Post match vs Saints : Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:31 pm  

Disappointing would be the word I'd use. In my opinion the main factor in Bradford's defeat was that we showed a lack of professionalism today which is hard to take from a side of well experienced players.

Far from trying to blame the referee, I just think that his decisions were laughable at best today and helped Saints kick into gear and swing the momentum of the game. Saints were very professional today though right to the last minute, showed when they pushed us back over our own line, and the game questioned whether our captain is up to the job. When you are on the receiving end of a couple of shockers like we were, the captain needs to do his job and fire up the team to prevent the try onslaught that we received before half time.

There were a few players that went missing today too when Saints turned the heat up, most noticeably for me Burgess. I don't know whether he is starting to believe his own hype, but today he was just lazy. Barely got himself back to the defensive line after the rare occasions that he made tackles, didn't run with much enthusiasm and didn't really justify his selection.

A lot of work is needed from both the coaching staff and the players after that one. McNamara needs to make better use of his substitutions for a kick off, and a tough week's training is warranted starting at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

On the bright side, it's good to see Scruton starting to get some of his fire back and Whitehead put up a decent show for himself. Still, T&A headlines tomorrow will still be about McNamara seeing plenty of positives to work on rather than that the truth.

: Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:37 pm  

Score line flattered Saints...our big problem was the lack of performance of key men. Menzies, Jefferies, Halley and Burgess to name 4. Surprisingly I thought Deacon was our best half back today so good on him. All in all we did alright but doing alright doesnt cut it against Saints

: Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:41 pm  

To be fair I didn't think we played that bad today I just think saints were just to good for us in the end alot stronger and faster than us

: Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:45 pm  

Possibly a bit harsh on Menzies, to me he just showed his age today as he's just not up to 80 minutes at centre anymore. In the first half he was pretty effective, but was clearly tiring at about 30-35 minutes and McNamara should have spelled him until after the break. That's not to say I thought he had a great game, he just didn't have as good a game as he has previously.

: Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:54 pm  

The basic errors which have been effecting us all season were truly evident today and they were the thing that influenced the result the most.

: Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:58 pm  

Meh - scored enough points to compete, but once again got blitzed for twenty or so points in ten minutes.

Bradford coach Steve McNamara:

"Saints had two red-hot spells, one in the first half and one towards the end of the game, but apart from that I thought it was a very even contest.

"We were in control for a large part of that first half and were very, very enthusiastic. For 25 minutes we were sharp offensively, defensively and controlled the game.

"But the arrival of Fa'asavalu, Puletua and Roby really seemed to be the catalyst for them. And they did what has made them the best side in the competition; they punished us for making mistakes. This is a harsh, cruel game and we need to learn lessons from it."

: Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:00 pm  

Not too disappointed with that. Some silly errors but at least Deacon seems to be improving. We went error free for the first half hour or so and Saints giving away cheap penalties actually slowed us down. Our disallowed try should have stood and one of Saints shouldn't. It was a more even contest than the scoreline dictates. Eastmond should have been in the bin and others could have been close, for whatever reason Saints seemed dirty today.

: Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:02 pm  

Bradford coach Steve McNamara:

"Saints had two red-hot spells, one in the first half and one towards the end of the game, but apart from that I thought it was a very even contest.

"We were in control for a large part of that first half and were very, very enthusiastic. For 25 minutes we were sharp offensively, defensively and controlled the game.

"But the arrival of Fa'asavalu, Puletua and Roby really seemed to be the catalyst for them. And they did what has made them the best side in the competition; they punished us for making mistakes. This is a harsh, cruel game and we need to learn lessons from it."

This keeps getting said every week.

: Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:03 pm  

Ewwenorfolk wrote:

Not too disappointed with that. Some silly errors but at least Deacon seems to be improving. We went error free for the first half hour or so and Saints giving away cheap penalties actually slowed us down. Our disallowed try should have stood and one of Saints shouldn't. It was a more even contest than the scoreline dictates. Eastmond should have been in the bin and others could have been close, for whatever reason Saints seemed dirty today.

Why what's your reasoning behind this.

: Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:03 pm  

I thought we played really well in patches but just weren't consistent enough and Saints capitalised on it. Thaler didn't help but it wasn't him who missed tackles or threw poor passes.

Also, I hope that whoever threw that half full bottle of coke towards the tunnel at the end of the game gets identified. No need for that at all.