Andy Greg wrote:Not an excuse its the truth when they are out on the field the only control he has over them is sending a message down or subing players. He is not allowed to run on the field and bang there heads together. He tells them what he wants before the game and to do what they practiced and when they walk out there its down to them to put that into practice. If they dont the next time he cam get to them is Half time. Why can people not see what is black and white the second half showed how they planned to play the game just the first half they lost the plot.
The second half fightback could just as easily be put down to two other things: Warrington deciding the game was over at halftime and taking their foot off the gas (which is why they'll lose the final, because Huddersfield didn't do that), and Wigan also thinking the game was over, thus relieving the pressure on themselves and having a proper go at it.
Wigan were unprepared mentally for that semi, as they've been unprepared mentally for almost every do-or-die match under Brian Noble. A top side should not fall apart simply because it goes behind unexpectedly. That's exactly what happened against Catalan. It shows a level of nervousness that will prevent you ever winning silverware unless you get firmly on top of it, and you can only do that with proper perparation.
We could also do with some NRL-type sessions spent hammering the basics, like handling skills, ball control, knowing when and when not to attemt an offload, knowing when and when not to kick possession away. All of these things are within the coach's remit. The odd game you can put down to indivuals players have brainstorms. But when it always seems to go wrong in the matches that matter, you have to start querying what level of training is going on behind the scenes.