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Thread: Your Take KRISTIAN WOOLF lastr 5 games.

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    Default Your Take KRISTIAN WOOLF lastr 5 games.

    The day before the Grand Final I watched the 2 video interviews when he first arrived at the club. In each of them he was given similar questions on what he expected to bring to the club, the obvious one was to be back to back champions, the other one was he wanted us to be a very tough team to beat.

    I know we have had periods when we have not entertaining play but has Woolfe got it right in building the right mental strength to our players for these big games. We could have won our last 5 games but Woolfe has stayed calm ready for the big one.

    How do fans sum up his achievement to join Hanley and Millward on winning the Grand Final in their first season.

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    I suppose you could break the season into 3.

    1) Started horrendously and I wasn’t sure if he’d turn it around after getting hammered by Cas. Lockdown came at the right time for us to regroup.

    2) Post lockdown. We played some great stuff after the restart and looked like the team we were last season.

    3) Started to return to his style of grinding it out. The rugby was turgid and we lost another big semi final. The rugby over the last 2 months has been poor to watch in my opinion.

    BUT. He got the job done and we dominated the game last night and we kept our composure after going behind.

    The target was to retain the trophy and he’s done that, so it’s job done and a successful season.


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    Without letting the joy of last night change my opinion. Because that was the most joy I've experienced watching a game when Welsby scored..

    As long as Wolfe works on our attack I'd be happy.

    Wigan looked better than saints.
    Both defences were good.. And saints were better in that they made Wigan do so much defending..
    But I'd have to say Wigan were better in both defence and attack.
    Wigan were just a brick wall in defence whereas saints on the edges looked like they could be caught out everytime. Luckily saints hadn't given them enough chances (although Wigan blew the ones they had)

    Also whenever Wigan did start to attack. They just looked more dangerous especially at the edges
    Saints even looked a little clueless at times in them last plays.

    Amazing year for rugby league all round. Fair play to everyone.
    Winning the GF is certainly enough to forgive un saintly performances this year.. But I pray this side of the game is worked on next year.

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    I think that we have to say it has been a successful season and I think that is despite our weaknesses-kicking game and to be honest some average halves in the bigger more important games.
    He has also recognised an ageing pack. I think we will see a different side next season.A more powerful pack and Dodd in to play behind that pack and an expansive running game on the back of that.
    Job done for me.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scouse Don View Post
    I think that we have to say it has been a successful season and I think that is despite our weaknesses-kicking game and to be honest some average halves in the bigger more important games.
    He has also recognised an ageing pack. I think we will see a different side next season.A more powerful pack and Dodd in to play behind that pack and an expansive running game on the back of that.
    Job done for me.
    Agreed - excited at the thought of a couple of explosive forwards coming in, more game time for Dodd and Simm and a proper off season for Lees

    We could be a little bit stronger next year on paper


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    I still have my doubts over him. Its very much still Holbrooks team. I think we will know more about Woolf next season once we bring in his signings.
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    I think he's done very well. We started slowly and it does take time for a new coach to bed in. Lockdown benefited Woolfe. Gave him that time to instill his ideas etc. Losing Thompson was big and I dont feel Graham gave us any platform going forward. We also lost Percival who runs hard off his line and is dangerous in attack. With both of those available, we win the league and beat Wigan last night more comfortably IMO. He's address the issues in the pack for next season. The backs will have plenty of space to work off next season.

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    Quote Originally Posted by undertheradar View Post
    I suppose you could break the season into 3.

    1) Started horrendously and I wasn’t sure if he’d turn it around after getting hammered by Cas. Lockdown came at the right time for us to regroup.

    2) Post lockdown. We played some great stuff after the restart and looked like the team we were last season.

    3) Started to return to his style of grinding it out. The rugby was turgid and we lost another big semi final. The rugby over the last 2 months has been poor to watch in my opinion.

    BUT. He got the job done and we dominated the game last night and we kept our composure after going behind.

    The target was to retain the trophy and he’s done that, so it’s job done and a successful season.


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    Think 1 is harsh, we got beat off Wire with half a team, but everything was focused on the WCC and the loss to Hudds was poor and Cas a disaster, if we’d have wrote off the WCC we could have gone into lockdown unbeaten or losing only 1.

