The Hickey Must go thread
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Langthorne
Phil Hardcastle (33)
waratahjesus said:
I think the Waratahs have too many of these both on and off the field
TheRiddler
Dave Cowper (27)
For what I'm about to receive, may I be truly thankful.
I'm still not convinced. Yes, we have a team full of great players, a lot of them Wallabies, but is it truly a great team. Yes, we have put on some good performances. Yes, we are in the semis. However, even last night, the frailaties of the team shone through. Carter in the first 10 mins was awful. Why did Berrick revert to woeful kicking tactics, midfield bombs? Why does Burgess still persist with taking 3-4 steps from the back of ruck before passing even when he is presented with beautiful clean ball? Why was it when the Canes were down and out for the count and has lost their most inspirational forward and captain that we could truly put them to the sword in the way a truly great team would?
I have my theory. I'm sure you have yours.
Incoming.........
I'm still not convinced. Yes, we have a team full of great players, a lot of them Wallabies, but is it truly a great team. Yes, we have put on some good performances. Yes, we are in the semis. However, even last night, the frailaties of the team shone through. Carter in the first 10 mins was awful. Why did Berrick revert to woeful kicking tactics, midfield bombs? Why does Burgess still persist with taking 3-4 steps from the back of ruck before passing even when he is presented with beautiful clean ball? Why was it when the Canes were down and out for the count and has lost their most inspirational forward and captain that we could truly put them to the sword in the way a truly great team would?
I have my theory. I'm sure you have yours.
Incoming.........
waratahjesus
Greg Davis (50)
TheRiddler said:
why is it people think the tahs should be able to play rugby however they want without giving any credit to the opposition.
Tahs have had a good year, there the best australian team and they backed it up by beating every australian team, credit were its due.
maybe barnes kicked for position, maybe burgess took steps cos every halfback for the last 5 years or more has taken steps to clear the ball from hands and feet and also look for inside runners.
maybe saying tom carter was woeful for the first ten is your way of saying he had some fantastic runs and offloads but not in the first ten when he barely touched the ball.
all these things and more should be pondered and wondered, if hickey was so bad and friend so good, why has hickey done a better job?
Groucho
Greg Davis (50)
waratahjesus said:
Friend?!? How has friend become any sort of benchmark here? Friend is not "so good", he is inept, a far worse coach than even Hickey.
The Brumbies, with as much talent as the Tahs, have wasted it even more. The Tahs play good halves of footy, sometimes excellent halves. We play good phases, sometimes two in a game. Our basic skills are abysmal. Our captain is on a mission to incur penalties and piss off the refreeing establishment. Friend is some kind of impostor, put in place by the NZRU as a sort of anti-Deans. Hmmmph.
TheRiddler
Dave Cowper (27)
Welcome to the club Groucho, lovely to have you on board.
The thing that annoys me is that earlier in the season we played Barnes deep and flat-footed, with the results for all to see - awful midfield kicking that gained nothing. Now they get him flatter, taking the ball aggressively to the line, and suddenly the benefit of Carter at 12 is obvious. He will truck it up, get forward and usually recycle it well (hell, he even passed TWICE in one movement last night). And he defends well. And the option for Barnes to cut him out to Horne works too. Why only now do we see this plan?
Last night was great, but really the tries all came a bit from nothing - the backs created them well. The forwards did well, but if you take out a couple of bits of individual brilliance from Turner, Mitchell and Beale then we did not reap rewards from the pressure generated up front all that well. The tactic to turn the Canes was good, no question, but hard to argue that a game plan won it well last night. We were a little bit lucky too.
Last night was great, but really the tries all came a bit from nothing - the backs created them well. The forwards did well, but if you take out a couple of bits of individual brilliance from Turner, Mitchell and Beale then we did not reap rewards from the pressure generated up front all that well. The tactic to turn the Canes was good, no question, but hard to argue that a game plan won it well last night. We were a little bit lucky too.
the gambler
Dave Cowper (27)
The Tahs must have one of the highest %s for tries scored from kicks. Hangers/Barnes grubbers and now Beale and Mitchell chips have led to a lot of our tries this year.
waratahjesus
Greg Davis (50)
cyclopath said:
just throwing it out there, Horne was out for most of the season, so we needed a different game plan.
