Round 7, 2012 NRL: Cronulla Sutherland Sharks V Parramatta Eels @ Toyota Stadium, Sunday April 15, 2.00pm

[gando2230]

I thought in the 1st half with only 2 mins to go and the Sharks get a penalty within in distance of kicking for goal,

they should have taken the attempt waste a 90sec get the ball back and take the ball up for 5 tackles and kick for touch but they went for the try Parra get the ball and go on to score on half time.

 

[sharks2010]

I thought in the 1st half with only 2 mins to go and the Sharks get a penalty within in distance of kicking for goal,

they should have taken the attempt waste a 90sec get the ball back and take the ball up for 5 tackles and kick for touch but they went for the try Parra get the ball and go on to score on half time.

gal said he regretted that decision. He wanted to kill them off but it back fired. If we would of scored it's a master stroke. But that's the risks you take. I was happy going for the try. We had them on the sword

 

[Gards]

For years everyone around here has slammed the team for taking the 2 points.
Then finally yesterday we go for the try and it doesn't work and everyone is slamming the decision and prophesying the outcome 2 points could have had on the game. You want us to put teams to the sword and win by 20 points yet not go for a try when on their line...?

Get it over it, we were on a roll, Parra were on the back foot, it was a confident positive decision of a team asserting their control on the game and I was glad to see them take a crack at a try. I just hope the fact it didn't work this time doesn't put them into a shell and scare them from trying again in the future. Just need to be patient and work on execution.

/Rant Over

 

[samshark]

Exactly, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I am glad they went for the try, it was the right decision and its about time we start playing that way.
We're not gonna hold out the Storm, Broncos etc with 4 and 6 point leads

 

[Mark^Bastard]

For years everyone around here has slammed the team for taking the 2 points.
Then finally yesterday we go for the try and it doesn't work and everyone is slamming the decision and prophesying the outcome 2 points could have had on the game. You want us to put teams to the sword and win by 20 points yet not go for a try when on their line...?

Sure this may apply to some people but not to me.

I don't like the team taking the two points when it's nil all. Can't stand that.

I don't like the team taking the two points when it's say 6 all.

In the context of the game yesterday, with it almost being half time and us just conceding a try but still being 6 in front, it was 100% the time to take a penalty. The team were obviously a bit nackered and just needed to be settled down a bit. The Eels were 'on' at that point. We'd also scored 18 points so it was worth thinking about for sure.

It's not hindsight, I couldn't believe it at the time and said so verbally (to the wife).

 

[Mr Wright]

Agreed Mark. I don't like taking the 2 early in the game when it only makes the difference in score 2 points. It's still a one possession game. It makes much more sense to do it when it changes the score to 7+ in the lead. Thus making it a 2 possession game. Doesn't really bother me in the end cause we played well enough to win.

 

[Mark^Bastard]

Yeah the difference between making it 20 to 12 and getting the ball back to run the clock out before half time, and going for the 2 points a few minutes to the game when it's nil all is massive.

Taking the two at nil all means you think you'll need all the points you can get.

To get to 20 points to 12 before half time is a massive lead all things considered. We are capable of keeping teams to 12 points and holding a team out for 40 minutes, and we are capable of winning games having scored 20 points. So it just would have made sense.

 

[Mr Wright]

Yeah the difference between making it 20 to 12 and getting the ball back to run the clock out before half time, and going for the 2 points a few minutes to the game when it's nil all is massive.

Taking the two at nil all means you think you'll need all the points you can get.

To get to 20 points to 12 before half time is a massive lead all things considered. We are capable of keeping teams to 12 points and holding a team out for 40 minutes, and we are capable of winning games having scored 20 points. So it just would have made sense.

To be fair to Gal, he probably thought we would of had what it take to crack Parras line.

 

[Mark^Bastard]

To be fair to Gal, he probably thought we would of had what it take to crack Parras line.

I'm a little concerned with our forwards at the moment in the middle.

We don't seem to be making meters up the middle and we seem to concede too many.

We should have got the two then backed ourselves to make it to their try line in a set of six easily.

 

[Mr Wright]

I'm a little concerned with our forwards at the moment in the middle.

We don't seem to be making meters up the middle and we seem to concede too many.

We should have got the two then backed ourselves to make it to their try line in a set of six easily.

I had the same feeling yesterday. Ross/Gibbs/Gal/Jez just didn't seem to be bending the line much in the 1st half. I think we tightened up our defense and starting to get on top of them in the 2nd half, but it's still a concern. We have been near the top of metres gained all season, so we might just be expecting to much?

 

[Tiger Shark]

I'm a little concerned with our forwards at the moment in the middle.

We don't seem to be making meters up the middle and we seem to concede too many.

We should have got the two then backed ourselves to make it to their try line in a set of six easily.

De Gois has been a big reason we make so many metres

 

[josh11223344]

I was happy we didn't go for 2 at that stage, we were looking dangerous with the ball in hand and really should of put 30 on in the end but to me it showed our confidence which we haven't seen for years.

 

[Mark^Bastard]

We have been near the top of metres gained all season, so we might just be expecting to much?

True. I'm wondering what part of the field the metres are coming from though? I wouldn't say we're playing laterally, but we don't seem to bend the line in the middle and we seem to be making heaps of metres in the fringe when we do run it that way.

