Half term report : Mon May 26, 2014 11:41 am  

What are everyone's views on how were going so far? I think at the start of the season, if we'd been offered at this point being 2nd, joint with Wigan and a point behind Leeds, most would have taken it, but I think the manner of the losses somewhat tarnish the perception of where were at.

The overall stats make for very interesting reading. We are the top try scorers, already amassing 83 (compared to 134 overall last year!) and were top of clean breaks with 108 - all of which suggest were ticking over nicely in attack, even though were looking a little disjointed and structureless still at times. Despite, continuing with the at times suicidal tactic of only backs bringing the ball out in our own half, we continue to be second top metre makers too, only behind (by a way) to Leeds.

Our defensive stats are where we get interesting though. It's a big source of frustration, and we have mediocre overall points conceded (5th), BUT we have only made 4082 tackles, enough to only place 13th, only above Wigan (who has played a game less) - this is somewhat confusing for those I've spoken to, and I can't decide if it's a good thing or not. On the one hand we shouldn't be as worn as others, but on the other does it mean were just not putting enough effort in?

Individually, Roby has carried us at times, anyone who plays dream team knows how far ahead he is to any other player in our team, but it doesn't tell the whole story. His focus on defensive work has blunted himself at times by just getting through the sheer amount of work he does. Over the last few games though he's seemed much more like himself, so hopefully well see him return to the form we know he's capable of. Elsewhere, it has to be said it's a joy watching a real 7 skip around the park for the first time in a long time. Walsh is a maestro, and hopefully will prove to be the difference where others have failed. They would be my 2 standouts

Who would people say have been the standouts? Who needs to do better in the second half of the season? Are you happy with where were at at this stage?

Re: Half term report : Mon May 26, 2014 12:19 pm  

In terms of our league position, very happy with where we are. We are a point behind Leeds, who defensively have been incredible this season. They are the benchmark and whilst some Wiganers may argue, I'd back the Leeds team any day just for that backline. So to be just a point behind and having beaten them already shows we have the belief and confidence to compete with them in a big game.

We are the 2nd best attackers in the league (by 1 point) so it's clear offensively we're doing lots of things right. Walsh is a breath of fresh air to our structure in attack and it allows Roby, Lomax and Hohaia to play their normal game.

When we're fully fit and Amor is playing our forwards do look alot stronger and it's why we were dominating teams early doors. I hope come the Play Offs we have Amor, Walmsley and Masoe fully fit, because they will hurt teams up the middle.

The biggest concerns for me are our record in the big games especially against Wigan. We always fold against them when they turn up to play and I don't know why. Mentally we just don't seem to aim up and as a result physically we drop off after about 20 minutes. Our attitude and mentality HAS to improve and we need to start making statements in big games. We play Wigan in a month so that'll be a test of our resolve and mentality. After Brown and Wellens recent comments, there simply is no more excuse in these games.

The other major concern for me is our defence especially in our goal line. We just seem to make bad choices and number up wrong - structurally we seem all wrong at times. This is a coaching issue and a leadership issue and I'm not sure if we can fix this or not under Brown and without a James Graham type figure telling players what to do and where to position themselves.

Re: Half term report : Mon May 26, 2014 1:19 pm  

School report would be "Has shown a lot of potential and made a vast improvement over previous years. However performance in key exams has been awful, highlighting a lack of commitment to succeed".

We are considerably better than recent seasons, but still massively lacking. We will not win a trophy this season and we will not win one under Nathan Brown and we will most probably not win one under Eamon McManus either. We're still lacking a second half back a pair of proper centres and another prop. McManus doesn't have the ambition to plug those gaps. Even if they were filled, Brown's shown this season that he's simply not up to motivating the players to the level required and the complete lack of leaders on the field means this side is always going to weak against the big teams.

McManus has somewhat realised how poor a job has been done in terms of the on field matters this season, but he won't do anything about it. The past 7 years have been shocking from the club and one season of improvement simply isn't enough to turn that around. The whole culture of the club needs to change and it will probably take 5 years and a change of ownership to bring that IMO.

Re: Half term report : Mon May 26, 2014 2:42 pm  

I'm happy with our position overall.
I think most of the negativity comes from the great start we had. After winning our opening 9 games or whatever it was, with a brilliant opening day performance at Warrington, a spirited, commited performance at home to Leeds and showing great fighting spirit away to Castleford, the dip came as a shock to the system to a lot of us and it was hard to stomach. Obviously, the biggest cause for concern was the destinct lack of passion and desire that was on display from us, particularly against Wigan, a game which should be very easy to motivate yourself for. The magic game was just a nightmare. Comical at times. Hopefully that will be rock bottom for us and we're now starting to come out the other side... HOPEFULLY.

But despite all that we're in a very good position aside from the CC, which we may have been knocked out of even without a dip, as Hudds and Leeds away in our first two games would be tough regardless of form. So to go through such a horror period and come out 2nd in the league, just a point behind Leeds is encouraging. We've got plenty of time to get things right.

Remember, in 2012 when Leeds won SL, they were distinctly average for the majority of the season, with back to back fistings at the hands of Wigan (largely made up of kids) and Warrington. They came out of the other side and won the league from 5th. Not time to lose the faith yet, we're still in this and have a lot of players to come back.