2024 Round 8 v Sharks: Game Day

[Botman]

Pretty measured presser from Stuart today. He's really be better on that front this year.

[Green Taipan]

Look..

After last week v Donkeys I was calm and understanding of our situation.

Our transition will be long and painful.

Unfortunately we will cop many more pastings until our very young and inexperienced spine get a feel.

I’m prepared for that, weve waited a very very long time..a couple more seasons won’t kill me.

Are you joking, " couple more seasons". This has been the mantra for the last 30 yrs and what has it produced? The club has not been focused on winning for most of the last 3 decades. It's primary goal is to provide a sinecure for favoured sons. I've been a member for many years (tears) but finally gave it away this year as I could not see any prospect for success with the current club management, especially the coach!

[gerg]

Definitely a few changes to be made next week.

Cook needs to be our 7. Unfortunately Weekes is not a halfback. A bit unfair as he's being asked to perform a role that doesn't suit his skill set.

Woolford back at dummy half. The other key change. We can't take that spine into another game.

As for the pack. Send them all out there next week and tell them to redeem themselves.

Yeah, I'd be OK with Cook coming in. Woolford too.

I expect Sasagi to be replaced by Mariota in the starting side. You can't have an edge forward missing 8 tackles. He is consistently poor in defence.

I know I bang on about Schiller too, but he was horrific out there in all aspects of the game. He was lucky to get a penalty when he lost the ball cold. He's an absolute muppet. Cotric was good in NSW cup. I'd definitely make that change.

Poor old Timoko was surrounded by absolute gumbies in defence. It was hard to watch.

Ricky said Whitehead will probably come back in next week. Schiller brings the speed and x factor but too many errors.

Woolford must come back in. If we want to look at other options at hooker, re @afgtnk we need to clear Levi and Starling out of the squad so Trevilyan and Puru can develop, and roll the dice on other options. We have too many mediocre hookers on the books.

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[Hong Kong Raider]

I know we have a few players out, but this is an absolute disgrace. Surely, the tenure of Stuart must be under consideration. Just joking, this is the Raiders after all.

I'm prepared to give the next five years to another coach than to the existing one who has had 11 years with the same club yet still couldn't win a premiership.

Can you imagine the excuses for the next five years? They are too young, we can't sign players, other teams are really good like Penrith and Brisbane blah blah blah.

How about looking in the mirror at his own coaching ? How about looking in the mirror at his own team selections ? How about looking in the mirror at his recruitment and retention?

[Finchy]

Pretty measured presser from Stuart today. He's really be better on that front this year.

I thought the same thing. Not sure he knows how to fix it or can fix it though.

I really think this season is a write-off. No Fog, no hope. And Fog isn't even that good. But we need his kicking game. It papers over a lot of other weaknesses. I can't see us winning many games for the rest of the year.

[Bloody_Burnham]

Definitely a few changes to be made next week.

Cook needs to be our 7. Unfortunately Weekes is not a halfback. A bit unfair as he's being asked to perform a role that doesn't suit his skill set.

Woolford back at dummy half. The other key change. We can't take that spine into another game.

As for the pack. Send them all out there next week and tell them to redeem themselves.

Yeah, I'd be OK with Cook coming in. Woolford too.

I expect Sasagi to be replaced by Mariota in the starting side. You can't have an edge forward missing 8 tackles. He is consistently poor in defence.

I know I bang on about Schiller too, but he was horrific out there in all aspects of the game. He was lucky to get a penalty when he lost the ball cold. He's an absolute muppet and is leaving anyway. Cotric was good in NSW cup. I'd definitely make that change.

Poor old Timoko was surrounded by absolute gumbies in defence. It was hard to watch.

I'd bring in Cook, Whitehead (apparently he's a chance to return), Germ Jnr and Cotric. Sisagi can go back to the bench or cup but needs to improve his defence. I'd also be tempted to leave Weekes on the bench and give Starling a spell in cup as his painfully slow service from dummy half isn't helping our inexperienced spine who need all the help they can get.

[-PJ-]

Look..

After last week v Donkeys I was calm and understanding of our situation.

