this year. Defence like we are now showing is much more like the 80-90's dog teams that would grind out wins. A Warren Ryan coached team to some was boring but I loved it.

We would strangle teams out of games and our style at the moment is more like that. Its not late 70's "Entertainer" style like under Ted Glossop, but those teams had 4 Mortimers, 3 Hughes brothers and guys like Steve Gearin and Greg Brentnall that ad libbed a lot of our play in attack and just backed each other up.

As we buy a few more players natural attrition will decide Lewis's fate but I have a feeling he will be in the mix somewhere, but at the moment he certainly appears to be the best option with Foran or with Cogger.

Yeah what a surprise you just avoid the facts I present and carry on about nostalgia.. the 2014 team was similar to this one won on defense and grit but always struggled for points.. and guess what .. they got flogged in the gf...

Earlier in the season we lost to South's 6 - 14 storm 16-18 raider 10-12 and manly 18-10 all quality opposition kept to a low score and defense was great .. but our attack was garbage and remains garbage..

I'm very happy with our sudden change of form, but the fact remains our attack is a problem..

People get swept up by the moment too easily round here.. by all means enjoy the wins , but don't spew vile by comparing this team in any way shape or form to the teams of the 80's

 

[Bazildog]

Yeah what a surprise you just avoid the facts I present and carry on about nostalgia.. the 2014 team was similar to this one won on defense and grit but always struggled for points.. and guess what .. they got flogged in the gf...

Keh?? Calm down dude,you take yourself far too seriously mate and you have interpreted my post differently to what I was trying to convey.. I was not ignoring your facts as they are correct as we did lose a few games by small margins and yes for the fucking 4th or 5th time I will say our attack looks clunky or stifled "take your pick"

I wasn't being nostalgic for your benefit I was trying to answer or justify my own question as to why this team looks different particularly in the last 8-10 weeks. Is it DWZ, coaching additions, mental attitude change, defence, a change of luck with the refs, combinations forming, end of season contract reviews, rumours of players coming...it could be any of these or all of them but who cares?? Its still good isn't it?

You may also be right about Lewis in the halves but I also think I am right that he needs to be in the team somewhere.. Oh, and we lost the 14 GF in my opinion because Des ball was by then very predictable, the weight of history with Souths not winning for so long, The Refs bias, a hero performance by Sam B and they just wanted it more than us.

 

[SPEARTAKVIDREFS]

I know we were sluggish at the start of the year but if a couple of those close games went our way we are in the 8 at peak fitness and firing.
You cannot maintain peak fitness for the whole year and stay injury free. Body says no as it can only maintain this level for around a month. We will start better next year and hopefully hit our peak the same time next year when it counts.

Melbourne's been fit all year, currently sitting poll position by a mile. We hit our peak this time last year, didnt count. Cant hope to be in a better position reliant on a couple of things going our way threw out the year. Going on that logic alone, if you were to wipe all the dumb penalties we gave away this year we'd be in the top 8. Crazy to suggest, am I wrong? Our attack has been the issue for years. We make the 8 we lose our first game and where out, just like the last year Des got us there.

 

[obje]

He saves tries , anticipates opposition 's strategies..stuff that can't be coached into people

I love my stats and I'd bet anything his best stat is successful 1on1 tackles. He folds everyone, Sam Burgess, Will Chambers, these are the hardest blokes to tackle and he does it by himself with ease. Then he does it on other hard blokes like James Roberts and Manu Mau last few weeks. That helps the whole team, gives them a rest and lets them reset/markup the defensive line, and in Roberts and Mau case he saves certain tries by making those tackles.

 

[flamebouyant]

I honestly believe only one player can be truly credited for our turn around and that's DWZ.. our turn around exactly coincided with his transfer...

Lewis attack is garbage anyone crediting the last try to his cut out is delusional.. Holland made that try all on his. The pass was a hail mary and got lucky with some great skill from Holland...

For all those that think Lewis is essential to the team, go and look carefully at the ladder.. you'll see that our defense is comparable to the teams in and around the bottom of the top 8. Then have a look at attack and then tell me if Lewis is still vital...

Two things. First of all, our defense has been exceptional for the past month. I think we are averaging something like 12 points against in this time. A very different story to the rest of the year. The second, we have also been winning. Again, something very different to the rest of the year.

I agree that, on a whole, DWZ has been the major influence in regards to our defense. But the addition of Lewis has also improved our defense on the edge he defends. He has really plugged the holes there, and has made some incredible one on one tackles, and numerous try savers. So you cant discount his value to the team in this regard.
Our attack is poor access the whole team. It's not just Lewis. But we are improving, and with confidence we are making more breaks and more try scoring oportunities.

 

[flamebouyant]

I fully agree with your assessment even with reference to Lewis and his shortfall in the creativity department. My criteria for his value over cogger lies in his freakish try saving skills, his ability to anticipate and nail sure tries from opposition players.. There are others too that are just as good but Lewis looks like he's doing it on red cordial fuel.. He's everywhere

Lewis also has a never say die attitude. It's not just his tackle efficiency, which is without doubt far superior to any half in the comp, he reads the play well and never gives up on it. This is also an attitude that encourages the rest of the team and gives them faith.
This being said, overall I think DWZ has had the greater influence on te team, and it's no coincidence that our teams defense has improved since he arrived.
I think your both right. You should just concede this point and hug it out.

 

[flamebouyant]

I have no problem with him being in the team... But anyone who selects a half based on defense is a fruit cake.. and have you seen our points for total?.. its disgusting.. in comparison to our against which is in amongst the mid field.. so you tell me, what the main problem is.. early in the season we didn't lose those tight games on defense we lost them on attack...we kept certain teams to reasonable total we just couldn't score enough

To be fair, Lewis has been in and out of the team all year, so it's a bit unjust to lay the blame directly on him.