KaeruJim wrote:
I’m not totally disagreeing with you Matts. You’re looking at team performances as a homogenous thing; what I’m saying is that it’s not the be all and end all at junior grades to win all the time, because realistically you might have only 1 or 2 players from an entire intake make the grade.
I.e. the most important thing is that we have a couple of genuine potential first graders in a given year, ideally. If their colleagues aren’t as good then the team will lose.
Your view around the lack of quality in coaching and development - it does look valid on face value and maybe it is a problem as you say.
A million factors can derail youngsters from success: some lads mature far earlier and look world beaters at 15, and then very ordinary when their peers catch up physically. Girls, booze, attitude all have big parts to play. Generally junior scouts tend to over-focus on attack rather than D in my view. Lots of players look okay going forward but don’t have the grit for defence.
I share lots of frustrations with the errors and lack of cohesion the teams seem to show mate. The big caveat again is what impact playing younger-age players has on that. One year at that age makes a big difference to size and strength, and it shows in results. But also that could be an excuse - I don’t know enough about the set up or behind the scenes.
And your looking at team performance as having no bearing on how players are developing, when the reality is that its the best indicater, both individual and collective..
Iv been pretty clear regarding the mitigation of many 1st years playing in the academy and how next year really needs to be the year that the talent shows on the field, im pretty sure you have responded to those posts Jim. But those first years are already showing bad habits in games that wernt previously there
A million factors can also be present at other clubs...So why, over a sustained period, do Wigan and Saints not suffer from the same pitfalls...Coaching, Development and environment would be my opinion. Are Leeds scouts the only ones who focus on attack rather than D? If so, why dosnt that show up in Scholarship games?
Best crop in 20 year is a bold statement from the club, one i happen to agree with, we're not just talking 1 or 2 in a group of less talented... but the results on the field dont show it. Results, and performance, on the field are determined by a group of talented players being developed and coached well...1 win in 7 this year jim, from grand final winners 2 year ago when Butteril got involved for a year (no coincidence) and to your point about age, a grand final won with many first years playing regularly, to finishing mid table the year after under Smith, with many of the same players, a year older and more physically developed, but looked 3 year less mentally developed with half the toughness or resilience...Sometimes facts, maybe dont confirm, but can back up an opinion
We bring enough talented players through the door that a couple will always make the first team squad every year or 2, that dosnt necessarily mean they have been developed well
