Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:18 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

Yes, we finished second. Thanks to Keiron Cunningham in the final match of the season. You might not have noticed but we no longer have Keiron Cunningham playing for us. There's a message in there somewhere.

Cunningham contributed just 3 tries last season. Over the course of a 27 game season we finished 2nd because we deserved to, not just because Cunningham saved our bacon in the final game.

SaintsFan wrote:

You might not have noticed this also but Pryce has only just started playing - and I use the term 'playing' loosely here - and Eastmond was sheeite when he did get on to the pitch due to his attitude so he really may as well not have bothered. As at the present time, only Roby and Foster have missed no games this season due to injury but really Roby should have. Every place bar hooker and left wing have been affected by injury this year and not just to first choice players but second and third too, when it came to the halves and fullback positions. Sure, our injuries were bad last season but nothing like as bad as they have been this. You have a very short term memory if you think we were anything like as badly off last year as this year. That we have made third is astounding and testament to the efforts of the coaches and those senior players who have actually worked hard (and not all of them have) to support the many and varied new players we have seen this season.

Apart from a few games around May time when we had 10/11 missing our injuries on the whole have been similar to last season. We regularly had 5 or 6 players missing most weeks last season. Like this season, Wheeler barely played, Fa'asavalu missed all but 2 months of the year, Soliola missed most of the year, Wilkin missed 3 months due to injury, Eastmond missed half a year and Pryce missed 4 months. Maybe it's you that has a short term memory and not me?

I never claimed to be Potter's biggest fan, in fact I'd say the decision to let him go was the right one. He was a big step down after Anderson without doubt. My argument is Simmons hasn't improved us, which ranks him on a similar level to Potter. He talks a good game, but as yet there hasn't been a great deal of implementation of it, especially when he talked about improving the players attitude to defence, which has been a huge disappointment for me.

Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:58 pm  

Blobbynator wrote:

Cunningham contributed just 3 tries last season. Over the course of a 27 game season we finished 2nd because we deserved to, not just because Cunningham saved our bacon in the final game.

No, we nicked it off Warrington in the final game, with just two points difference points in it. We didn't deserve second last season; we deserved third. But we were fortunate that Cunningham pulled off that try to win the match against Cas. And Cunningham was not about scoring tries; he was about presence and leadership and we have missed him in that respect all season. We have still to learn how to play as a team and that nowadays we have to play as a team in every match because there is no Cunningham to stroll on and sort the whole mess out (or indeed any Longy or whoever we have had in the past to pull us out of a mess). Once the players get that message we should start playing more consistently. The coach pointed it out to them at the start of the season. I know that because that very point was in one of his earliest press statements.

Maybe it's you that has a short term memory and not me?

Nope. How many players were out of action on Sunday? How many were injured during the match? I don't remember a single game last season when we went a whole half without any interchanges, or lost three players in consecutive matches. Our injuries this season have been higher in number and greater in frequency than last season - we have had far more repeat offenders if you like - we have just had fewer long termers, although we now have four and Clough missed most of the season along with Pryce. So perhaps we haven't had that much difference in the long termers.

Anyway, I can't be ahsed with this argument any longer. For me this season has been a disappointment only because of our injuries. We have been unable to enjoy what some of us anyway were looking forward to Royce bringing to the team in his more entertaining style of rugby because he has had to keep adapting to the most ridiculous injury situation every week, not to mention players being disciplined and announcing their departures in long drawn out fashion. It's been a naff season overall and I'll be glad to be at the end of it, even if it does mean that winter is upon us as a result (and I hate winter).

But I'm looking forward to next season. I'm looking forward to finding out about new players and seeing what they bring. I'm bored of Pryce and his disappearing acts and of all the others who belonged to an age gone by. I want to experience new stuff, and hopefully our coach will get the chance to show us what he can do with a fit squad instead of having to make contingency arrangements all the time to deal with crap. If that happens I will feel like we have a new coach as well as a new stadium and some new players.

Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:16 pm  

Sorry saintsfan but I think you'll this debate. All the facts point to the fact we are worse this year than we was last year.


Attack is worse, which was a big complaint of yours under potter. Our defence is more or less the same yet our coach was waxing lyrical how hes going to tighten up our defence.

Maybe Royce and potter have been the victim of sir mac cutting back and doing it on the cheap

Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:37 pm  

St pete wrote:

Sorry saintsfan but I think you'll this debate. All the facts point to the fact we are worse this year than we was last year.

Our win-lose ratio is worse than last year, yes. I've already acknowledged that. But as for league table position and achievements so far, we are at the same place as we were last season but have done it 'on the cheap' as you say.

IMO what is the most wrong if you like is the attitude of our senior players, bar one or two. The lack of discipline on and off the ball (ie ball retention and giving away silly penalties) must be worse than it has been in my time of following Saints and that is where the players have consistently let themselves and us fans down. No coach coaches players to drop ball and give away penalties. If you remember the matches where our ball retention and discipline have been poor, my guess is that most of them will be the matches we have lost.

Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:46 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

Our win-lose ratio is worse than last year, yes. I've already acknowledged that. But as for league table position and achievements so far, we are at the same place as we were last season but have done it 'on the cheap' as you say.

IMO what is the most wrong if you like is the attitude of our senior players, bar one or two. The lack of discipline on and off the ball (ie ball retention and giving away silly penalties) must be worse than it has been in my time of following Saints and that is where the players have consistently let themselves and us fans down. No coach coaches players to drop ball and give away penalties. If you remember the matches where our ball retention and discipline have been poor, my guess is that most of them will be the matches we have lost.

The fact we've finished one place lower than lady year points to the fact we've no been consistently as good as last year.

Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:49 pm  

St pete wrote:

The fact we've finished one place lower than lady year points to the fact we've no been consistently as good as last year.

Was your post written in Scottish?

Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:59 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

Now that is drivvel.

We did deserve to be second last year, the points we won more points on the board than Warrington did after playing the same amount of games. Just because you don't like it doesn't make it so. We beat both Wigan and Warrington last year and got to the GF.

We'll not do any of that this year. We've gone down a notch (though that comment you've selectively quoted was mainly talking about defence).

Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:02 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

Was your post written in Scottish?

I'm on my iPhone having few beers in my local. Not all of us are sat in a dark room on a PC all alone.

Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Wed Aug 24, 2011 6:49 am  

SaintsFan wrote:

No, we nicked it off Warrington in the final game, with just two points difference points in it. We didn't deserve second last season; we deserved third. But we were fortunate that Cunningham pulled off that try to win the match against Cas.

So, what's the chance of us pinching 2nd from Warrington this year?

And, if we didn't derserve 2nd last year, are you suggesting a team that fininished below us in the league did?

Re: Royston Simmons - Any good? : Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:54 am  

Offside Monkey wrote:

So, what's the chance of us pinching 2nd from Warrington this year?

Now? Mathematically impossible. But I was responding to the specific reference to what league position we were in at this time last season.

And, if we didn't derserve 2nd last year, are you suggesting a team that fininished below us in the league did?

Nope. I think last and this we have been a third place team, behind Wigan and Warrington. I think Wigan were the best team last year but I think Warrington are the best team this year. However, I still have hope we will do a Bradford and nick the Championship from the expected finalists. But that's just me; ever the optimist.