Those stats over the course of a season will get us in the top 3. What those stats won’t do is win us a knockout game against a fired up opposition, as has been seen in our last 3 knockout matches.
I thought we looked better at the start of the season. The attack had improved but now it’s gone down again
I think some of it is because other teams raise their game against us.
I agree, fans might also give it a thought that the opposition won’t let us play expansive rugby and cut down any space for our pivotal players.
Very briefly. But we also looked OK under Cunningham to begin with.
Nah, that's way off mate.
Is it though? I accept he's his own man but he can't say he doesn't know the expectations, he's spent the vast majority of his life associated with the club in some form yet he constantly goes against that.
I also think you are wrong CaseyJ. I think he is caught between two stools: one is playing more attacking rugby but with an aging set of backs and some young guns who arent quite ready, the other stool is trying to adapt Woolfeball lite to a new set of rules. I think he is Saints through and through. It's his first head coach job and transitioning from Woolfes now old team to a new set of players with no cash to spend is a tall order and he is clearly struggling. We havent got the three quarters or the halfbacks to paly an expansive game and he thinks the younger palyers are not ready. I think we will see Ritson and Vaughn together both on the right wing quite soon
Can't agree at all about MBye. He has class and the more he plays the better he is looking for us. Blake was at probably the lowest ebb of his career when he came here. He looked and played like it to start with, but against Huddersfield he put in easily his best performance and did little wrong. After Yates stamped on his knee he was clearly in pain but managed to run it off. I also liked the way he got stuck in during the fracas when he and Percival flattened that whinger Wallis. He looks like he is beginning to feel like part of the team and starting to show a little glimpse of the player he was three or four years ago.
I think it is. Part of appointing a coach is that they need to be given the space and accountability to do things as they want and ultimately they are judged on results and success, not always the manner of performances though this plays a part. Clearly Paul is quite a conservative coach, reflecting this with his tactics and the resulting performances over the last season and a half. Whether he's allowed to continue long term is a different matter but to say he doesn't care is streching it a bit too far.
I personally think paul his overthinking as a coach he his on a hiding to nothing inheriting an ageing squad trying to accommodate mates he played with would of liked to see him coach fearherstone Keighley etc before being given the job here detach himself away from his comfort zone hate it when our great players tarnish there reputation by making an absolute mess of coaching our team all we think of isnt this cunninghamesque two of our greatest players being dissected by us keyboard coaches both of them should and shouldn't have been ever been let to be head coaches sentiment wins nothing for me
They wouldn’t pull Dodd out of the warm up before a game just to use it as a smokescreen.
The similarity with Eastmond is probably just in the agents, Offiah was hell bent on getting him into Union and the money. Dodd is different he hasn't spit his dummy out and has self belief he can take up the challenge of the NFL. The ligament injury to Dodd changed his game and don't think it was a smokescreen, Wello is always very protective with young players and maybe he has let that linger too long with Dodd'
