Reds v Force
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disco
Chilla Wilson (44)
MMM should be back at lock his 1st 3 games of the year he was in the Aussie team of the week then he got moved & Higginbotham dropped & we haven't been the same since.
Anyway the Reds are shooting themselves in the foot they should have at least converted one of many chances in the 1st half & then again we should have scored 1st in the 2nd half 20-10 or 20-14 looks a lot better than 20-nil.
Cardinal sin Scott Higginbotham no need to throw a punch it was just stupid & he probably has damaged his chances of a Wallaby call up with that one brain explosion.
Digby Ioane was brilliant as was Berrick Barnes the only two Reds players that earnt thier pay last night.
Our back 3 are killing us, it was just another horror show last night we need Hynes back bad & what do we do with Ioane keep playing him at 13 or move him back to the wing.
Mooney has no choice but to make changes next week or the season could be another one to forget.
Anyway the Reds are shooting themselves in the foot they should have at least converted one of many chances in the 1st half & then again we should have scored 1st in the 2nd half 20-10 or 20-14 looks a lot better than 20-nil.
Cardinal sin Scott Higginbotham no need to throw a punch it was just stupid & he probably has damaged his chances of a Wallaby call up with that one brain explosion.
Digby Ioane was brilliant as was Berrick Barnes the only two Reds players that earnt thier pay last night.
Our back 3 are killing us, it was just another horror show last night we need Hynes back bad & what do we do with Ioane keep playing him at 13 or move him back to the wing.
Mooney has no choice but to make changes next week or the season could be another one to forget.
disco
Chilla Wilson (44)
Yep Mooney has to make a decision as it's clear that Higginbotham is the best 6 in the team so it's either MMM or Van to the bench next week.
Best on ground last night was David Pocock he had a blinder as did Nathan Sharpe & Tom Hockings who both outpointed thier opponents.
I didn't mean to bag MMM in general in my earlier post. He does a lot of good work, no doubt. My main point was the few times he ran with the ball he got absolutely mullered by the defence. As Grandmaster Flash noted he runs too upright. Too many Aus forwards do, and rarely get front foot ball as a result. Sharpe gives the illusion of getting across the advantage line more, but usually by only 2m (the distance between his feet hitting the line, and where the top of his body ends up after falling over the first thing he touches ;D)
Another thing I noticed, and trying not to be churlish about the Force who obviously won well, but in the first half they had some good opportunities where quick ball may have unlocked some space out wide, but too often it hits a piggy who just goes back inside and goes to ground, no thought of a pass or offload. It's the default Aus approach unfortunately, and one of the key differences with teams like the Chiefs, and even the Highlanders last weekend - when they got a sniff of a chance, it got moved; forwards / backs didn't matter. This isn't just spinning it for the heck of it, but making the most of a chance that could be taken. Very safe and all, but sometimes a little risk can be good.
Another thing I noticed, and trying not to be churlish about the Force who obviously won well, but in the first half they had some good opportunities where quick ball may have unlocked some space out wide, but too often it hits a piggy who just goes back inside and goes to ground, no thought of a pass or offload. It's the default Aus approach unfortunately, and one of the key differences with teams like the Chiefs, and even the Highlanders last weekend - when they got a sniff of a chance, it got moved; forwards / backs didn't matter. This isn't just spinning it for the heck of it, but making the most of a chance that could be taken. Very safe and all, but sometimes a little risk can be good.
F
formeropenside
Guest
I'm not too angry at Higginbotham, the ref was not doing his job at the breakdown, so something had to be done. Every tackle, there was a Force player on the wrong side. When Van drove straight through the middle, a full arm against him. A poor job reffing the scrum too.
Thats not rugby as I remember playing it.
Mark Bell - go back to U19, you cant coach grown up forwards. Qld needs a new forward coach: why did we let Foley go?
Houston needs to be an impact player off the bench.
Thats not rugby as I remember playing it.
Mark Bell - go back to U19, you cant coach grown up forwards. Qld needs a new forward coach: why did we let Foley go?
Houston needs to be an impact player off the bench.
H
hatchie
Guest
It is nice to have a pleasant outing to Subi for a change.
I saw some stat the other day that the Force had the lowest or second lowest number of missed tackles in the Super14. Their solid defence last night gave them great confidence to put pressure on the Reds, even though they had significantly less territory in the first half.
