we look like a tired team and a key player like Edwards who has been our best for almost every game looks like he is just stuffed physically and mentally.
Its part of the coaches enormous challenge in keeping a team up for something they have already achieved and one couldn’t blame them to drop intensity because they already have achieved what many can only dream of.
we have had issues like player departures which have hurt badly and the odd distraction like the May issue and being without our #1 and the games #1 playmaker in Cleary.
add into this mix some ref calls which are just not aligned to any reality like the Yeo sin binning yesterday. That was a foul no more or less.Warriors had players playing the ball square to the sideline which went un noticed plus many other poor calls by all refs.
But these are the knowns not only to us but to Coach Cleary.
He along with the players also has to reset and keep himself invested in outcomes.
I have often mentioned on this forum about comparing ourselves to Storm who are the modern champions of not only winning but reinventing, losing key people and being constantly good and competitive.
Look at them yesterday, without their #1 and #7 and losing their #6 they wiped the floor with the Eels because others stood up and took ownership.
we were missing 2 players yesterday and got out enthused by a team an armchair coach like myself knew would have a red hot go.
Our discipline, ball security, effort and game plan were terrible. Not only that but i believe our coach failed us by playing Peachy over Laurie along with some odd calls with starting Leota off the bench amongst others.
Not one of kickers found grass, not one of them found a 40/20, not a single variation in a bomb.
But i believe you don’t just lose being good, we just seem to be missing the will to be good.
We seem to be fit and going for the 80 but we look lost especially in attack and yesterday at times in defence.
If we have these issues because we are missing Cleary suggests we have monster problems and i don’t prescribe to this theory.
I believe we have the sum of parts, its just we aren’t working as a whole.
And at this level and in this comp you don’t get long to sort it out as we play Sharks next who on our form yesterday will lap us.
They are the knowns, what we don’t know of course is what Coach Cleary is doing to fix and stop the team from slipping too badly.
He has always been reluctant to change and change too much so i don’t expect any substantive changes except i prey Peachy is back in the reserves.
I think Luai and Cole were awful but we have to continue until Schneider is right to go.
which leaves who do you have on the bench and we need someone with pace on the bench who can use their speed to create breaks.
We have to start with JFH and Moses with Smith and Eisenhuth on the bench with the last spot to Henry if he is fit.
Thats possibly the easy, then its up to the Coach.
Maybe give the boys time off training to freshen up or even train harder but the coach knows how the players respond.
Its not beyond getting us right but imo it is a huge challenge.
We have a lot going on which adds more of a dimension in JFH and Luai going plus the May and Fifita matter.
Coach Cleary has it in front of him for sure as do the team.
I believe we can but the players have to believe.
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Websites