Match thoughts : Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:27 am  

Got to say though I was very un-impressed with Rovers as a team last night, Leeds were there for the beating!

Our passing along the attacking line was abysmal at times, the ball should be passed so that the receiver is running onto the ball(this is kids stuff), not thrown behind his back or into touch(on a few occasions). It was really poor to watch at times, we didnt seem to have many creative options in our opponents 20m/30m.

We coughed the ball up on the 1st/2nd/3rd to many times in very good field position, our ball retention based on the last two weeks is no where near good enough! Plus some very poor options from the base of the scrums.

Once again our go-forward was poor IMO, the POTB was far to slow and gave the Leeds pack all the time in the world to get organised, no wonder we found it so hard to break them down.
To be fair we have come up against probably the two best packs of forwards in SL, sshame we have come off second best on both occasions.

One more small point, I know alot of people who used to criticize the choice of letting Webster kick into touch from a penalty(never made more than 20m). We made huge strides in going forward when this job was handed to Cooke, now we have given the job to Dobson who is doing ok but I dont think we are taking advantage of these penalties as we could be. If Cooke is on the pitch, let him take them!

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:42 am  

you hkr supporters know your club better than me ,but you looked a better attacking side when cookie was calling the plays ,he looked a bit lost last night ,but i thought you did grt ,you where light upfront which was always going to tell in the end ,and with a touch of luck and a ref call the other way u could have won the game ,you look a really tough outfit to beat

i was really pleased when sinfield landed that drop goal,i backed leeds to bt you by 8 ,

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:46 am  

fc-eaststander wrote:

you hkr supporters know your club better than me ,but you looked a better attacking side when cookie was calling the plays ,he looked a bit lost last night ,but i thought you did grt ,you where light upfront which was always going to tell in the end ,and with a touch of luck and a ref call the other way u could have won the game ,you look a really tough outfit to beat

i was really pleased when sinfield landed that drop goal,i backed leeds to bt you by 8 ,

Cooke on form IS a good playmaker,no doubt about that. (Gawd I am just going for a lie down.)

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:19 am  

Thought Rovers played well last night, good kicking game and lots of commitment. Lacked composure at times and tired towards the end of the game (quick turnaround didn't help)

Remember it's only the second game in and the game was played in slippery conditions, considering these factors I thought the game was excellent. Rovers defence is much improved from last year.

Re: Match thoughts : Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:27 am  

Rupert Pupkin wrote:

Got to say though I was very un-impressed with Rovers as a team last night, Leeds were there for the beating!

Our passing along the attacking line was abysmal at times, the ball should be passed so that the receiver is running onto the ball(this is kids stuff), not thrown behind his back or into touch(on a few occasions). It was really poor to watch at times, we didnt seem to have many creative options in our opponents 20m/30m.
We coughed the ball up on the 1st/2nd/3rd to many times in very good field position, our ball retention based on the last two weeks is no where near good enough! Plus some very poor options from the base of the scrums.

Once again our go-forward was poor IMO, the POTB was far to slow and gave the Leeds pack all the time in the world to get organised, no wonder we found it so hard to break them down.
To be fair we have come up against probably the two best packs of forwards in SL, sshame we have come off second best on both occasions.

One more small point, I know alot of people who used to criticize the choice of letting Webster kick into touch from a penalty(never made more than 20m). We made huge strides in going forward when this job was handed to Cooke, now we have given the job to Dobson who is doing ok but I dont think we are taking advantage of these penalties as we could be. If Cooke is on the pitch, let him take them!

Must admit I thought that, it was last season too and is one of our flaws at the moment It is also often passed too high and has to be plucked out of the air which totally slows momentum down.

Defensively we were ok but one or two players I think picked up early game knocks and weren't firing on all cylinders, i.e. Newton, Murrell (in chest I think) and Webster.

What bugged watching on Sky Plus afterwards was the total focus by the Sky team on Leed's injuries and absolutely no mention of ours! I gather Newton is already doubtful for next week but no mention of him going off!

