Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Sat Oct 01, 2022 11:11 am  

Smiffy27 wrote:

but Currie has for years glued himself to the left edge & waited for the action to come his way.

I remember reading an interview with the ex-Chelsea & Everton footballer, Pat Nevin a few years ago. In it, he spoke of the time when he suffered a major knee injury during a game, which needed a reconstruction & kept him out of the game for about a year. After his recovery, he said he was never the same player ever again, though interestingly it wasn't a physical issue, but a psychological issue. He basically said that everytime the ball came to him, he had one eye on his opponent and the possibility of getting tackled heavily again and picking up another serious injury.

With that in mind, looking at Ben Currie and his form since his injuries, is it possible now that mentally he just isn't upto top level RL anymore?.. No doubt, the talent is still there, as we do still see the odd flashes, but is he now wary of that next heavy tackle and the possible damage that could fetch with it and so, almost unintentionally, he isn't getting as involved as we might expect him to?

Personally, I'd love him to return to the top form we have seen him produce previously, but is it now time to cut our losses and accept that player isn't ever coming back and it's time to move on and let him go?

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Sat Oct 01, 2022 6:02 pm  

Ben is a player that flourishes in a winning team, when the chiops are down, he just doesn't seem like a player that will knuckle down and make things happen.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Sat Oct 01, 2022 11:30 pm  

I cant recall him changing a game through a crunching big hit or break. He is not a leader nor does he exhibit much aggression. As has been said, great when we are already winning. We have seen the best of him 4 years or so ago. His contract is up next season and I cant see him extended.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Sun Oct 02, 2022 7:48 am  

Wires71 wrote:

I cant recall him changing a game through a crunching big hit or break. He is not a leader nor does he exhibit much aggression. As has been said, great when we are already winning. We have seen the best of him 4 years or so ago. His contract is up next season and I cant see him extended.

I think if we looked back there would be evidence of some significant intervention that had led us to win games. From memory he made the break that set Ashton away to beat Cas when we played at Saints in Covid. He also scored a couple of critical tries away at Wigan including the winner, granted going back to 2018 ish now.

I’ve made my thoughts known on this previously, he is a luxury. When you have a dominant pack, or even wingers who make meters and create good field position, he will excel. Without that, he’s just an extra centre in truth, he can’t do the hard stuff that Westwood, Waterhouse or Anderson could.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Sun Oct 02, 2022 8:39 am  

Rhetoric is all well and good, but I'd like to see the DP regime get things right on the pitch.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Sun Oct 02, 2022 8:55 am  

I wonder how saints players would react if some of their team mates were not putting a shift in. We should have used amor as a consultancy role in the short time we had him.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Sun Oct 02, 2022 9:58 am  

TF and the wire wrote:

I wonder how saints players would react if some of their team mates were not putting a shift in. We should have used amor as a consultancy role in the short time we had him.

That's the role I thought he was given, as he didn't play much rugby. A baffling signing.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Sun Oct 02, 2022 7:20 pm  

Id like to see Jamie Peacock brought in to work with the players on mental toughness and professionalism.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Sun Oct 02, 2022 7:54 pm  

MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:

That's the role I thought he was given, as he didn't play much rugby. A baffling signing.

By all accounts, he stated his thoughts as he left. Not sure at whom they were directed.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Mon Oct 03, 2022 10:24 am  

Wires71 wrote:

I cant recall him changing a game through a crunching big hit or break. He is not a leader nor does he exhibit much aggression. As has been said, great when we are already winning. We have seen the best of him 4 years or so ago. His contract is up next season and I cant see him extended.

Always seemed like a centre playing SR to me. His one trick now seems to be chasing planned grubber kicks from Williams. Maybe he will play more centre next year, he seems to have the necessary skills. I think Wire would do better with a work-horse (Ben Westwood type) SR who will get involved in the more physical stuff and give a higher tackle count, especially as next year's front rowers are not the most mobile and won't play big minutes.