Re: Batley this week : Tue Mar 15, 2016 4:52 pm  

HamsterChops wrote:

Thomas came into the halves, where he was garbage. Offered next to nothing in attack and didn't look like he could tackle a 5 year old. Thomas to me proved on Sunday why we signed Mathers.

Harsh. Coming off the bench to slot in t half back is never easy. Thomas played at 7 so not showed why it showed why we signed Matters who played full back (who also let the ball bounce about 3 times) Thomas was very good in the friendlies at FB.

Also was Thomas worse than Addy who knocked on or threw a forward pass on at least 3 occasions or Gaskell who kicked it out on the full and equally can up with as many errors.

No idea how you've singled Thomas out as the garbage one.

Re: Batley this week : Wed Mar 16, 2016 9:23 am  

Just watched highlights. Lots of ifs and buts I know but just watch that last Penalty that was given. Batley Hooker at dummy half didnt appeal, nor did the guy that was tackled. Merry Flag Waver trots on to give Batley a 2 point present.

Re: Batley this week : Wed Mar 16, 2016 10:43 am  

If you are 12 points up you shouldn't really complain if the ref gifts them a last minute penalty that means you have thrown points away. Last year we complained there were no enough intensity but this year in the two intense games we have had we have failed to win either.

Re: Batley this week : Wed Mar 16, 2016 10:51 am  

rugbyreddog wrote:

If you are 12 points up you shouldn't really complain if the ref gifts them a last minute penalty that means you have thrown points away.

Precisely. Yes the penalty looked soft, but if you're only winning by 2 at the end, you have yourself to primarily blame.

Had the game management been better, we'd have been up by more points. As we wouldn't have given the ball away so stupidly, allowing them a try, or we would have kicked a drop goal and they'd have had to run that penalty instead of kick it.

Re: Batley this week : Wed Mar 16, 2016 11:33 am  

Yeah then put up a high ball which we wouldn't have dealt with, and we'd have lost !!

Re: Batley this week : Wed Mar 16, 2016 1:53 pm  

Bullseye wrote:

O’Brien rolled his ankle which is why he was subbed. I hope it’s not too serious or we’ll be regretting sending Halafihi on loan.

I agree about the kicking 100%. Our kicking game was abysmal. This has long been a weakness in Gaskell’s game and he looks no better this season. Addy was also anonymous in this respect. We failed to build any pressure with kicks at all. Ok we might have dropped the ball or passed forward on a few occasions before we got to the 5th tackle but when we did complete a set the kick was usually garbage.

Although Cain Southernwood is a bit slow he looked a better scrum half than Danny Addy on Sunday.

Been thinking about this a bit. TBH until batley game didn't think our last tackle kicks had been particularly poor this year. That combined with our seeming unwillingness to test batley with high bombs makes me wonder wether the slope at batley was an issue. Heard it mentioned numerous times that the angles are deceptive and its tricky to judge kicks if you aren't used to it. Obviously not something that would affect batley as they play on it every other week.

Re: Batley this week : Wed Mar 16, 2016 1:59 pm  

Yes, the challenges of playing Batley were too much for us. We need easier opposition.

[Bullseye]

Re: Batley this week : Wed Mar 16, 2016 4:22 pm  

Batley were practising bombs throughout the warm up and it struck me how accurate they were with their kicks during the game. This was in contrast to our last tackle kicks. I think we forced one drop out in the second half but my memory could be out. The Gaskell kick out on the full was bad as was the grubber straight into the defender's legs. I seem to remember Addy booting it into the head of a Batley player in the first half too.

You can't build pressure if your kicking game is bad. Thing is kicking skills can be honed by practice. It's not some sort of dark art. Addy is capable of kicking very well - he's just too inconsistent. Much like the rest of his game. On his day he can produce something top quality but it's usually provided along with a load of dross too. Do they need specialist help? Do they practice enough. Your guess is as good as mine.

The current side would be transformed with a playmaking scrum half added to it. The current side is fine in every department apart from this. It reminds me of Northern when Harkin was injured or before we signed Deryck Fox. More recently it's reminiscent of when Orford left us in the lurch and we relied on sub standard or makeshift halfbacks.