What has happened to our offensive play (compared to last season).
I know it's difficult when any team makes changes to the spine of the team but, our offensive play is truly awful.

We made it difficult for ourselves by only completing 2 sets in the firs 35 minutes, which means that the players are going to be knackered as the game progresses.
However, given that we seem low on confidence, why dont we go back to basics.
Bang the ball up the middle and get a half decent kick away.
We just look lazy, players not working hard enough to do the basics well and our attacking line is so flat that we're making no impact with the ball.
Just far too many errors and penalties, again and what was a mis firing Cas side, without its main playmaker in the second half rolled over us again.
We need Big Dave back just to lift the team as we look utterly lost without him.

I can't decide what to think about our run of 1 win in 8 games Wrencat. Mixed feelings describes it best. We have lost but, barring Salford, not heavily or with too much capitulation. We have, with that exception, been competitive. But last night, as on a few occasions, there was a lot of huff and puff. We creaked in attack like an old bike begging for oiling. A few thoughts on where we go wrong:
1. Errors, pens and dumb plays. Just not getting the little things right and never seeming willing to try something to break the stranglehold. A particularly annoying example was getting a 40/20 with seconds on the clock at the end of the first half. Why did we not try that at any other point? And when we got it then, why did we not try a cross kick with literally 1 play to go at? Cas actually looked light on numbers out left and a decent kick was a pretty low risk option that looked more likely to get a score than a ball in hand play. Just a silly thing but emblematic of poor decisions, of which there were a fair few last night.
2. Last tackle plays. FGS when are we going to improve this aspect of our play? The number of times we end up getting tackled on the 6th or having to put a rushed kick in delivered by someone like Danny Kirmond, is ridiculous. We never try to build pressure. Why on earth our halves cannot learn this skill beats me. We hardly ever force a repeat set.
3. We BADLY miss Dean Hadley and I feel this is one of the biggest factors why we look tame in the forwards by comparison to last season, as is , of course, the loss of Fifita. Do we know when David is coming back?
4. As others have said, we need to start playing players consistently in key positions. I am not sure which of these changes have been forced and which are some sort of rotation system but I think we are changing too much. I still think that Finn, although what he does goes unnoticed by many, marshals us around the pitch better than Hampshire and we look a more organised team with him on the pitch. Miller seems to play better too, alongside him.
5. Kicking game remains average at best
6. Our forwards are big but largely lack punch. Is this tiredness as a result of all the defending we find ourselves doing due to errors and daft pens? Maybe.

But, I have to say, that maybe we need to take a reality check and not panic here. I can't see us failing to make the top 8. We have got most of the hardest fixtures out of the way now. When looking at those 8 gamed beforehand, I thought, I would be happy with 3 wins. We got 1 (probably the least likely!). We are entirely capable of picking up 8 wins from the fixtures we have left which will see us in the 8's by a margin. If we get a Cup run to go with it, I will take that as a good season. I like our players. We do not have top quality across all positions (though we do in quite a few) so I feel we have to be realistic and respect the effort this group always show. Without bigger attendances, new ground and more revenue, we are always going to be limited and I very much admire and respect what we are achieving on the pitch against huge odds

Just on this point. This was one of a few instances where Tupou kills the move. He's had some great games but I wish he'd stop thinking he can bust through solo every time especially when he's got TJ outside.
The disallowed try came when Tupou was missed and the ball went direct to TJ. Probably TJ's only receipt on the wing all night.

[quote="wrencat1873"]What has happened to our offensive play (compared to last season).
I know it's difficult when any team makes changes to the spine of the team but, our offensive play is truly awful.

We made it difficult for ourselves by only completing 2 sets in the firs 35 minutes, which means that the players are going to be knackered as the game progresses.
However, given that we seem low on confidence, why dont we go back to basics.
Bang the ball up the middle and get a half decent kick away.
We just look lazy, players not working hard enough to do the basics well and our attacking line is so flat that we're making no impact with the ball.
Just far too many errors and penalties, again and what was a mis firing Cas side, without its main playmaker in the second half rolled over us again.
We need Big Dave back just to lift the team as we look utterly lost without him.[/quote]
Do you think that may be the problem? Some of the players going out with the attitude that they can't win if Big Dave isn't playing. He is a massive miss though.

We bet saints without big dave with a real gritty performance ,then roll over the next week without so much as a whimper.Against cas the effort was there for all to see ,but the attack was all disjointed and our last tackle options were awful apart from our try and the disallowed one .

Things that I think we got wrong yesterday:
1) Flat line of attack
2) Failure to complete sets of six tackles
3) None creative half back
4) Failure to create overlaps for our wingers
5) Forwards standing still when receiving ball instead of running on to it
6) No one with captaincy skills
7) Not going for the two points when on offer
No one breaking the line in attack
9) Slow play the balls
10) Not varying the kick offs

And that is why we aren't winning games, simple.

So where does the fault lie, is it with the players for not executing the coaches orders, or is it the coach who isn’t giving these orders in the first place. We see games from Wakefield of sheer brilliance, a glimpse of what the player can do when it all drops into place. But all too often we see at best a workmanlike but average team. Consistency is what ever coach strives for in their players, unfortunately we fall short too many times .

On me own again but I thought Pauli Pauli went well, no way he should have played the full 80 though.

No you're not, Pauli did go well, I dunno what the crit for him is all about tbh.
Dunno about mom but he did his bit in a clunky team.




You read that list and wonder why we aren't getting blown off the park.
Surely that is a 40+ point hammering, more likely its a slight exaggeration.
I dunno, there wasn't really much between the sides, definitely not 20 points anyway.
The stats may say different but watching it back its just little bits and pieces here and there that accumulate, a compound of mistakes/poor reffing/end of sets/game management.
It doesn't make us poor, it just means we aren't giving ourselves the opportunity to win.
As always the criticism here is ridiculously harsh, I know its a forum populated by extremists but who actually thought we'd go to Cas and win, who has won at Cas this season ?
Its frustrating I know, frustrating because we know this team can go to Cas and win.
Despite the obvious effort, clearly it just isn't coming together for us atm.