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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.
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.
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