Roosters have hit rock bottom: Greg Alexander

[Geohood]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/n...-1226066830102

Brandy's Big Issue: Greg Alexander says Sydney Roosters' defence will be the key to salvaging 2011

By Greg Alexander
FOX SPORTS
June 01, 2011 1:00PM

Sydney Roosters hit rock bottom against North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday night, and, after delivering a few home truths to each other during the week, that might just be the catalyst to their season turning around.

I called that round 12 match for Fox Sports, and the Roosters were embarrassing at times in their 20-6 loss; their discipline was shocking and a lot of their mistakes came on early tackles. It was almost comical. They just couldn’t get to a kick or finish a set.

While their grand final opponents, St George Illawarra, having carried on where they left off in 2010, it’s amazing that Brian Smith’s side have struggled to the point that only Canberra have scored fewer tries this season.

What’s gone wrong?

I touched on it in Saturday night’s NRL coverage, but I believe it could simply be a case of not getting enough out of their big-game players.

I don’t want to lay blame on one individual, but they’ve had a disruptive season and those disruptions have come from Todd Carney, their best player; I think he’s got a fair bit to do with it.

His combination with Mitchell Pearce was crucial to their fairytale grand final run last year. In fact, for the second half of 2010, most people assumed that Carney and Pearce would be New South Wales’ State of Origin halves this year.

Confidence is everything and on Saturday night, Todd was a shadow of his former self.

Do you agree with Brandy's Big Issue? What are the biggest issues at Bondi Junction? Have your say.

He’s now three games into his most recent NRL comeback, and you’d expect him to return to some of his better form in the second half of the season. With that, things will fall into place, like seeing the best of Shaun Kenny-Dowall as the Roosters re-live and revive some of the combinations in their backline.

If Carney’s form continues the way it has been over the three weeks he’s been back, you’d have no problem putting Braith Anasta back in at No.6. But for the moment, they have to persevere with Carney, especially if he shows there are signs of life. Then you get the best out of Braith, which is when he runs the football. He can do that in the backrow, which is his best spot at the Roosters.

Coming up against the Warriors at the Sydney Football Stadium in round 13 desperately looking for a fourth win of the season, the temptation would be for the Roosters to throw the ball around and play touch footy. But they’ll get beaten if they do that.

One positive from Saturday night, and in their 12-10 win over Newcastle the week before, was the fact we actually saw some life in their defence. They did a fair bit of goal line defence in Townsville, and they did well to hold the Cowboys out. North Queensland weren’t on fire, but they weren’t terrible by any means and the Roosters showed a fair bit of spirit and fight.

They have offered very little with the football of late so the key for them is to gain confidence from their defence, which needs to lay the platform. It will be what gives them confidence, and they’ll be able to build from that.

It’s true that no one is playing as well as they were last year, but one thing I will not buy into is the speculation over Brian Smith’s tenure.

I know everyone likes to point the finger when a club’s in a slump, but the fact is the Roosters have done it as tough as any club in terms of injuries and distractions.

I simply don’t think there are any issues in terms of Brian and his control of the Roosters, so I won’t be jumping on any bandwagons blaming him for the club's season.

The old adage that you forget how to win after losing for so long might ring true here, but I’m fairly positive they’ll have looked each other in the eye this week and vowed to start again.

I’ve got no doubt they can have a much better second half of the season.

Whether that means they’re a top-eight side, I’m not sure.

[melon....]

Thanks Brandy. And the only way is up from here.

i know something you dont know.

And We'll make the 8 this year.

[Geohood]

LOL you're a classic Melon. Would be a miracle. Any substance behind saying it though?

[roostwin]

Looking at the history between the Worriers and ourselves we are going to ahve to lift to win this week end.

The History: Played 27; Roosters 10, Warriors 16, drawn 1. The Roosters have lost five straight against the Warriors and have in fact won just one game in the past 10 against their 2002 grand final rivals. And the Warriors won’t be afraid of playing at the Sydney Football Stadium either: they have won six and drawn one of their 12 matches against the Roosters. Earlier this season the Warriors pumped the Roosters 24-12 in Auckland.

[Guest]

I don't agree with Brandy's assessment. Carney has been a marked man since the Dragon's game last year (regular season). Last year we also lost to the Sharks who simply marked up and didn't give Carney any room to move. The rest of the team have simply not been good enough to provide alternative attacking options.

IMO this year our problem has compounded by having the slowest wingers in the comp. We are no longer quick enough to run around a compressed defense which is giving us zero room up the middle.

