First Qualifying Final, 2012 NRL: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Canberra Raiders @ Canberra Stadium, Sunday 9th September @ 4:00pm

Mark^Bastard · Sep 10, 2012

snowman said:
another Flanno special. he definitely wasnt injured as he completed the 30 minute warm up

He confirmed it on Twitter. He's a nice bloke and was being tactful about it. He said "They had to roll the dice and it didn't work out".

How is playing Taufua as a starting prop rolling the dice???

Rolling the dice would have been putting Gards and Chad in the team or something like that, not a reserve grade utility forward that can't bend the line playing prop for 20 minutes hahahahaha.

sharkyboy · Sep 10, 2012

yeah a fully fit townsend is better then a struggling carney and gardner out there would of just added flair instead of the **** that was going on at the back and i dotn even know what to say abotu tafua. it boggles the mind!

deano the p · Sep 10, 2012

samshark said:
So you havent noticed all Robson's kicks that have been going over the dead ball line in the last 8 weeks. Like I said, poor execution, not change of game plan.

There has been alot going dead of late that's for sure.

deano the p · Sep 10, 2012

Mark^Bastard said:
Yeah I just don't get it. He played like 20 minutes?

The only thing Taufua has that Ross doesn't is maybe more mobility and stamina. But even then he's not on the same level from a quality point of view.

Just totally bizarre.

That's just a ****ing joke.

Mark^Bastard · Sep 10, 2012

I think the fullback selection wasn't an easy choice. Wright may be 'safe' but he had become less safe in the last few games and he's scored 1 try all year, which is about what you'd expect from a prop not a fullback. Ike had recent form that was better than Wrights (the Melbourne game) and even yesterday despite being **** he did have some moments we haven't seen in a long time. Much better support play and a few handy breaks. Yeah he was **** as well but I can understand the selection. Garder is better than both players by a significant margin but hasn't played in a very long time.

I can totally understand the Gordon choice and I would have done the same in Flanagan's position. Hindsight is a wondeful thing of course.

But Taufua doesn't make any sense at all, it's not even a 90/10 decision. You go with Ross each and every time. Against a big pack like the Raiders even more so.

snowman · Sep 10, 2012

Mark^Bastard said:
He confirmed it on Twitter. He's a nice bloke and was being tactful about it. He said "They had to roll the dice and it didn't work out".

How is playing Taufua as a starting prop rolling the dice???

Rolling the dice would have been putting Gards and Chad in the team or something like that, not a reserve grade utility forward that can't bend the line playing prop for 20 minutes hahahahaha.

yeh i know. we got the updates on the way down to canberra. the whole bus was shocked that he had been dropped

slide rule · Sep 10, 2012

Mark^Bastard said:
I think the fullback selection wasn't an easy choice. Wright may be 'safe' but he had become less safe in the last few games and he's scored 1 try all year, which is about what you'd expect from a prop not a fullback. Ike had recent form that was better than Wrights (the Melbourne game) and even yesterday despite being **** he did have some moments we haven't seen in a long time. Much better support play and a few handy breaks. Yeah he was **** as well but I can understand the selection. Garder is better than both players by a significant margin but hasn't played in a very long time.

I can totally understand the Gordon choice and I would have done the same in Flanagan's position. Hindsight is a wondeful thing of course.

But Taufua doesn't make any sense at all, it's not even a 90/10 decision. You go with Ross each and every time. Against a big pack like the Raiders even more so.

Yeah, I would have preferred Gardner, but we don't know what would have happened if he played. It's easy to speculate, but he could have had a shocker as well. We could have been beaten by 50, Gardner could have re-done his injury and we could have had another thing to slit wrists about.

The choice was made, time to move on.

Thankfully though, we could have an entirely different back 3 next year to what ran out for this game. That was not a first grade quality back 3. We could maybe get by with one player of that quality out there, but when there are three of them, their deficiencies compound exponentially.

Mark^Bastard · Sep 10, 2012

I was really hoping that a positive from the game yesterday would be that people would truly understand that the back 3 are important players in an NRL squad and our biggest failing this season.

Sure you can make a top 8 without them but there's no way a team with a woeful back 3 will ever make it deep into the finals.

In the glory days we had guys like Rogers and Best on the wing, and Peachey at fullback.

