Galloping Greens

[Dave Beat]

Thirds and fourths played on a reasonably good field at Latham even after all the rain.
The coaches will be wondering how these two games were lost when the Wicks had such dominance in the scrum and lineouts. In uncharacteristic play from the Wicks the ball was not looked after in the backs and their handling was poor. Manly were always dangerous with ball in hand as their backing up of the ball was very good. The numbr five in threes had a very good game for them.
Down to Coogee for second grade and though the score suggests a very close game, the Wicks did not make it respectable until the final few minutes. Anderson in the centres looked dangerous and scored two tries. The 14 and 15 for Manly were superb and their interplay on the edges was always dangerous. Credit to the Wicks who always had a go.
First grade were down 17-0 after thirty minutes. This was in part due to no protection at the breakdown which allowed Manly a couple of breakaway tries. Manly were well organised and have serious speed so any breakout coupled with their excellant backing up was almost always going to give them points.
Wright made a good break and in earlier years would have scored but this time a good pass found a player to get over the line - 17-5
Manly bounce right back 24-5 and then again on the back of a dubious penalty 35-5 all before half time.
Second half had Wicks on attack when a turnover sees another 75mt run by manly for a breakout try. Wicks hit back 43-12. Manly cruising get a soft one and then another to be 55-12 with 16 minutes to go.
Close to the bell Manly scored in the green corner which had all calling 'Held Up' but they were overruled by the whistle.
A very good day for Manly and prehaps Wicks will learn to protect the breakdown and watch out for the turnovers.
Footnote.
The Pies are good but there has to be Sausages and steak on offer!!!!

Good write up, I thought Manlys support play was on song.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

<snip>
Footnote.
The Pies are good but there has to be Sausages and steak on offer!!!!

I think the Marlins got all the pies as well.

It is so wrong that punters can not get their fill of grease, fat, and cholesterol from the mystery bags off the BBQ, with a handful of caramelised onions.


For a rugby supporter, a Sausage Sanger (c/w fried onions and lashings of Train Smash) is a basic food group. Meat pies, while nice, are considered a supplemental adjunct food.

 

[Pete King]

I think Manly are going to be very hard to beat this year

 

[MACCA]

I think Manly are going to be very hard to beat this year

Agree.
Yuk. Ouch.
What went wrong with the Wicks?
Are the players not up to it?
Many seem to be OK. Are we weak in a few areas only? Is that causing problems?
The defensive record suggests to me that the commitment and endeavour is there.
Is the coaching style wrong?
The flat wide lateral passing style seems to be too hard at this level.
Thought the team yesterday could have done better.
The Club seems to be going forward in so many areas however it has to be a semi finalist in the 1s IMO to be judged favourably.
So many positives however the results are just being missed.
Who would be a coach????

 

[I like to watch]

I think you make a good point,making the semis is a good way to measure the success of a side.
I wouldn't be taking too much notice about a loss to the Marlins.
They are a grade above the rest this year.

 

[Dave Beat]

Agree.
Yuk. Ouch.
What went wrong with the Wicks?
Are the players not up to it?
Many seem to be OK. Are we weak in a few areas only? Is that causing problems?
The defensive record suggests to me that the commitment and endeavour is there.
Is the coaching style wrong?
The flat wide lateral passing style seems to be too hard at this level.
Thought the team yesterday could have done better.
The Club seems to be going forward in so many areas however it has to be a semi finalist in the 1s IMO to be judged favourably.
So many positives however the results are just being missed.
Who would be a coach????

Macca prior to yesterday your biggest loss didn't exceed 8 points.
Last week you drew with Uni, and i read you were the better team.
So you are going alright.
We read last week the pies weren't up to scratch so we bought our own.
We only kicked 5 from 10.

 

[MACCA]

Macca prior to yesterday your biggest loss didn't exceed 8 points.
Last week you drew with Uni, and i read you were the better team.
So you are going alright.
We read last week the pies weren't up to scratch so we bought our own.
We only kicked 5 from 10.

Perhaps Manly were really good and we were off.
By the way - the pies are bloody good this year at Coogee ;-0

 

[It is what it is]

Tight 5.
In the big games it comes down to the tight 5.
Randwick are honest and bust their arses BUT the size and strength of opposition forwards seems to always bring them undone.
Scrums and defence take such a toll that there's very little juice left to run the ball.
Yes they will get up for an occasional win against a Top side but come semi-final time, they are no chance of backing it up 3 to 4 weeks in a row.
A good big man will usually beat a good little man, but a very good big man will continually beat a good little man.

 

[MACCA]

Tight 5.
In the big games it comes come to the tight 5.
Randwick are honest and bust their arses BUT the size and strength of opposition forwards seems to always bring them undone.
Scrums and defence take such a toll that there's very little juice left to run the ball.
Yes they will get up for an occasional win against a Top side but come semi-final time, they are no chance of backing it up 3 to 4 weeks in a row.
A good big man will usually beat a good little man, but a very good big man will continually beat a good little man.

Yep - thats a pretty good yard stick.
The piggies have been going well though if you take out Saturday.

