Congratulations, I guess with 3 in a row you’re entitled to feel smug! (Just 1 would be great tbh).
Congratulations, I guess with 3 in a row you’re entitled to feel smug! (Just 1 would be great tbh).
Just seen that Dodd made 33 tackles in the final. You could see he was targeted in defence. I know there was plenty worried there would be a drop off in defence with no Fages but I think introducing Dodd slowly into the team with small stints in the middle at hooker really helped him. Another one in the ‘well done’ column for Woolf.
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
I prefer Sean Connery…..
https://youtu.be/SQY6IYVAfw8
“Your BEST? Losers always whine about their best….. winners go home and f*ck the Prom Queen…….”
Can't stop the spirits when they need you.
This life is more than just a read through.
Before the ashes go completely cold on the GF win, here's a thought. Would we have won if Fages hadn't got crocked in the Cup Final?
I'm a great fan of Theo, and was very much in the 'we'll miss him more than we think when he's gone' camp, but I'm really not so sure. I've got a sneaking feeling that Dodd's unpredictability gave JL that split second more that he needed to contribute to both our tries.
But that raises a bigger question. If Theo hadn't got injured, would Woolf have given Dodd the chance to make that contribution?
Be interested to hear the thoughts of others.
You would have to judge were the Catalan attack was coming from, for me it was less down the middle more on the edges with atute kicks, we were pretty dominant anyway in most of that first half. If Theo had played in the GF then Dodd would probably not be in the 17 because Welsby would have still been on the bench.
When Dodd played with Welsby as his half back partner we got away with a lot of unpredictabilty but we also saw some completely different attacking shapes, at the same time with this pairing our defensive performance went up a notch which hid any Dodd defensive reads which were not the standard of Fages.
It was interesting in one of Woolf's post match conferences when a journo asked him about Dodd after just a few games he asked if Dodd was under restrictive orders, Woolf said no he is a natural instinctive scrum half and will therefore will play like a scrum half on what he sees during a game.
Thanks. Not thinking so much about the defence, just whether the more familiar/predictable play of Fages would have enabled Cats to focus more on snuffing out JL's threat (as happened often during the season) which could have been the difference in such a tight game.
We'll never know, of course, but it was the loss (I think to Cas in 2017) that got me thinking.
If I recall Holbrook stuck with 'steady Eddy' Matty Smith when a lot of people were saying he should have given Richardson the shirt, and blamed that for the loss. Had Smith got injured before that game and forced Holbrook's hand might it have gone the other way, and likewise had Fages not got injured ... who knows ...
Still 'if ifs and ands were pots and pans ...' (as my grandmother used to say).
You will probably find in the last couple of finals Fages takes on the line a bit more and is less predictable and asks questions to the opposition, Dodd has a longer and quicker passing game but in a tight game with flat attacks he would probably have to take caution.
For me Dodd didn't really stand out in the final it was always about our right edge with Jonny, Kev and Tommy were Woolf saw the weakness in Catalans game.
I agree with all of that, although I do think the mere fact that Dodd is a bit of an 'unknown quantity' helped us during the run in.
Either way it shows how fine the margins are at the top level, and that luck is always a factor.
Coote could miss the start of next season due to shoulder surgery. Must have been playing with a problem for a while. Good on him.
Think Coote has a mounting number of chronic injuries, the knee brace a few times in the season that a few mentioned, he is obviously very professional and manages his body well.
I think this was an issue with a contract extension with us, hope he can eek a few more seasons out of himself but we may have got the best out of him.
Its always sort of satisfying to know we got the very most out of a player before losing them but I wouldn’t enjoy seeing Coote struggle at Rovers. I hope he goes well for them. He’s been a good servant for us and looked like he loved being with us.
I can imagine our fans still chanting his name next season when he’s lining up conversions.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
Hadn't seen this Wolfie.
Credit to you for fronting up. Again.
Alright this guy is.
I haven't really took it in. I feel it's more of a championship with the focus on the team this one. The sort of fanfare around it, I haven't really paid much attention to. I'm thankful & lucky to support such a great team but I enjoyed the CC win a lot more.
Could it be the Wire's turn next year?
Not sure about the last bit, but agree with the rest.
He has been a great servant for 3 years but time waits for no man*
3 years of great performances with very few poor games and the only stinker I can think of was the CC Final against wire where IMHO he was rushed back into the team after an injury.
Niggly injuries have ended or curtailed many a career, and the older you get the more common they are, and I understand why Coote has taken the multi year contract with Hull instead of the rumoured 12 months we offered.
He was likely to be a support player next season, as we anoint Welsby into that FB position and assuming (inevitably?)Jacks success, we may have then been releasing Coote at the end of the 2022 season with another candle on the birthday cake, more mileage on the clock and maybe some other niggles which could make it difficult for him to get a lucrative multi-year contract.
Good luck to him at Hull KR, but like Mose before him “Once a Saint…….”
*Roby ISN’T a man so is exempt from this point.
Can't stop the spirits when they need you.
This life is more than just a read through.
Ok maybe no singing when he’s kicking goals but i think he’ll get a few ‘Coooootes’ walking the pitch edge after any games against us. I think its a feel good story too. He didn’t know if he had a career after the Cowboys. We signed him with lets be honest, little approval from the fans (myself included). Barba was a hard act to follow and Cootes signing seemed a bit of a let down but he has been great for us.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
He didn't want the leave the NRL, it was widely reported at the time. I think he was amazed by how we fans took to him. The singing of 'He's the reason...' for almost the full 80 mins when we battered Wire at our place in 2019 must have been bizarre for him.
3 Championships, 1 CC, 1 LLS in three seasons for us... not bad!