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:29 am  

Is there a problem towards him(cooke) with the players because nobody even seemed to talk to him last night, he is quality as a game breaker in little 10 minute bursts yet you always go to dobson. You have 2 quality halves yet you only use 1. you will become a one trick pony and easy to defend against unless you use him. Also why is dobson taking the penalty re-starts? you must lose 20m each time.

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:28 am  

IMO we are seriously lacking a hooker. Fitzhenry isn't the answer for me. Our play the balls were so slow it was untrue which gave the Leeds defence time to get right on top of us. Ok at times they were miles offside (at one point the actual tackler was stood 2-3 yards infront of the ref, even though he was the man next to him in the defensive line he never saw it). If we had a top, top hooker i think we would be a far better team. Also our passing from dummy half leaves alot to be desired, either fired at the head or loopy slow rubbish. Fisher is good, and would rotate well with real quality hooker, but he cant do 80.This area imo is where we are weakest. Personally, i also think we need a pacy, running stand off (in the mould of a mcquire, horne). If Dobson is the man calling the plays, and the stand off is allowed to roam, then this imo means cooke doesnt have a place in the team as i dont think he has the attributes to play this role, he is far better when he is calling the shots.

Re: Match thoughts : Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:49 pm  

Rupert Pupkin wrote:

Got to say though I was very un-impressed with Rovers as a team last night, Leeds were there for the beating!

Our passing along the attacking line was abysmal at times, the ball should be passed so that the receiver is running onto the ball(this is kids stuff), not thrown behind his back or into touch(on a few occasions). It was really poor to watch at times, we didnt seem to have many creative options in our opponents 20m/30m.

We coughed the ball up on the 1st/2nd/3rd to many times in very good field position, our ball retention based on the last two weeks is no where near good enough! Plus some very poor options from the base of the scrums.

Once again our go-forward was poor IMO, the POTB was far to slow and gave the Leeds pack all the time in the world to get organised, no wonder we found it so hard to break them down.
To be fair we have come up against probably the two best packs of forwards in SL, sshame we have come off second best on both occasions.

One more small point, I know alot of people who used to criticize the choice of letting Webster kick into touch from a penalty(never made more than 20m). We made huge strides in going forward when this job was handed to Cooke, now we have given the job to Dobson who is doing ok but I dont think we are taking advantage of these penalties as we could be. If Cooke is on the pitch, let him take them!

Well I dont know what I was watching then as I thought you looked good.
I know Leeds had some of their best out but I still thought you looked strong, fit and well organised !

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:52 pm  

Alex Mc wrote:

IMO we are seriously lacking a hooker. Fitzhenry isn't the answer for me. Our play the balls were so slow it was untrue which gave the Leeds defence time to get right on top of us.

I share your concerns about the hooking role. I thought Kirk Netherton outplayed Fisher for much of last season & I'm yet to be convinced Fitzy is the right man to replace him. Ruck speed isn't really down to the dummy half though, it's the guy playing the ball.

I can't believe all the posts on here are so negative. I'm as disappointed as anyone, but the whole result hinged on a call by the video ref (I had a poor view of the screen, but 3 minutes worth of replays suggest it can't have been as conclusive as some make out). If that try was given we'd almost certainly have gone on to win & all the players would be getting praised. Now it seems they were all rubbish.

I don't think we were poor, just not quite good enough on the night. Leeds haven't fluked back to back titles though. Few teams would have withstood the pressure we applied in the 1st half. They showed the difference between (possible) contenders & true champions. I think the Rhinos players should be applauded a lot more than ours should be slagged off.

The only player whose performance really concerned me was Webster. He's still a pale shadow of the player he was before his injury. Is his ankle still a problem?

....at least the "you should have done that for England" chant aimed at Sinfield made me chuckle!

Re: Match thoughts : Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:01 pm  

THE BOARD wrote:

Well I dont know what I was watching then as I thought you looked good.
I know Leeds had some of their best out but I still thought you looked strong, fit and well organised !

Funnily enough I have just watched the game and we came over as playing alot better than what I thought I had previously said, it was only the extended highlights though. Its amazing how different you see the game.

I still pretty much stick to my original comments but I will add our kick chase game was very good.