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Thread: Saints Vs. Wigan - MATCH THREAD

  1. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by SS View Post
    Listened on the radio.

    Few points that I caught on.

    One, Saints' front row is its main strength. Our props go forward relentlessly. It's an area I've felt we've gradually got on top of Wigan over the course of last year and it sounded similar again. I was concerned that McIlorum would have a massive impact on our dominance of the middle of the field but it didn't sound like he was able to prevent us going forward at will whatsoever. Crosby, Clubb and Wigan's young props aren't going to cut it against our front row. Tautai coming in will help them a lot.

    Aggression. This is key to our marked improvement against them. We aren't shying away from it. They tried it again on the very first tackle and again, we responded. The bullying is over. Once you are prepared to take their fire on, they have very, very little to throw back.

    I'll be interested to see highlights. Is Greenwood playing down that left channel in the second row ? He's someone I've commented on for a while that genuinely does run exceptional lines and I've been waiting for him to be used down that channel rather than central, as he was early last season under Brown. The added size they mentioned he's put on will make him a very, very second row forward. I do hope we use him there.

    Burns sounded like everything we need. A hot head defensively but a cool head with the ball. Perfect foil. It's amazing to think we've basically beaten Wigan now three times in a row without the best organising half in the competition. Put Walsh back into this team, behind our pack, and we'll be incredibly tough to compete with.

    Percival sounded very threatening. Really excited about this lad for the new season. I reckon we'll see a 'break out' season from him. Wouldn't at all be shocked if he scores 15/20 tries this year.

    Only a friendly so not worth going overboard. Wigan will be much better come the season's end. However, I fancy us again this year. I really do.
    Greenwood played left channel first then went to the right side in 2nd half!

    Great performance from him again and he took his 2nd try superbly.

    Looks really promising for the season powerful dominant set of forwards and an exciting back line with pace and skill!

    Can already see the cunningham and long influence in the shape of the team and the flowing rugby. Only a friendly but lots of positives and I would worry if I was a wigan Fan!

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    Concerned to hear lomax burns and turner limping off, what was the issue with them

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    Agree with what has been said. Considering the field position Wigan had in the second half I thought we showed some outstanding fitness for such an early stage of the season.

    I also thought Savelio showed quite a lot in the short time he had on the pitch.

  4. #29
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk SS's Avatar
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    One moment made me chuckle from what I heard as well.

    When Masoe came on for his second stint (I think) in the second half. First drive up and McIlorum went straight for him and Masoe retaliated. I've been waiting for McIlorum to go after Masoe, it was always going to happen; now he knows Masoe's going to hit back, I'll be even more interested in how McIlorum deals with him next time.

    Oh, one final point. Amor sounded like the best forward on the field by a country mile. What a prop that fella is. Thankfully, he's in our shirt.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SElliott View Post
    Concerned to hear lomax burns and turner limping off, what was the issue with them
    Kc said lomax is fine and turners substitution was planned. Our only problem so far is picking a first choice 17 for catalan

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    Turner was down hurt for a minute or so planned or not.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SS View Post
    One moment made me chuckle from what I heard as well.

    When Masoe came on for his second stint (I think) in the second half. First drive up and McIlorum went straight for him and Masoe retaliated. I've been waiting for McIlorum to go after Masoe, it was always going to happen; now he knows Masoe's going to hit back, I'll be even more interested in how McIlorum deals with him next time.

    Oh, one final point. Amor sounded like the best forward on the field by a country mile. What a prop that fella is. Thankfully, he's in our shirt.
    Masoe put him on his backside in the first half too. Ran straight at him and McIlorum bounced off and landed in a heap.
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    In The South Stand Tez the Saint's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carlvegas7 View Post
    Greenwood played left channel first then went to the right side in 2nd half!

    Great performance from him again and he took his 2nd try superbly.

    Looks really promising for the season powerful dominant set of forwards and an exciting back line with pace and skill!

