When people make the argument for young props being given more time to develop, it's normally on the basis that their physiques need to build, but they have that base dynamism.
With Richards, he has the physicality, but utterly lacks the dynamism and has no speed. Compare him to Thomson, who hurls himself at defenders and doesn't lack speed for a pretty big lad. You think that as his body develops, he may drop some speed but that'd be more than countered by additional strength and experience.
Richards simply will not get that initial burst of speed & condensed power.
Maybe its just me but I genuinely think the problem with Richards is down to coaching. Having been involved in the junior set up, i know that there is a very big emphasis placed on finding the floor after contact in an effort to gain a quick play the ball. I think this was a legacy from Daniel Anderson. Richards has clearly had this drilled into him from a young age and it is second nature that he now hits the line and drops like a sack of s***. He does it because that is what hes been coached to do.
The NRL have now moved on from this and place a big emphasis on "metres after contact" which is a stat that Fox often flash up on the screen for certain players. This tactic is a shift from the previous philosophy and is likely to find its way back into superleague before too long. Hopefully Holbrook will ask his team to play this way and will hopefully work with Richards to eradicate his lack of effort at the line. I much prefer forwards who run to bust (like Walmsley) than forwards that are used primarily to just set up some field position and to try to get a quick play the ball. IMO, you need to get your nose through the line in todays game in order to leave markers on the floor, not fall at their feet.
Fully agree. It used to be a "Knees and elbows" mantra, allowing forwards to get up and play the ball quickly to try to get a soot from dummy half. Those days are now gone as teams defend so well and simply dominate the tackle, leaving the ball carrier as the last to get up. The best option now for a quick play the ball is to break the line and try to play the ball before the tacklers are fully set.
The game is being killed by the constant acceptance by officials to allow the slowing down at the play the ball.
I may have been a bit harsh last night but i stand by the gist of what i posted. The Roby of 7 years ago was a million times the player Tommy Lee is. But in recent years his threats from acting half back have massively reduced and his ball distribution is very poor, but nobody ever says it because he's James Roby. And it wasn't just last night. Its happened plenty times. We will be in a tight close game and Roby will turn over tons of cheap ball in good attacking positions with dumb plays. He scoots out and throws suicide passes to runners right at the line, or chips the ball through on the 3rd tackle, or misses blatant over laps on one side of the field and runs the ball the opposite side. Im sorry, but its true.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
Im not picking on Roby. He's carried this team plenty over the years, been a great servant and even on a bad day makes 40-50 tackles. Im just pointing out his flaws.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
Not just in full contact, Ive played a bit of competitive tag rugby too, which murders your lungs. There is nothing worse than someone taking an extra 4 or 5 meters after they have been tagged because they cant stop their momentum. Over 80 mins that takes its toll on the defensive line.
Perhaps he isn't good enough for the club mate. The mentality of some of our fans winds me up a bit. Some players get called rotten then more favoured players have shocking games and it doesn't get mentioned. If Tommy Lee made the mistakes Roby did last night our fans would want him in stocks outside the town hall.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
Not at all - but when people see Roby make a mistake or have a poor game, they know he's capable of much better because they've witnessed it. With Lee, we've never seen anything approaching even 'good', so believe he cannot be 'good' and therefore shouldn't be at the club.