Top four push

[Mickey_Raider]

I think if we don't beat Roosters in Round 17 at home then we are making up the numbers.

I can’t agree with this at all. As long as we are competitive the roosters game doesn’t change anything for me.

If we get belted and look clearly off the pace then it may be a cause for concern rolling into the finals but a loss in and of itself, nah.

[Seiffert82]

I think if we don't beat Roosters in Round 17 at home then we are making up the numbers.

I can’t agree with this at all. As long as we are competitive the roosters game doesn’t change anything for me.

If we get belted and look clearly off the pace then it may be a cause for concern rolling into the finals but a loss in and of itself, nah.

TBH, I'm actually a big fan of a close loss leading into the finals. As long as the performance is good.

So many teams psychologically benefit knowing that they are good enough and then hungry enough to step it up a notch to get the win when it matters most.

[BadnMean]

I think if we don't beat Roosters in Round 17 at home then we are making up the numbers.

I can’t agree with this at all. As long as we are competitive the roosters game doesn’t change anything for me.

If we get belted and look clearly off the pace then it may be a cause for concern rolling into the finals but a loss in and of itself, nah.

Last year there was a time when I really felt we had to get over a top 4 team to make a statement to what we could do and instil real belief in the players. We beat the Sharks and Storm. We'd also been right in the top 4 most of the year.

This year we've already beaten contenders regularly along the way + on the back of last year, I don't think belief in the squad will be lacking. Whether or not we beat the roosters (again) this time around I'm also not so sure is a be all and end all.

There was a thread a couple of months back similar to this and I still feel the same way. Top 4 would be very nice. But given how the year has unfolded, with an injury to a major spine player, and then a glut of other injuries making any kind of fluency almost impossible, let alone the travel burden higher than most teams- I felt that if we were still hanging tough in about 5th come finals that we'd have a shout, provided we were building some form.

My thoughts haven't changed. This year of all years a team can win from 5. It's a shorter season, which matters for this reason; A shorter season means more room for anomaly and chance of fortune to impact a season. So we're a top 4 team that got kicked in the pants by a bit of adversity all at once and were shook for a few weeks but battled out strong as ever. Some other teams got a dream run and cashed in, now they are getting found out a bit but reeling them in to take the top 4 is a tall order in a short season ( )

Whether we finish 3rd, 4th or 5th, we've fought back from what would crush 13-14 other teams in the comp without a doubt. We're finding attacking form. Normalised to life without Hodgo and indeed beginning to thrive again. Don't get me wrong, 4th is a FAR better place to launch from. Fifth his harder. But it was harder in '89 too. Raiders broke a few barriers that year.

But when we get into the big games at the end of the year, there's one team that in finals football, the likes of Roosters, Storm and Penriff won't want to see across from them because they have proven time and again they are up for it and won't break. That they can knock the top teams over with whoever pulls on the jersey for them. It's the team in lime green they'd least want to play, every one of them. We know why. And 4th or 5th doesn't change it.

Enjoy game day fellas!

[benda]

we are not a top 4 side... Bulldogs to win a half against us is really scary.

[RedRaider]

I was looking at our average game stats for 2019 compared to 2020.
In 2019 we had 374 points scored against us at an average of 15.58 points per game and in attack scored 524 at 21.83 points over 24 games.
In 2020 we had 249 points scored against us at an average of 15.56 points per game and in attack scored 338 at 21.12 points over 16 games.

As you can see, despite injury and travel and the subsequent season disruptions, there is very little difference so far. Maybe 2019 felt better as we were at last genuine contenders. This year the expectation was very high to begin with. Our attack does not look as good as last year by the eye test, but the stats say different. It is no time to be complacent, but with a bit of tweaking to the attack and some 'drive 'em back' gang tackling for confidence, we are right in this competition.

[Seiffert82]

Interesting comparison.

last season our defence seemed to be much more stoic, especially in defending our line. We also started the first half of the season holding a few teams to zero, so it definitely feels like last year our defence was much more in tune. It's interesting that the average is pretty much the same.

I mentioned in another thread that we are playing quite consistently this season despite being nowhere near our best. To that extent our 2019 and 2020 seasons have been quite similar.

[The Nickman]

we are not a top 4 side... Bulldogs to win a half against us is really scary.

Correct, we are not a top 4 side. We win one more game and we are.

This is how a competition ladder works

[bonehead]

we are not a top 4 side... Bulldogs to win a half against us is really scary.

Correct, we are not a top 4 side. We win one more game and we are.

This is how a competition ladder works

deep man that's deep

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[GreenMachine]

For me, beating the Roosters isn't about belief. I think we have belief.
It's about execution. We haven't executed anything near an 80 minute performance and that is what I'd like to see...a solid 80 minute performance where we win the game.

[Hong Kong Raider]

We definitely have scope for improvement and we haven't played as well as we can. The players know that from the interviews.

