2026

Dave03

SGI NSW Cup
We need one of either our fwds & backs to win the field position battle or Atko to have a massive boot. If neither happens then we're farked.
 

HaydoM8

SGI Jersey Flegg
This will give me away

props esp on carries dont get involved on plays 1/2 or even 3

if your kicking game is so bad (Like ours last year) that an opposition makes 10-15 uncontested then it means your fullback at the other end is tackled as he catches it which happened so many times last season to Gutho … if your FB is not brining the ball back then your forwards are not taking a play until the 4th carry and you lose any semblance of momentum

so I do agree that behind a beaten pack your halves struggle but on the other hand behind a shit kicking game your pack struggle

I was very keen on Savala for this - to give Gutho a lot more time space by virtue of a superior kicking game and chase and with that allow our pack to be on side a play or two sooner and make to get involved more.

hoping Atkinson can take the kicking duties off junior
 

RedV01

SGI NSW Cup
if your kicking game is so bad (Like ours last year) that an opposition makes 10-15 uncontested then it means your fullback at the other end is tackled as he catches it which happened so many times last season to Gutho … if your FB is not brining the ball back then your forwards are not taking a play until the 4th carry and you lose any semblance of momentum


hoping Atkinson can take the kicking duties off junior
Flanno thinks junior has a good kicking game.
Judge Judy Eye Roll GIF
 
This will give me away

props esp on carries dont get involved on plays 1/2 or even 3

if your kicking game is so bad (Like ours last year) that an opposition makes 10-15 uncontested then it means your fullback at the other end is tackled as he catches it which happened so many times last season to Gutho … if your FB is not brining the ball back then your forwards are not taking a play until the 4th carry and you lose any semblance of momentum

so I do agree that behind a beaten pack your halves struggle but on the other hand behind a shit kicking game your pack struggle

I was very keen on Savala for this - to give Gutho a lot more time space by virtue of a superior kicking game and chase and with that allow our pack to be on side a play or two sooner and make to get involved more.

hoping Atkinson can take the kicking duties off junior
Absolutely agree we lack a long kicking game but moreover we need a kicking game from both halves in my view. It didn't end well for us when every man and his dog knew Hunt was going to get the pill on the last and he was the extent of our kicking game.

In today's game your right but only in the fact that our forwards were not getting back to make any forward motion until the 4th and that left us 1 bloody tackle to get into any semblance of good field position to execute our attacking structures.

I acknowledge that our kick return metres was ranked 17th last season in fact I mentioned that during the season in another thread. That has to be addressed this season otherwise yes it's another very long season.
 
The biggest factor in kick return metres is not the speed of your fullback, it is the hang time on your end of set kicks …
In part you are correct, just as important is just where on the field you are executing your final play. Is it described as an attacking kick where you are in position to give the ball far more hang time. Or is it a defensive kick.

Either way we were still last in that stat last season, return metres. I would also beg to differ about your fullback and wingers speed. Speed in those three positions and the ability to beat the first defender is important in my humble view.
 
As the season went on, our kicking and line speed only got worse. At times I felt sorry for Gutho. He was defusing attacking kicks at the end of every set! The other teams fullback had to do it 3 or 4 times a game.
He was targeted. Dont get me wrong he is a great team cpt and when we actually executed our attacking structures he was a vital link in those structures. He had 16 try assists by far the best of anyone in the team. The issue is the time to go from a standing start to top gear. Just my views
 

HaydoM8

SGI Jersey Flegg
In part you are correct, just as important is just where on the field you are executing your final play. Is it described as an attacking kick where you are in position to give the ball far more hang time. Or is it a defensive kick.

Either way we were still last in that stat last season, return metres. I would also beg to differ about your fullback and wingers speed. Speed in those three positions and the ability to beat the first defender is important in my humble view.
Of course speed size comes can come into if your fullback is not taking a bomb that is contested … but we could have had the best fullback in the world and he would have been nullified because of where we allow the opposition to kick from

we need to give Gutho 10-15 more metres of space to allow him to catch the ball and start his return .. that 10-15m is also distance our pack don’t need to get back … and to give Gutho that sosce we need to control oppositions end of set kick position and to do that we need to dictate where they start their set from and that is my point

every extra metre of kick distance/hang time is meters we take off where they kick from at the end of their set

defensively our tackling etc is good enough
 
Of course speed size comes can come into if your fullback is not taking a bomb that is contested … but we could have had the best fullback in the world and he would have been nullified because of where we allow the opposition to kick from

we need to give Gutho 10-15 more metres of space to allow him to catch the ball and start his return .. that 10-15m is also distance our pack don’t need to get back … and to give Gutho that sosce we need to control oppositions end of set kick position and to do that we need to dictate where they start their set from and that is my point

every extra metre of kick distance/hang time is meters we take off where they kick from at the end of their set

defensively our tackling etc is good enough
Well the stats from last year don't support your last statement. I noted that during the season this was one of those stats I highlighted. In fact if memory serves me correctly and it is fading with the years we actually came last in that stat meaning we missed the least tackles in the competition.

The problem with this stat is that it fails to take into consideration where the tackle was missed and if it led to points being scored against us.
 
We have to be competitive v Chooks on ANZAC day, our performances have been disgraceful.
Its actually my wedding anniversary, I mean who gets married on Anzac Day? If we are not travelling overseas we never miss this game. Last year was atrocious. Hopefully this year will be different.

I put Dads medals on and march. Then it's off to the game. Its a very memorable game cut back a bit now with very few WW2 veterans if any left but still has great meaning to me personally
 

Frank Facer

SGI Jersey Flegg
So according to the experts the top 5 halves combination for this coming season are:

1. Storm - Hughes/Munster
2. Roosters - Walker/DCE
3. Broncos - Reynolds/Mam
4. Parramatta- Moses/Pezet
5. Penrith- Cleary/Talagai

We don't rate a mention in the top 12. Luckily R.L. is a 17 man game and not a 2 man game. It will be interesting to see where these teams finish on the 2026 ladder.
I think all of them will be in the top 4 except Parra.
 
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