: Mon Apr 06, 2009 1:03 pm  

[quote="Linebreaker"]Surely all of this is a coaching style of play issue? I agree with it btw but why cant dont the coaches encourage it. It cant be that we have bad players who are incapable of doing it. To the poster that said about S Mcrae not playing expansive rugby and us not needing a 7. If thats case give me his team over the expanded version we currently have![/quote]

I didn't say he didn't play expansive rugby , my point was that our lack of a 7 started with him. His view was that you didn't need a specialist in the role so our recruitment policy has been skewed ever since with "big money" having been spent on other positions with a make do policy applying to the scrum half role until we got Dykes last year. Unfortunately contracts start and end at different times so you can't change the squad wholesale. Hence to change the style you have to change the coaching team , all of them in my view and look to get someone with a lighter outlook who wants to play entertaining rugby based around a top class , dominant , mouthy 7.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 1:13 pm  

ChrisH wrote:

Linebreaker wrote:

Surely all of this is a coaching style of play issue? I agree with it btw but why cant dont the coaches encourage it. It cant be that we have bad players who are incapable of doing it. To the poster that said about S Mcrae not playing expansive rugby and us not needing a 7. If thats case give me his team over the expanded version we currently have![/quote]

I didn't say he didn't play expansive rugby , my point was that our lack of a 7 started with him. His view was that you didn't need a specialist in the role so our recruitment policy has been skewed ever since with "big money" having been spent on other positions with a make do policy applying to the scrum half role until we got Dykes last year. Unfortunately contracts start and end at different times so you can't change the squad wholesale. Hence to change the style you have to change the coaching team , all of them in my view and look to get someone with a lighter outlook who wants to play entertaining rugby based around a top class , dominant , mouthy 7.

Dont disagree with that view. I reckon the words "counter attack" need to be re-introduced also. There vis clearly mush wrong with the current state of affairs. I really do think the whole playing ethos needs looking at. Red, amber and green zones have much to answer for. If we actually looked like we had an idea in the green zone it would help. Back on the scrum half issue, we need a Burrows or similar though I know they dont come around very often.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:00 pm  

wall-y wrote:

All of our forwards never look to offload because they know instinctively that there will be no support following them!!
King used to offload every tackle, now he is a shire horse trundling into tackles and dying!No kick chase what so ever, absolutely no scramble defence at all
all basic rugby league to me
whole thing is a shambles !!

Rose tinted!!

Manu is the only forwad who consistantly looks to offload.

Moa got into a couple of great positions to off load only to find no one backing up. The likes of Jon Wilkin / Gareth Ellis would have had a field day.

Our offensive line is horizonal. How cvan we expect to break through when we stand so flat.

the crazy thing was, the 3 time we ran from depth and into gaps, we scored!

Too much head down and run directly at the opposition. No one running angles, no one using anything like a side step.

Thats why I cannot understand the championing of certain players we have when in essence they appear to know very little about the basics of the game.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:50 pm  

pmarrow wrote:

Whats wrong with our style of play ?

There is no style. 4 drives and a kick or 5 drives and a kick, even in their 30 isnt good enough.

We shifted it wide once and scored early. We shifted it again and Hall dropped it so we didnt try it again. We seem to be playing safe rugby continually frightened of not completing sets. I'd rather we completed 50% of the sets but tried to score out wide rather than safe forward drives all the game.

[Kosh]

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:54 pm  

Big Dave T wrote:

There is no style.

And very little play.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:57 pm  

No worries all Rovers have to do is make sure the 2 square markers are good tacklers as we like to run strait into those!

I reckon 80% of tackles made on us are within 5 meters of the PTB by square markers. (except when we get the Horne "show n go")

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:03 pm  

Hull Kingston Convicts wrote:

No worries all Rovers have to do is make sure the 2 square markers are good tacklers as we like to run strait into those!

I reckon 80% of tackles made on us are within 5 meters of the PTB by square markers. (except when we get the Horne "show n go")

I was told by a player last season that the reason we go down the middle is usually to tire big packs out and then exploit them. We dont seem to be tiring them or exploiting them, i would think its more logical to throw it out wide and run the big guys around?

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:05 pm  

Intheir last few games Salford shipped a boat load of tries on the fringes, so we play them up the middle.

You couldn't make this up.

It's like playing an RL Manager computer gam on the "I'm 5, please let me win" level.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:05 pm  

Standee wrote:

Intheir last few games Salford shipped a boat load of tries on the fringes, so we play them up the middle.

You couldn't make this up.

It's like playing an RL Manager computer gam on the "I'm 5, please let me win" level.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:10 pm  

Standee wrote:

It's like playing an RL Manager computer gam on the "I'm 5, please let me win" level.

Is it out on PC? where do you get it from?