    For me we can only really judge him if we get a normal season next year, 4 of our aging forwards gone and Woolf replacements brought in.

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    Quote Originally Posted by fishy3005 View Post
    I still have my doubts over him. Its very much still Holbrooks team. I think we will know more about Woolf next season once we bring in his signings.
    I love Holbrook but I do wonder whether we win that game under him. We’ll never know but when you say Holbrook s team we were missing Percy and Thompson plus Walmsley clearly injured.

    We’ve looked just as clueless in big games under Holbrook, just without the incredible defence.


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    It will be down to whether our new signings can have a big impact and help us dominate other teams forwards without depending solely on Big Al. On the back of that we need Dodd to get more game time and kick on. Personally I've seen little of him (not seen much academy stuff) but he looks the business. Dominant pack and a dynamic SH with a good kicking game, in particular, is something to look forward to. We may then see some more exciting rugby off the back of that and at the moment why not be hopeful and positive.

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    Quote Originally Posted by FearTheVee View Post
    I love Holbrook but I do wonder whether we win that game under him. We’ll never know but when you say Holbrook s team we were missing Percy and Thompson plus Walmsley clearly injured.

    We’ve looked just as clueless in big games under Holbrook, just without the incredible defence.


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    When i said its still Holbrooks team what i meant was its not really Woolfs team, yet. I take your point about our defence. Maybe we would have conceded more trys last night under Holbrook, but maybe we would have scored a couple more trys too. I suppose we’ll never know. Getting a good blend of attack and defence isn’t easy to do.

    I may be overthinking it, but when the players got their medals from Woolf last night their wasn’t a great deal of warmth from a number of players. It was more head nods and handshakes than smiles and hugs. I think he is yet to win over a few of the lads but thats just my opinion.
    He may turn out to be a great coach and next season we could win silver again but at this moment in time im not sure. It kind of reminds me of Leeds 2011 when they won the championship despite McDermott, not because of McDermott but i could be wrong.
    Today isn’t really the day for negativity.
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    Quote Originally Posted by FearTheVee View Post
    I love Holbrook but I do wonder whether we win that game under him. We’ll never know but when you say Holbrook s team we were missing Percy and Thompson plus Walmsley clearly injured.

    We’ve looked just as clueless in big games under Holbrook, just without the incredible defence.


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    There is quite a significant difference between Holbrook and Woolfe in bigger games. Next season we will under Woolfe carry on building pressure onto the opposition and will only open up when they have earned the right to do so. The Catalan semi final was an example of that, the exciting thing is that we will be a much better team next year because Woolf inherited a team that was past its best but he gave them more mental strength to get the job done.

    When you think about it we could have won the triple this season, it was a lucky header try to stop us getting to a Challenge Cup Final and 2 or 3 extra experienced players against Salford would have got us the LLS. But its the big one that matters.

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    Quote Originally Posted by fishy3005 View Post
    I still have my doubts over him. Its very much still Holbrooks team. I think we will know more about Woolf next season once we bring in his signings.
    We won the Grand Final last night and are back to back Superleague Champions. The word "doubts" doesn't exist for the time being the objective job has been done.

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    Of course it was always going to be a tight game but we never looked like scoring. Next year will be the test for Woolf if our attack doesn't improve.

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    Quote Originally Posted by zippy View Post
    Of course it was always going to be a tight game but we never looked like scoring. Next year will be the test for Woolf if our attack doesn't improve.
    This is my concern. Like ive said, today isn’t the best day to be negative. A lot of fans are praising Woolf today but if Hardaker kicks that penalty goal and we lose today we would be wanting Woolfs head on a stick. We had enough good ball last night to have scored a few trys in that opening 20 minutes if we had more idea with the ball.
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    Quote Originally Posted by STIDDY View Post
    We won the Grand Final last night and are back to back Superleague Champions. The word "doubts" doesn't exist for the time being the objective job has been done.
    In the end he’s done a very good job and achieved the main objective but that game last night summed us up perfectly. Brilliant defensively but clueless in the opposition twenty, I have my reservations over whether it’s sustainable but after last night any reservations are straight to the back of my mind until March.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SaintH517 View Post
    In the end he’s done a very good job and achieved the main objective but that game last night summed us up perfectly. Brilliant defensively but clueless in the opposition twenty, I have my reservations over whether it’s sustainable but after last night any reservations are straight to the back of my mind until March.
    OK, accept your opinion I will let you go in your negative mind set reservations.

