2010 season?

[Guest]

Im gonna go out on a limb and say we'll win all 3 premierships next year
FG
Minichiello
Hauraki
M. Aubusson
Williamson
Perrett
Carney
Pearce
Myles
Friend
Nuuausala
Mason
Symonds
Anasta
J. Aubusson
Warea-Hargreaves
Paea
Cherrington

NEWTOWN
Towers
Waqa
Maori
Kenny-Dowall
Earl
Jones
Foran
Waqa
Brown
Deeb
Conn
Kouparitsas
Anderson

Samuela
Masoe
Kennedy
A'hern

U20
Blair
Nelson
Linnett
Mokieola
Du Plessis
Hands
Condon
Maliota
??????
Clayton
Pelo
Cordner
Leulia

???????
???????
???????
???????

3 Teams with Premierships written all over them

I don't think we'll win in all three grades, but I think our NYC will go the closest next year out of these three:

My sides for the teams:

NRL

1. Anthony Minichiello
2. Sam Perrett
3. Mitch Aubusson
4. Tom Symonds
5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall
6. Todd Carney
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Nate Myles
9. Jake Friend
10. Lopini Paea
11. Willie Mason
12. Setaimata Sa
13. Braith Anasta (c)

14. Frank Paul-Nuusuala
15. Anthony Cherrington
16. Jared Wearea-Hargreaves
17. James Aubusson

Newtown Jets

1. Luke Towers
2. Iwi Hauraki
3. Sonny Tuigamala
4. Tu'u Maori
5. Sandor Earl
6. Tavite Vatuvei
7. Liam Foran
8. Khalid Deeb
9. Riley Brown
10. Stanley Waqa
11. Rohan Ahern
12. Daniel Conn
13. Jimmy Anderson (c)

14. Nick Kouparitsis
15. Martin Kennedy
16. Ray Moujalli
17. Mose Masoe

NYC

1. Cheyse Blair
2. JP Du Plessis
3. Ryan Williamson
4. Ben Jones
5. Fine Moeakiola
6. Brad Murray
7. Matthew Hands
8. Isaac Maliota
9. Sam Brunton
10. Dane Cordner
11. Boyd Cordner
12. Joseph Leilua
13. Jerome Leolahi (c)

14. Tom Pelo
15. Olireti Samuelu
16. Ethan Lowe
17. Keith Masima

[novice chook]

Fittler not being involved as coach will be an improvement.

And Brian Smith handing some of our lazy arsed players a Jets jersey if they don't perform to expectations. Something Fittler was incapable of doing.

Having to fight for their position rather than just being gifted it will hopefully make for a hungrier and more committed team.


NC

[Guest]

First thing:

Setaimata Sa and Shaun Kenny-Dowall need to be sent back to Newtown next season, and Jones needs to be sent back to the U20's, or the Jets, depending on what Smith prefers. Sandor Earl might not be amazing, but he won't make the catastrophic blunders SKD seems to make week in week out. And we have plenty of backrowers who can do what Sa does, much better, and more consistently too.

Soliola was dropped for a while in 2007, but when he came back, he wasn't much better than when he left - Freddy persisted with him anyway and he was bloody average in 2008, and even worse this year. If the player doesn't come back with a reinvigorated attitude and newfound respect for the jersey, I say cut them.

Secondly:

Mason needs to be benched. He needs to earn his starting spot and show that he can lift a team with his input, rather than just make some middling hitups and expect everyone else to be uplifted. We could use that opportunity to blood in Cherrington, Masoe or Waerea-Hargreaves, three very young and VERY big kids who no doubt will be looking to replace Mason if he does turn his back on the club.

Thirdly:

Get some designated positional structures in the team, in both defense and attack. Stop with these positional switches, or starting a centre on the bench and a forward in the centres. 1-7 should all be playing 80 minutes in their preferred positions. Minichiello at fullback, Pearce at halfback, and Carney at five-eighth should be the beginning structure. Then build the team around them, as well as Myles and Perrett.

