ratticusfinch wrote:
Fair point. Maybe Nicholson and Currie should fight it out for the loose forward spot next season. I picked Nicholson due to him being the future, but he should earn his place like everyone else.
Modern day second rows tend to be second line props (not something I like) so when we're missing our two first choice props it is more glaringly obvious than it would be if Saints had the same issue - Matautia and Sironen would still eat up metres for them.
I understand that Nicholson is young, but the point is that the job on the middle is to make tackles and make meters. There’s no evidence to suggest he can do half of that job. I’m sure he can, and I’m sure on junior grades he has, but if we’re saying that of the two, Currie is the lesser player then that is simply not true. It’s that internal bias owing to expectations and salary.
The point about second rows being extra props was debated last year when Currie was the target again. But we don’t play that style, like it or not. Currie has always done the same, yet rather than replacing him in the mass exodus, we sign a carbon copy for the other side. The club want width from the back row, with leg speed and a bit of ball handling. Which is all well and good when your back three and pack make the meters to get you in position, but they’re not. Games like Saturday show that we’re easily strangled and restricted for meters and momentum, which takes out the ability to go wide. And we don’t have enough in the middle to do anything about it.
I made a point on the other thread that the 6 again rule killed us when we were getting on top. Whenever we look like getting some momentum’s for example Dufty making a few meters on kick return and looking like a quick play the ball to release Ashton to scoot. They would use that rule and completely kill the momentum, let the line get set and strangle us.
So how do you counter that, well you could start your set further up field, meaning the we catch the kick on the full. But that needs kick pressure. To get in a position to pressure the kicker you need to be winning the ruck on the late set tackles. If you wrestle and try and win one against the run of momentum, you risk giving away a late set penalty which is an absolute no-no, so you need to win the early set tackles and squeeze them. But, we don’t. We seen on Saturday Welsby step between Williams and Crowther on kick return. Crowther and Bullock gave away offside penalties on their line. Bullock gives away the penalty on the kick off return… it’s us, our lack of discipline and resilience. We’re the first to crack under the pressure that we’re trying to create. Could be fitness, more likely to be preparedness. How much game like training are we doing under extreme fatigue where these things are tested and practiced. Not enough, evidently.
So we’re not good enough in those arm wrestle elements to play with the width that we want to play. We’ve bought Vaughan, Mikaele (twice), Dudson, Bullock, McGuire, Magoulias, Crowther, Harrison, Kasiano to add to Philbin to try and fix that middle problem. And it’s worse now than when we signed those 9 players. They can’t all be bad players, they’re just under prepared and not fit/motivated enough.