Reds handling was poor, esp for Digby who showed some of his 2006/07 form. Unlucky. I thought the decision making and discipline was pretty rubbish from the Reds too, but I guess that can offen surface when an opposition's defence is so tight.
The Force loosies went through a ton of work, the scrum held up ok, and the line-out was so so. The backs all look genuinely hungry for a change, and Git's decision to pass rather than crab gave them a little more room to express themselves.
My MOM was Cummins, who had a belter, both in defence and with ball in hand.
I saw some stat the other day that the Force had the lowest or second lowest number of missed tackles in the Super14. Their solid defence last night gave them great confidence to put pressure on the Reds, even though they had significantly less territory in the first half.
Reds handling was poor, esp for Digby who showed some of his 2006/07 form. Unlucky. I thought the decision making and discipline was pretty rubbish from the Reds too, but I guess that can offen surface when an opposition's defence is so tight.
The Force loosies went through a ton of work, the scrum held up ok, and the line-out was so so. The backs all look genuinely hungry for a change, and Git's decision to pass rather than crab gave them a little more room to express themselves.
My MOM was Cummins, who had a belter, both in defence and with ball in hand.
I too thought the Force loosies had a belter.
Have put a bit of video "analysis" (ok, not quite) together on the front page here
http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/how-force-thrashed-red/
Have put a bit of video "analysis" (ok, not quite) together on the front page here
http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/how-force-thrashed-red/
that game knocked me around a lot. Shees they pissed me off. Bloody Blair Connor and that chicken dance after scoring a try. Dickhead.
I'm really quite devastated about the performance. We were pathetic. I can't see us winning another game this year.
Apparently 6 changes for the week:
15 McLinden
14 Hynes
13 Ione
12 Barnes
11 Vaa'ulu
10 Cooper
9 Lucas
8 Taylor
7 Braid
6 Higgers
5 MMM
4 Horwill
3 Weekes
2 Fainga'a
1 Holmes
Hardman injured, so Fainga'a will probably start. Will get to see Hanson I guess. But against the Highlanders? Shees. We'll get murdered. Anyone else notice how pathetic Fainga'a's scrum positioning was? Never seen anything like it in pro rugby. He was like the harbour bridge at times.
I'm really quite devastated about the performance. We were pathetic. I can't see us winning another game this year.
Apparently 6 changes for the week:
15 McLinden
14 Hynes
13 Ione
12 Barnes
11 Vaa'ulu
10 Cooper
9 Lucas
8 Taylor
7 Braid
6 Higgers
5 MMM
4 Horwill
3 Weekes
2 Fainga'a
1 Holmes
Hardman injured, so Fainga'a will probably start. Will get to see Hanson I guess. But against the Highlanders? Shees. We'll get murdered. Anyone else notice how pathetic Fainga'a's scrum positioning was? Never seen anything like it in pro rugby. He was like the harbour bridge at times.
Ash
Michael Lynagh (62)
Noddy said:
Tell me about it. Was so disappointing to watch. The Reds were a rabble - they need to go back and spend weeks on defensive drills. Just all over the place. The back 3 from the Reds was pathetic. Again.
Can't believe I forced myself to watch it all. The Reds are heading directly to a 13th placing this year.
Geez, Pocock ruled the rucks. Braid never was a fetcher, more of a link man, and I think with a traditional 6 you need a fetcher more than a link man. But he's still doing a very good job for the Reds and better than anyone else they have. Just painful to watch Pocock tear the Reds forwards a new one.
Not sure where the Reds can go from here. Beaten by the worst scrum in the comp. Out muscled in the breakdown by the worst tight 5 in the comp. Shambles.
fatprop said:
Well, its not madness. Our pack have gone missing these last matches. We need more impact, and more defence in tight. Leroy didn't add that.
To be honest, after giving it to you last week, I know think MMM should be benched to try and get the response Crofty did last year. Get him refocussed and fired.
In the end, who the fuck cares.
F
formeropenside
Guest
Pocock ruled the rucks because he was consistently on the wrong side, and the ref did not care (and you cant clean out properly anymore).
The ruck and maul was terrible, and the ref was a big part of it.\
I actually thought Goddard's 5 cards a few weeks back might have been the start of a crackdown by referees but apparently not. If the rules at ruck time cant be applied strictly, perhaps we need to change the rules?