[Guest]

that we dont know or that Brandy doesnt know

if we come back from here to the 8 it will be the biggest comeback since the original

[Guest]

I too believe we can make the 8. We have a very easy draw over the next few weeks followed by players coming back. We could get to round 20 at the fringe of the 8 with some confidence restored and a full-strength team.

[Guest]

I agree with Brandy. I think he is spot on with his assessment. Carney is crucial. He is a confidence player and other players get confidence from him.

Carney has played with no confidence all year and has looked terrible. The only game he has played which is anywhere near his form last year is against the Tigers.

[John Corey]

I don't agree with Brandy's assessment. Carney has been a marked man since the Dragon's game last year (regular season). Last year we also lost to the Sharks who simply marked up and didn't give Carney any room to move. The rest of the team have simply not been good enough to provide alternative attacking options.

IMO this year our problem has compounded by having the slowest wingers in the comp. We are no longer quick enough to run around a compressed defense which is giving us zero room up the middle.

Surely you are not suggesting this is our problem? BJ was our winger last year! Our problem is simply that we continually give away dumb penalties, drop the ball, and we have a fullback who is very limited in attack compared to other fullbacks in todays game . How can you build an attacking game with our completion rate and giving away penalties. You can't. It has absolutely nothing to do with the speed of our wingers.

[Guest]

Surely you are not suggesting this is our problem? BJ was our winger last year! Our problem is simply that we continually give away dumb penalties, drop the ball, and we have a fullback who is very limited in attack compared to other fullbacks in todays game . How can you build an attacking game with our completion rate and giving away penalties. You can't. It has absolutely nothing to do with the speed of our wingers.

We played with that same Fullback last year as well!

Poor handling comes from lack of confidence. And dumb penalties come from frustrated footballers.

[Guest]

Surely you are not suggesting this is our problem? BJ was our winger last year! Our problem is simply that we continually give away dumb penalties, drop the ball, and we have a fullback who is very limited in attack compared to other fullbacks in todays game . How can you build an attacking game with our completion rate and giving away penalties. You can't. It has absolutely nothing to do with the speed of our wingers.

That is BS. Last year we were pathetic and the opposition were choking us with their compressed defense. Carney's switch to 5/8th gave us the extra speed and attacking options to get around a compressed defense. This forced the opposition to spread their defense, giving us more room up the middle and bringing our fowards and small men into the game.

This year we are in a similar position. The opposition are choking us with their compressed defense. We are now too slow to get around them even with Carney at 5/8th. Carney has no attacking options. He can't spread the ball because we are too slow, he can't kick behind the line because we are too slow.

Last week our handling was pathetic and the Cowboys compressed defense was putting more pressure on us. The one occasion we spread the ball without dropping it we had a massive overlap and BJ was too slow to run around the slowest player on the field. Any other winger would have been off and gone forcing the opposition to spread their defense. But BJ is so damn slow the opposition treat us with contempt leaving the door wide open for him without fear.

[Spanner in the works]

This club hasn't hit rock bottom. We've always had that ability to go one worse. I wouldn't put anything past this club...

[Guest]

That is BS. Last year we were pathetic and the opposition were choking us with their compressed defense. Carney's switch to 5/8th gave us the extra speed and attacking options to get around a compressed defense. This forced the opposition to spread their defense, giving us more room up the middle and bringing our fowards and small men into the game.This year we are in a similar position. The opposition are choking us with their compressed defense. We are now too slow to get around them even with Carney at 5/8th. Carney has no attacking options. He can't spread the ball because we are too slow, he can't kick behind the line because we are too slow.

Last week our handling was pathetic and the Cowboys compressed defense was putting more pressure on us. The one occasion we spread the ball without dropping it we had a massive overlap and BJ was too slow to run around the slowest player on the field. Any other winger would have been off and gone forcing the opposition to spread their defense. But BJ is so damn slow the opposition treat us with contempt leaving the door wide open for him without fear.

Or maybe Carney, himself, has been shit this year. How about that one?

[Guest]

Or maybe Carney, himself, has been shit this year. How about that one?

Bingo!

[Guest]

Or maybe Carney, himself, has been shit this year. How about that one?

I don't buy it. Carney played very well against the Sharks. With a little more room Carney would have destroyed them in that game.

Much like last year, it is the compressed defense that is killing us. Our lack of speed out wide is part of that problem. The opposition have nothing to fear by compressing their defense.