And last but not least:

Bring back a winning culture and attitude. Have these blokes set themselves standards that they WANT to meet, not just goals that the coach expects them to achieve. Make these blokes WANT to win, WANT to stand up for the man next to them, WANT to make those last-ditch tackles, WANT to support that offload or half-break, WANT to chase Pearce's kicks with as much gusto in the 79th minute as they did in the 2nd minute.

Make those tackles stick.

Hold onto the ball.

Don't give away cheap penalties.

Sustain pressure through repeat sets and possession.

Control the games tempo.

Have many players in motion at once to put the defense in two mnds.

Engage the markers from dummy-half, don't just shovel it to the halves.

Look for second-phase play but don't force passes that aren't on.

Get the outside backs supporting regular offloaders e.g. Nuuausala.

Run at holes rather than players, hit the ball at pace and with a nice angle.

------

Its Rugby League 101, you would think professional footballers would know this. Even under Sticky, with Funchy's shocking panic plays, the lightweight forward packs, etc, we still had most of the fundamentals under control. Freddy seems to have coached this players into playing perennial park footy. Smithy needs to give these players not only the fundamental skills back, but the professional attitudes both on and off the field to match.

[Guest]

First thing:

Setaimata Sa and Shaun Kenny-Dowall need to be sent back to Newtown next season, and Jones needs to be sent back to the U20's, or the Jets, depending on what Smith prefers. Sandor Earl might not be amazing, but he won't make the catastrophic blunders SKD seems to make week in week out. And we have plenty of backrowers who can do what Sa does, much better, and more consistently too.

Soliola was dropped for a while in 2007, but when he came back, he wasn't much better than when he left - Freddy persisted with him anyway and he was bloody average in 2008, and even worse this year. If the player doesn't come back with a reinvigorated attitude and newfound respect for the jersey, I say cut them.

Secondly:

Mason needs to be benched. He needs to earn his starting spot and show that he can lift a team with his input, rather than just make some middling hitups and expect everyone else to be uplifted. We could use that opportunity to blood in Cherrington, Masoe or Waerea-Hargreaves, three very young and VERY big kids who no doubt will be looking to replace Mason if he does turn his back on the club.

Thirdly:

Get some designated positional structures in the team, in both defense and attack. Stop with these positional switches, or starting a centre on the bench and a forward in the centres. 1-7 should all be playing 80 minutes in their preferred positions. Minichiello at fullback, Pearce at halfback, and Carney at five-eighth should be the beginning structure. Then build the team around them, as well as Myles and Perrett.

And last but not least:

Bring back a winning culture and attitude. Have these blokes set themselves standards that they WANT to meet, not just goals that the coach expects them to achieve. Make these blokes WANT to win, WANT to stand up for the man next to them, WANT to make those last-ditch tackles, WANT to support that offload or half-break, WANT to chase Pearce's kicks with as much gusto in the 79th minute as they did in the 2nd minute.

Make those tackles stick.

Hold onto the ball.

Don't give away cheap penalties.

Sustain pressure through repeat sets and possession.

Control the games tempo.

Have many players in motion at once to put the defense in two mnds.

Engage the markers from dummy-half, don't just shovel it to the halves.

Look for second-phase play but don't force passes that aren't on.

Get the outside backs supporting regular offloaders e.g. Nuuausala.

Run at holes rather than players, hit the ball at pace and with a nice angle.

------

Its Rugby League 101, you would think professional footballers would know this. Even under Sticky, with Funchy's shocking panic plays, the lightweight forward packs, etc, we still had most of the fundamentals under control. Freddy seems to have coached this players into playing perennial park footy. Smithy needs to give these players not only the fundamental skills back, but the professional attitudes both on and off the field to match.

Good post.

[Guest]

First thing:

Setaimata Sa and Shaun Kenny-Dowall need to be sent back to Newtown next season, and Jones needs to be sent back to the U20's, or the Jets, depending on what Smith prefers. Sandor Earl might not be amazing, but he won't make the catastrophic blunders SKD seems to make week in week out. And we have plenty of backrowers who can do what Sa does, much better, and more consistently too.

Soliola was dropped for a while in 2007, but when he came back, he wasn't much better than when he left - Freddy persisted with him anyway and he was bloody average in 2008, and even worse this year. If the player doesn't come back with a reinvigorated attitude and newfound respect for the jersey, I say cut them.

