Steve  I agree with a lot of posters in here that we are only a couple of quality players short of a good side, but we must also haveb o factor in getting rid of some players that don't fit into the scheme of things. Take Tolman for instance, yes solid players, good defender toiler but I think it's time to cut him loose. Napa is another I would seriously let go. I guess we have to see who Barrett wants to keep and who he doesn't.

Nycho Hynes playing now for the Storm.

His is a player I think we should consider recruiting.

He's got a taste for it now after last week so we'll never get the ball away from him.

Positives from the game, Lewis, Odgen and Montoya showed definate signs of improvement.

Actually 8, 9, 10 are our big problem.

Our starting props lack authority, JMK tries hard, but our attack looked better with him off the field.

Hynes going ok, can play fullback, halves and 14, possibly centre.

Solid utility hence ideal bench player.

I heard on ABC radio that there is some controversy about social distancing at the storm game.  It was being defended as an illusion on the TV due to the steep hill.
I picked my son and grandson up from the game and one of the first things they said was social distancing was obvious in the stand but there was none on the hill where they were.
Looks like they are trying to spin a defence.
Knowing the ground well it is obvious with the numbers social distancing would not be possible.
This is why I knocked back the offer of tickets to the 3 storm game.

He actually caught the ball behind his back left handed, changed to his right the changed back to left in the air.
What an athlete and talent.

If only he could get the ball with room to move.

Can someone tell me why the fekk does Jackson ALWAYS uses his captains challenge when there’s a drop ball with DWZ?

Could have had 3 wins in a row. Poor decision making proven costly.
Jury out on Lewis, still seems lost when needed to step up.
Attack too easy to read, 2 passes and our outside backs are swamped.
Just not a natural playmaker. Good defender but unreliable when needed in the Red Zone.
A couple of big boppers needed. Tolman and Napa are passed the used by date.
Sick of tearing hair out when JMK continually passes to AT, Napa or any other forward lurking.
Ridiculous relying on Montoya, Lafai and DWZ to take us out from our line.

Where's Geoff Robinson when you need him?

Sweet Caroline?

BT the correct procedure is to sit with Barrett and discuss who on the open market is worth pursuing compared to who we currently have.

If there isnt anything out there worth getting and we have to keep our existing players, then we sign them only for 1 season and if they dont like it...see ya later.

They will have 1 year to impress Barrett and keep their careers going. Coz if they dont play for us, I doubt many of them will last a season elsewhere.

We hold the cards. They dont.

“How Tolman brain snap cost a punter a fortune” is the telescum headline

Theres one bloke out there (maybe it’s Marki) that wants to probably chop off the foot of Tolman that tapped the ball when 2pts were beckoning to lock up the match & possibly go on & win it after having the Eels on the ropes 

I was kinda hoping Lewis (who was on the ground having just won the penalty) saw AT about to tap the ball, and stuck his foot out to trip him and bust both his ACLs.

But it didn't happen. 

I think Parra players nearly got stitches laughing so much when they saw AT tap and run.

What disappoints me nearly as much as AT taking the tap, is Steve G saying that it didnt cost us the match in the presser.

I say sack them both.

Steve G has that look sometimes that he’s overdosed on the El Jannah garlic... that comment alone shows why he’ll never be a full time 1st grade coach!

Steve G didn’t hold back in his comments about L Lewis after the game.... which are valid, but why didn’t he also put the boot into DWZ classic moment (sponsored by Benny Hill) who each week farks up with his handling?

DWZ effort straight after the stupid play the ball.... did anyone see how easy the player ran straight past him on his wing & DWZ didn’t even lay a finger on him..... he should be dropped!

So the Villi/Marki forumla for success is sack the coach and half of the squad every 2 weeks?

Steve G has done a good job do far, what is comment shows is he understands the game. The quick tap was fine, we needed to do more with the opportunity, it was a big opportunity to score a try. Our execution particularly passing from dummy half is below par.

Results this season don't matter performances do and improving the players is all important. Steve G isn't that far off 3 wins in 3 games with by far the weakest squad in the NRL.

Personally I'm over Tols, Napa and DWZ in truth I never wanted Napa, and I'll be glad when he is gone.

The place for the coach to tell players a few home truths is behind closed doors, not in a press conference.
The Lewis comments were about him improving but more improvement needed.

Yesterday I was on the road driving home from work and was relegated to listening to the game on the radio. I have read comments from other supporters that Sutton was far from unbiased and favoured the scum at every opportunity. Does anyone here have an opinion on the refs performance?

I watched the game on my phone and missed some parts early.

But from what I saw, he was ok. Probably gave us the much needed set restart to allow RFM to score and get us back in.

We dont need to stoop that low where we look to blame the ref for every 2 point loss.

I think we got some bad / unlucky calls early in the game, but mostly the problem was our forwards throwing too many passes and dumb errors.

So first we need to fix what we can control, 2nd half was better but give the opposition 18 points start is rarely wise.

The Villi/Marki formula is that it's about time our club became professional and held people accountable for their unacceptable mistakes or comments. 