 

[Sicnarf]

Agree.
Yuk. Ouch.
What went wrong with the Wicks?
Are the players not up to it?
Many seem to be OK. Are we weak in a few areas only? Is that causing problems?
The defensive record suggests to me that the commitment and endeavour is there.
Is the coaching style wrong?
The flat wide lateral passing style seems to be too hard at this level.
Thought the team yesterday could have done better.
The Club seems to be going forward in so many areas however it has to be a semi finalist in the 1s IMO to be judged favourably.
So many positives however the results are just being missed.
Who would be a coach????

The Wicks will be lucky to make the Top 8 - hasn't anyone looked at their Draw for the remainder of the season.
Randwick talked themselves up so much during the Week u would have thought they would have put up a much better performance
Lots & Lots & lots of talk this year and last year but appears to be the same old, same old

 

[Dave Beat]

The Wicks will be lucky to make the Top 8 - hasn't anyone looked at their Draw for the remainder of the season.
Randwick talked themselves up so much during the Week u would have thought they would have put up a much better performance
Lots & Lots & lots of talk this year and last year but appears to be the same old, same old

Brave statement.

But gee, just looked, what a run home they have.

 

[MACCA]

The Wicks will be lucky to make the Top 8 - hasn't anyone looked at their Draw for the remainder of the season.
Randwick talked themselves up so much during the Week u would have thought they would have put up a much better performance
Lots & Lots & lots of talk this year and last year but appears to be the same old, same old

Randwick beat the Emus at least
I dont recall them talking themselves up. My posts certainly haven't & there was some talk earlier in this forum about the horror draw. Randwick lost 5 games by 8 or less with 3 of those they were certs beaten. Add that onto the ladder and they would be sitting third.
The only thing they have going for them is that some other teams vying for the 5th & 6th slots are also facing challenging draws.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

The Wicks have high expectations of success, some even call it arrogance.

In the past they haven't shown too much patience with Coaches and players that haven't delivered to expectations.

How much patience will the Board have with the Stallion experiment if it continues to deliver outside the Top Eight finishes?

The investment in youth that Wade Kelly has implemented often takes a few (lean) years before it bears fruit.
Can the Gallopers wait that long?

 

[It is what it is]

The Wicks have high expectations of success, some even call it arrogance.

In the past they haven't shown too much patience with Coaches and players that haven't delivered to expectations.

How much patience will the Board have with the Stallion experiment if it continues to deliver outside the Top Eight finishes?

The investment in youth that Wade Kelly has implemented often takes a few (lean) years before it bears fruit.
Can the Gallopers wait that long?

HJ it's Top 6 for the finals this year not 8.

 

[refugee]

The Wicks have high expectations of success, some even call it arrogance.

In the past they haven't shown too much patience with Coaches and players that haven't delivered to expectations.

How much patience will the Board have with the Stallion experiment if it continues to deliver outside the Top Eight finishes?

The investment in youth that Wade Kelly has implemented often takes a few (lean) years before it bears fruit.
Can the Gallopers wait that long?

A pox on the board.
They instigated the changes and should now have patience.

 

[Brian Westlake]

A pox on the board.
They instigated the changes and should now have patience.

A pox is a fairly pious thing to wish on the board. Reffo...
They will wait and they will come. Colts look good, the younguns coming through in all areas of the park are starting to show their potential.
I hate saying this, but "it wont happen overnight, but it will happen" .

My life is over when I quote one of Rod Stewarts ex roots :/

 

[Pete King]

The Wicks will be lucky to make the Top 8 - hasn't anyone looked at their Draw for the remainder of the season.
Randwick talked themselves up so much during the Week u would have thought they would have put up a much better performance
Lots & Lots & lots of talk this year and last year but appears to be the same old, same old

We lost 13 on the trot in 2012 and came 2nd last. Last year we crept into the top 8 and beat Wests in the Semi. We are sitting 6th this year with some promising results (tieing with uni) giving eastwood a run. d say thats an improvement

 

[Pete King]

We wont and havent been the only side that manly touch up. We are a while off being a top 4 team but we are heading that way.

 

[the coach]

IMO we've had 15 good first grade quality players on the paddock every week although in many cases short on experience and young in years. Before Saturday we were competitive in every game and could have been undefeated after 10 rounds with a bit more composure and self belief. The downsides are (1) the 15 players are not blending as a team -- compare with the superb support play from Manly across all grades and (2) we keep throwing long flat cut out passes which have a high risk factor. We've had a lot of tries scored against us this year from our own mistakes. One thrashing from a very good team is not a disaster. We need to try to forget it and continue the good work of the first 10 rounds. Next week will be big test of how well the coaches and players are able to refocus.

 

[George Hipwall]

IMO we've had 15 good first grade quality players on the paddock every week although in many cases short on experience and young in years. Before Saturday we were competitive in every game and could have been undefeated after 10 rounds with a bit more composure and self belief. The downsides are (1) the 15 players are not blending as a team -- compare with the superb support play from Manly across all grades and (2) we keep throwing long flat cut out passes which have a high risk factor. We've had a lot of tries scored against us this year from our own mistakes. One thrashing from a very good team is not a disaster. We need to try to forget it and continue the good work of the first 10 rounds. Next week will be big test of how well the coaches and players are able to refocus.

Agreed. The Wicks have just been shown what the benchmark is. There is something to aim for - as players and a club. The framework they've put in place since 2012 will reap benefits.