Our transition will be long and painful.

Unfortunately we will cop many more pastings until our very young and inexperienced spine get a feel.

I’m prepared for that, weve waited a very very long time..a couple more seasons won’t kill me.

Are you joking, " couple more seasons". This has been the mantra for the last 30 yrs and what has it produced? The club has not been focused on winning for most of the last 3 decades. It's primary goal is to provide a sinecure for favoured sons. I've been a member for many years (tears) but finally gave it away this year as I could not see any prospect for success with the current club management, especially the coach!

Ease up Taipan..

We’ve been top 8 4 of the last 5 years..2xprelims and a GF in 19. Do you remember that ?
As bad as we have been week to week, year to year we’ve been punching hard, harder than any expert expected us to punch. Without doubt we have 4 of the very best young players in the country wearing our jersey. It’ll take time..

Shed door up 11-30 Satd morn mate, we’ll chew the fat.

[rayden83]

Both Cook and Woolford are crap and won’t change anything. There’s a reason why Stuart tried to “upgrade” Woolford with a player that’s been rejected from 3 NRL clubs. Has nothing to do with “personal vendettas” and everything to do with being not very good. Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good, I hate him for bombing that try but he isn’t the reason we conceded 40.

Chevy looks far too underdone to be playing first grade. What is his skills base exactly? He isn’t strong and doesn’t appear particularly fast. Needs another year or two in reserves. Savage back to full back. Our only X factor wasted on the wing.

Weekes also not a half back. It’s hard to win games when we have no genuine back up half back with absolutely no ability to manage or dictate the attack. The other half is 2-3 seasons away from being serviceable at first grade level.

[Finchy]

Both Cook and Woolford are crap and won’t change anything. There’s a reason why Stuart tried to “upgrade” Woolford with a player that’s been rejected from 3 NRL clubs. Has nothing to do with “personal vendettas” and everything to do with being not very good. Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good, I hate him for bombing that try but he isn’t the reason we conceded 40.

Chevy looks far too underdone to be playing first grade. What is his skills base exactly? He isn’t strong and doesn’t appear particularly fast. Needs another year or two in reserves. Savage back to full back. Our only X factor wasted on the wing.

Weekes also not a half back. It’s hard to win games when we have no genuine back up half back with absolutely no ability to manage or dictate the attack. The other half is 2-3 seasons away from being serviceable at first grade level.

If you're going to "upgrade" a position, don't buy worse players.

[-PJ-]

We’ve had 74pts stroll through us in 2 games, that is concerning.

[The Green Hornet]

Both Cook and Woolford are crap and won’t change anything. There’s a reason why Stuart tried to “upgrade” Woolford with a player that’s been rejected from 3 NRL clubs. Has nothing to do with “personal vendettas” and everything to do with being not very good. Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good, I hate him for bombing that try but he isn’t the reason we conceded 40.

Chevy looks far too underdone to be playing first grade. What is his skills base exactly? He isn’t strong and doesn’t appear particularly fast. Needs another year or two in reserves. Savage back to full back. Our only X factor wasted on the wing.

Weekes also not a half back. It’s hard to win games when we have no genuine back up half back with absolutely no ability to manage or dictate the attack. The other half is 2-3 seasons away from being serviceable at first grade level.

If you're going to "upgrade" a position, don't buy worse players.

I'm on board with savage to fullback. No idea why he's now pigeon holed on a wing.

Stuarts even preferred Hopoate to fullback.

[Botman]

Pretty measured presser from Stuart today. He's really be better on that front this year.

I thought the same thing. Not sure he knows how to fix it or can fix it though.

I really think this season is a write-off. No Fog, no hope. And Fog isn't even that good. But we need his kicking game. It papers over a lot of other weaknesses. I can't see us winning many games for the rest of the year.

Ive been fairly vocal about Stuart's inability to find answers at times in his career... but i dont know that there is one for him with this situation. There are improvements to be made, coaching to be done... things around the fringes to get us 1-2-5% better... all together we could get 10-15% better but there is just a cap on the season given where the sqaud is.