The ruck and maul was terrible, and the ref was a big part of it.\
I actually thought Goddard's 5 cards a few weeks back might have been the start of a crackdown by referees but apparently not. If the rules at ruck time cant be applied strictly, perhaps we need to change the rules?
formeropenside said:
It still hurts doesn't it FO?
I reckon Pocock can look that way because he's often the tackler and so is fine to get to his feet on 'the wrong side'.
By fuck he has a low body position as well - gets him pinged for bridging but tough to clean out like Smith.
Please, no more performances by Trisha Goddard.
Ash
Michael Lynagh (62)
Pocock turned over a lot of ball, several of which let to tries in the next play. Defence from turnovers has been awful for the Reds in the last few games. Quite often when the Reds lose ball their players make no effort to get into the defensive line wider out but rather stand and watch at the ruck.
Two things for the Reds stood out for me that was completely awful.
1. Defensive line. It was ragged. Never moved up as a line, rather it was staggered the whole night creating little gaps everywhere. They need to get back, set their line and move up as one.
The last two games (since the bye) the defensive line has looked ragged, so I wonder if they decreased their defensive work over the last 3 weeks and thus they fell back to old habits.
What I especially suspect is that if, in the last two games, they had scored first after dominating territory for the first 10 minutes then the scores would've looked a lot different. I suspect that they simply deflate after the tries against the run of play and they fall back to their defensive patterns of the last 4 years - that is, having none.
2. Passiveness/competing at the ruck. The Reds tackle, then fail to compete at ruck time 99% of the time. The only one really competing was Braid, and he was largely ineffectual. The Reds would passively tackle, usually allowing them to get over the advantage line, and then stand around looking at the ruck. As a result, the Reds were often back tracking which made their defensive line all the worse.
In comparison, the Force forwards would try to play the ball / attack the the ball on Reds rucks, and they forced turnovers.
The above two things really frustrated me. Apart from that, the Reds bombed a heap of opportunities by rushing and forcing too many passes. Not too worried about that yet, as they are a young side and will improve with experience and confidence. Fixing their ruck play and defence is more important first.
Jack Kennedy also was very poor. When he came on he got mullered by Pek Cowan, who can't scrum. Edwards should be retained on the bench, until at least Kennedy can scrum at a higher level. If Holmes can play tight head, then leave Daley on the bench.
For the Force, they should be only really be worried about their lineout. It was awful. Otherwise, they should be happy that their defensive line held well, their scrum was dominant in the second half, and their loosies dominated the ruck contests.
Two things for the Reds stood out for me that was completely awful.
1. Defensive line. It was ragged. Never moved up as a line, rather it was staggered the whole night creating little gaps everywhere. They need to get back, set their line and move up as one.
The last two games (since the bye) the defensive line has looked ragged, so I wonder if they decreased their defensive work over the last 3 weeks and thus they fell back to old habits.
What I especially suspect is that if, in the last two games, they had scored first after dominating territory for the first 10 minutes then the scores would've looked a lot different. I suspect that they simply deflate after the tries against the run of play and they fall back to their defensive patterns of the last 4 years - that is, having none.
2. Passiveness/competing at the ruck. The Reds tackle, then fail to compete at ruck time 99% of the time. The only one really competing was Braid, and he was largely ineffectual. The Reds would passively tackle, usually allowing them to get over the advantage line, and then stand around looking at the ruck. As a result, the Reds were often back tracking which made their defensive line all the worse.
In comparison, the Force forwards would try to play the ball / attack the the ball on Reds rucks, and they forced turnovers.
The above two things really frustrated me. Apart from that, the Reds bombed a heap of opportunities by rushing and forcing too many passes. Not too worried about that yet, as they are a young side and will improve with experience and confidence. Fixing their ruck play and defence is more important first.
Jack Kennedy also was very poor. When he came on he got mullered by Pek Cowan, who can't scrum. Edwards should be retained on the bench, until at least Kennedy can scrum at a higher level. If Holmes can play tight head, then leave Daley on the bench.
For the Force, they should be only really be worried about their lineout. It was awful. Otherwise, they should be happy that their defensive line held well, their scrum was dominant in the second half, and their loosies dominated the ruck contests.
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