[Winslade's Offload]

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:49 am  

Mighty_Wires88 wrote:

Cooper, Hill & Philbin have always been our most selected props over the last 3 years. There has been an over reliance on them during that period, we tend to struggle in the pack if one or more of them is missing. Davies or Clarke covering as prop isn’t the answer, they don’t have the presence and go forward we need. It’s a position that needs looking at urgently, Hill isn’t getting any younger & last night was another example that if Cooper doesn’t play we get outmuscled.

Now that BBM has left we really will be lacking a bit of punch in the back row too, Clark & Hughes are very much the same in terms of being good defensively with a quick PTB - that’s about it. Currie, will always have good hands & skill to offer something different however because of injuries he just isn’t the same player he was.

Rob Butler will be handy picky up, when it hopefully gets announced. But we still need another prop, Sita & Latu from what I’ve seen are not the answer.

Some good points in there. Additionally;

I don't think we are getting the best from Daryl Clark, simply because he gets sucked into too much of the hard defensive work with the opposition forwards - which our pack needs to be doing.

We have scored quite a few long distance tries this year. Forget the fact that they look really good when they come off, ask why it is happening. I think the simple reason is that we are not further up field because our pack struggles to get us there.

Whilst no younger props are being introduced to the squad (imported or from Academy), our two front line props will be 32/33 next year and Hill is certainly starting to fade.
We have been running down our resources and doing nothing to replace them ( perhaps with Doro there is some hope).

It's ironic that our near neighbour who has done pretty well with props has now managed to secure a very decent prospect for next year. They have plugged a gap very early whilst we seem to be oblivious to the fact that we have even got a problem.

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:48 am  

The situation isn't unique to props. If a new coach does come in, he has the short term task of getting more out of the current squad and a longer term job of rebuilding the team via recruitment (which needs to improve dramatically) and integrating youngsters into the starting 17.

Hill, Cooper, Ratchford, Widdop, Austin, Patton, J Clark, Gelling, Akuola, Latu are, for one reason or another, going to need replacing in the next 3 years and that project needs to start NOW with the appointment of a proven coach and giving him control over player recruitment.

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Sun Nov 15, 2020 11:42 am  

sally cinnamon wrote:

Every season you tell us Wire will "win the lot"

...and perhaps you se my frustration at a coach that stubbornly refuses to pick props.
We didn’t need much to get us over the line, playing Latu for 10-15mins might well have been enough with our early field dominance to crack open FC.

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Sun Nov 15, 2020 2:07 pm  

Let's be honest though ,concerning forwards, the only import we have than can play long minutes is Jason Clark. Sita , Latu & BMM are all lacking in that department & during his time here BMM hasn't really lived up to the hype. All in all ,signing such low minute players has left our home grown forwards doing increasingly more work. If you are signing overseas players you should at least expect them to share the workload & maybe even show our players how to do the job better. Perhaps one of our first jobs should be to sack the scouting staff.

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Sun Nov 15, 2020 3:17 pm  

ninearches wrote:

Perhaps one of our first jobs should be to sack the scouting staff.

We have scouting staff??? Goodness me, you live and learn.

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Sun Nov 15, 2020 3:29 pm  

Winslade's Offload wrote:

Some good points in there. Additionally;

I don't think we are getting the best from Daryl Clark, simply because he gets sucked into too much of the hard defensive work with the opposition forwards - which our pack needs to be doing.

We have scored quite a few long distance tries this year. Forget the fact that they look really good when they come off, ask why it is happening. I think the simple reason is that we are not further up field because our pack struggles to get us there.

Whilst no younger props are being introduced to the squad (imported or from Academy), our two front line props will be 32/33 next year and Hill is certainly starting to fade.
We have been running down our resources and doing nothing to replace them ( perhaps with Doro there is some hope).

It's ironic that our near neighbour who has done pretty well with props has now managed to secure a very decent prospect for next year. They have plugged a gap very early whilst we seem to be oblivious to the fact that we have even got a problem.

D. Clarke hasn’t quite managed the lofty heights of last year, whether that’s to do shouldering more defensive work or being targeted by the opposition that’s a possibility. This season compared to last, he hasn’t been as influential whether that be due to Covid (not training for 4/5 months) or new baby related who knows but the same can be said about Philbin too, neither of them have really caught my eye compared to their 2019 form. When they both earned their GB spots...

One positive is that we definitely seem to have abit more strike and ability to score from long distance especially down that left side primarily down to King, but assisted by Currie/Mamo/Widdop. I suppose it will be interesting to see if we decide to keep King there or move Inglis to that side, because I’m fairly certain Inglis prefers the left centre position (If he comes of course). But I get your point we seem a lot more eager to try and go around a side rather than run over it...

Time and time again, when it comes to a slug fest down the middle, the going gets tough and we tend to struggle. The Cup semi-final against Salford was a good example of this, we couldn’t do the basics right made far to many costly errors and they out enthused us going forward. You could probably say the same about the Leeds game in Feb and few other examples this year and last that spring to mind.

Age is also a factor, Hill & Cooper realistically don’t have many playing years ahead of them. If there was any a time to blood in a new prop or give an academy lad a start it should be from next year. I’d like to see Hill on the bench with Doro/new signing given an opportunity but unfortunately we are likely to stick with the tried and tested thanks to Price.

St Helens and Wigan have both brought in two decent props A. Paasi & Brad Singleton - they seem to be a lot more efficient in that department, we are just as inconsistent off the field as we are as much on it.

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Thu Nov 19, 2020 7:19 pm  

Korbin Sims signs for HKR, surely we’ve missed a trick there.. https://twitter.com/hullkrofficial/status/1329499432421793792?s=21

Korbin Sims signs for HKR, surely we’ve missed a trick there.. https://twitter.com/hullkrofficial/status/1329499432421793792?s=21

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:11 pm  

I’d go after Thompson.

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:26 pm  

She was great in the Tall Guy.

Re: PROPS PROPS ffs buy PROPS!! : Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:29 pm  

There are loads of props signed by other superleague clubs for next year. Meanwhile our main 2 are another year closer to retirement and still awaiting some backup. We can't get through the season with 3 props the rest of what we have just isn't good enough. Hill, Cooper and Philbin bust a gut for the team but it's asking too much of them, we need 2 more and doro to bulk up as cover, although I'm far from convinced over doro.