I was impressed by how professional and clinical they were given the circumstances. Obviously lots of disruption during the week with injuries and players being unavailable, the positive test, etc and then even on Friday night there were issues travelling to Headingley, we lost Kevin Naquima during the game as well so we were without five of our first choice backline. To win the game by a scoreline of 54-6 is a pretty fair effort IMO all things considered.
Thought it was well rounded team performance as well, everyone played their part. Costello, Welsby and Simm all did solid jobs and the likes of Knowles, Smith, Lomax and Peyroux who had to change positions and play different roles in the team than usual looked good too. Having that depth and adaptability through the squad is going to be more important than ever this year by the looks of it.
Steve Prescott MBE (1973-2013)
V
He’s playing really well. When it was announced that Thompson was leaving I wasn’t sure how we’d be able to replace his yardage but so far everyone seems to have stepped up. Was looking at some of the stats from the Hudds game:
Kyle Amor: 167 metres
Alex Walmsley: 160 metres
James Graham: 140 metres
LMS: 119 metres
Matty Lees: 99 metres
All good contributions there and a good mix of players in terms of style and how they play.
Steve Prescott MBE (1973-2013)
V
Going off stats lees seems to make less meters thsn sny of our props each week
Somehow he needs to put on another 5kg yet keep his impact leg speed, seems to get dumped on his backside regularly this season. He has a similar build and dynamic as LMS but is nowhere near the stats of LMS going forward.
His average gain is just over 6 metres most of those metres are his quick speed to impact, Amor will be slower but has an average gain of over 9 metres but he keeps going for another 3 metres after impact.
Last edited by STIDDY; 6th September 2020 at 16:57.
I’m not sure it’s aggression, he runs it in hard every time but doesn’t make any impact. He’s looks too lightweight at the moment, gets dominated very easily. Amor and Graham aren’t smashing the defensive line like Walmsley but make a lot of post contact metres and also add an extra dimension with offloads and the ability to take the ball to the line and pass.
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
I think physical bulk is his only problem. Last year many were complaining about Amor being dominated and not making any metres after contact. I just had a look at the stats on Saints website and Amor and Lees are the same height, with Amor 8 kg's heavier, though I thought the weight difference would have been 10-12 kgs.
Amor is playing really well at the moment, always seems to be able to poke his head through a gap and takes some stopping!
Lees gets through a tonne of work, and is a vital member of the team, may have been a bit quieter lately but he is better coming off the bench for me.
what a win, some great trys and once again defence excellent
Bentley got a 0 match penalty notice for his tackle on Turner but Edwards got let off for the twisting neck tackle on Welsby.
Lees injury could have been a career ending one, and I think it has taken a lot of bulk off him. Hopefully by start of next season he can be back where he was pre-injury.
I think lees is doing great, forwards don't tend to reach their peak early in their career.
So for me he is doing fine, that bulk and experience will come much later.
You occasionally get an early developer like SBW or Burgess, but most will grow into their potential.