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    Quote Originally Posted by STIDDY View Post
    The day before the Grand Final I watched the 2 video interviews when he first arrived at the club. In each of them he was given similar questions on what he expected to bring to the club, the obvious one was to be back to back champions, the other one was he wanted us to be a very tough team to beat.

    I know we have had periods when we have not entertaining play but has Woolfe got it right in building the right mental strength to our players for these big games. We could have won our last 5 games but Woolfe has stayed calm ready for the big one.

    How do fans sum up his achievement to join Hanley and Millward on winning the Grand Final in their first season.
    Hard to be negative when you are ecstatic over that win in the most exciting GF I have ever seen.
    I suppose we won the GF so it is jobe done,
    Defensively he has us better than I have ever seen, and I have been watching a long time.

    But, I have never seen a Saints team where the wingers get so little ball, other than kick returns.
    With some bigger forwards coming in next year the concern is we will get more obsessed with going down the middle.
    Hopefully we can have a couple of forwards running together that can offload and feed the 3/4's
    Even last night I was concerned that our constant inside drop off would cost us.
    Next year we need to improve our kicking game from HB and get Coote linking up again.

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    He has done a great job, we are back to back Champions. This may sound a bit sour, but! I think we now have to understand Lomax and Fages is a partnership that needs breaking now. I would start next season with Dodd and Lomax.

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    Last night the team showed a mental toughness that has been missing in previous years. Wigan seemed unlucky when Bibby failed to score but he was under pressure that paid off and when we stopped Hardaker scoring that was incredible.

    Wigan were seemingly really unlucky because they defended like Trojans and, although we had better field position for much of the game, they showed more threat in attack but I think there was a steel and determination in our lads which was demonstrated by the way Welsby chased Makinson’s kick. To most onlookers the ball was struck well and a drop goal seemed certain but Welsby took nothing for granted and it paid off. In previous years I’d have been worried in such a close game but last night I wasn’t. I think our big game nerves may have gone whereas Wigan, perhaps, showed nerves and mental weakness at key moments. You could say that luck was on our side but I think we made our own luck with a mental toughness that Woolf may have instilled.

    I am worried that we couldn’t break them down. Woolf needs to think more about attack in the closed season. Last night the grind and determination won it for us but we need more. Last night’s game could have gone either way and that was because we couldn’t make more of dominant field position. We need more in attack next season but for now I’m delighted. Absolutely delighted but I did feel sorry for Wigan and I don’t usually think like that.

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    Quote Originally Posted by STIDDY View Post
    There is quite a significant difference between Holbrook and Woolfe in bigger games. Next season we will under Woolfe carry on building pressure onto the opposition and will only open up when they have earned the right to do so. The Catalan semi final was an example of that, the exciting thing is that we will be a much better team next year because Woolf inherited a team that was past its best but he gave them more mental strength to get the job done.

    When you think about it we could have won the triple this season, it was a lucky header try to stop us getting to a Challenge Cup Final and 2 or 3 extra experienced players against Salford would have got us the LLS. But its the big one that matters.
    We cant really moan about bad luck against Warrington after what happened last night!

    Im not going to get over the top about Woolf last night. I was concerned that after all that territory (and gor the greater part of the match our forwards were on top) we couldnt score. The game plan was limited with ball in hand and Saints got home but so often those tactics fail. Agree that Fages has to be phased out. He is a 6 or 7/10 performer in big games and the side needs something more threatening in these games. That doesn’t mean he is a bad player, far from it but he just has’nt got that ability to really crack a big game open.

    What i’ll give KW credit for is the defence which is ruthless. Those forwards hit hard and there will be some sore bodies today. But, thats just one element of it. The organisation and ability to cover is brilliant and there hasnt been a better defensive coach at Saints. Mike McC was a good one but KW is better IMO.

