: Fri May 22, 2009 12:28 pm  

gary numan wrote:

Yes there is.

Well, you must watch something different to me then. When I watched him on Easter Monday at home to Castleford he did nothing wrong, tackled strongly and looked very inch at home in SL. As he did when he put Ryan Hudson on his backside at home to Huddersfield late on last season. I actually think his defence improved enormously over the past couple of years.

If there's a weakness in Kevs game it's probably his returning of the football for me, there seems to be so much emphasis now on your backs getting you on the front foot with the first couple of returns, before the forwards try & punch a hole and Kev will always get dominated in this.

: Fri May 22, 2009 12:43 pm  

JWP wrote:

Well, you must watch something different to me then. When I watched him on Easter Monday at home to Castleford he did nothing wrong, tackled strongly and looked very inch at home in SL. As he did when he put Ryan Hudson on his backside at home to Huddersfield late on last season. I actually think his defence improved enormously over the past couple of years.

If there's a weakness in Kevs game it's probably his returning of the football for me, there seems to be so much emphasis now on your backs getting you on the front foot with the first couple of returns, before the forwards try & punch a hole and Kev will always get dominated in this.

Maybe i judge him on more than one game. We all want him to do well as he is a talented attacker but you can't let that gloss over his weakness. If he was good enough his current and his former coach would be playing him. Even in a patched up backline last week players were played out of position rather than select him. In tony we trust?

: Fri May 22, 2009 1:34 pm  

gary numan wrote:

Maybe i judge him on more than one game. We all want him to do well as he is a talented attacker but you can't let that gloss over his weakness. If he was good enough his current and his former coach would be playing him. Even in a patched up backline last week players were played out of position rather than select him. In tony we trust?

Well, honestly ? I think he's more likely not to feature on the basis that he struggles with the work out of acting half than he is for this percieved weakness in defence. You do feel there's a weakness with regards to ball security and him being 'dominated' in the collision and that stuff. I think the modern winger needs to be able to do his stint from acting half, taking the heat of the forwards etc, that's why PJ etc make a decent fist of it from the wing, I think it's this that Smith feels he lacks.

Alot of Smiths comments talk about energy on kick returns etc. He gave Bridge a big rap last week at Hull, lots of folk thought he was poor, but Smith concentrated on his kick returns, and said he was the 'strongest carrier etc', I think Smith is big on this.