I wouldnt sack SG, my comment was tongue in cheek.
i like what he's done with the team and players have responded positively to him.

But I get concerned that he would defend the AT play, yet stick the boot to others. He could compromise his role as assistant to Barrett if such comments arent agreed by TB

The one thing I was pleased about in yesterdays broadcast on ABC is the praise they heaped on the Dogs players for their committment and their effort and mentioned that if Brisbane showed the same level of these qualities (with the roster they have) they would be a top 4 contender. That's saying something.

It was a gutsy effort, albeit plagued with costly errors. All 3 Parra tries were off the back of errors from Dallin & Tim. It was looking ugly early, the future bleak, even Tony was going for a walk to get his fishing line, but the fightback was good & they did more than enough to avoid being shamed on the scoreboard. Just poor execution, too many turnovers, some bad decisions & it was all over. At least they took it down to the last minute, despite shooting themselves in the foot once too often. The 2nd half was much better to watch than the first half. Some improvements there amongst it all, unfortunately some of the same turnovers resulting in opposition points.

There are some severe problems this team has had for a number of years now.

1) We cannot score length of field tries or very rarely do. This is a function of lack of speed and lack of support play. We have Meaney now who is fast but the rest will get caught by halfway. Cotric might make a difference as he has a long stride but we lack a down and out speedstar in the JAC, Pappenhuyzen or Tedesco mould

2) We simply dont make enough yardage to get into the opposition 20m zone on our own. We rely on penalties, set restarts or opposition errors. This means that we cannot work towards scoring points. We need intervention from the ref or dropsies from the opposition. Need to change our running style and enthusiasm to convert the 20-25m gains into 60-70m gains ROUTINELY. We did it yesterday for a few sets in a row in the second half and once we failed to level the scores and Parra repelled the next 2 sets, we gave up that territorial advantage and let them off the hook. Couldnt get back after that.

3) We are very impotent inside the opposition 20m zone. Alot has to do with JMK who is very poor in player selection off the ruck. Katoa was awful in his first 2 games but yesterday showed more variation and unpredictability at hooker and gave us some options and go forward. There was also a period in that second half that Lewis was demanding the ball at first receiver on nearly every play and we had the Eels backpedalling. More of this is needed. Foran doesnt demand the ball enough for mine.

The pleasing thing is that a number of players in this team can play the right style. The bad thing is that it is so foreign to us that we cannot sustain it for long periods and revert back to our usual lethargic style in attack and defence.

We must be the only team that stands and waits after the opposition has thrown a wayward pass 20m back. Every other team swarms the opposition and makes it a costly loss of ground, yet we use it as a breather with no one moving up to make a takle. Im surprised we dont apologise to the opposition.

When you look at the replay of the disallowed try in the first half...it appeared the ref acted hastily for at least not calling for a review. Commentary said RFM was subject of a bad read by the Parramatta player but the ref ruled the other way just penalising the Dogs without a review...it may have been different if reviewed properly...apart from that he didn't favour anyone and was really not noticeable...such indication being he had a good game.
Have watched the Averillo try on several occasions...Marki I suggest you watch it to gain a smattering of optimism...and apart from scoring it you can see he watches exactly where the ball was placed and knew he had scored it 100%

Ahh the days of Ben Barba...
Remember that run around play from the scrum under Des? 

Maybe he can do a wifeswap with Dylan Walker and they can go round and belt each other's wives up...

That'll stop 'em from having an opinion!

All we can do is fix the biggest problems first.

At least Katoa and Lewis are improving..

Meaney and Averillo have pace and skill.

Foz offers a lot, but we can replace him if we need to.

In that game the Parra starting props dominated the middle for a lot of the first half.

The game changed a bit when Odgen came on.

The priority from here is to work out what we are missing, and recruit players to fill the gaps.

IMO a hooker and a good starting prop are essential.
A centre/winger with size and impact is a priority.
We need to replace Foz with an experienced half if he leaves.
A utilty who can cover a range of backline positions and hooker of the bench is handy.

If we can get some or all of those players lets see how Barrett goes with the side next year.
For the next few years it is a similar process we need to strengthen the squad and start to get rid of players that don't have it. 

We a stronger squad and a better coach, underperforming players should find themselves in reserve grade. Then it is up to them to respond or not.

A lot of our problems in attack can be aimed directly at the ruck. Whether it's poor service out of dummy half or forwards getting in the way we see it week after week. A half break is made and we just don't seem to be able to take advantage of a scattered defensive line on the next play. Anything near the try-line with a retreating defence should be directed out to Foran's side. He is the quickest between the ears and seems to make the right call more often than not whether to put in a kick, play short or long.

At the moment the onus is on completing our sets so we don't chance our arm when it comes to attack from within our own half. There are few backline movements or offloads and when there is an offload there is no one there to take advantage of it. This is a deliberate tactic but I think it is time to throw caution to the wind and allow the boys to play with a bit more freedom. I definitely feel they are capable of defending any errors caused from this approach. An increase in offloads will lead to an increase in support play which could help the players in their approach to playing on the front foot more often.