: Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:21 pm  

Roofaldo wrote:

Who's the half backs for reserves? Give them a whirl instead of Jefferies and Deacon.

Shake up the team, break players out of their apathetic comfort zones.

Kick some f'n booty!!! Gnar Gnar!

And now I'm off back to the bar

Colton Wray and Stuart Proctor both part time.

Re: possible teams for catalans? : Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:40 pm  

Ewwenorfolk wrote:

Jeffries, Newton, Menzies Morrison. It wouldn't be that bigger problem, Deacons in game kicking was pis$ poor in that last match anyway. As for conversions Burgess, Sykes, Jeffries have all got a fair boot on them.

The reason Deacon's kicking game appears so poor this season is precisely because there are no other players in the team capable of good in-game kicks. The opposition know the ball is going to Deacon and pressure him accordingly, bolting out of the defensive line on the fifth straight for him. At least Harris gave us another option in this area last year.

Re: possible teams for catalans? : Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:52 pm  

mat wrote:

think halley would be more use on the wing in place of sheriffe as platt has genuinely looked a lot better at FB last couple of games. Other than that I wouldnt argue with your changes too much

you want to drop sherriffe when he's scoring tries.

Re: possible teams for catalans? : Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:52 pm  

Block5Bull wrote:

The issue at half back is who should partner Deacon with the only real contenders currently being hit 'n' miss Jeffries and NRL grand final winning 5/8 Menzies. Personally I don't know how to separate them....

You would have to go back to 2005 for Deacon to match Jeffries stats from last season, where the latter was universally condemned for the quality of his play. Nostalgia aint what it was.

Re: possible teams for catalans? : Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:53 pm  

faxtastic wrote:

you want to drop sherriffe when he's scoring tries.

yes, we can't boo the players if they're scoring tries.

Re: possible teams for catalans? : Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:04 pm  

Mission wrote:

The reason Deacon's kicking game appears so poor this season is precisely because there are no other players in the team capable of good in-game kicks. The opposition know the ball is going to Deacon and pressure him accordingly, bolting out of the defensive line on the fifth straight for him. At least Harris gave us another option in this area last year.

That's just not true, he's had loads of kicks in plenty of space and with no pressure which he has completely messed up, he couldn't even make touch from a penalty the other week. If he was being pressured on kicks he needs to adjust his position, all the other kickers in super league manage it.

[Bullseye]

Re: possible teams for catalans? : Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:32 pm  

bigchris wrote:

That's just not true, he's had loads of kicks in plenty of space and with no pressure which he has completely messed up, he couldn't even make touch from a penalty the other week. If he was being pressured on kicks he needs to adjust his position, all the other kickers in super league manage it.

I'd say it's partly true. Both things have been happening.

It is blindingly obvious who our kicker is so pressure is always going to be on Deacon. it's about time McNamara came up with some alternative options that don't include ust giving it to anyone to hoof downfield.

For instance both Burgess and Sykes have a big boot so could help out in the kicking dept, esp for those going for distance. Sykes may be positioned a bit wide for this but Burgess is central. Why not have him as a kicking option in the middle of the field? If not him then perhaps Jeffries if he can be relied upon.

Anything's better than a repeat of the c0ck up against Hull where Lynch was left to have a kick!

Re: possible teams for catalans? : Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:34 pm  

Bullseye wrote:

I'd say it's partly true. Both things have been happening.

It is blindingly obvious who our kicker is so pressure is always going to be on Deacon. it's about time McNamara came up with some alternative options that don't include ust giving it to anyone to hoof downfield.

For instance both Burgess and Sykes have a big boot so could help out in the kicking dept, esp for those going for distance. Sykes may be positioned a bit wide for this but Burgess is central. Why not have him as a kicking option in the middle of the field? If not him then perhaps Jeffries if he can be relied upon.

Anything's better than a repeat of the c0ck up against Hull where Lynch was left to have a kick!

sometimes the big men getting a kick pays off though (niel cowie anyone)

Re: possible teams for catalans? : Wed Mar 18, 2009 3:46 pm  

Bullseye wrote:

I'd say it's partly true. Both things have been happening.

It is blindingly obvious who our kicker is so pressure is always going to be on Deacon. it's about time McNamara came up with some alternative options that don't include ust giving it to anyone to hoof downfield.

For instance both Burgess and Sykes have a big boot so could help out in the kicking dept, esp for those going for distance. Sykes may be positioned a bit wide for this but Burgess is central. Why not have him as a kicking option in the middle of the field? If not him then perhaps Jeffries if he can be relied upon.

Anything's better than a repeat of the c0ck up against Hull where Lynch was left to have a kick!

You could put Deacon out on an empty pitch at the minute and he still wouldn't be able to kick it where he wanted, he's just not playing well but that will change.

He is under no more pressure than any other kicker in the super league, he has obviously lost his confidence at the moment, he is taking longer with kicks and become more hesitant. The really embarressing thing is when he is kicking that badly at home, when he knows the pitch/wind direction like the back of his hand there really is no excuse.

Yes you are right that we need a second kicking option, but that is not the problem, the problem is Deacon. Numerous times the forwards are working hard to make the meters, the ball is getting to Deacon with plenty of space and he is time and time again putting in useless kicks, more often than not straight to players and relieving all the pressure we have built up in the previous set. This is killing us at the moment and it is one of the factors of why we are doing so badly.

[Bullseye]

Re: possible teams for catalans? : Wed Mar 18, 2009 4:00 pm  

bigchris wrote:

Yes you are right that we need a second kicking option, but that is not the problem, the problem is Deacon. Numerous times the forwards are working hard to make the meters, the ball is getting to Deacon with plenty of space and he is time and time again putting in useless kicks, more often than not straight to players and relieving all the pressure we have built up in the previous set. This is killing us at the moment and it is one of the factors of why we are doing so badly.

While I reckon you're right in many cases it's not all down to him. Versus Hull the chasers were very lethargic at times and we didn't create any pressure. Jeffries was guilty of a couple of aimless kicks too. As deacon is the main kicker he gets the plaudits and the brickbats.

We need to start playing as a team. If we position players so Deacon gets more time to kick then that's a start, they don't need to obstruct, merely be in the path of those trying to charge down the kicker. Then the chasing team could use a bit more vigour and involve more than two or three moving up to the bloke who fields the ball.

I'd like to see us mix up the kicks too. Deacon's (and everyone else's) kicks have been pretty poor so far in that they've not created any pressure. We either need to be seriously pinning teams back or kicking so that we have a good chance of contesting the ball and forcing the error. A halfway house of the two just turns the ball over and gives cheap yards away.

This isn't rocket science, it's basics, and I'm sure the players and coach know all this. As with everything else it's another area where we'll be looking for improvement.