Secondly:

Mason needs to be benched. He needs to earn his starting spot and show that he can lift a team with his input, rather than just make some middling hitups and expect everyone else to be uplifted. We could use that opportunity to blood in Cherrington, Masoe or Waerea-Hargreaves, three very young and VERY big kids who no doubt will be looking to replace Mason if he does turn his back on the club.

Thirdly:

Get some designated positional structures in the team, in both defense and attack. Stop with these positional switches, or starting a centre on the bench and a forward in the centres. 1-7 should all be playing 80 minutes in their preferred positions. Minichiello at fullback, Pearce at halfback, and Carney at five-eighth should be the beginning structure. Then build the team around them, as well as Myles and Perrett.

And last but not least:

Bring back a winning culture and attitude. Have these blokes set themselves standards that they WANT to meet, not just goals that the coach expects them to achieve. Make these blokes WANT to win, WANT to stand up for the man next to them, WANT to make those last-ditch tackles, WANT to support that offload or half-break, WANT to chase Pearce's kicks with as much gusto in the 79th minute as they did in the 2nd minute.

Make those tackles stick.

Hold onto the ball.

Don't give away cheap penalties.

Sustain pressure through repeat sets and possession.

Control the games tempo.

Have many players in motion at once to put the defense in two mnds.

Engage the markers from dummy-half, don't just shovel it to the halves.

Look for second-phase play but don't force passes that aren't on.

Get the outside backs supporting regular offloaders e.g. Nuuausala.

Run at holes rather than players, hit the ball at pace and with a nice angle.

------

Its Rugby League 101, you would think professional footballers would know this. Even under Sticky, with Funchy's shocking panic plays, the lightweight forward packs, etc, we still had most of the fundamentals under control. Freddy seems to have coached this players into playing perennial park footy. Smithy needs to give these players not only the fundamental skills back, but the professional attitudes both on and off the field to match.

That's probably the best post I've seen on this forum. The one you mention about culture is definitely something that needs to be addressed and changed. Playing for the man next to you can be more important than just having the talent to win the football game. Relying on talent gains short-term success, committment to a team mate gains long-terms success. Melbourne were very good at this when they retained the same team over a number of years and they built a culture where they played for each other and look what happened with them.

Mack maybe you should have a go at coaching.

[Guest]

Actually right now I am a Taekwondo coach, so it is more about individual lessons, but the thing is I teach a lot about attitude, positive focus, not letting previous mishaps affect your mindset. One of the best I have seen deploy a positive mindset is Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag, who goes through the mental procedure of forgetting the previous delivery, so that he plays each delivery on its merits and no preconceived notions.

Our team needs that. Our players get overawed by big name players. Look at that Jarrod Croker kid at Raiders. He is only 19, and he did a few weeks back get dominated by Adam MacDougall the same way Ben Jones did, but then he bounced back, and a few weeks later he kept Justin Hodges quiet in attack, and turned him inside out in defense.

It is about mental strength, and not being intimidated by players presence' or a teams reputation.

[Guest]

Actually right now I am a Taekwondo coach, so it is more about individual lessons, but the thing is I teach a lot about attitude, positive focus, not letting previous mishaps affect your mindset. One of the best I have seen deploy a positive mindset is Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag, who goes through the mental procedure of forgetting the previous delivery, so that he plays each delivery on its merits and no preconceived notions.

Our team needs that. Our players get overawed by big name players. Look at that Jarrod Croker kid at Raiders. He is only 19, and he did a few weeks back get dominated by Adam MacDougall the same way Ben Jones did, but then he bounced back, and a few weeks later he kept Justin Hodges quiet in attack, and turned him inside out in defense.

It is about mental strength, and not being intimidated by players presence' or a teams reputation.

Maybe you should offer lessons to the players individually about their mindset because obviously they are playing like they have no brains at all. Because the team is very young, they would have always dominated the younger grades with their talent alone but in the NRL everyone is on the same level talent-wise and it's in the mind that separates the best from the rest.

[Guest]

Honestly I am not expecting much next year.

I cant see us making the 8 although we should improve. Whatever happens Smith will be responsible