[Travis]

There are a few intangibles missing that our injured spine players bring, namely Foges' organising at half (plus kicking game, as mentioned in the previous post) and Rapana's chat in defence (and probably attack, too).

Of today's spine, Weekes was never going to be a strong replacement half (and hasn't been in NSW Cup), our hookers are barely competent and the two promising players aren't dominant ball players and are still adjusting to the NRL. Scoring points was always going to be difficult against the top side in the NRL.

What was worse than our attack, though, was the incompetence demonstrated in individual defensive efforts. It was consistently bad. Levi started the rot through his awful defence in the middle (I'd say he was about ready to be hooked before he bombed the try, and that tipped it), Taps was uncharacteristically poor and our edges were putrid. After 15 minutes, our line speed was non-existent and our structures had disappeared, along with any execution of decent tackling technique.

[gerg]

Both Cook and Woolford are crap and won’t change anything. There’s a reason why Stuart tried to “upgrade” Woolford with a player that’s been rejected from 3 NRL clubs. Has nothing to do with “personal vendettas” and everything to do with being not very good. Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good, I hate him for bombing that try but he isn’t the reason we conceded 40.

Chevy looks far too underdone to be playing first grade. What is his skills base exactly? He isn’t strong and doesn’t appear particularly fast. Needs another year or two in reserves. Savage back to full back. Our only X factor wasted on the wing.

Weekes also not a half back. It’s hard to win games when we have no genuine back up half back with absolutely no ability to manage or dictate the attack. The other half is 2-3 seasons away from being serviceable at first grade level.

If you're going to "upgrade" a position, don't buy worse players.

I'm on board with savage to fullback. No idea why he's now pigeon holed on a wing.

Stuarts even preferred Hopoate to fullback.

I never understood it either but then saw an interview with Fogarty a week or two back and he said that Savage had gone to Ricky and said he wanted to play wing, not fullback.

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[rayden83]

Ease up Taipan..

We’ve been top 8 4 of the last 5 years..2xprelims and a GF in 19. Do you remember that ?

That is failure. This is what failure looks like. Finishing 10th, 8th and 8th is a crap outcome for a club with the pedigree and fan base of Canberra.

[Botman]

Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good,

We are not watching the same sport. I admittedly have not seen the last 3 weeks yet, but in the 5 weeks of football i have seen Danny Levi has been the worst starting hooker in the competition this year and it's not close.

[bonehead]

Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good,

We are not watching the same sport. I admittedly have not seen the last 3 weeks yet, but in the 5 weeks of football i have seen Danny Levi has been the worst starting hooker in the competition this year and it's not close.

last 3 weeks have been very poor, 1st 5 weeks career best form which was also poor.
His passing means our halves have no time

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[Colk]

Ease up Taipan..

We’ve been top 8 4 of the last 5 years..2xprelims and a GF in 19. Do you remember that ?

That is failure. This is what failure looks like. Finishing 10th, 8th and 8th is a crap outcome for a club with the pedigree and fan base of Canberra.

Sure. Not defending Stuart at all but we have been a whole lot worse than that for a whole lot longer. On the balance, he has been ok. Probably not warranted a decade long stint but not too bad.

Recruitment was his strength initially. Some of it was a fluke but he did buy the right type of characters. Unfortunately we are back in some way to where we were when he came in as that recruitment ability has been lost and there is little evidence of it coming back

[Raoul Duke]

Ease up Taipan..

We’ve been top 8 4 of the last 5 years..2xprelims and a GF in 19. Do you remember that ?

Sigh...because that's what we are shooting for, not sustained top 4 success. We made GF in 19, that means we had a window of at least a year or two to build on it. Sure, COVID threw a spanner in the works, but you can't tell me with straight face that Ricky's strategy isn't grind with the forwards and hope for some spark every game. There is ZERO strategic direction - there never has been.

We need new blood at the top, we need someone who actually knows the modern game and has more plans than ones that start with 'A'.

