Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 6:04 am  

Phuzzy wrote:

Mate, with all due respect, just read that back. You weren't playing Melbourne Storm! You were playing a championship side and not a particularly good one at that. Their "best" players (and I use the term loosely) where Scott Grix who was hardly a superstar even in his prime, let alone several years past it and Mr Creosote at 6. We're not talking Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk here! Mind you, they did have a 30 year old electrician at hooker and you only had current international and 2 time Man Of Steel, James Roby so perhaps it wasn't the mismatch we all think it was.

Come on.. I get you're defending your side but we all know that was a shi-ite performance against a mid table, rag tag of championship part timers. To dress it up as anything else is utterly ridiculous. Have a word with yourself.

And people wonder why AS108 exists when a genuine attempt at a post gets treated like this. “Have a word with yourself”.

I will break it down slowly. The game plan meant it didn’t matter who we were playing. We played the same game plan as we did against Warrington. The “rag tag part timers” played the game of their lives and held on for longer than anyone expected sure, and you can accuse Saints of having too much respect but it got us through (something people are all too eager to point out hasn’t happened in a semi final for a while).

I also contend that the performance has been massively overblown as awful because that’s what people want to see. We uncharacteristically lost the ball over the line a couple of times, were characteristically pulled back for non existent offences a couple of times, all of which kept the score lower than expected. As I said in my original post, it wasn’t the game for wide expansive rugby that piles on the points, and controlled the game to the point it was won from the first try.

There was a lot of fitting to a narrative yesterday and seems like that’s happening post match too.

Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:15 pm  

Magic Superbeetle wrote:

And people wonder why AS108 exists when a genuine attempt at a post gets treated like this. “Have a word with yourself”.

I will break it down slowly. The game plan meant it didn’t matter who we were playing. We played the same game plan as we did against Warrington. The “rag tag part timers” played the game of their lives and held on for longer than anyone expected sure, and you can accuse Saints of having too much respect but it got us through (something people are all too eager to point out hasn’t happened in a semi final for a while).

I also contend that the performance has been massively overblown as awful because that’s what people want to see. We uncharacteristically lost the ball over the line a couple of times, were characteristically pulled back for non existent offences a couple of times, all of which kept the score lower than expected. As I said in my original post, it wasn’t the game for wide expansive rugby that piles on the points, and controlled the game to the point it was won from the first try.

There was a lot of fitting to a narrative yesterday and seems like that’s happening post match too.

Give over! You were one defensive lapse from going into the sheds at half time with real egg on your faces! Halifax repeatedly gifted you the ball, including kicking out on the full several times and still you couldn't do much with it until the part timers started to tire towards the end. Don't try and dress this up as a rugby league tactical masterclass. Everyone else, practically in the history of the game, has managed to put a cricket score on a mid table championship side when they've come up against them. That you didn't wasn't some cunning plan. It's because you were poor.

Now, that you mention that you hadn't managed to get past a semi in some time is fair comment as to why you played the way you did. I fully accept that. But why, then, question NickyKiss when he said the same thing? That's the "narrative" we get from Saints fans repeatedly on here. "Everything Saints do is wonderful and don't you dare question it unless you're a Saints fan."

A118 118 exists on here because he's a d!ck. Join him if you like, that's your choice. However, if you're coming on here to genuinely chat about and discuss rugby league then you're more than welcome but don't expect us to toe the RedVee party line. Saturday was not a rugby league masterclass against dangerous opposition. It was a relatively poor performance against part time, mid table championship opposition and to dress it up as anything else is disrespectful on a Wigan board that is quick to acknowledge when our own team has played poorly.

Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:08 pm  

oh dear https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/the-mole-gold-coast-titans-hire-justin-holbrook-as-new-coach/77a96b84-addf-4df3-93f4-b4954648b208?ocid=Social-NRLFS

oh dear https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/the-mole-gold-coast-titans-hire-justin-holbrook-as-new-coach/77a96b84-addf-4df3-93f4-b4954648b208?ocid=Social-NRLFS

Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:18 pm  

[Gareth] wrote: oh dear https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/the-mole-gold-coast-titans-hire-justin-holbrook-as-new-coach/77a96b84-addf-4df3-93f4-b4954648b208?ocid=Social-NRLFS Oh dear indeed... Having said that tho - is he as good as we're all making out? If he fails to win anything again this year he's not actually done anything. Madge had already won the league and the CC in the same time period.

[Gareth] wrote: oh dear https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/the-mole-gold-coast-titans-hire-justin-holbrook-as-new-coach/77a96b84-addf-4df3-93f4-b4954648b208?ocid=Social-NRLFS Oh dear indeed... Having said that tho - is he as good as we're all making out? If he fails to win anything again this year he's not actually done anything. Madge had already won the league and the CC in the same time period.

Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:22 pm  

Hope he takes Thompson with him

Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:24 pm  

What a blow that would be for them. They’ve got a good team but they’ve one man to thank for the unbelievable turnaround of some players within that squad and for their league game dominance these last two seasons. We all know how good guys like Roby and Walmsley are but it’s the improvements Holbrook has dragged from players like Peyroux, Fages, Lomax, Makinson etc that has got them on the path to potentially winning things.

I’d be sad to see him go in truth. He seems a good guy and somebody like that driving standards makes teams across the board up their game.

Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:27 pm  

hes madge mk 2

Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:28 pm  

Pieman wrote:

hes madge mk 2

Nah, as mentioned above, Madge won trophy's

Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:30 pm  

Pieman wrote:

hes madge mk 2

He’s had that sort of impact for sure although he looks a little less ruthless (maybe that’s why they’ve struggled in big games). He’ll be a loss to the league IMO.

Re: Why do Saints look unbeatable? : Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:38 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

He’s had that sort of impact for sure although he looks a little less ruthless (maybe that’s why they’ve struggled in big games). He’ll be a loss to the league IMO.

True but as long as it hurts Saints....
Seriously though it raises lots of interesting points. Will he leave with real silverware? Will any Saints players go with him? Who will replace him?