There's hope for Tigers, but pop go the Sharks
... And following a meteoric rise up the premiership ladder, had
Cronulla's bubble finally
... to create offloads and inside passes to slice open the
Sharks' defence.
...
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/theres-hope-for-tigers-but-pop-go-the-sharks/2006/07/09/1152383611262.html
There's hope for Tigers, but pop go the Sharks
Phil Gould
July 10, 2006
THE ANALYST
I VENTURED to Toyota Park yesterday with two questions in mind. Could the Wests Tigers win football games without injured five-eighth Benji Marshall? And following a meteoric rise up the premiership ladder, had Cronulla's bubble finally burst with that loss to the under-strength Broncos last weekend?
I'm satisfied the answer to both questions is yes.
Firstly, the Tigers. Against the Bulldogs last week they opted for unusual selection ploys to cover for the loss of Marshall.
Regular halfback Scott Prince was selected at five-eighth; and at halfback they played their regular hooker and dummy half Robbie Farah.
These changes effectively meant they now had a new hooker, half and five-eighth following the loss of just one player to injury. That's complicated and too much disruption to any team.
Yesterday the Tigers came up with a different strategy.
Prince played half. Farah returned to his favoured hooker role. Brett Hodgson played fullback in defence but five-eighth in attack. Daniel Fitzhenry was named at five-eighth but spent the whole game on the right wing. Shane Elford played in the centres in defence but shifted to the wing in attack. Shannon McDonnell played on the wing in defence but roamed the field like a fullback in attack. Jamaal Lolesi defended at five-eighth but played centre in attack.
Are you still with me?
Now all that sounds confusing, but it actually worked. I'm also prepared to say that it will only get better in the coming weeks as young McDonnell gains more understanding and confidence in the assignment set for him by his coach.
It works because the Tigers' best and most experienced playmakers in Prince, Farah and Hodgson are back in positions of strength and getting their hands on the ball as often as possible.
Hodgson was particularly good. He's a tough bloke. Mentally tough.
You can imagine how shattered he must have been on Wednesday night having thrown that loose pass in Origin III that led to the winning try to Queensland's Darren Lockyer.
But Hodgson managed to kiss off the disappointment and jump straight back onto the horse that threw him. He was heavily involved in his new role in the Tigers' attacking structure and delivered two perfectly timed passes for tries.
The Tigers' attack struggled in the first 40 minutes, coming up with only one try despite dominating possession.
In the second half they seemed to relax and get away from the structured set plays. Playing the more instinctive style seemed to suit them.
The ball movement went from the predictable side-to-side motion of the first half, to a more deliberate probing style. They made far better metres over the advantage line and ran straighter with good support to create offloads and inside passes to slice open the Sharks' defence.
Back-rower Todd Payten and front-rower Keith Galloway were tremendous.
Galloway was particularly impressive. Perhaps it was the motivation of playing against his former club, or maybe this bloke is really starting to grow into his enormous frame. He can be quite a handful when he gets his dander up with his bull-like charges.
The Tigers are still in touch with the top eight and now they've shown they can win without Marshall, I reckon they can still make the play-offs.
The Sharks? They've been far better this year than I thought possible. But on yesterday's performance they can't possibly trouble the top teams.
Their defence is just too submissive when it counts. They struggled to stop the Tigers making good metres. When defending close to their line they sit back on their heels rather than come forward to cut down the time of the opposition play makers.
Their attack is also too one-dimensional. Mind you, they have some terrific young players. I was impressed with forwards Luke Douglas, Kevin Kingston, James Stosic, Hutch Maiava and Reece Williams. I also liked the look of debut fullback Toshio Laiseni.
The Sharks have a future. But so far as 2006 is concerned, I heard a loud "pop" about 4.30pm yesterday.
