NRL Round 13 - Knights Vs Eels - 3:00pm Saturday, 30th of May - McDonald Jones Stadium

mullenmagic said:
One of us created their account (and 2 or 3 others) exclusively to talk about one player and throw tantrums every time others didn't rate them highly enough. Feels like you're maybe projecting here.

Keep coming back and working through those feelings here though, always good for a laugh.
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Haha no worries mate. Just because a couple of us don’t agree with the vast majority on here about Sharpe, it doesn’t make us haters of him.. In actual fact, I rate him as a footballer, he brings a lot of energy, he’s a great support player and never gives up on the play. He can cover multiple positions in the backline and a Solid defender too.

I just prefer Sandon Smith in the halves over him, because I feel Sandon is a better overall ball player and kicker than him. Sandon is better at engaging the defensive line, he knows when to throw a long ball or short ball, he also has a better short kicking game than Sharpe.

Is it big issue that a some of us rate Sandon Smith in the halves??
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
Yeah I've come around and I agree on this.

Also Sandon as Brown's halves partner I think makes Dylan a bit too happy to sit back and let the game come to him. With Sharpe at 6 it forces Brown to initiate more stuff & it has tended to mean more Brown + Pongaball (Brongaball?), which always looks more threatening. Sharpe as a simple counterpoint to that just moving the ball quickly actually is our best look IMO. I was very resistant to this before the season started as we all know but maybe the game's just changed and almost nothing matters more in your halves than athleticism & talent. It's reminiscent of how Brisbane's attack looks worst with Reynolds & Hunt in the halves. In theory more complete playmaking skill throughout the spine is good, in practice you kind of just want the ball in Walsh's hands in good spots as quickly as possible as often as possible. So they always look more threatening with Mam or even Billy Walters at 6.

It's good to know Fletch covering centre is always a viable option when needed though.
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This is such a great summary. Both brown and Smith had their best games leading with sharpe at 6
 
Seano said:
IDK how a win can be our worst performance of the year. We got smoked by the Wahs and Panthers.
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Context is we were without our stars for those losses.

We're full strength and nearly losing to the Titans then the Eels the next week. Dont forget the Eels were without Paulo, Moses and Pezet..
 
On what planet did we nearly lose? We led the whole game. As for the Eels outs again, so what? We won games with players out. Just ridiculous negativity.

Yeah, it wasn't our best performance, but so what, people are carrying on as if we didn't win the spoon last year. Everything that's happening rn at the club is a fantastic improvement. And I refuse to be sad about any win. Geez.
 
Seano said:
Also, Sandon was having another solid game. We got on top in the 2nd half when we started holding on to possession, not because he went off, and we nearly lost it when we started to turn the ball over again. There was a very strong sense that we were trying to score on every play. Sometimes we need to focus on a strong set followed by a kick to the corner and let fatigue and field position work in our favour.

IMO (and I'm just as guilty of this as anyone), we can be too focused on painting players as heroes or villains.
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Definitely not a reflection on Sandon to say I like the team more with Fletch at 6.

It’s more of a “there’s only one ball” situation, and with Sandon/Dylan/Kalyn at halves & fullback it feels like too many guys who want a big role steering the team around, engaging the line, sort of playing around with the ball & teasing defenders rather than just moving it. We’ve solved the riddle of how to play with a fullback who wants to be the dominant playmaker with the team configuration we have now. Similarly Crossland is so effective as a 9 for us because he kind of just doesn’t want the ball that much. It’s actually kind of crazy that Melbourne managed to balance playing with three really dominant playmakers + a fullback who also gets on the ball a fair bit for so long. It’s not common for something like that to work so well.

In a team cohesion context, Fletcher being happy to keep things so simple and play his role has been his greatest asset, and then you’ve also got your best support player around the ball more. I’d compare this to Strange being the most effective counterpoint to Cleary and Teddy in the same Origin team we’ve seen so far.
 
Seano said:
On what planet did we nearly lose? We led the whole game. As for the Eels outs again, so what? We won games with players out. Just ridiculous negativity.

Yeah, it wasn't our best performance, but so what, people are carrying on as if we didn't win the spoon last year. Everything that's happening rn at the club is a fantastic improvement. And I refuse to be sad about any win. Geez.
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The planet where the eels had two prime chances to score and level the game and were denied by an amazing held up tackle.
 
mullenmagic said:
Last 2 games have been relatively underwhelming but most important thing at this time of the year is just banking the wins.

Not to get in an argument about who had the most try assists but it just seems like the attack runs better with Sharpe in the halves. He might not be as refined as Smith as a playmaker but everything he does is direct and at speed, whether he's taking the line on or shovelling it along. Keeps the defence constantly in two minds which is a very tough spot to be in with the calibre of attacking players around him. That's not to say they couldn't find a game plan that suits Smith better over time but there was a noticeable drop off with him holding the ball more. Been more reliant on individual brilliance than the ball movement and speed we'd been seeing prior.
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Agree, hopefully the coach does too. I guess the only issue with it is that’s it’s getting increasingly difficult to omit Graham, who is definitely a better 9 than Smith.

Smith is too good for reserves and on a lot more money but Graham makes such a difference when he comes on, I don’t know how you can leave him out. Good problem to have I guess.

Seems crazy how in one off season, we’ve gone from a poor spine with no depth, to a very good one with plenty of depth lol
 
AlbertWillScore97 said:
The planet where the eels had two prime chances to score and level the game and were denied by an amazing held up tackle
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So the Eels didn't score then? Never led, and most of their points came off the Knights turning over possession/poor discipline? But sure, the Eels "nearly" won...and the Titanic "nearly" didn't sink except for hitting that iceberg.
 
Seano said:
So the Eels didn't score then? Never led, and most of their points came off the Knights turning over possession/poor discipline? But sure, the Eels "nearly" won...and the Titanic "nearly" didn't sink except for hitting that iceberg.
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Almost like that's what the word 'nearly' means dude 👍
 
I quite liked the idea of a 1 Ponga, 4 Sharpe (or 3 after Gags), 6 Sandon, 7 Brown line up with Hunt as the back up. Sharpe can fill any of those roles and Hunt can play centre. Hunt is young and gaining experience, his time will certainly come. And we all know any one of those guys are good at finding injuries for Hunt to gain that experience.
 
Um...yes....but they did lead, and they did win! The Eels, on the other hand, not so much. I fail to see how that is a good argument.
 
Feel bad for Smith, as i think Graham should be the backup hooker. He's just a better hooker plain and simple (as he should be), and provides huge impact coming off the bench in that role. Appreciated what Smith gave us when the stars were out, he genuinely helped to keep our season afloat. I'm sure he will still be heavily needed throughout the season.
 
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