The fact anyone can look at the 2nd half of the SL latch and the cup match and think we were close is really worrying. If that's the standard that's acceptable then no surprise we are where we are at now. Main problem to me looks like mindset. They play as if it doesn't matter whereas Wigan/saints/etc run harder, tackle harder and therefore get the 50/50 calls. Add in the lack of basics and it's a good job the likes of London and hull fc are in SL so we don't finish bottom.

I don’t know if it’s a lack of fitness or whether we just don’t have the right physical specimens to compete with the likes of St Helens. If it’s the former, comments like “trainings over rated for some of these guys” from R.S may give an explanation as to why other teams are fitter. If it’s the latter, that’s worrying because we’re stuck with players who can’t physically compete with the big boys for the rest of the season. Our kick chase is laboured, (not helped by Frawley’s terrible kicks), our line speed in defence is poor, and we never hit the ball at pace in attack, all worrying symptoms of poor physicality. Add to that the engines of our so called “impact” players Lisone and Sangare being pretty poor, it’s no wonder we simply can’t match the intensity of Saints. We should be okay against some of the plodders in Superleague, but when we need to match the big boys physically I’m not sure we can do it.

I dont think our kick chase was anything different to Saints kick chase, the difference was the kicking game, we were kicking it straight down Weslbys throat, meaning he was on the 40/50m line by the time we got to him. Saints seemed to find the ground ot turn our players around 9 times out of 10, meaning their defencise line had longer to get up field.



I've been really disappointed with Frawleys kicking game, hoping it improves.



You're right about hitting the ball at pace though, I cant understand why only a handful of players do it and most of them dont. I cant imagine Smith is telling them not to run onto the ball at pace, so it must be down to the individual players in my mind.

Kicking game is as much about field position as it is skill or technique. If you're having to. kick from your own 30m or 40m area constantly, then the opposition will be starting close to the halfway line more often than not.

But you can still do a great kick from your own half that hits the deck in between the defenders

You can, but even the best kickers won't do that every time if they're constantly kicking from deep within their own half.

I watched the game and I don't think he was superb.

He was OK.

Again he drifted in and out of the game and the majority of his kicks went straight into hands.

I admire your optimism,and you make some valid points, sadly you gloss over the facts we never really troubled the Saints defence, they however made easy yardage against our defence. The big question is are we a good team playing poorly or just an average/poor team.

EVERY team makes easy yardage against us. Seeing teams go 80m in sets is frustratingly common and we are becoming more and more reliant on wonder plays / individual efforts to get ourselves out of our own 20. "passive defence" Im yet to be fully sold on.

it's a tactic. let the other side camp in our 40 for 70 minutes and, if we have any energy left, we'll win it late.



groundbreaking. all those great coaches over the years have got it all wrong.

The further you have to kick it the more time the defenders have to get under it.

There's a difference between an kick to a specific area of the field where your defenders know what to chase and the receiver knows (roughly) where to be to catch it on the full, and a varied kicking game that asks more of your chasers but puts the receivers under much more pressure. That difference is coaching and game plan, and we've clearly decided on the less risky strategy, which also gives the receiver an easier time and more yardage.