Re: Luke Walsh : Fri Jul 31, 2015 10:34 pm  

I think it's coaching. We are way too flat and this just isolates Walsh and Burns as they don't have many options to hit. Quinlan vanishes when we have the ball unless it's off the inside ball. I don't think he suits our system at all.

Re: Luke Walsh : Sat Aug 01, 2015 12:09 am  

The coach didn't aim Walsh's kicks. Nor did he miss Walsh's tackles. The hard indictment here is that the only kick worth a damn all night was performed by the hooker.

Yes, we do seem cursed by injuries at the moment and it certainly hasn't helped. But the truth is that game was there for the taking. Even though I think Walsh has a better mid-range kicking game - I'd back a crocked, one-legged Sean Long circa 32 years to put that game away.

This would be bad enough if it weren't for the fact ALSO that Travis Burns (even though I have enormous respect for his enthusiasm and determination) has no pace.

Just about every player in the Red Vee played well tonight Unfortunately their hard toil was not supported by the ostensible "brains trust".

We all know Walsh is a superb player when fit. But he isn't. And he won't be for some time - if at all. At what point does the coach balance Walsh's value to the team against his current high costs and say, "I'm going to have to pull him"?

It's a terrible dilemma. But I guarantee we can't win anything at Old Trafford fielding a guy who's giving the opposition 12-14 points each game.




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Re: Luke Walsh : Sat Aug 01, 2015 12:13 am  

I mean seriously - do people have such a low opinion of Cunningham's tactical nous that they honestly believe he TOLD WALSH to pepper the safest hands under the high ball in SL all game?

Re: Luke Walsh : Sat Aug 01, 2015 1:50 am  

I never thought I would ever say this, but I wish we had Brown back as coach. Cunningham has only one way to play and good players are suffering because of it.

Re: Luke Walsh : Sat Aug 01, 2015 2:11 am  

roader wrote:

I never thought I would ever say this, but I wish we had Brown back as coach. Cunningham has only one way to play and good players are suffering because of it.

I can ASSURE YOU Cunningham did not instruct Walsh to kick down the throat of the safest fullback under the high ball in SL all night. The entire POINT of signing Walsh was that he gives us a first-class kicking game coupled with experienced leadership. Right now he's not giving us half what Wilkin has in just about every game he's played - and he's not a halfback.

There's nothing about Leeds' tactics which guys like Cunningham and Long haven't seen before. How many times did both successfully run Bradford's big pack into the ground by keeping the ball in play as often as possible? But this didn't mean we always had it our own way because Bradford also knew that if they could put three scores on the board early their big pack would grind us into the dirt (as it often did at Odsal - especially under Millward).

The point is that for two games and thirty minutes we have allowed Leeds to play to their strengths whilst making little effort exploiting their weaknesses.

Re: Luke Walsh : Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:18 am  

You've absolutely murdered the guys kicking last night but I don't remember thinking that it was THAT bad in the circumstances.

I think people forget that when you're being bossed by the other team, and they drop their wingers back quite deep, it is impossible to find anything other than the defender.

Leeds have obviously seen that we kick early in the tackle count and they planned against it.

The high bomb was good from us as we could stop their back three getting them on the front foot. Stand them up and then crush hardaker and slow the play the ball.

Re: Luke Walsh : Sat Aug 01, 2015 9:38 am  

Leeds ran at Walsh for the first 30 minutes he had nothing left to give after that and burns has no kicking game

Re: Luke Walsh : Sat Aug 01, 2015 9:53 am  

Nobody is saying its poor coaching for the kicks as that's down to walsh burns and robes. We are talking about our attacking structure. It looks so predictable off the cuff with no direction at all.

Also, how long do we go on with that left edge defence? It's utter shocking. It's been like this for about 12 weeks now and looks no better.

I'm not writing KC off as we are 2nd in the table, we made semi of the CC and Imo we will make the top four but we are lacking tactically big time. Every win we get agsinst a decent side is a backs to the wall scrape a win style play. We can't manage a game or look like we can boss a game. You can only go so long scraping wins.

Re: Luke Walsh : Sat Aug 01, 2015 10:16 am  

Albion wrote:

You've absolutely murdered the guys kicking last night but I don't remember thinking that it was THAT bad in the circumstances.

Oh it certainly wasn't "that bad" for Zak Hardaker watching the ball come sailing straight down into his hands ALL NIGHT LONG.

But if you're one of our big guys watching his precious fuel reserves evaporate into thin air whilst Walsh repeatedly KEEPS THE BALL IN PLAY you can bet his assessment differed somewhat from yours.

Seriously, this is primary school stuff. The LAST THING Walsh should be doing when we are aiming to keep the game on our terms, playing to our strengths (NOT LEEDS'!), is keeping the ball in play EVERY SET.

Leaving aside more rotten luck with injuries TWO GUYS cost us that match last night. Had just one of them been off the pitch we'd be twelve points better off.

Re: Luke Walsh : Sat Aug 01, 2015 10:28 am  

Mugwump wrote:

Oh it certainly wasn't "that bad" for Zak Hardaker watching the ball come sailing straight down into his hands ALL NIGHT LONG.

But if you're one of our big guys watching his precious fuel reserves evaporate into thin air whilst Walsh repeatedly KEEPS THE BALL IN PLAY you can bet his assessment differed somewhat from yours.

Seriously, this is primary school stuff. The LAST THING Walsh should be doing when we are aiming to keep the game on our terms, playing to our strengths (NOT LEEDS'!), is keeping the ball in play EVERY SET.

Leaving aside more rotten luck with injuries TWO GUYS cost us that match last night. Had just one of them been off the pitch we'd be twelve points better off.

Very difficult to have a consistent kicking game when you've been targeted and you're kicking on the back foot from your own 40.

Don't forget leeds were without Aiton from about 20 mins, a huge loss.