    Delighted we won as I cant stand the obnoxiousness of some of the Wigan team which is as nauseating as its fanbase. The defence was remarkable last night and proud today still.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Belgian Saint View Post
    Hard to be negative when you are ecstatic over that win in the most exciting GF I have ever seen.
    I suppose we won the GF so it is jobe done,
    Defensively he has us better than I have ever seen, and I have been watching a long time.

    But, I have never seen a Saints team where the wingers get so little ball, other than kick returns.
    With some bigger forwards coming in next year the concern is we will get more obsessed with going down the middle.
    Hopefully we can have a couple of forwards running together that can offload and feed the 3/4's
    Even last night I was concerned that our constant inside drop off would cost us.
    Next year we need to improve our kicking game from HB and get Coote linking up again.
    Hopefully with the bigger forwards coming in it will mean the wingers and centres don’t have to carry so much in the first 4 tackles. As was pointed out last night, if your wingers are infield carrying then the defence can compress knowing you aren’t going wide with ball in hand.

    Agree about the kicking game. I’m not going to criticise any of them at this point as there’s a whole pre-season to discuss individual strengths and weaknesses, but we are crying out for a half back with guile and creativity to break down the opposition in their own 20m.
    Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.

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    Default Your Take KRISTIAN WOOLF lastr 5 games.

    I think we lack shape in attack, which is the one obvious weakness under Woolf. Fages made some poor decisions when we were in Wigan’s 20, and has done in several big games, and I can see Dodd really pushing him for the 7 spot next year. But swapping one 7 for another won’t change everything- we need to work on our shape and movement off the ball so that our opponents always have decisions to make.

    But overall I think Woolf has done a good job. We’ve just won probably the most fiercely contested final in SL history. In the Holbrook years, amazing as they were, there was always a doubt over whether we had the balls and the game management skills to win a big game against a strong team. I don’t know if we’d have won that game last night under Holbrook.

    So for me Woolf has taken the one major weakness of the Holbrook years and sorted it out. The task now is to recover that bit of shape and quality in attack that we’ve lost.

    But overall, Woolf has just made us back to back champions for the first time in 20 years - I’ll take that!

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    It's amazing how the fine lines can change things. If Zak Hardaker nails one of two goals, then the knives are out and those who criticised his style are tactical geniuses. He doesn't, we pinch it instead and now Woolf is the tactical genius.

    The elation of last night will mask a lot of things and the memory of how unsatisfied many were with the brand will all become a distant one. However, what we can say is that he's instilled a will to win, a team ethic that is worth ten points to the team. What I saw last night was two teams who would literally have died for their team mates. From our point of view, defensively, it's probably as good as we've ever seen and that is down to the coaching.

    However, the fear all week from me was that a lack of "tin opening" scrum half, poor last set plays and an inability to moved the ball across the backs would cost us dear and it so nearly did, because we were so dominant that you'd expect to win by a good margin. That's for another day, though. The coach was given a remit and has achieved it. For that, he must be congratulated.
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    Quote Originally Posted by DD View Post
    It's amazing how the fine lines can change things. If Zak Hardaker nails one of two goals, then the knives are out and those who criticised his style are tactical geniuses. He doesn't, we pinch it instead and now Woolf is the tactical genius.

    The elation of last night will mask a lot of things and the memory of how unsatisfied many were with the brand will all become a distant one. However, what we can say is that he's instilled a will to win, a team ethic that is worth ten points to the team. What I saw last night was two teams who would literally have died for their team mates. From our point of view, defensively, it's probably as good as we've ever seen and that is down to the coaching.

    However, the fear all week from me was that a lack of "tin opening" scrum half, poor last set plays and an inability to moved the ball across the backs would cost us dear and it so nearly did, because we were so dominant that you'd expect to win by a good margin. That's for another day, though. The coach was given a remit and has achieved it. For that, he must be congratulated.
    I think Hardaker was suffering big match nerves, which came through in his kicking. Being denied a try by extremely determined defence probably rattled his confidence as well. That’s why I think we made our own luck.

    100% agree about attack. Such dominant field position should have led to a wider margin, not a last ditch win. However, I remain elated.

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