    Can already see the cunningham and long influence in the shape of the team and the flowing rugby. Only a friendly but lots of positives and I would worry if I was a wigan Fan!
    Agreed. I think we have a hell of a lot more to give as well.

    The good thing about us today in my opinion was how threatening we looked with the ball. We looked to promote and shift the ball whenever we could and its good to see. We did make a few mistakes but that's what friendlies are all about. I liked the look of our attitude today and the more games we play and the more combinations develop the better we will be. Burns did play well but when you put Luke Walsh back in that team as well and the organisation he offers us as well, we have threats all over the field.

    Burns is looking really sharp. He is aggressive and he doesn't shirk anything but he's a smart player as well. He kicked a lovely 40/20 in the first-half and he wasn't too far away from one in the second either if I recall correctly. When he wants the ball he calls for the ball which is exactly what you want. He wants to make decisions and he wants to organise and although we do have Walsh to come back, it's great to have two halves who want to do that and it's great to have two options as well. Lomax's pass for Makinson's try was outstanding as well and I'm excited to see him running out the back of Burns and Walsh this year. Hopefully those three guys can stay fit and healthy because if they can we have real threat whenever we have the ball. That's without considering our 3/4 line. Compare Matty Dawson to last week to Adam Swift this week. Whenever Swift is in open space he takes some stopping and he backs himself. The lines that Percival runs are always dangerous as well, wherever we are on the field.

    Forwards. Amor is looking sharp at the minute and I thought Masoe looked good today as well. Savelio looked like he wanted to mix it with Wigan and found some quick play the ball's. When you've got a 9 like James Roby on the back of that jumping out of dummy half, we'll get a roll on. Vea looked good as well for me. Looks like he can play as well. I know it has already been touched on but I'm loving our mindset at the minute, building on from what we saw towards the back end of last season. Wigan were constantly niggling away today. Tomkins, Farrell, McIlorum; they were messing around at every second play the ball but we stood up to them. They didn't like it when we gave it out. Granted, today was only a friendly but we look as though we want to play this year. We'll go through some difficulties along the way but we look like we're ready to meet them which is what we want to see.

    Only area I'd look at is discipline. I thought some of the penalties given against us today were harsh but some of them were just daft. There's a fine line but in the second-half we didn't control the game quite as well as we did in the first-half.

    I'm just hoping we can remain injury free this year. What I will say is that the benefits of last season and the effect that winning a grand-final has had on this club look clear to me already.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tez the Saint View Post
    Agreed. I think we have a hell of a lot more to give as well.

    The good thing about us today in my opinion was how threatening we looked with the ball. We looked to promote and shift the ball whenever we could and its good to see. We did make a few mistakes but that's what friendlies are all about. I liked the look of our attitude today and the more games we play and the more combinations develop the better we will be. Burns did play well but when you put Luke Walsh back in that team as well and the organisation he offers us as well, we have threats all over the field.

    Burns is looking really sharp. He is aggressive and he doesn't shirk anything but he's a smart player as well. He kicked a lovely 40/20 in the first-half and he wasn't too far away from one in the second either if I recall correctly. When he wants the ball he calls for the ball which is exactly what you want. He wants to make decisions and he wants to organise and although we do have Walsh to come back, it's great to have two halves who want to do that and it's great to have two options as well. Lomax's pass for Makinson's try was outstanding as well and I'm excited to see him running out the back of Burns and Walsh this year. Hopefully those three guys can stay fit and healthy because if they can we have real threat whenever we have the ball. That's without considering our 3/4 line. Compare Matty Dawson to last week to Adam Swift this week. Whenever Swift is in open space he takes some stopping and he backs himself. The lines that Percival runs are always dangerous as well, wherever we are on the field.