[Colk]

Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good,

We are not watching the same sport. I admittedly have not seen the last 3 weeks yet, but in the 5 weeks of football i have seen Danny Levi has been the worst starting hooker in the competition this year and it's not close.

last 3 weeks have been very poor, 1st 5 weeks career best form which was also poor.
His passing means our halves have no time

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At his absolute best he is just mediocre. Surely we should be aiming higher than a bloke who at best is just mediocre.

Heck there would be blokes in NSW Cup who would be an upgrade (and that is not just including ours). There is literally no excuse for having a dummy half as bad as him every week

[Hong Kong Raider]

Both Cook and Woolford are crap and won’t change anything. There’s a reason why Stuart tried to “upgrade” Woolford with a player that’s been rejected from 3 NRL clubs. Has nothing to do with “personal vendettas” and everything to do with being not very good. Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good, I hate him for bombing that try but he isn’t the reason we conceded 40.

Chevy looks far too underdone to be playing first grade. What is his skills base exactly? He isn’t strong and doesn’t appear particularly fast. Needs another year or two in reserves. Savage back to full back. Our only X factor wasted on the wing.

Weekes also not a half back. It’s hard to win games when we have no genuine back up half back with absolutely no ability to manage or dictate the attack. The other half is 2-3 seasons away from being serviceable at first grade level.

Woolford is a below average NRL half but he's still better than Levi. I don't think Ricky will play Levi next week - it was close to embarrassing today as to how far he was out of his depth.

I also think Savage should go to FB next week as besides Timoko, he's our only threat. His pace will create doubt.

The issue with Weekes is he didn't game manage/kick well or play to his strengths which is to run the ball. I don't want him doing torpedo kicks if that's not his skillset. But I'd give Weekes another week.

[-PJ-]

Ease up Taipan..

We’ve been top 8 4 of the last 5 years..2xprelims and a GF in 19. Do you remember that ?

Sigh...because that's what we are shooting for, not sustained top 4 success. We made GF in 19, that means we had a window of at least a year or two to build on it. Sure, COVID threw a spanner in the works, but you can't tell me with straight face that Ricky's strategy isn't grind with the forwards and hope for some spark every game. There is ZERO strategic direction - there never has been.

We need new blood at the top, we need someone who actually knows the modern game and has more plans than ones that start with 'A'.

Hang on ..

All teams have the same plays, all teams watch video.

So it comes down to cattle.

After scrapping hard for years with very little we are doing something about improving the squad.

I’m all for it and I’m rusted on.

[Raidernation]

Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good,

We are not watching the same sport. I admittedly have not seen the last 3 weeks yet, but in the 5 weeks of football i have seen Danny Levi has been the worst starting hooker in the competition this year and it's not close.

last 3 weeks have been very poor, 1st 5 weeks career best form which was also poor.
His passing means our halves have no time

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His passing has been good this season. The most crisp of any of our 9s. His defense of the other hand is problematic.
Either way, this was a team that was used to having control with their end of sets and now don't and with the number of inexperienced players they are all getting caught out. Our whole game was based on our end of sets and controlling where they start theirs. Now we have no control and a group of young players that don't know how to wrestle momentum back.
We have to play different which means shifting early to the backs out of meterage. Some second phase through our forwards also. Weekes and strange need to get to the opps 40m line to execute the bombs and we need to play some higher risk football to do it. If we dont get to the mark we should be looking at different kicks. It'll also force strange and Weekes into the game more. I thought strange in particular didn't really try too much and let the game pass by.

[bonehead]

Ease up Taipan..

We’ve been top 8 4 of the last 5 years..2xprelims and a GF in 19. Do you remember that ?

Sigh...because that's what we are shooting for, not sustained top 4 success. We made GF in 19, that means we had a window of at least a year or two to build on it. Sure, COVID threw a spanner in the works, but you can't tell me with straight face that Ricky's strategy isn't grind with the forwards and hope for some spark every game. There is ZERO strategic direction - there never has been.

We need new blood at the top, we need someone who actually knows the modern game and has more plans than ones that start with 'A'.

Hang on ..

All teams have the same plays, all teams watch video.

So it comes down to cattle.

After scrapping hard for years with very little we are doing something about improving the squad.

I’m all for it and I’m rusted on.

