Man of the Match voting is now open here.
https://discourse.pantherpride.com.au/t/round-22-v-broncos-motm/387
I have been watching the halves combo do their thing this season, and I have come to the conclusion that Maloney and Cleary are not a great fit for each other.
The team gets confused on who is calling the shots, and while they are a fair way down the field itās not as obvious, but when there is nowhere to bend the line and they are camped in the oppositionās 20 metre zone it becomes painfully apparent. Forwards and backs fall over each other and over run the mark as Cleary and Maloney try to work out whos calling the shots, and it lead more often in a turnover of the ball and not a try or repeat set.
Last week Cleary showed what he is capable of when left to call the shots, the guys had no problem finding a way over the line, and this was true before Maloneyās arrival as well under Griffin, we leaked points like mad, but we had no issues getting over the stripe. Now we can have 5 sets in a row on their line and come up with nothing.
Donāt get me wrong, I love Maloney, he is gritty and knows how to win, and I think Cleary has learned much more under Maloney than Moylan in the same position. In saying that, I say that Maloney should take a back seat for the remained of the season and let Nathan call the shots, and come up with some individual brilliance when needed.
I think with Nathan calling the shots in the middle next year the points will flow more freely.
As for the rest of the season, I donāt know what will happen if we make the finals, will we just make up the numbers, or will the boys dig deep and make a game of itā¦ guess we should be more worried about making it there first.
2 Likes
I think that Iāve seen this movie before; great enthusiasm, either no respect for possession or no ability to retain possession, dumb penalties, inconsistent defence. I agree that Josh M had a shocker; is there another Toāo running around in the lower grades, or is Crichton a future winger? Of course,there are a heap of ex-Penrith wingers running around elsewhere. Might have to lure one back home. Also, I donāt understand the resolution of the trip incident; if we had not scored, would Milford have been seen to? Why is it just forgotten? And is Regan C-G so mentally affected by his history of jaw injury that he now cannot hit the defensive line except by going backwards,hence losing his sting?
And a few more comments / questions. There were some awful kick chase failures in that game; not only did we compete poorly for the high ball, but the Broncos were able to recover easily. Also, do the two Brisbane players sent to the bin get two weeks rest, a la Kikau? Or do they get hit with a wet lettuce like Fifita, Burgess et al?
Sorry SBF, I guess we should all just bow to your opinion !
Fact is we brought in a junior who played basic football and complemented our group.
Their is a massive mis balance in our group and the fact our halves cannot play together does not mean that Maloney is useless. My fear is that if NC cannot command enough respect to run our team now how many other āpersonalitiesā will cause him issue next year?
I agree with most Mansour has lost his mojo and hasnāt passed it onto RCG either 
1 Like
Iāve been thinking the same thing about the Cleary/Maloney combination. No doubt Maloney has done some good things for us, but at the same time I feel he has held us back in some ways. Last week we got a glimpse of the future, and it looks to be in good hands.
ā¦ bloody hell, I raised the Cleary/Maloney partnership issue back around round 2. Something like we canāt afford to play them both at the same time blah, blah, blah. No matter, weāve got an attack coach comin.
My biggest regret ā¦ I agree with SBF, weāre bloody awful.
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Agree with most of the comments here re Maloney/Cleary. We have 3 tricky games left and looks like we will need to win all 3 and then rely on the broncos and/or Sharks dropping a game. With this scenario I dont think we have much to loseā¦I would drop Maloney, Whare and Mansour.
our season lurched from a complete mess to supreme hope to where we are now and in the main it has been all of our own doing.
forget about the nonsense pre season with the May issue etcā¦we have had player discontent in the exit of DWZ and also Blake and then we have the most senior player arranging his future career with Maloney leaving a season earlier than his contracted period.
Plus add to this player form like RCG who was a SOO player to now be called ātin manā by his own team mates and other players so woefully out of form like Mansour, with Cleary naming 6 on field captains when 1 was only enough to rub every ref we have had the wrong way.
These have all been in our control and all have been a shambles
We are now 9th and rely on pure luck to make the 8 and if we are all brutally honest we will be out in game 1 if we do make it.
The Luau injury and Burton not able to play due to salary cap issues have just added another dimension to the angst supporters like myself are feeling.
Its often said fortune favours the brave and its time to be braveā¦IF Laui is ok to playā¦pick him at 6 and drop Maloney
I also wouldnāt select RCGā¦he apparently is off to the Eels and i would rather give a kid a go who will stick with us.
Of course much depends on fitness of players but we need to take luck out of the equation and at least lets win our next 3 and force other teams to make their decisions.
Its now time to focus on what comes nextā¦because what has been has been a disaster.
cuppla weeks ago you had Luai runnin cross field too much.
Then after being out with injury you got him in the side !!!
So, the medicoās straighten him up did they ?
2 Likes
Agree Puss, Luai is not the answer, not even next year.
Reality is as stated, we will be (if there) just making up the numbers.
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