Round 25: TITANS vs PANTHERS (2023)

[Dooldog76]

Due to our position on the ladder I truly believe it is a natural inclination from the ref's to award most of the 50/50 calls to the team that may have been playing better footy. All I want is consistency and we are certainly not getting that. Really frustrating because the boys turned up last night. That first half was a cracking effort but the calls didn't go our way, again.

[5 Year Contract]

No point talking about the refereeing as I already said in the pre game the refereeing and bunker is completely broken and honestly it just makes me not want to support the game because it’s just pointless when you can’t go a game without game destroying errors. All in all we showed some glimpses again but it continues to be clear that we are a team of near enough but not good enough. You can’t win a premiership with middle of the road rocks and diamonds players.

Weaver was solid I just wish he tried to execute more than trying hero kicks early in the count. Hope JC is ok and while I’m still optimistic Hasler can get the best out of us I’m still not overly enthused by our roster

[Titanic]

I started to write some critique on AKP but stopped myself…

[NZFan]

I started to write some critique on AKP but stopped myself…

I’d like to hear it. He’s certainly got some growing up to do but there’s no denying his raw talent. Kick returns this year have certainly suffered without Marzhew starting our sets.

[Appsy]

Finally got the chance to watch the game and here are my takeaways for each player:

1. AJ - performed outstandingly with 21 Runs for 153m, a line break, a try assist and 4 tackle breaks. Had a handling error but he is showing why he again showed why he's our first choice FB (Even though I believe he would fit centre a bit better).

2. Lofi - man this kid.. He has so much talent but his decision making on field is woeful. Can finish a try. He's awesome at scoring them. But he once again made some piss poor decisions. 10 runs the whole game and made 79m. It's clear he needs to start bulking up more as he's easy to defend when not in open space. He's made 34 errors this season and we still have 2 more games left.

3. BK - Usually I'm part of the hate club for this man, but he was better this game IMO. 15 runs for 106m, a try assist and 4 offloads. 2 handling errors and 7 missed tackles is unfortunately something we're used too with BK... but I thought he was better than his centre counterpart. Speaking of which;

4. Schoupp - Get him out of the team. I do not care that he made 142m, he is woeful in every other aspect of the game. Haven't had this much hatred for a player in our team in a while.

5. Sami - Have to feel for the man He's in career best form and goes down with an injury in his foot (reported to be a lisfranc injury, not known yet). Can't make a full judgement as he went down, but will praise him for his 6 tackle busts.

6. JC - Obviously we are all praying that it is not an ACL, and it does not seem like it is (either a medial injury or a patellar injury) but only time will tell. Played great as always, could potentially be a permanent partner to Weaver next season if all goes well.

7. Weaver - Good debut. The ball he laid on for Haas was awesome. 20 kicks for 737m, albeit some being too early in the count. But those caught Penrith off guard. However, he showed a similar issue with Boyd with missing tackles, missing the most out of everyone in the team (8). Can't fully fault him for it though as it's his first game. All in all, great debut.

8. Moe - I love this man. The effort he puts in each game is amazing. Ran for 156m from 19 carries, and is averaging 154m per game. He's only played 2 games this season where he didn't run for 100m+, and that was round 2 against the dragons and the warriors game when he was sent off. He also made 42 tackles, and is averaging 31 a game. He also played 74 minutes, and has been averaging almost 60 minutes+ per game this season. Ever since his woeful game against the Dragons in round 2 he has been giving it 110%. Give this man a new contract extension please !!

9. Randall - Topping our tackle count again with 46, and is averaging almost 35 per game. He has really turned it around the past 2 months for us.

10. Liu - Still has not impressed me this whole season. But this was the first game in a while where I haven't seen him drop the ball for a knock on, so kudos to him for that.

11. Fifita - Mixed feelings about his game. 26 tackles, 7 tackle busts and a try is what Fifi does best. But this is his second game not making over 100m this season (3rd if you count the bunnies game when he went off). He missed 6 tackles, and gave away 2 penalties. Having a great season but last night Penrith just out did him for majority of it. Worth every penny still IMO.

12. Haas - Had a great game for a young bloke. Scored a try, 4 tackle breaks and made 25 tackles. What shocked me, and is something that has been an issue all season on this side, is his runs and metres. He had 3 runs for 53m. It's not his fault though when we 99% of the time opt to go the other way. Still, valiant effort, and will make a great bench player for next year.

13, Tino - Such a workhorse. 19 runs for 179m, and has averaged 163m per game, the most out of anyone in the squad. He also made 28 tackles with only one being ineffective is awesome to see. However, he did make 2 errors, and only passed the ball 4 times. Everyone in the forum is right, he cannot pass, or chooses not too. But, it's not something that can't be improved upon. Great leader and hopefully takes it to the next gear under Des.

14. Leeming - Didn't have much to show. Kind of underwhelming unfortunately as I do think he is a decent player. Plus he's also the best looking player in the league in my opinion so I may have a bit of bias.

15. Joliffe - One of our best investments. 16 runs for 166m and 26 tackles. I do not see him starting over Moe or Tino (unless Tino is lock), but he proves that he is such a great impact player off of the bench, and will be a guaranteed spot on the bench next year.

16. Stimson - Personally one of our worst players, and solidified it with this game, as he does every other game. 2 runs for 15m. He's 6th in the league for missed tackles (83). Just an average player who will be in Q cup once Fermor is back.

17. Alick - 2nd game but still impressed me. He looked really comfortable out there and had decent positioning. Obviously his run metres are down from his debut, but he only got 40 mins and 4 runs compared to the 60 and 13 he got in his debut. Definitely need to resign this kid.

[Titanic]

@Kiwi: Suffice to say we can’t carry so many small bodies and hope to be competitive. I watch Marzhew critically each week and I’m torn between the two but then looking further afield, there are very few across the competition worse than AKP. Magic moments just aren’t enough.

[willhelm]

I think next year we will start with Mo and Jolliffe with Tino at lock and Liu and Palasia off the bench. Des has always liked a big forward pack.

[Boonarga]

@Kiwi: Suffice to say we can’t carry so many small bodies and hope to be competitive. I watch Marzhew critically each week and I’m torn between the two but then looking further afield, there are very few across the competition worse than AKP. Magic moments just aren’t enough.

Right on cue, Marzhew destroys the Bunnies.

[NZFan]

@Kiwi: Suffice to say we can’t carry so many small bodies and hope to be competitive. I watch Marzhew critically each week and I’m torn between the two but then looking further afield, there are very few across the competition worse than AKP. Magic moments just aren’t enough.

I think one thing this squad lacks is a variation in body shape. We don’t have any tall wingers or centres and that leaves the wings exposed to high balls.

I was a huge fan of Marzhew and at the time when he left I thought we should have kept him over Sami. Happy to admit I was wrong there. Lofi is raw but I think that the investment will pay off in the long run. You can’t coach speed. He’s got a lot to work on in the short term but wingers don’t typically lose games. I’m happy to persevere for another season.

[Hail Sezer]

I think one thing this squad lacks is a variation in body shape. We don’t have any tall wingers or centres and that leaves the wings exposed to high balls.

Agreed

Also means they struggle with first contact on taller bodies (and getting over the ball) and covering spacing on D