    Forwards. Amor is looking sharp at the minute and I thought Masoe looked good today as well. Savelio looked like he wanted to mix it with Wigan and found some quick play the ball's. When you've got a 9 like James Roby on the back of that jumping out of dummy half, we'll get a roll on. Vea looked good as well for me. Looks like he can play as well. I know it has already been touched on but I'm loving our mindset at the minute, building on from what we saw towards the back end of last season. Wigan were constantly niggling away today. Tomkins, Farrell, McIlorum; they were messing around at every second play the ball but we stood up to them. They didn't like it when we gave it out. Granted, today was only a friendly but we look as though we want to play this year. We'll go through some difficulties along the way but we look like we're ready to meet them which is what we want to see.

    Only area I'd look at is discipline. I thought some of the penalties given against us today were harsh but some of them were just daft. There's a fine line but in the second-half we didn't control the game quite as well as we did in the first-half.

    I'm just hoping we can remain injury free this year. What I will say is that the benefits of last season and the effect that winning a grand-final has had on this club look clear to me already.
    Great summary Tez , just one concern regarding Walsh and Burns , will they play one on the left and one on the right otherwise they
    may get in each others' way ?

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    Most posts have already said all that was good about today. Our pack dominated and allowed Burns and Wilkin to dictate, especially in the first half. We must be the envy of the whole of SL with the youngsters we have at our disposal. Greenwood was sensational, Thompson, Richards, Savelio and Percival were very good also. I have no negatives from the playing side at all, the only slight negative is that I felt the pitch cut up pretty quickly, but like SS I'm very excited for this coming season.

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    Great first half, shut them down completely as an attacking force and dominated with ball in hand. 2nd half, couple of silly mistakes, sloppy from Turner not attempting to catch the cross field kick, but over all a very good performance and if the back up forwards step up to the plate when Amor and Walmsley take a breather, then only good things to come for next year!

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    I'm not sure what what will happen after this question....what did anyone think of Wigan's performance? Must admit I wasn't impressed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tallahassee View Post
    I'm not sure what what will happen after this question....what did anyone think of Wigan's performance? Must admit I wasn't impressed.

    Flat, clueless and imaginative in the first half. Slightly better in the 2nd. Their forwards didn't make good ground and the majority of Smith's kick were from his own half. They were bullied and battered territorially. Loads of pressure on Williams; I think they'll regret not replacing Green.
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Yellow Giraffe View Post
    Flat, clueless and imaginative in the first half. Slightly better in the 2nd. Their forwards didn't make good ground and the majority of Smith's kick were from his own half. They were bullied and battered territorially. Loads of pressure on Williams; I think they'll regret not replacing Green.
    Sam Powell will be their 6 this season and Hampshire will get 10-15 games at full back. That's what I have been told. They are more than happy to go with what they have got

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Yellow Giraffe View Post
    Flat, clueless and imaginative in the first half. Slightly better in the 2nd. Their forwards didn't make good ground and the majority of Smith's kick were from his own half. They were bullied and battered territorially. Loads of pressure on Williams; I think they'll regret not replacing Green.
    Phew! Yeah I thought the same. I'm also glad Walsh didn't play twenty seconds into the game proved Cunningham's decision not to risk him.(if he was close to playing I mean).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tallahassee View Post
    I'm not sure what what will happen after this question....what did anyone think of Wigan's performance? Must admit I wasn't impressed.
    They made a lot of unforced errors 1st half so gave the Saints a lot of ball. When they had the ball not much has changed and it was the same moves as last year. Some one mention Williams and for me he needs to step up to the plate a bit more. If he does not improve Wigan could struggle a bit at stand off. For me they looked weaker than last year. I was impressed with the mobility of the Saint's back row and the tackling intensity of all the players.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Reacher View Post
    Sam Powell will be their 6 this season and Hampshire will get 10-15 games at full back. That's what I have been told. They are more than happy to go with what they have got

    That would make the decision to give Williams the no.6 Jersey look very strange. Hopefully the uncertainty in key positions will work in our favour.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Reacher View Post
    Sam Powell will be their 6 this season and Hampshire will get 10-15 games at full back. That's what I have been told. They are more than happy to go with what they have got
    He'll need to improve his skills under the high ball then, because he was catastrophic today.