Roosters peaked right after COVID. Melbourne play in the same gear all the time - we had their measure in round 3 and could have won at GIO if Whitehead grounded the ball properly despite the wrong sin binning and Hodgson going down. I do not think they have another level to go to. It's the same every year. Same with Penrith. Parramatta also peaked earlier in the year and I cannot see them going to another level - only way for them is down.

We should have the hunger of losing last year to motivate us. We should use that hurt in our favour and also the big game experience of what's required - such as details like marker defence (Verrills try), not trying to be a hero and holding to the ball too long (Leilua to Rapana) and being in position quickly after making a tackle (Leilua which led to the Tedesco try).

How are other sides going to attack us? 1. We need to improve our defence of the other side's attacking kicks - we conceded tries against Brisbane, Titans and Canterbury through kicks - grubbers to Cotric and bombs to Croker's side. Bet your money that Roosters will bomb to CNK early and to Tupou's wing. CNK dropped one at GIO last year which led to a try. 2. Our right side defence - attacking Scott and Cotric. Bateman's return has helped in that regard.

[The Nickman]

We definitely have scope for improvement and we haven't played as well as we can. The players know that from the interviews.

Roosters peaked right after COVID. Melbourne play in the same gear all the time - we had their measure in round 3 and could have won at GIO if Whitehead grounded the ball properly despite the wrong sin binning and Hodgson going down. I do not think they have another level to go to. It's the same every year. Same with Penrith. Parramatta also peaked earlier in the year and I cannot see them going to another level - only way for them is down.

We should have the hunger of losing last year to motivate us. We should use that hurt in our favour and also the big game experience of what's required - such as details like marker defence (Verrills try), not trying to be a hero and holding to the ball too long (Leilua to Rapana) and being in position quickly after making a tackle (Leilua which led to the Tedesco try).

How are other sides going to attack us? 1. We need to improve our defence of the other side's attacking kicks - we conceded tries against Brisbane, Titans and Canterbury through kicks - grubbers to Cotric and bombs to Croker's side. Bet your money that Roosters will bomb to CNK early and to Tupou's wing. CNK dropped one at GIO last year which led to a try. 2. Our right side defence - attacking Scott and Cotric. Bateman's return has helped in that regard.

That's a good post, I genuinely think we're a good chance of winning the whole thing this year.

[hrundi89]

I was looking at our average game stats for 2019 compared to 2020.
In 2019 we had 374 points scored against us at an average of 15.58 points per game and in attack scored 524 at 21.83 points over 24 games.
In 2020 we had 249 points scored against us at an average of 15.56 points per game and in attack scored 338 at 21.12 points over 16 games.

How do those numbers compare against all club's averages year on year?

That's where we can tell if we've maintained the same level or gone backwards.

[hrundi89]

Average points for/against in 2019 was 19.75

Average points for/against in 2020 is 20.15.

With that in mind we've dropped in scoring. Defense has improved.

[Raiders_Pat]

We definitely have scope for improvement and we haven't played as well as we can. The players know that from the interviews.

Roosters peaked right after COVID. Melbourne play in the same gear all the time - we had their measure in round 3 and could have won at GIO if Whitehead grounded the ball properly despite the wrong sin binning and Hodgson going down. I do not think they have another level to go to. It's the same every year. Same with Penrith. Parramatta also peaked earlier in the year and I cannot see them going to another level - only way for them is down.

We should have the hunger of losing last year to motivate us. We should use that hurt in our favour and also the big game experience of what's required - such as details like marker defence (Verrills try), not trying to be a hero and holding to the ball too long (Leilua to Rapana) and being in position quickly after making a tackle (Leilua which led to the Tedesco try).

How are other sides going to attack us? 1. We need to improve our defence of the other side's attacking kicks - we conceded tries against Brisbane, Titans and Canterbury through kicks - grubbers to Cotric and bombs to Croker's side. Bet your money that Roosters will bomb to CNK early and to Tupou's wing. CNK dropped one at GIO last year which led to a try. 2. Our right side defence - attacking Scott and Cotric. Bateman's return has helped in that regard.

That's a good post, I genuinely think we're a good chance of winning the whole thing this year.

You're on the money here HK Raider. I think we're right in it this year, if we can continue to make the necessary improvements we're a great shot.

[Canberra Milk]

Roosters peaked after covid, flatlined, but now are starting to peak again at the right time. It kind of feels ominous actually, just how they're starting to peak pre-finals and of course with SBW to open up their attack

Melbourne and Penrith don't need to go up a gear

I think we're an ok chance. We are not as good an all-round football team as the top 3, in my opinion. But we have our strengths: we have generally good defence, good kicking game. An outstanding middle third. Gamebreakers in Wighton and Papalii. A raft of individual threats in G Williams, Bateman, Cotric etc, even if they rarely all click together

I think deep down many people feel similar: we haven't fully clicked this year, but we have a lot of upside and at our best are a genuine frontrunner. I felt last year that we could beat anyone bar the Roosters. There's no one this year I feel we can't beat