Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Mon Oct 03, 2022 6:38 pm  

Captain Hook wrote:

That’s not what I said. I expressed my hopes. As for the “core” of the club, assuming DP was accurate then close to half the squad has changed. There is no “core”, unlike Saints and Wigan who have kept a stable squad.
I’m not sure why me expressing what I hope the new signings will bring could be considered controversial?

Never said it was controversial, I was just countering with my thoughts the professionalism should be ingrained in the club and not subject to the whim of a few overseas signings - but I share your hopes too.

However, as a thought exercise, if you imagine Wigan, Saints and Warrington all started with a squad size of 0 now and had to rebuild, who would you bet to be the first to win a GF again? Warrington?

I am putting forward the argument that there is something in the fabric of the club, staff, ethos that demands success and standards and that lies outside of the playing roster.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Mon Oct 03, 2022 7:01 pm  

Captain Hook wrote:

Currently I am mainly wearing… the pack will be a completely different outfit next season. The 2 Aussies come with quite a pedigree and while that is no guarantee, I’m hoping that they bring a professional attitude which rubs off. Sparking fresh enthusiasm in players like Currie and Clark.

I’m not worried about Clark or Currie. The thing with players like that, they can be 10/10 at their best, and their worst is (objectively) 6/10. To get them into 9’s and 10’s, they need momentum and space.

What we need to is move the gap from the worst to best up, but players like Holmes, Matautia, Ratchford, Bullock, Wardle, Mikaele and Harrison haven’t demonstrated that they have a 10 in their arsenal. Or a 9. A plucky 8 maybe, and Ratchford might get a nostalgic 7 with extra credit for goal kicking. All while their worst games being absolute horror shows.

If you look at the best teams, Saints of late, the Leeds team, Saints of 2006 ish… even those on squad filler salaries, just making up the numbers, they were all 6/10 every week at worst. Ablett and LMS for example, neither are world beaters, but they just crack on and do their job, nothing more nothing less. We need to be more robust with with what we want from them, solid defensively, don’t turn the ball over, get out of the way when we’ve got field position and momentum…

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Mon Oct 03, 2022 7:49 pm  

I admit to being swayed by the DP interview. Most impressed by the way he didn’t once cite disruption from injuries. Half a squad off contract at the same time does sound bonkers, I wonder what the thinking was behind that.
As for Currie, he was way off his best last season.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Mon Oct 03, 2022 7:54 pm  

Captain Hook wrote:

I admit to being swayed by the DP interview. Most impressed by the way he didn’t once cite disruption from injuries. Half a squad off contract at the same time does sound bonkers, I wonder what the thinking was behind that.
As for Currie, he was way off his best last season.

We would have to ask Price / Fitzy for the thinking behind that.

The upside is that we are not lumbered with poor quality players for seasons to come, save for King.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Tue Oct 04, 2022 6:42 am  

Currie 6/10 at worst??? I didn't see Currie hit the dizzy heights of 6/10 once last season. Powell did not blame injuries, just every other reason he could muster up....including fans. I get the contract situation to a degree but I'm afraid that is HIS job as a coach to work around that and from what I hear he simply doesn't have the people skills to do it. He should've used the contract situation as a motivational tool not as an excuse for not being able to coach a cohesive defensive structure.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Tue Oct 04, 2022 7:30 am  

ratticusfinch wrote:

Currie 6/10 at worst??? I didn't see Currie hit the dizzy heights of 6/10 once last season. Powell did not blame injuries, just every other reason he could muster up....including fans. I get the contract situation to a degree but I'm afraid that is HIS job as a coach to work around that and from what I hear he simply doesn't have the people skills to do it. He should've used the contract situation as a motivational tool not as an excuse for not being able to coach a cohesive defensive structure.

I agree.

I was not impressed at all by that interview. Slumped back in his chair for the most part regurgitating the same excuse, defensive and, at times, frankly struggling to articulate. This "building relationship with the fans" is a distraction. Start winning 75%+ of games and the fans will be on side. Concentrate on that.

I no longer believe this is a genius coaching set up given an impossible task of building a team from feckless renegades. Sure we had problems but he had all season to fix them and didnt. He has the resources, facilities and board support that other coaches must envy.

But i'm not calling for his exit as, in truth, I'm not that bothered as we wont win a GF either way.

Instead I will wait until the time where all the excuses have been worn out and then some. It won't be quick and it won't be pretty.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Tue Oct 04, 2022 10:06 am  

ratticusfinch wrote:

Currie 6/10 at worst??? I didn't see Currie hit the dizzy heights of 6/10 once last season. Powell did not blame injuries, just every other reason he could muster up....including fans. I get the contract situation to a degree but I'm afraid that is HIS job as a coach to work around that and from what I hear he simply doesn't have the people skills to do it. He should've used the contract situation as a motivational tool not as an excuse for not being able to coach a cohesive defensive structure.

The thing with Currie is expectation higher than most. Compared to Holmes (not a barometer of success, granted) and a random example of Chris McQueen, Currie made 1864 meters, against 1245 for Holmes and 1599 for McQueen. More then double the offloads of each, comparable tackle busts, 37/40/32 respectively. 3 assists, against 2 each.

Meters made and average gain, something that he would actually get a lot of criticism of, he out performs a lot of rivals, including Joe Bachelor, John Bateman. I think we just hold Currie to a level where we see him in space, making breaks and scoring tries.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Tue Oct 04, 2022 10:40 am  

Barbed Wire wrote:

The thing with Currie is expectation higher than most. Compared to Holmes (not a barometer of success, granted) and a random example of Chris McQueen, Currie made 1864 meters, against 1245 for Holmes and 1599 for McQueen. More then double the offloads of each, comparable tackle busts, 37/40/32 respectively. 3 assists, against 2 each.

Meters made and average gain, something that he would actually get a lot of criticism of, he out performs a lot of rivals, including Joe Bachelor, John Bateman. I think we just hold Currie to a level where we see him in space, making breaks and scoring tries.

Good stats. How does his tackles made and tackles missed stack up?

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Tue Oct 04, 2022 11:29 am  

Wires71 wrote:

Good stats. How does his tackles made and tackles missed stack up?

Currie - 670 - 51 (7.6%)
Holmes - 834 - 57 (6.8%)
McQueen - 712 - 56 (7.8%)

Caveat that with Holmes spent a lot of time in the middle at the back end of the season, whereas the other two were genuine edge players.

Re: Season debrief, send in your questions : Tue Oct 04, 2022 1:44 pm  

Barbed Wire wrote:

Currie - 670 - 51 (7.6%)
Holmes - 834 - 57 (6.8%)
McQueen - 712 - 56 (7.8%)

Caveat that with Holmes spent a lot of time in the middle at the back end of the season, whereas the other two were genuine edge players.

Thanks, interesting.

How about Currie vs the top 2nd rowers such as the likes of Farrell, Bateman etc.

I just don't get it - you look in those highlight reels and you come to the conclusion he has stunk this season. Especially defending his line.