Agreed.
Ive said it before.
We dont have any niggle or a Bit of gamesmanship. We try to play champagne rugby in important games. When what we need is to strip it back, play "boring" for a time and get under the skin of the opposition.
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Read my tweet correctly. I said ‘in part’ we lose games especially important one off games because we in simple form are too nice. We lost for several reasons on Saturday. But certainly one reason which contributed was our softness, niceness etc. The two players who might come near are Ashworth and Lees and I hope they develop that side of their game, but I get the impression Saints don’t like that side of them. I do.
Humans are more concerned with having than being.
Ok fair enough.
I'd like to see a quantification of 'softness'/'niceness' as there are different interpretations of this. For example people seem to think it implies a level of dirtiness and I'm not sure I'd buy that. It puts us at risks of penalties and ill discipline and effectively adds to the error count. It also takes focus off doing the things we do best.
Where I think there is more of a point is if its translated into being able to be pragamatic, play the match situation without panicking and ••••ing down our leg. That second half was awful and the epitomy of soft. The team didn't stay patient and mentally disintegrated. We tried ot play too much speed rugby when some good old fashioned hard drives and a kick were needed. I'll also concede we have too many passenger players - Paulo the prime example, but Peyroux and Taia could sometimes do with rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in some old fashioned leg work when situation demands.
I don’t think Lees would have made any difference, plus he’s a terrible tackler and in that heat it would’ve affected him even more. Peyroux seems to be spending more time stretching his legs, while the backs are taking the ball up. Hopefully next season if we have a few players out before a final then we can give them a run out in the reserves.
Can’t disagree with most, but going back to being soft, or more specific not being grubby and clever. Wire examples on Saturday. Hill went off for a head assessment watch it back he did not have a head issue, it was IMO a designed tactic to get him a breather. At least 4 of Wires ball carriers in the 2nd half when we were chasing the game went down with cramp which stopped the play as they had the ball and allowed their players to reset. Peyroux went down back field the game continued. Look I don’t want a cheating team, but the reality is to win you have to play smart take the rules to the limits. Look at Akauola he leads with his shoulder in almost every run. It’s legal, it’s not liked and coaches complain. Why until it’s made illegal why is not Al doing it or Tommo? ‘It’s not cricket’ I guess they will say. F**k cricket it’s about winning. Unless we change our ways from Friday onwards forget a GF win or even an appearance in it. Oh we will probably win at a canter on Friday and hear the crap about getting back after the CCF defeat, but come semi day. We will say whoever we play carry on an bully the crap out of us.
Humans are more concerned with having than being.
For me we should have delayed the departure of Sean Long until we had our preferred NRL coach, if that was exhausted then we could have offered Sean Long a trial 12 month contract with a possible extension if he proves his worthiness. When I heard Longy speak a couple of times early this season I was quite surprised with his technical clarity and tactical game vision it was nothing like that off the cuff maverick style of play we saw on the pitch.
Agree. Lees' problem isn't down to the fact he can't tackle, it's that he bases so much of his defence on physicality and smashing people that he misses tackles from time to time. There's a huge distinction between the two in my opinion. He is also important to our speed game in that he is a fast carrier of the ball who takes the ball into impact at speed and finds his feet quickly which provides space and time for the backs.
Whether Lees would have made a difference I don't know. But someone with his frame you would expect to feel the heat less than the likes of Thompson, or Ashworth particularly.
I think his missed tackles are down to coming out of defence so fast, he usually puts pressure on his opponent, either delaying him or causing an error.
Can't stop the spirits when they need you.
This life is more than just a read through.
Let’s gets back to the original post!!! Any news on who the new coach will be for 2020.
Seems to look like Woolf is firming up by the minute.
Will fit in well with previous experience of losing grand finals. In seriousness Im a bit underwhelmed on this one.
https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post...nd-gossip-178/
We won't know obviously how it's going to work out but in the light of last weekend I have changed my mind on the next appointment.
I think we need an experienced coach to work with this group of players, I think Holbrook has been brilliant for the club but our failings in the last 2 years could be down to his inexperience. I think we need someone to instill a toughness to this team.
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Last edited by Buddy; 28th August 2019 at 22:59.
Exactly. Surely the club need a wise old head with a track record of winning big games and the self confidence that goes with it; not a comparative rookie who has also failed in Grand Finals.
Its disappointing the club are looking at this option. Surely there are better alternatives than a novice who has won no major trophies and will want to disappear back home in 18-25 months.
Originally Posted by Despondent Dave
I admit I don't have a name to suggest but to be fair people are paid for doing that job so it's not necessarily relevant.
I've been doing a lot of thinking back to the "bridesmaid" days and I think the comparisons are there. Talented players who were within a hairs breadth of winning the league but failed at the last hurdle. Things only changed when we appointed a good man manager in Eric Hughes and brought in players like Nickle, Sullivan (both following the '91 cup defeat) Joynt and Goulding.
I think we need an experienced man at the helm and some leaders in the squad. Easier to ask for than get but if we want to win big games we need both.
Let inexperienced coaches learn on someone else time
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Was Price an inexperienced assistant in the NRL before he was recruited by Warrington? This is a genuine question because I don’t really follow the NRL.
I can’t think of any experienced coaches in this country who may be available. Wane did an interview with BBC North West and hinted that he might fancy a return to Rugby League. A lot of our fans would be most unhappy with him and a lot of Wigan fans would be posting about “agent Wane” after any Saints’ loss.
We definitely need some leaders with experience of winning big games.