Re: Rangi Chase : Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:38 am  

Yeamo wrote:

The guy was awesome tonight, plays a lot like Richard Horne. He has pace, power and a great rugby league brain, great recruit.

He's a good lil player. I always thought he'd go well for Castleford and was surprised that he didnt make more of an impact in the ozzie league.

: Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:08 am  

mattsbury wrote:

tbh most cas fans haven't rated him so far

He's 22, just come to a new club, different country, it was bounded to take him some time to settle. TM has played it right introducing him gently from the bench.

As Marshy says, his main asset is running the ball and attacking the line, he's looked to me short on confidence to do that. With time the confidence will come and on Friday there were green shoots of that.

In answer to people not rating him, people need to learn to be more realistic and patient with players. You would expect the likes of Jones, Ferres, Hudson & Netherton to slot in quicker as they're in fairly familiar surroundings but for Rangi it was always going to be the case that his best rugby would come in 2010.

: Tue Mar 24, 2009 3:53 pm  

StuMain wrote:

He's 22, just come to a new club, different country, it was bounded to take him some time to settle. TM has played it right introducing him gently from the bench.

I've been quietly annoyed at a lot of Cas fans for being quick to jump on his back. I wouldn't mind, but he hasn't even had a bad game. He's made one or two wrong choices during games, but he's made no mistakes, done his fair share of tackling, (and he can hit hard too) and done ok, the game against Hull was his best so far, game 6 of a new life in a new country with a new club and new team mates.

I think some people need to think a bit more on the position of stand off and what is expected. I will admit, that many teams nowadays have a scrum half and stand off and there's not much between them. They often play a similar game with each taking charge of one side of the pitch. A traditional stand off is usually the guy (like Rangi) who attacks the line on his own, looking for the gaps or even creating them for himself with an elusive side step or in Rangis case on friday, just never ever stopping and letting himself be tackle twisting and turning ducking and diving etc.

Rangi already seems to have been labeled "greedy" which is what many stand offs are. Shifty runs toward the line and then throws a pass which takes out the defence and puts someone through, or puts the kick in or even just grabs the ball and starts the attack in a specific direction (doesn't always have to be the killer ball, just spotting the weakness and sending the ball that way). Rangi often takes on the line himself, as a stand off should do, and holds on to the ball as he tries to brake the defence. Ok, from a nice seat in the ground or high vantage point on the terrace it's plainly obvious sometimes that the ball should go and the guy out wide can score a certain try, but when you're in the middle of the park it's not so easy.

I'm happy with Rangi so far and can see that he has potential to become a cracking player for us. I spoke to a friend about him at the Salford game and said i expected Matterson to ease Rangi in gently (ooh eerr! ) over the next half a dozen games and gently tell Faumuina he wants him in the second row. It seems that's happening already and Rangi, Cas and us fans will see the benefit of this.

: Wed Mar 25, 2009 1:01 pm  

marshman wrote:

I'm happy with Rangi so far and can see that he has potential to become a cracking player for us. .

Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of our fans understand the word 'potential'.

It was the same when Sherwin came over - fans expected him to be breaking the line and creating tries from his very first game. Some fans are only concerned with the 80 minutes they are currently watching. Lots of RL fans are very fickle and the same fans that were /are writing him off after 6 games, may be hailing him a saint (a la Sherwin) at the end of the year...and if he doesn't have a great game on Sunday, the same fans will be saying the Hull game was a flash in the pan ! Fans views change after 80 minutes and from one week to the next.

There's a lot more pressure on overseas signings these days. Because someone has played in the NRL, which subconsciusly everyone thinks is a better grade than Super League, they are instantly expected to be a success. If they aren't a hit immediately, we get the 'overpaid Aussie / Kiwi' spiel. Granted we have had our share of these in the past and some grace Super League in other teams now, but these players have to be given time. A player born in Cas is giving far more time to integrate than an overseas player. It's the nature of all SL fans I think.

: Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:14 pm  

Poker Face wrote:

Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of our fans understand the word 'potential'. It was the same when Sherwin came over - fans expected him to be breaking the line and creating tries from his very first game. Some fans are only concerned with the 80 minutes they are currently watching. Lots of RL fans are very fickle and the same fans that were /are writing him off after 6 games, may be hailing him a saint (a la Sherwin) at the end of the year...and if he doesn't have a great game on Sunday, the same fans will be saying the Hull game was a flash in the pan ! Fans views change after 80 minutes and from one week to the next. There's a lot more pressure on overseas signings these days. Because someone has played in the NRL, which subconsciusly everyone thinks is a better grade than Super League, they are instantly expected to be a success. If they aren't a hit immediately, we get the 'overpaid Aussie / Kiwi' spiel. Granted we have had our share of these in the past and some grace Super League in other teams now, but these players have to be given time. A player born in Cas is giving far more time to integrate than an overseas player. It's the nature of all SL fans I think.

Great post.I dont just think its a sl fans nature though but a universal nature that everyone wants things to be successful quickly. Just look at the football managers they get at most 6 months now to make a club a success if they dont they out the door.Its the same in all sports now that success is a must and it needs to be instant. I understand that all fans pay good money to watch their beloved team week in week out and in doing so have a right to pass judgement on the team they are playin their part in funding, but along the way common sense has been lost. The understanding that a team needs to be built to be strong and cope with the competition is lost on many a fan.They see the win lose column and nothing else.I admit if a team is losing every week and showing no effort then yes, fans have a right to boo and call for the managers head, but if a structure is in place to build over time and effort is being put into making that happen then fans need to learn to be patient and not throw in the towel before anything has had a chance to happen. Had Terry Matterson been a football manager then last year he would most likely have been sacked for finishing bottom and the club and fans wouldnt have enjoyed the start to the season under Matterson that we have had so far this year.Remember Rome wasnt built in a day. The same principle applies for players one bad start to a season or even if a player doesnt score enough tries people slate them and want them out and probably are oblivious to the work and effort they are putting into making themselves and the team the fan supports a success.

: Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:45 pm  

Plenty of wise words spoken on this thread.

I must admit that at the end of the opening game against Quins I was very disappointed principally because I thought we'd blown a very good chance to open our season with a win against a side who I perceived to be one of the weakest in the league. Hence if we couldn't beat them at home we weren't going to get too many wins this season. Of course subsequent results have shown my initial assessment of both sides to be wide of the mark!

However, even whilst being dispirited myself I was disgusted by the booing from a number of Cas fans and the disparaging comments from many more as we were leaving the ground.

I always thought making the amount of signings we did this year could leave us with a side that may take half the season to find it's feet so to be where we are after only 6 games is amazing. It's likely to be the case that the team will continue to make big improvements as the season continues and players get more used to each other and with that in mind the future does indeed look filled with promise!