100% with PJ, this year was always about the shift for another window - now 3 poor games and 4 good wins after losing 4 high quality starters injured everyone cracking the sads.

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[Hong Kong Raider]

Our forwards are getting run over by a winger in the middle of the field, all these kids in the backline and our forwards are the one losing this game

That's what I thought. Their outside backs were making metres at will up the middle. Even Iro against the likes of Tapine. And the game was too fast for Levi. I was concerned about Papa as well tbh.

[bonehead]

Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good,

We are not watching the same sport. I admittedly have not seen the last 3 weeks yet, but in the 5 weeks of football i have seen Danny Levi has been the worst starting hooker in the competition this year and it's not close.

last 3 weeks have been very poor, 1st 5 weeks career best form which was also poor.
His passing means our halves have no time

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His passing has been good this season. The most crisp of any of our 9s. His defense of the other hand is problematic.
Either way, this was a team that was used to having control with their end of sets and now don't and with the number of inexperienced players they are all getting caught out. Our whole game was based on our end of sets and controlling where they start theirs. Now we have no control and a group of young players that don't know how to wrestle momentum back.
We have to play different which means shifting early to the backs out of meterage. Some second phase through our forwards also. Weekes and strange need to get to the opps 40m line to execute the bombs and we need to play some higher risk football to do it. If we dont get to the mark we should be looking at different kicks. It'll also force strange and Weekes into the game more. I thought strange in particular didn't really try too much and let the game pass by.

nah I'm not having any of that, as soon as Levi had to pass beyond 3m it was erratic, Fog was constantly catching above his head, it cuts down the time the halves have.
Woolfords strength is his longer pass, last year he gave Jack and Fog space.
I'm no Woolford fan boi I'm all in to buy a 9 as top priority.

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[radicalraider]

It feels like 2014 again.. we have no strike.. predictable attack.. we need a damaging back rower desperately to give us a point of attack.. young and white or simi don't break the line or offer any threat.. Levi should never play again.
Id give Chevy a rest.. savage to fb.. cotric wing

[Seiffert82]

Look..

After last week v Donkeys I was calm and understanding of our situation.

Our transition will be long and painful.

Unfortunately we will cop many more pastings until our very young and inexperienced spine get a feel.

I’m prepared for that, weve waited a very very long time..a couple more seasons won’t kill me.

The problem is that the team still has to be competitive for this idea to work. You bring young players in that’s fine (and that is the way we should go in order to get a superstar or two) but putting them in before they are a) ready or b) in an absolute c*** side which is getting pasted every week is absolutely counterproductive. They either don’t reach their potential because their confidence is completely shot or they leave at the first offer they get

There was always a risk that this young team would be over their heads at NRL level.

The thing for me is there were 4 players in today's lineup (maybe 5) who hurt us badly and should be replaced in some way; Levi, Schiller, Sasagi, Starling and maybe Weekes, none of which are the young kids we are building around.

There's no question we got pumped today by an experienced and well drilled team, but there were some really good signs from most of the young fellas.

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[Raoul Duke]

Ease up Taipan..

We’ve been top 8 4 of the last 5 years..2xprelims and a GF in 19. Do you remember that ?

Sigh...because that's what we are shooting for, not sustained top 4 success. We made GF in 19, that means we had a window of at least a year or two to build on it. Sure, COVID threw a spanner in the works, but you can't tell me with straight face that Ricky's strategy isn't grind with the forwards and hope for some spark every game. There is ZERO strategic direction - there never has been.

We need new blood at the top, we need someone who actually knows the modern game and has more plans than ones that start with 'A'.

Hang on ..

All teams have the same plays, all teams watch video.

So it comes down to cattle.

After scrapping hard for years with very little we are doing something about improving the squad.

I’m all for it and I’m rusted on.

100% with PJ, this year was always about the shift for another window - now 3 poor games and 4 good wins after losing 4 high quality starters injured everyone cracking the sads.

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If it's just cattle then tell me why Penrith have managed to continue to play to their system after being raided mercilessly over the last few years? They aren't a team of superstars. Everyone talks about the need for a quality 9 yet Api leaves the building and they don't miss a beat. What about Melbourne? Similar story over the years.

