miketaurus wrote:
There are players that I am not sad to see go Manase Manuokafoa Just does not punch his weight, Luke Gale, he is good when there's not too much pressure but falls apart to easy
this season I would agree. next season, with five other props (I assume that Widnes will have other props, I havent taken notice of their squad), he can get back to his usual style, which we saw against Wakefield. With only 3 props on the books, it just is not possible to operate flat out, for two reasons. first of all during a game because theres nobody on the bench when you have knackered yourself out, and secondly because of the increased risk of injury when driving in at full power, which means theres only two props available. As anybody with any fitness training background will tell you, ballistic weight training exercises, such as plyometricss, can be highly risky and that is without the added risk factor of having three people trying to tackle you. Its the same factor that operates the week before a final, players do not want to get injured so they operate within themselves. Gale, yes, we have not seen the best of him, and again the Wakefield game showed what he could do with a decent pack.
So I won't write players off on the basis of one season, especially that season, write off the season instead. And as you say, look forward to next season with what on the face of it is a well balanced squad that has every incentive to do well.