I'm really hoping we can get J. Wright and M. Gordon on the wings next year and then change our game plan up so that they're not wasted.

With J. Wright, M. Gordon and N. Gardner coming into the team it's like having an entire new back three compared to the slop we dished up this year. Getting a player back from a long term injury is almost like getting a free recruit.

IronShark · Sep 10, 2012

Oh well, a disappointing end to what had been a promising season.

We achieved alot this year considering most "experts" had us pegged for the wooden spoon. Then you have to take into account the revelation that both Gallen and Carney have been playing busted since Origin. I was shocked to read today that Gal hadn't been able to take part in a training session since Origin 3. The current Origin concept has to go.

Taking all of this into account as well as the fact we had plenty of other injuries to cope with (Gardner, Bukuya, Graham, Pomeroy etc) throughout the season as well as the couple of games we lost due to poor refereeing, our season overall has been a success.

For me the highlight has been our success with the development and the way our true supporters have pulled together to get this done. This, added to the fact that Flanno was able to piece together a team of misfits, rejects and a couple of veterans and take them through to the finals made 2012 a milestone year for our Club.

Unfortunately, the lowlight for me has been the increasing level of negativity and, to put it simply, just plain stupid posting that has become prevalent on this site. I used to look forward to logging into here and often did so a couple of times a day to enjoy the content of the site, which was typified by interesting and intelligent discussions on everything from the Sharks to music.

This has been replaced by constant whining and negativity, the focus of which seems to be to bag our own players or to "troll" other forum members - fellow Sharks fans.

I find it increasingly difficult to bother logging on here anymore, which really saddens me as I know how much had work people like SF, Fitz Mark and others have put into the site to make it a place that promotes our Club. However, I can't see us attracting too many new fans with majority of the content I see everyday in fact, if anything, it gives our critics more ammunition to use against us.

slide rule · Sep 10, 2012

Mark^Bastard said:
I was really hoping that a positive from the game yesterday would be that people would truly understand that the back 3 are important players in an NRL squad and our biggest failing this season.

Yep. With the way the game is played today, it's so easy to isolate substand wingers. They are unbelievably vital to a good team. In the middle of the field you can get away with the odd mis-tackle or dropped ball. If you do the same thing on the wing, it's likely to result in a try to the opposition. I actaully think that wing is one of the most difficult positions these days. It's certainly not easy to take a bomb in your own in goal from a standing start, when the opposition is charging at you with momentum. It's also difficult to decide when to help the centre out in defence, particularly if the other team has decoys going through, or a quick fullback wrapping around the back.

That's one of the main reasons why I'd be happy to see M.Gordon play there. If we could shore up our wing positions, we could cut down on a heap of errors. That would hopefully have a flow on effect to the rest of the team in confidence. It's heartbraking to see all the good work up the middle and the edges be wasted. We let in cheap tries and it puts additional pressure on the whole team.

mearsey · Sep 10, 2012

Had a chat to Aiden Tolman earlier in the year and asked him who were the toughest forward packs to play against ... the Sharks were one of them he mentioned .

Hold your heads up Sharkies , you had a good year , you have got your development approved and some good players coming next year .

To achieve what you have this year is excellent .

A.Snowden · Sep 10, 2012

IronShark said:
Oh well, a disappointing end to what had been a promising season.

We achieved alot this year considering most "experts" had us pegged for the wooden spoon. Then you have to take into account the revelation that both Gallen and Carney have been playing busted since Origin. I was shocked to read today that Gal hadn't been able to take part in a training session since Origin 3. The current Origin concept has to go.

Taking all of this into account as well as the fact we had plenty of other injuries to cope with (Gardner, Bukuya, Graham, Pomeroy etc) throughout the season as well as the couple of games we lost due to poor refereeing, our season overall has been a success.

For me the highlight has been our success with the development and the way our true supporters have pulled together to get this done. This, added to the fact that Flanno was able to piece together a team of misfits, rejects and a couple of veterans and take them through to the finals made 2012 a milestone year for our Club.

Unfortunately, the lowlight for me has been the increasing level of negativity and, to put it simply, just plain stupid posting that has become prevalent on this site. I used to look forward to logging into here and often did so a couple of times a day to enjoy the content of the site, which was typified by interesting and intelligent discussions on everything from the Sharks to music.