I like the recruitment strategy, I like the focus on youth given we can't buy talent. I just hate the fact that Ricky never fronts the media and admits that he needs to be better. It's always the same Bull - its either the ref, he doesn't have the cattle or the boys are hurting. Now he has a ready excuse the rest of the year - the boys are young and we need to be patient. Rubbish. Why are your veterans aside from Taps playing like **** then?

[Seiffert82]

Both Cook and Woolford are crap and won’t change anything. There’s a reason why Stuart tried to “upgrade” Woolford with a player that’s been rejected from 3 NRL clubs. Has nothing to do with “personal vendettas” and everything to do with being not very good. Levi has been OK this year, popped up with some tries, distribution generally pretty good, I hate him for bombing that try but he isn’t the reason we conceded 40.

Chevy looks far too underdone to be playing first grade. What is his skills base exactly? He isn’t strong and doesn’t appear particularly fast. Needs another year or two in reserves. Savage back to full back. Our only X factor wasted on the wing.

Weekes also not a half back. It’s hard to win games when we have no genuine back up half back with absolutely no ability to manage or dictate the attack. The other half is 2-3 seasons away from being serviceable at first grade level.

Yeah, I'm sorry, Stewart is an 18 year old who busted his ass out there.

Levi was terrible.

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[Azza]

Absolute humiliation. Danny Levi butchering that try sums his first grade career up, should never play FG football again.

But let's face it, there's little we can change, it's like re-arranging deck chairs on the titanic. Disappointing after a promising start to the season, but strap in because we are in for a long ride this year. We've been cruelled massively by injuries.

[Seiffert82]

Our forwards are getting run over by a winger in the middle of the field, all these kids in the backline and our forwards are the one losing this game

That's what I thought. Their outside backs were making metres at will up the middle. Even Iro against the likes of Tapine. And the game was too fast for Levi. I was concerned about Papa as well tbh.

Papa looks solid with the ball, but his lateral movement in defence is starting to let him (and us) down.

Ata should be starting with Tapine, with Papa, Mooney and Salami off the bench.

[BadnMean]

Well we have to look for positives and expect that with a half dosen FGers out including our only experienced spine player, that we will suffer for it.

Chevy is showing signs he could be ok. Honestly I'd let him unlock his passing game more- it's his strength. He's shown he can defend and do hard charges- but that's not what he's best at.

Levi had the obvious howler. But...
To me the most telling play was when the game was still alive early- we split them up the middle and were tackled midfield with Sharks in disarray. The troops had followed the play and both sides were set- acres of space on the left... Levi runs himself (after a break ) on a diagonal to the short side, never straightens or passes and dies with the ball. As does any opportunity even though it's mid set- we end up buried in a corner and sharks reset- not a single half got to touch the ball and make something, not a single danger player saw the ball. But Levi improved his run stats with 12 cheap metres and buried the play.
Sums up his decision making perfectly. Awful play. There is literally no upside to his game.

Strange is a good runner but needs a bit of work setting up outside men.

Six tries against you can pick a lot of poor misses. I think the destroyed chance to score early and the 12 point turn around broke the back of the game. How much longer do we endure this years Matt Allwood except in the spine- or this years Danny Levi for that matter, now it's a repeat.

[Seiffert82]

Yeah, there's not much to like about Levi's game. His vision, decision making and tackling are all well below par. I would take Woolford over him any day.

Starling is useless. If you can't pass cleanly you may as well have Puru on the bench.

I'm actually happy to see Whitehead back. Sasagi is almost unplayable on that edge at this stage.

1. Chev
2. Cotric
3. Timoko
4. Kris
5. Sav
6. Strange
7. Weekes
8. Ata
9. Woolford
10. Taps
11. Young
12. Whitehead
13. Smithers

14. Puru
15. Papa
16. Mooney
17. Pasami

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[Raider47]

We had 31 tackles into their 20 as opposed to their 12 in ours.

We lost 40-0. Is that one of the most awful stats ever?

40-0.