Regarding defense, it's like they figure we have the whole length of the field to defend a set, so it's okay to concede an extra metre or two per run. We're backing our goal line defense. I guess that's good in a way, but I had seeing **** teams make easy metres against us and then we get the ball back and sort of do the same to them.

It's like we have the makings of playing the grinding game but we're not doing it right. My take on the grinding tactic is that you kick the ball deep down field, then give the best kick chase you can knowing that every metre take from their fullback is a metre you don't have to urn in the next set with hitups. Then once they have the ball, you use line speed to trap them in their end, then put pressure on their kicker so they can't do the same back to you. After a while of this the opposition hopefully cracks and you score a try.

What we're doing seems somewhat different, like let's concede metres in defense to conserve energy, worst case scenario we put all our effort into goal line defense, otherwise we can cart it back up the middle but not really get to their try line either. It's sort of like the grind but without the same emphasis on territory. I dunno if it's deliberate or not?

 

[Gards]

It's a good observation MB but surely not deliberate. I think it's being exhasberated by fatigue and errors.
No team would want the opposition near their try line if they can help it, regardless how good their defense is.

There were some periods in that game where our kick chase was decent and we were hitting hard and trying to stop them making soft metres. So I think the intent is still there but with our attack starting to improve I think "style" of play is evolving and who knows where it will end up. Hopefully a combination that can take the good parts of grinding and flair. Maybe Flanno is still working through our gameplan and structure, I noticed Gal was hardly involved in any attacking plays yesterday for instance.

I personally feel it is our back row clocking up the metre gains through the likes of Graham and Bakuya but our props are defs putting in a honest and solid performance up the middle. Maybe teams are making it a point to match us there. Gal was shut down for the most part quite well yesterday by the Eels but he still looked good and made some gains.

 

[Timmyb22]

It's like we have the makings of playing the grinding game but we're not doing it right. My take on the grinding tactic is that you kick the ball deep down field, then give the best kick chase you can knowing that every metre take from their fullback is a metre you don't have to urn in the next set with hitups. Then once they have the ball, you use line speed to trap them in their end, then put pressure on their kicker so they can't do the same back to you. After a while of this the opposition hopefully cracks and you score a try.

we have done some end trapping this year if my memory serves well, i think we did it well against manly and st george and perhaps a few other games, but we have to bring the saem defence every week, i dunno about everyone else but it looks to me like a different defensive style is brought on for different opponents, or at least the sharks are playing defensibely a little different each week, for intance it might just be me but i seem to think our slide defence gets better one week and worse the next, its hard to tell, all i know is when we play the storm we can not let them make the metres and get down our end because they are specialists with set plays and what not when clubs are on their try line, our defence can handle some of it but fatigue and competant opponent will see points put on us if we do not play smart

 

[Ramzyv1]

Really happy to get away with that one. We looked good for most of the game but as usual the game was down to the wire until the end and we just had to keep defending. It makes you very proud to see that kind of courage and I am really happy with how the team is going. However we have the Storm and Bulldogs in the near future and they will not spoil the opportunities the last few teams and can't just rely on goal line defence to get us through. Less errors and better field position will be needed in those games.

Still, very happy Sharks fan at the moment.

 

[gando2230]

I agree with MB that was a perfect time to take the 2 points. That would have been the game turner the sharks up 20 - 12 the eels heads would have been down.

Take all the points when you can and smash them 2nd half.

I'm sure C.Smith or D.Lockyer would have taken the 2 points that close to half time,

 

[SDK]

Great to get the 2 points yet that could have easily slipped away (like the Tigers game).

Sharks should have definitely contolled the period from 18-6 up to half time a hell of alot better plus the last 10 minutes. There was the option of a FG there (nearly the same circumstances as Penrith) which was not considered. I dead set thought that game was going to golden point on a couple of occasions.

Some good performances yet plenty to work on. Will watch it again through the week, unsure how Sharks kept Dragons scoreless & Parra 3 tries in 40 minutes.

Well done though, great to hang on, especially with the week off.

May the Sharks Rep players remian injury free, oh & have good games..

 

[SharkShocked]

Sharkies were up for the Dragons game with huge intensity.

There was always going to be a let down and come out a bit flat... when you can manage to win games like these after big intense performances and not play your best, then that all augurs well when they do finally click they will put some poor mob to the sword.

 

[IronShark]

Wasn't able to get to the game yesterday due to other commitments but I was able to watch the replay on Fox last night. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. When I had first heard the end result, I thought we must have played poorly to let the Eels score 18 points and get with six. However, on watching the replay, I thought we played very well, we were certainly better than a six point victory.

All in all, the Eels scored some freakish tries through some Hayne brilliance - this was always going to be the biggest threat.

Overall, the Sharks seemed to be making linebreaks consistently and certainly should have score at least two more tries. The second half defence was outstanding; the Eels had plenty of possession in our twenty but were unable to get across the line.

Parramatta are a much better team than their position on the ladder indicates - especially in attack. To hold them out all second half with the weight of possession against us was a great performance.

I thought Matty Wright did a great job at fullback, Wade Graham is doing a great job off the bench and Bukuya is simply awesome.