Quote ="Cronus"A lot of nit-picking going on but the fact is that team had enough to win had they performed to their potential. No-one played poorly today, the only player that looked out of his depth was Whitehead and I don't hold it against him - on debut, and having not played for weeks. My nit-picks: Joel Tomkins doesn't look quite up to international speed, I'd have considered Hardaker at the back, Watkins' footwork seems a little off the pace in defence, and I hate wingers EVER leaving their wing and running in but not sure Hall had any other options. Other than that no complaints.
We're behind in a few simple areas for me, and it's all down to mindset.
- Line speed. Too slow off the mark too often, giving the opposition a clear 10 metre run at our line. When we got up hard and fast none of them could live with us, but then we always dropped a gear and let them back in.
- Winning the ruck. By that I mean winning the wrestle and slowing the ruck. Too often the tackler would release his man immediately, putting our defence on the back foot and allowing the opposition to get a roll on. Get 2, 3 men in the tackle and peel off one at a time, wins a few seconds. Dominate.
- Aggression. Several times today our chasers could have legally cleaned out Johnson after the kick - one incident with Lockers stands out, his timing was perfect for a massive hit and he stopped as though Johnson is his best mate. The Aussies, Kiwis and Samoans don't back off and neither should we. We need that aggressive streak - that ruthless edge. We want that worry in the back of their minds.
- Intensity. Watch the Aussie and Kiwi players as they are tackled. They battle for every inch and put everything into winning the ground and finding their feet. Our players seem to accept the tackle and let the tacklers dominate. It's that intensity, that desire to win every moment that we lack, and that also applies directly to line speed and physical domination.
And finally, let's not forget the Kiwis are the best international team right now. Their defence was outstanding, especially the scramble. Their big runners are almost impossible to contain and their offload game is superb. We did well to play within ourselves and look the better side for long spells, and we would have won if our kicking rate had been better.'"
agreed, good post.
