Re: Squad for 2021. : Mon Nov 30, 2020 8:55 pm  

Father Ted wrote:

We have plenty props at the club, we will be short on centres and wingers at the start of next season. We also seem to have a surplus of half backs for 2021 but maybe just two for 2022 if Tommy and Jacko leave.
The most important if we want to win trophies is a goal kicker who can land them in pressure games. Either get a kicking coach in for Zac to take him from the reserve kicker role to a top class kicker. Or, my preference. keep Hankinson to play centre or wing and get a kicking coach to improve them both. Only seen Hanks kicking in one pressure game and that was Leeds last year when he kicked five from five which one of the main reasons we won at their place. Zac wasn't good in the LLS game at Saints when the only thing keeping them in the game was our poor goal kicking. As for last Friday, least said! Either a kicking coach or bring in a top class goal kicker, who would cost a fortune. It would probably be a lot less to keep Hanks and the cost of a Kicking coach, that's if he needs one.

I think we've forgotten the importance of a top class goal kicker as we've had them for over thirty years with Richards/Farrell/Botica/Lydon. A lack of one can cost games and prevent you getting to finals. Going back decades, Fred Griffiths left, we then struggled with Eric Ashton kicking, we brought in Gilfedder then when he departed struggled again and in desperation sold one of best players Chris Hesketh to Salford and signed Colin Tyrer who was a top class goalkicker. The problems of not having a top class goal kicker we well understood back then. Especially when our then main rivals Wakefield and Saints had Neil Fox and Len Kileen who could both kick goals from anywhere and did, especially at Wembley.

If we had kicked every single goal (which no one does), we would won a grand total of 1 more game (Friday) and drawn 1 (London away last year) in the last three seasons. That includes Friday's which, as we know, were a touchline conversion and a long range wide penalty. Neither of those are sitters for any kicker I've seen.

Totally disagree that the most important thing for us to sort is a kicker if we want to win trophies, far more interested in fielding the players who have the best chance of getting tries for us and preventing them for the opposition. That's where games are won and lost. As long as we have a reasonably competent kicker (which we do), we're fine. Agree about kicking coaching though if it's not happening already. Even if we had Richards or Andy Farrell we should still be doing that.

Re: Squad for 2021. : Mon Nov 30, 2020 10:16 pm  

Grimmy wrote:

If we had kicked every single goal (which no one does), we would won a grand total of 1 more game (Friday) and drawn 1 (London away last year) in the last three seasons. That includes Friday's which, as we know, were a touchline conversion and a long range wide penalty. Neither of those are sitters for any kicker I've seen.

Totally disagree that the most important thing for us to sort is a kicker if we want to win trophies, far more interested in fielding the players who have the best chance of getting tries for us and preventing them for the opposition. That's where games are won and lost. As long as we have a reasonably competent kicker (which we do), we're fine. Agree about kicking coaching though if it's not happening already. Even if we had Richards or Andy Farrell we should still be doing that.

Did you really figure that out?

Excellent work if so.

Goal kicking seems to weirdly elevate players in fans/media e.g. Botica, Farrell, Richards, Sinfield .

It's obviously important and like you say, there's no reason not to coach it, I definitely think we could do better, but I really wouldn't be surprised if your win loss stats are true.

Re: Squad for 2021. : Mon Nov 30, 2020 10:44 pm  

Choc Ice wrote:

Did you really figure that out?

Excellent work if so.

Goal kicking seems to weirdly elevate players in fans/media e.g. Botica, Farrell, Richards, Sinfield .

It's obviously important and like you say, there's no reason not to coach it, I definitely think we could do better, but I really wouldn't be surprised if your win loss stats are true.

Just had a quick look at cherry and white for any draws or tight losses and checked whether the missed conversions were enough to win it, 5 min job! If we didn't have a competent kicker then I could understand a clamour to sign one, as having no proper kicker would lose us games, but the difference between a 76% kicker in Zak and anyone we might sign as a kicker isn't going to be enough to change many/any results, even before you take into account the tries we concede or don't score if the kicker isn't quite as good in general play as the guy he replaces.