inside_man wrote:
I can see why they've let Matty Smith go, I think one of the reasons why he made such an impact coming back was because they'd had Wilkin in the halves for a while.
Huh?
Matty made such an impact because his kicking was fabulous against Warrington and our whole team that night played as one, something we haven't seen much of this season (and we haven't seen anything of a kicking game for years).
Matty Smith has only played at Superleague level consistently for one season: while at Salford. Prior to Saturday he had never played in a Saints-Wigan derby before and he had never played in a final before. That lad had a huge amount of pressure on him and he was never, ever going to meet the expectations created by his great game against Warrington. But even though his kicking in the first half was poor, he still worked hard in both defence and attack, he made the initial break for Dixon's try and he passed to Wilkin who, if he'd not dropped the ball, would have scored another try. He also kicked one great kick in the second half. But my own thoughts are that the occasion was just too much for him to handle with so little experience and such a genuine desire to work hard for his club, all the dumb changes made to the lineup by Potter complicating matters for him and everyone else.
However, it wasn't his fault we were beaten and I certainly wish he had been kept on by Saints.
