: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:13 pm  

i don't get this thread.

McClennan has been afforded no more leeway then smith ever was.

smith 1st season won the title = dogs bollox.

bluey first season won the title = dogs bollox.

Only towards the end of smiths 2nd season did people have doubt.

bluey is only 1/3 of the way through the 2nd season so if people are doubting bluey now he's been given less leeway than smith.

: Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:45 am  

Snake Eater wrote:

bluey is only 1/3 of the way through the 2nd season so if people are doubting bluey now he's been given less leeway than smith.

Or you could say his effect has waned sooner?

Re: Why such leeway for Bluey? : Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:36 am  

G1 wrote:

Last night I wondered if Mal Reilly was back on the coaching staff.

One man rugby and no support play.

At least Reilly focused on a decent kick at the end of the sets.

IF the boys are playing to his game plan we're in deep trouble.

In Reilly's solo tenure there were times we could score 50 points very uninspirationally.

At the moment it's not like the slumps of recent years where we are losing games we could have won. Games we have lost this year we've never looked like winning.

One out rugby & unsupported breaks is not something the present squad should be producing.

Yes the last 2 seasons have shown the middle of the season doesn't matter & leeway was probably given last year after the finishing run of 2007.

There is probably more chance of winning the grand final and not the league leaders again this year but i don't expect to be bored in the meantime.

Good luck to Ellis we're certainly missing him, i'm not sure who we could have got to play as strong a game as he did.

: Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:33 am  

Kifaru wrote:

Or you could say his effect has waned sooner?

Only time will tell. I just think our players look knackered. The forwards look knackered, mcguire and burrow look jaded (mentally as well), webb still not right after his injury and we are very low on confidence which is contributing to the knackered look.

loads of people seem to be sh*tting themselves and beefing but we'll get our mojo back eventually.

: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:34 am  

Another example of club coaching and having to hold the attention of and motivate players for 40-odd weeks of the year being differenent from short hits in representative tournaments?

Perhaps McLennan has truly run out of ideas?

: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:01 pm  

Andy Gilder wrote:

Another example of club coaching and having to hold the attention of and motivate players for 40-odd weeks of the year being differenent from short hits in representative tournaments?

Perhaps McLennan has truly run out of ideas?

Why can't people just see it for what it is, a low on confidence team in a bad run of form.

There's always got to be some ''big reason''.

- blueys run out of ideas
- his influence has worn off
- teams have us figured out
- our squad is too weak

Blah blah blah.

The reality is that we can't get it together at the moment, but it will come back, sure enough.

: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:06 pm  

Snake Eater wrote:

The reality is that we can't get it together at the moment, but it will come back, sure enough.

How can you be so sure? Is it a given that Leeds will be up there at the end of the season?

I personally have little faith in McClennan and haven't since last season when I was saying the same thing.

The reason why we're playing so badly in his opinion? We're not contolling the ruck.

So, because we aren't controlling the ruck our defence is poor, our kicking game is non-existent, we're dropping the ball, we aren't backing up and we aren't offloading.

Right, ok Bluey, whatever you say.

: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:10 pm  

Snake Eater wrote:

Why can't people just see it for what it is, a low on confidence team in a bad run of form.

There's always got to be some ''big reason''.

- blueys run out of ideas
- his influence has worn off
- teams have us figured out
- our squad is too weak

Blah blah blah.

The reality is that we can't get it together at the moment, but it will come back, sure enough.

So if you're Brian McLennan, you shrug your shoulders sure in the knowledge that it will all come right eventually?

: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:34 pm  

Mr Scruff wrote:

How can you be so sure? Is it a given that Leeds will be up there at the end of the season?

I personally have little faith in McClennan and haven't since last season when I was saying the same thing.

The reason why we're playing so badly in his opinion? We're not contolling the ruck.

So, because we aren't controlling the ruck our defence is poor, our kicking game is non-existent, we're dropping the ball, we aren't backing up and we aren't offloading.

Right, ok Bluey, whatever you say.

The truth is you can never be sure, it isn't a given that leeds will be up there at the end.

But this team has been there and done it before. 3 titles in 5 years and 4 grand finals in 5 years. So those facts alone should give us some faith.

We've hardly played well all season, yet we are what, 3rd on points difference?

If our form picks up abit we should be able to nail 2nd place and thus once again be in a good position for a grand final appearence.

Controlling the ruck helps the game to flow your way. You find gaps easier because the defence is on the backfoot and when defending, your line has chance to set and smother the opposition. Controlling the ruck is a big part of the game.

The kicking game is a mystery. It has been very poor but we've all seen how good it can be, look at the grand finals. But when you are on the backfoot in a game it's much harder to get a decent kick in and that's what we are finiding.

: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:35 pm  

Andy Gilder wrote:

So if you're Brian McLennan, you shrug your shoulders sure in the knowledge that it will all come right eventually?

I'm not Brian McClennan, though.