Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Sat Mar 02, 2013 12:33 pm
Lomax had another excellent all round performance at fullback. Playing him there provides space for our three quarters to exploit. Percival showed speed in attack but also the ability to defend effectively. Something very rare in an 18 year old.
It was noticeable that the Leeds backs who are the fastest 3 quarter line in the league could not catch him.
Meli still can finish, but boy has he slowed down now. Look back a few years and there are trys of Meli going 80 yards against Leeds and other sides. Saints blew a number of trys on the left flank because Meli could not keep pace with Percival.
The players look lacking in energy. Every match i have seen this season we have looked deflated.
This is particularly visible in the second half, especially in the last 20 minutes when teams have gotten on top of us.
Hull , Leeds, and Bradford all dominated the second half against Saints. I've not included Huddersfield, as they completely dominated both halves.
This tends to point to a lack of depth in the pack and or lack of fitness as we drop off considerably once rotations start to kick in. This is a big concern, because when Saints were a top side, it was usually in the last 20 mins that Saints would get on top of the opposition in a close game. This leads to the conclusion from evidence so far, that Saints are now one of the weaker sides in the competition.
Jon Wilkin possesses a good kicking game, but he is not a halfback. His passing is slow and inaccurate, and he lacks the guile to be anything other than a make weight in that position. We need to try other people there.
I would be tempted to try Hohoia and Gaskell in the halves, with Lomax at fullback.
What then of Wellens. I would play him as a traditional loose forward. This has the disadvantage of weakening the packs initial go forward, but should give us more width, creativity and experience in a creative position. Not to mention an excellent support runner midfield.
It would also allow the bench to be strengthened, because one of our back rowers such as Manu or Soliola could come off the bench for impact.
The bench in particular is an area that we really lack impact at present and as stipulated above is one of the reasons why we are falling away in games.
This would produce a side something like the following.
Lomax
Gardner
Turner
Percival
Makinson
Hohoia
Gaskell
Perry
Roby
Lafranchi
Wilkin
Soliola
Wellens
Bench. Puletua, Clough, Manu, Jones
As you can see the above bench is quite formidable. With size, mobility and also flexibility.
When injuries hit we just swap in the likes of Greenwood, Walmsley, Wheeler, Meli etc.