Re: Walsh Class : Mon May 12, 2014 9:35 pm  

Judder Man wrote:

Walsh and Lance should get better if they play alongside each other week in week out

'If' being the operative word!

Re: Walsh Class : Tue May 13, 2014 7:02 am  

St pete wrote:

He's been s*it on at saints at times IMO. Always the scapegoat when things not gone out way. Some fans have even called him a a disgrace and not fit to wear the shirt. I disagree!

From day one he was asked to play a position he's not used to. We might have got away with it if we had a halfback with him but we had young lad in lomax and a Second row in Jon Wilkin partnering more often than not.

This year he's go Walsh with him. He's looked a decent 6 with Walsh. We know he's not a proper 6 but IMO he's the best 6 at the club.

Lance has two shown major flaws as a stand off.
1) When receiving the ball at 2nd receiver, he's often seen crabbing sideways, which destroys any space for the men outside that we'd created earlier in the play.
2) He's a bit of a panicker when defending outwide.

Whilst he'll probably never completely shake either of these, they can be improved on the training field and by giving him the same job week in / week out.

He can certainly be a danger with the ball and he can create a bit too.

Re: Walsh Class : Tue May 13, 2014 10:24 am  

Offside Monkey wrote:

Lance has two shown major flaws as a stand off.
1) When receiving the ball at 2nd receiver, he's often seen crabbing sideways, which destroys any space for the men outside that we'd created earlier in the play.
2) He's a bit of a panicker when defending outwide.

Whilst he'll probably never completely shake either of these, they can be improved on the training field and by giving him the same job week in / week out.

He can certainly be a danger with the ball and he can create a bit too.

The best position for HiHo is back in New Zealand.

Re: Walsh Class : Tue May 13, 2014 10:53 am  

Benidorm John wrote:

The best position for HiHo is back in New Zealand.

A nice play on words. But not true currently. Without him we would have no six. Lets get a six before we start chucking people out.

Re: Walsh Class : Tue May 13, 2014 12:21 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

A nice play on words. But not true currently. Without him we would have no six. Lets get a six before we start chucking people out.

I think you are missing the point, he is not a 6, never has been and IMO never will be, Jack of SOME trades, Master of none springs to mind, he is possibly one of the highest paid at the club at the moment (and good luck to the man) but is certainly not of the leading lights.

Re: Walsh Class : Tue May 13, 2014 12:46 pm  

I think Hohaia has got better this year and has made the 6 jersey his own now. He seems a lot more willing to take on the line now by comparison to previous years.

When he does well, I'm not sure he gets the credit he deserves. For example, the break and pass to set up Walsh's try was outstanding. If Walsh would have done that I'd suggest that a lot more would have been made of it!

Re: Walsh Class : Tue May 13, 2014 12:53 pm  

SRV wrote:

When he does well, I'm not sure he gets the credit he deserves. For example, the break and pass to set up Walsh's try was outstanding. If Walsh would have done that I'd suggest that a lot more would have been made of it!

I don't think so. A lot has been made of Hohaia's break for Walsh's try. It's even on the BBC site as Try of the Week. Personally I think we will see more of that kind of interplay between those two the longer they are left to work together. Against London we saw Walsh make a break for Hohaia to score. These two need time to work together and with Robes and Lomax and the rest of the team. How Brown could even think of playing with the halves especially now we are fast approaching the second half of the season is beyond me, and I hope he doesn't do so. The only rotation that needs to go on IMO is in the forwards because by necessity we are playing young blokes there. Other than that there should be no change now unless forced by injury.

Re: Walsh Class : Tue May 13, 2014 12:55 pm  

I've been pretty dismissive of Hohaia in the halves since he joined, but I must admit he's been way better this year. He still has periods where he looks out of his depth at 6 (particularly when our pack isn't getting forward), but generally speaking he's been taking the line on much more, fixing defenders up and, importantly, seems to have brought his kicking game on in leaps and bounds. I'd still prefer us to get hold of a natural 6, but he's improved enough to make the position less of a problem than it might have been.

Re: Walsh Class : Tue May 13, 2014 1:08 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

I don't think so. A lot has been made of Hohaia's break for Walsh's try. It's even on the BBC site as Try of the Week. Personally I think we will see more of that kind of interplay between those two the longer they are left to work together. Against London we saw Walsh make a break for Hohaia to score. These two need time to work together and with Robes and Lomax and the rest of the team. How Brown could even think of playing with the halves especially now we are fast approaching the second half of the season is beyond me, and I hope he doesn't do so. The only rotation that needs to go on IMO is in the forwards because by necessity we are playing young blokes there. Other than that there should be no change now unless forced by injury.

I agree,

Lance had done a lot of pre season work and worked alongside Walsh to create an understanding, people say he's not a 6 but he's working at it.
At the moment when Lomax-Lance-Walsh combine they are very unpredictable and dangerous to the opposition, think we should give Lance some slack and let him get on with it.

Re: Walsh Class : Tue May 13, 2014 1:45 pm  

Hohaia's one of those backwards players that can do some hugely impressive and skillfull stuff (check the way he get's his offload round the Bradford player for walsh's try), but struggles with what should be basics.

Whilst I was keen to see Charnock given a run out, it appears that with a bit of nurture, Lance could do a job for us. He also carries the threat of the odd bit of magic.