I realised that after posting it, WJ, but I still reckon we could have done it differently earlier on. I refuse to call the early season play any sort of a "plan"!! Surely the whole game plan doesn't hinge on 1 player being available? They couldn't even use Carter with any effect earlier because they were too deep, and he won't make the gain line starting 10m behind it. From 1-2m back, no problems.waratahjesus said:
Doesn't Barnes look a different player now?
waratahjesus
Greg Davis (50)
cyclopath said:
i agree, but i think sidey and co have been a bit of a dissapointment to them so they didnt want to use them, i also think barnes was wildly out of form, but the twin playmaker thing just didnt work for the tahs and im glad they stopped it.
early season was pretty much a clusterf@#k at times, i dont think they really clicked at all, ive seen good sides not play well as a team plenty of times and i think it was a case of the players feeling each other out.
my point is, by seasons end, we have made the finals (the highlanders game the tahs screwed themselves out of a home semi) and we have an incredibly well balanced team (minus a few injuries) the fact that the back three are causing havoc were spreading it wide more often than not and the forwards are working together would seem to indicate that the coach has had influence on them throughout the season and therefore has had a good year.
Langthorne
Phil Hardcastle (33)
I'm still struggling with the Anesi issue.
To give Hickey the benefit of the doubt, I'm going to say the reason he is so positive about Anesi's contribution is that Hickey wants to be loyal to his players. Surely come season end Anesi will be packing his bags (?!)
Hickey is a slow learner. Lacks foresight. Either has poor game plans, or relates them badly to the players. He doesn't manage replacements or the health and fitness of the whole squad well. His recruitment policy has been very hit and miss.
He clearly maintains a positive team environment. He has managed to secure the important squad members on contract. He has brought in Douglas, McCutcheon and Dennis. The Tahs are in the semis (so haven't gone backwards in that regard).
Getting rid of Hickey only makes sense to me if someone better is available (there is no question that better coaches do exist).
To give Hickey the benefit of the doubt, I'm going to say the reason he is so positive about Anesi's contribution is that Hickey wants to be loyal to his players. Surely come season end Anesi will be packing his bags (?!)
Hickey is a slow learner. Lacks foresight. Either has poor game plans, or relates them badly to the players. He doesn't manage replacements or the health and fitness of the whole squad well. His recruitment policy has been very hit and miss.
He clearly maintains a positive team environment. He has managed to secure the important squad members on contract. He has brought in Douglas, McCutcheon and Dennis. The Tahs are in the semis (so haven't gone backwards in that regard).
Getting rid of Hickey only makes sense to me if someone better is available (there is no question that better coaches do exist).
AussieDominance
Trevor Allan (34)
NTA said:
Cameron or Lachlan Mitchell :thumb
On one hand the mighty Tahs have made the semi's, so the 'runs are on the board' so to speak.
However, I'm with Langthorne on this one. The Tahs recruitment and backline selection has been a fucking mystery. Just like last year, they seemed to try every fuckwitted combination first, before getting to what was a logical set up. And what do you know, again the Tahs start to click at the end of the season. Anesi vs Beale - I rest my case
Compare that to Links Reds where he knew exactly the combinations, skills and game plans he wanted before game 1. The team executes and they come out of the blocks hard. I'd suggest chronic lack of depth and injuries (hardly Links fault) were the only thing that stopped them hitting the semis.
However, I'm with Langthorne on this one. The Tahs recruitment and backline selection has been a fucking mystery. Just like last year, they seemed to try every fuckwitted combination first, before getting to what was a logical set up. And what do you know, again the Tahs start to click at the end of the season. Anesi vs Beale - I rest my case
Compare that to Links Reds where he knew exactly the combinations, skills and game plans he wanted before game 1. The team executes and they come out of the blocks hard. I'd suggest chronic lack of depth and injuries (hardly Links fault) were the only thing that stopped them hitting the semis.
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