    I was very pleased with the way Saints played for long spells today. We were 22-0 up at half time and if we were more clinical it could have been 40+ in one half. Burns is clearly going to be an attacking force to be reckoned with and takes no nonsense in defence either. If he stays fit he will have a very big part to play in our season. His long range kicking was very good. I can't wait to see how Walsh and he link up - I'm guessing very well.

    We eased off in the second half and Wigan improved (it was hard for them not to as they were awful in the first half) but Mr Hicks was giving us a lot of jip for various offences (mostly at the play of the ball) and our discipline will need to improve and I have no doubts whatsoever that it will. Not a first choice Wigan team in the forwards by any stretch of the imagination but we have an army of established talent or promising youngsters to bring out. We've assembled an impressive squad.

    As for Wigan... their fans were making morons of themselves by singing "Oh Benny Flower, he smacks who he wants" - effectively celebrating the moment that helped Saints on the way to becoming champions. Bateman is a prized prat still, McIlorum the same and Masoe is going to leg drop them both the next time they come face to face.
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    Love the fact that the young forwards are looking so good. It reminds a little of 2006 when we were fortunate to have a few quality props on relatively low deals in Fa'asavalu, Anderson and Graham to go with Cayless and Fozzard.

    Savelio, Thompson and Richards will all be on low deals due to their age and all will rotate in our prop rotation with Amor, Walmsley and Masoe. These kind of things can only happen at specific moments in time before the young lads demand appropriate contracts and squads are broken up.

    That's not to say we'll replicate anything like 2006 but the combination of youth and experience at Saints looks incredibly promising.

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    That was a ruddy excellent performance y/day, at last we look dangerous near the opponents line where last yr we looked pretty clueless. Our defence was excellent despite letting the two tries in, all other times we were solid. We seem to have a lot more options when attacking now. When flash (half back GF winner) takes someone down they know about it. Wigan were very poor bar a few short spells. I'm glad we've got a pack who won't take a backward step. Even sir JW12 did a couple of decent kicks n passes, but it's early days for JW12 on that.

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    Brilliant team display and will only get better, for me now the group of players have become a team and apart from a bit of broken play which allowed Wigan to score was dominate across the park.
    Although intensity dropped a little the team played for 80 minutes and competed in ever position.
    Very well done 😊

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    Very happy with yesterday.My only grump was the few daft penalties in the second half which gave the goons some field position and lead to a couple of tries.Otherwise excellent.

    Think Savelio will be a starter by the end of the season if he keeps his progress going.
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    Great to hear Greenwood is looking even better than last year. For those that were there, how did Thompson get on? Was he used exclusively in the second row? For me him and Greenwood are outstanding back row prospects, I just get the feeling they may use Thompson in the front row going forward.
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    Quote Originally Posted by wabo View Post
    Great to hear Greenwood is looking even better than last year. For those that were there, how did Thompson get on? Was he used exclusively in the second row? For me him and Greenwood are outstanding back row prospects, I just get the feeling they may use Thompson in the front row going forward.
    He was named at loose and played down the middle really. I don't know if he took a knock as I don't remember seeing him in the 2nd half.
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    We've reverted back to the same defensive structure that we used when Daniel Anderson was here and in the first half in particular, it showed. Wigan never once caught us with numbers on a shift play out wide, which was the major failing of our umbrella defence under brown.

    I know it's early days but in terms of performance, the first half was one of the most complete I've seen since we moved to LP.

    Wigan look a shadow of themselves without Blake Green.

    Vea is going to be a very good addition.

    Greenwood has stepped up three or four gears.

    Percival if he keeps performing like that will be pushing for young player of the year

    Burns is just what we've bee missing and alongside Walsh, if we can keep them fit, we will have an amazing half back partnership

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