Western Force vs Cheetahs, Round 9

[UnionThug]

We were so bad that four Players made the Team of the Week

2. Cheese
4. The Big Apple
8. The Big Dog
15. DHP

To be fair none of the Aussie teams were that flash. I was surprised that no Rebels made the team... they absolutely dominated the bye!

[valzc]

Now that the blood has cooled down a bit, just watched replay and also agree with Tazzie that the guys really fought hard that game. That ref brain fart when the Cheetahs weren't penalised in the maul (both refs weren't even looking!) seemed to take the wind out of their sails. Along with some dumb grubber kicks (again), they just faded the 2nd half and kept getting rumbled backwards (especially Pek). But it seems there is too much phfaffing around with the backs when they get the ball. Surely backs all need to be in position ready for a break to just take off and run the lines, is it good rugby to have your backs running all over the place? So many times I noticed there was noone out on the wing to throw the ball to. Last season they were doing this so well. DHP did have a terrific game but he also seemed a bit rusty. But overall the team did some good rugby but wasting good opportunities. BTW did not see a Cheetahs player do ONE grubber kick!

[shasta]

We were so bad that four Players made the Team of the Week

2. Cheese
4. The Big Apple
8. The Big Dog
15. DHP

DHP was very good. I've always rated him but he's exceeding expectations. A big unit with a good all round game and a monster boot. He could just be on the verge of going to another level. Let's hope so.

[WFDom]

DHP was very good. I've always rated him but he's exceeding expectations. A big unit with a good all round game and a monster boot. He could just be on the verge of going to another level. Let's hope so.

He's more than filled the void Jayden left.

[Scozzie]

Very much so, but it's a pity he couldn't also fill the goal kicking void left by Jayden................85.7% according to this website:

http://rugby.statbunker.com/competit...te?comp_id=453

[SNOB]

"

Very much so, but it's a pity he couldn't also fill the goal kicking void left by Jayden................85.7% according to this website:

http://rugby.statbunker.com/competit...te?comp_id=453

Burton may be the man to do that. Kicked well this weekend, can only improve if he's used consistently.

[boof1050]

Boring tuesday night so i thought i'd watch the replay and IMHO i think one of our weak things in attack is Alby at the breakdown,his passing is too slow to come out of the ruck, the first receiver was getting whooped from slow delivery. Maybe it's time to start blooding some other half backs. And for what it's worth maybe try Luke at 10.

[BeeJay]

Boring tuesday night so i thought i'd watch the replay and IMHO i think one of our weak things in attack is Alby at the breakdown,his passing is too slow to come out of the ruck, the first receiver was getting whooped from slow delivery. Maybe it's time to start blooding some other half backs. And for what it's worth maybe try Luke at 10.

To be fair to Alby, he didn't have a lot of runners in motion to target. Standing starts were the order of the day.

[boof1050]

BJ i don't agree with that point of view many times on the footage the first receivers were ready to go but had to wait while Alby shuffled stood and checked what was doing. I still believe that the first receiver stands too far from the ruck giving the defence an easy go at smashing them.

[Sheikh]

We have such a static attack - passes are usually to players standing still - and certainly some of this must be due to Alby's slow passing frm the ruck. Every ruck he seems to be directing players to change positions - presumably in order to run some sort of set move from the training ground. However, because the ball is so slow coming out the defence have time to set and our players are all motionless, having got themselves into Alby's desired positions.

Maybe it's a confidence thing - last year Alby didn't seem so insistant on directing traffic and got the ball out quicker and we won more games, but we won't win more games to get Alby his confidence on the back of such slow service. Sit Alby down for a week or two and give Prior a chance to run the team; Alby can come off the bench with specific instructions re: slowing the ball down (if we're ahead!), or to do more sniping runs himself off the ruck (which he's actually very good at)

[andrewg]

We have such a static attack - passes are usually to players standing still - and certainly some of this must be due to Alby's slow passing frm the ruck. Every ruck he seems to be directing players to change positions - presumably in order to run some sort of set move from the training ground. However, because the ball is so slow coming out the defence have time to set and our players are all motionless, having got themselves into Alby's desired positions.

Totally agree with these comments.

I reckon Alby has more problems with his ankle as the first move is to create a stable footing before he gets off a pass which is only a shadow of his former game. He is very self-focused and hasn't stepped up at all to help fill the void left by Hodgo's absence.

He's been a great competitor for the Force but now would be better developing the younger players in the time that he has left with the club.

[DazloT]

We have such a static attack - passes are usually to players standing still - and certainly some of this must be due to Alby's slow passing frm the ruck. Every ruck he seems to be directing players to change positions - presumably in order to run some sort of set move from the training ground. However, because the ball is so slow coming out the defence have time to set and our players are all motionless, having got themselves into Alby's desired positions.

Maybe it's a confidence thing - last year Alby didn't seem so insistant on directing traffic and got the ball out quicker and we won more games, but we won't win more games to get Alby his confidence on the back of such slow service. Sit Alby down for a week or two and give Prior a chance to run the team; Alby can come off the bench with specific instructions re: slowing the ball down (if we're ahead!), or to do more sniping runs himself off the ruck (which he's actually very good at)

Agree completely. There was a huge increase in the speed of the game when Prior came on. But correspondingly there was a significant loss of structure in the attack. The guys were getting the ball quicker but no one seemed to know where to stand or what was happening next. I.e. 26 phases of everyone bunched up, standing flat and surprised when the ball came to them.

[palitu]

DHP had a blinder. he is very strong runner, and always took on a few to take him down.

I didn't think that we played too bad. scrums worked, lineouts worked, the massive defence of the cheetahs cannot be discounted, just think about how many line breaks mafi usually had, compared to Saturday.

but,
we need godwin to push the pass to his winger every now and again.
We need offloads - they are what breaks the line consistently.
we need a pilferer - 3 turnovers is not enough for us to win like we are used to.
alby needs to take less steps prior to passing. look at prior - always from teh base of the ruck without stepping.
chip kicks...
no hooking - i watched under the scrum and alby just feeds it through the gap every time.
need to inject the wingers a lot more.

Mauls were good, if a little to easy to pick as they were every time
scrums were solid against a big pack
ball retention was pretty good in in most cases, especially since it was wet.
refs were pretty much good.


watched it last night, and whilst disappointed, i was not dejected at the end.

[Scozzie]

Very good points, especially pilfering. Although Chris Acock is a good player and Kane a developing one, none of them have been able to fill the role Hodgo performs there. Also with hooking, even from a stable scrum last week you had Ben and Alby having to reach into the second (or maybe even front) row to dig the ball out.

And with the Cheetahs defence, you could see as the game wore on that their defensive line was creeping closer and closer to our side of the gain line - I don't think the refs did such a good job in policing that.

[palitu]

Very good points, especially pilfering. Although Chris Acock is a good player and Kane a developing one, none of them have been able to fill the role Hodgo performs there. Also with hooking, even from a stable scrum last week you had Ben and Alby having to reach into the second (or maybe even front) row to dig the ball out.

And with the Cheetahs defence, you could see as the game wore on that their defensive line was creeping closer and closer to our side of the gain line - I don't think the refs did such a good job in policing that.

nor where we vocal enough.