Re: Club Call : Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:28 am  

McClennan wrote:

The problem is that when are extremely predictable with the ball. A few drives up the middle then telegraph that we are passing it wide to the left. The backs can't do anything if there's no space and we don't create space because our forwards die with the ball. When we have given the ball air via offloading we have looked good this season. Unfortunately we only open things up when we're comfortably in the lead or down by three tries with ten minutes left.

We do seam to have gone for less risk, and so less reward at times. That does seam to come from the coach.

ie less risk lets put a back on the bench, incase a back gets injured. Most games the back is sat having no effect. It's a risk averse stratergy but bring up other problemslike other players playing too many minutes in a game.

Re: Club Call : Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:39 am  

bewareshadows wrote:

other problemslike other players playing too many minutes in a game.

Is that really a problem though? It's not like we've run out of gas that often except perhaps against the big teams which has usually been more down to being behind anyway i.e. less possession. When was the last time we exploded out of the blocks against a half decent team?

Re: Club Call : Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:47 am  

St pete wrote:

The reason why is = we could play fir 8 weeks and fail to put enough points on the board thaw capable of beating Wigan or wolves as our backs a crap.

I don't buy this at all. I think this year may be too soon but I think our backs are and will prove to be very good in time.

Re: Club Call : Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:47 am  

McClennan wrote:

Is that really a problem though? It's not like we've run out of gas that often except perhaps against the big teams which has usually been more down to being behind anyway i.e. less possession. When was the last time we exploded out of the blocks against a half decent team?

I'll treat this as a loaded question. ie who do you call a half decent team?

I'm assuming by this you mean Wigan and Warrington. My analysis of half decent would be a top 6 side.

But going on Wigan or Warrington, the last time was probably good friday at the DW.

Also depends what you mean by exploded. But some say Wigan exploded us in the semi final and that was 2 tries late in the first half.

Re: Club Call : Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:14 am  

bewareshadows wrote:

We do seam to have gone for less risk, and so less reward at times. That does seam to come from the coach.

Yup. He stated very clearly when Lomax and Gaskell first stepped into the roles that he had simplified the game plan to enable them to play. He has also stated that because injuries have repeatedly disrupted the side he has been unable to build on the basics, which makes perfect sense.

Assuming whatever the problem is which has caused our injury crisis this year is resolved ahead of next season, we should see a more complex attack developing as our rookies will have more experience and there will be more stability, allowing for more complex plays to evolve.

Re: Club Call : Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:43 am  

SaintsFan wrote:

Well, not in every case. At the DW what we needed was players to be on their mettle all of the time. Alas, Ashurst and Moore went to sleep for a moment and Wigan snuck through. At Cardiff Jamie didn't have his touchline kicking boots on. Against Wire we get dropsy and I think dropsy has undermined us more than anything this season. But certainly having experienced halves would have helped in all but the game against Wigan at Widnes (when they would have made no difference). However, the only way to have experienced halves is to give halves the experience, and experience means failure as well as success. Fans need patience.

You've basically said what I've been saying all year more or less about our halves. It's clear to see we are in dire need of a quality experienced halfback if we want to WIN things in the near future but if we go with Gaskell and lomax then we need patience and accept that we will not win anything for at least 2/3 season and thaw if the risk pays off.

This current team doesn't struggle for field position or possession but in big games against top teams have not put enough points on the board after being camped on the other teams line for large periods.