Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 2:11 pm  

Hmm, it strikes me that Laffranchi is an experienced second-row who has played at prop pretty much every game this season. He's played more games than any other Saints 'prop', off half-back pairings that change almost weekly etc etc. Give that guy a break!!!

Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 2:19 pm  

BigRedV wrote:

Hmm, it strikes me that Laffranchi is an experienced second-row who has played at prop pretty much every game this season. He's played more games than any other Saints 'prop', off half-back pairings that change almost weekly etc etc. Give that guy a break!!!

He was rested against Salford last week.

Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 2:53 pm  

The Chair Maker wrote:

As mentioned earlier , i think we should look at playing lafranchi in the back row.

I think a pack of

Perry
Roby
Walmsley
Soliola
Lafranchi
Wellens

Bench. Puletua, Manu, Clough, LMS

would take some stopping.

I get the feeling it could be little late to be converting Wellens to the pack. He is used to about 12 years of standing around until the last tackle, a modern day smallish backrower needs to be making 30 plus tackles a game. Couple that with the need to get bigger, it is a difficult transition that should have been made 2-3 years ago.

Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 3:15 pm  

Smurf wrote:

I get the feeling it could be little late to be converting Wellens to the pack. He is used to about 12 years of standing around until the last tackle, a modern day smallish backrower needs to be making 30 plus tackles a game. Couple that with the need to get bigger, it is a difficult transition that should have been made 2-3 years ago.

Yesterday was enough for me. He was knackered after 10 minutes and pretty much got injured every time he went near a Wigan forward. For me, he's not physically up to playing at loose forward. I'm sure he'd be willing to give it a go, regardless of getting knocked out every time he went for a tackle, but I'm not sure we should be asking him to.

Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 3:53 pm  

Is it only me that thinks Laffranchi would be too slow to play 2nd row? Can't help but think teams like wigan yesterday would target him in defence to try and get as many runners at him as possible

Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 4:03 pm  

Laffranchi has never been a prop, I don't know why we consistently play him there.

Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 4:20 pm  

I think our pack is overrated by many on this forum. We have no quality in the props bar Walmsley (people think clough played well when his stats are the same as boofs)

Our only pack quality is roby and the back row Samoans but this is negated by the lack of grunt up front.

Prop is an urgent recruitment issue as well as half back

Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 4:43 pm  

The Chair Maker wrote:

As mentioned earlier , i think we should look at playing lafranchi in the back row.

I think a pack of

Perry
Roby
Walmsley
Soliola
Lafranchi
Wellens

Bench. Puletua, Manu, Clough, LMS

would take some stopping.

Why put Laffranchi in the second row and leave one of your most potent attacking threats and best offloader (Manu) on the bench? He shouldn't have been signed, simple as that. Averaging out across the sqaud, we are a small pack and consistently get dominated in the middle of the park. TP is the biggest forward in the league but wants to be a wide running back rower, unfortunately, he doesn't do much running nowadays and opposition teams know to move in quickly in him and he is nowhere near as effective.

Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:04 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

The pack stats from the game:

Crosby 120m 15 carries 8m per carry 21 tackles 2 missed tackles
Flower 100m 11 carries 9.09m per carry 27 tackles 1 missed tackles
Tuson 56m 10 carries 5.60m per carry 16 tackles 3 misssed tackles
Farrell 143m 20 carries 7.15m per carry 40 tackles 1 missed tackle
O'Loughlin 60m 13 carries 4.61m per carry 39 tackles 2 missed tackles
Taylor 112m 13 carries 8.62m per carry 27 tackles 1 missed tackle
Hughes 53m 8 carries 6.63m per carry 12 tackles 2 missed tackles
Burke 24m 3 carries 8m per carry 13 tackles 0 missed tackles

Clough 105m 19 carries 5.53m per carry 25 tackles 3 missed tackles
Laffranchi 74m 14 carries 5.29m per carry 22 tackles 2 missed tackles
LMS 58m 9 carries 6.44m per carry 25 tackles 3 missed tackles
Manu 55m 10 carries 5.5m per carry 4 tackles 1 missed tackles
Walker 51m 13 carries 3.92m per carry 21 tackles 2 missed tackles
Soliola 89 metres 15 carries 5.93m per carry 17 tackles 1 missed tackle
Flanagan 63m 14 carries 4.5m per carry, 21 tackles 3 missed tackles
Walmsley 174m 17 carries 10.24m per carry 23 tackles 1 missed tackle

Overall pack:
Wigan 668m 93 carries 7.18m per carry 195 tackles 12 missed tackles
Saints 669m 111 carries 6.03m per carry 158 tackles 16 missed tackles

Our 3 more experienced forwards in LMS, Laffranchi and Clough are pathetic in terms of their go forward. For me Laffranchi doesn't do enough, he clearly isn't a prop forward and like Hohaia whoever recruited him needs to be removed from the role of recruiting next time. Against a pack like that fielded by Wigan, Laffranchi should have had a field day. He's a 32 year (Supposedly in his prime) forward with a career CV including 200+ NRL games, State of Origin and playing for Australia and yet he was bullied by a group of Wigan forwards who bar O'Loughlin (Who was clearly injured) are all very young. It's not good enough and if anything proves our current overseas crop in Laffranchi, Perry and Hohaia are amongst our weakest players. None of them should be at the club next season, if 'Boof' gets another year there is something very wrong at the club.

LMS's stats show what I thought watching it, he doesn't have the stamina to be a 60 minute workhorse prop. He needs to be playing 15 minutes each half and told to really rip in for those minutes. He had a great season when we played at Widnes and always made an impact when he came on. This season so far he looks pretty feeble. Clough too, should be contributing more metres than that against such an inexperienced pack.

Walmsley stands out like a sore thumb, as does Farrell for Wigan. Forget this talk of bedding him in, give him more responsibility now, he's clearly up to it.

I said said very early into Laffranchi first season that he's not a prop. Hes to small and gets physically dominated by good packs.

I agree, whoever signed him as a prop abs lance as a stand if want shooting.

I fell sorry for Nathan Brown having to deal with the mess he's been left with.

Re: LMS, 'Boof' Laffranchi & Pack stats : Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:51 pm  

The Chief wrote:

Why put Laffranchi in the second row and leave one of your most potent attacking threats and best offloader (Manu) on the bench?

The idea would be that he would be used as an impact player, maybe?

Manu is a threat with the ball, no doubt about it, but he does make some errors. One of my mates thinks he's a liability, but I think that is a little harsh.