Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:17 pm  

The Good

Percival - one of the best debut performances I can recall. And do we now have a back with some pace ?
Kicking game - still not great, but a lot better than I've seen it. The ball is finding the floor.
Breaks - we actually made a few breaks in this game, and against Leeds, that's pretty good.

The Bad

Coaching (1) - defence didn't clamp the ball. Everyone knows Leeds offload, and to fail to control that is poor technique.
Coaching (2) - we made breaks, but in most cases, there was nobody following up.
Coaching (3) - compared to Leeds, we did not look fit. Players really blowing, and you could see the difference in the scramble defence.
Forwards - When Puletua is off, we lack any sort of go-forward. Too small, too lightweight.
Right-hand defence - Leeds attack down their left. We looked extremely weak out there.

The Ugly

Manu - For every positive contribution, this guy is going to make 4 negative contributions. An asset against lower teams. A liability against top teams.
Turner - wtf ?
Walker - Not writing him off, but looks like he's not ready. To be fair to him, he wasn't expecting to get on, I guess. But some shocking defence there for a forward.

Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:22 pm  

Manu and Turner are the biggest disappointments in a lifetime.

Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:30 pm  

I'd have a slightly more positive view than that. But not far off.

Walker was dropped in at the last minute, but he held his own for someone given 5 minutes to get ready.

You put a bit more bulk and experience on the bench in Perry, Warmsley, Flanaghan, and so the interchanges don't look as weak. But when you get injuries you have to play the squad.

Last week Wilkin had a stormer, this week we went back to panic kicking on the 3rd and 4th tackle as he was struggling at times to get it away cleanly on the 5th.

I still think Lomax is a positive at FB
Percival held his own defensively against a much more experienced player
Laffranchi/TP/Sia really controlled their tackles well and put effort in going forwards
Wilkin was not at his best, but neither was he shocking.
Clough did what clough does
Sadly Ade fell apart under the high ball once, and those who say Meli gets us on the front foot, well I just don't see it.
Turner has not shown a lot, but neither do I think that means it's time to unload a can of filth all over him. Shenton did nothing for 2 years, so we can give a player more than 5 games.
I liked what Jones was doing in the pack, maybe his place.
Wheeler, well the lad is very unlucky, he did ok, but at the moment neither him or Gaskell have taken the oppertunity to grab the shirt and make it their own.

Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:34 pm  

You forgot Manu, poor. Can't see what Turner his mate is offering either. Tolerate average and that's what you get - average.

Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:36 pm  

You may not like this but I'm consistent.

Wheeler and McShane are two of the most overrated young players I have ever seen.
Both teams were better when they were off the park.

Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:37 pm  

I think manu and turner are the least of our worries. I'm getting sick of saying the some stuff every week.

WE NEED A HALFBACK ASAP !!!!!!!

Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:37 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

I'd have a slightly more positive view than that. But not far off.

Walker was dropped in at the last minute, but he held his own for someone given 5 minutes to get ready.

You put a bit more bulk and experience on the bench in Perry, Warmsley, Flanaghan, and so the interchanges don't look as weak. But when you get injuries you have to play the squad.

Last week Wilkin had a stormer, this week we went back to panic kicking on the 3rd and 4th tackle as he was struggling at times to get it away cleanly on the 5th.

I still think Lomax is a positive at FB
Percival held his own defensively against a much more experienced player
Laffranchi/TP/Sia really controlled their tackles well and put effort in going forwards
Wilkin was not at his best, but neither was he shocking.
Clough did what clough does
Sadly Ade fell apart under the high ball once, and those who say Meli gets us on the front foot, well I just don't see it.
Turner has not shown a lot, but neither do I think that means it's time to unload a can of filth all over him. Shenton did nothing for 2 years, so we can give a player more than 5 games.
I liked what Jones was doing in the pack, maybe his place.
Wheeler, well the lad is very unlucky, he did ok, but at the moment neither him or Gaskell have taken the oppertunity to grab the shirt and make it their own.

As has already been said, some players looked very unfit.
Lanffrachi has too many pounds and lacks mobility. I saw Jones, Clough, Meli and Manu were puffing and blowing and unable to get back into the line.

With a bit more concentration in defence we could have won it. Conversion attempts were useless and Makinson would have got at least 2 out of the three.
Was Turner playing?

Ref was extremely poor. At one stage he gave us a rare penalty and told our team to stop complaining.

Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:41 pm  

Both teams were dull as for 60mins. Was the worst half (the first) I've seen for a while. The ruck was slowed down too much by both teams.

I really fear about next week, our forwards are a sham.

Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:46 pm  

My objective (ish) opinion:

Percival was outstanding....biggest disappointment for me was that he didn't have a winger with pace on his outside who could finish off the breaks he made. Had we had someone like Hodgson or Hall, we'd have scored two more tries off his breaks.

Kicking game was average at best.

Lack of creative half backs is a massive problem - the team will win nothing with a makeshift 6 and 7.

Our props were shown how to run by Peacock and Leuluai who were massive for them. Delaney had a strong game too.

Walker was impressive in his first stint on the pitch.

In terms of overall performance, we are a 5th or 6th placed side this season. Not being harsh, just realistic. Shame that our move from KR has seen massive increase in average attendances, yet a slump in the quality on the pitch.

Re: Saints v Leeds - Verdict : Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:47 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

Laffranchi/TP/Sia really controlled their tackles well and put effort in going forwards
...
Sadly Ade fell apart under the high ball once, and those who say Meli gets us on the front foot, well I just don't see it.

I'll give you Soliola - he was the standout forward after Puletua tonight. Really worked hard and made both yards and breaks. But battling alone when TP wasn't on the pitch with him.

As for Gardner, he's never been great under bombs, but he did run the ball back much better than Meli or Makinson have been doing. Not just in terms of impact and yards, but also the speed of the PTB after the tackle. I thought he was worth his place.

Meli's second try took a lot of scoring from the point where he got the ball. It was a wonderful piece of skill. It was also the only real positive contribution. He even nearly fluffed his first try by overrunning it. As for his workrate - shocking.