This has been replaced by constant whining and negativity, the focus of which seems to be to bag our own players or to "troll" other forum members - fellow Sharks fans.

I find it increasingly difficult to bother logging on here anymore, which really saddens me as I know how much had work people like SF, Fitz Mark and others have put into the site to make it a place that promotes our Club. However, I can't see us attracting too many new fans with majority of the content I see everyday in fact, if anything, it gives our critics more ammunition to use against us.

This is a great post iron. I admit I tend to get frustrated a lot of the time and put to much emotion without thought into some of my posts. It's just easier waking up the next day after a kick in the the guts we copped yesterday and looking at the positives than negatives when you are posting during the highs and lows of a game.

A.Snowden · Sep 10, 2012

It's great that we got our development through, we have secured a couple players most notibly Luke Lewis for next year and we made the finals. But that doesn't completely take the sting out of the performances to the back end of the season. Only Equis up though Up Up Cronulla!

Mark^Bastard · Sep 10, 2012

I think the dribble problem here is a bit of a harsh issue.

I think the problem is more that the really good posters aren't posting any more, or the people genuinely putting effort in have learned that it's just not worth it.

Is the answer to stop the dribble? I'm not so sure because it would probably mean there's nothing here at all and the place dies.

The best way to stop this crap is to lead by example and contribute quality yourself and hopefully others will follow and the balance will be restored.

Then again I know what it's like to put genuine effort in and feel like it was a waste of time later on, it does make you question whether to bother in the future.

snowman · Sep 10, 2012

Mark^Bastard said:
I was really hoping that a positive from the game yesterday would be that people would truly understand that the back 3 are important players in an NRL squad and our biggest failing this season.

Sure you can make a top 8 without them but there's no way a team with a woeful back 3 will ever make it deep into the finals.

In the glory days we had guys like Rogers and Best on the wing, and Peachey at fullback.

I'm really hoping we can get J. Wright and M. Gordon on the wings next year and then change our game plan up so that they're not wasted.

With J. Wright, M. Gordon and N. Gardner coming into the team it's like having an entire new back three compared to the slop we dished up this year. Getting a player back from a long term injury is almost like getting a free recruit.

im hoping we have wright and KFFL on the wing, either gordon or gards at fullback, depending on super coach and his plans

A.Snowden · Sep 10, 2012

Few months back I stopped posting so much and only contributed with less banter and serious posts. It mostly went in noticed. So I know what you are saying.

DeathMoth · Sep 10, 2012

I want to see the Raiders absolutely murdered this week.

Mark^Bastard · Sep 10, 2012

snowman said:
im hoping we have wright and KFFL on the wing, either gordon or gards at fullback, depending on super coach and his plans

Yeah I'm only commenting on what we have now. Any recruits would change things for me. Gordon would go to centre if we got KFFL surely. But Leutele has been good so if Gards missed out on form I'd probably be okay with that, as long as there's genuine form-based selections with players genuinely being able to make the team with hard work.

samshark · Sep 10, 2012

Mark^Bastard said:
He confirmed it on Twitter. He's a nice bloke and was being tactful about it. He said "They had to roll the dice and it didn't work out".

How is playing Taufua as a starting prop rolling the dice???

Rolling the dice would have been putting Gards and Chad in the team or something like that, not a reserve grade utility forward that can't bend the line playing prop for 20 minutes hahahahaha.

Exactly right.
FMD every time I think Flanagan is making steps as a coach he does something that just makes me think he doesnt cut it. What the hell was Tafua over Ross going to ahcieve.

Gards · Sep 10, 2012

I don't think centre is a big a problem as it was in past seasons. I know Poms is a hit and miss sort of player but he improved this year and Ricky looks good and no issue with me him getting a full time centre spot next year. 5 tries in 10 games, not a bad effort at all in this team. So I would rather M.Gordon not be considered in that role unless Poms or Rickys form drastically drops.

Back 3 is biggest issue but fortunately that will improve next year with M.Gordon,Wright,Gardner on board.

A team with M.Wright, Stapo & Ike is never going to win a GF. I mean honestly can you really picture those guys dumb faced in a photo with the Telstra Cup? Didn't think so...
They have given 100% for us but I can't wait to move on and have them purely as depth.

First Qualifying Final, 2012 NRL: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Canberra Raiders @ Canberra Stadium, Sunday 9th September @ 4:00pm

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