al283 wrote:Really disappointed - 2 years running we have come up just short.
Fonua immense last night, how many carries & metres made ?? Replacing that will be nigh on impossible.
Major positives - absolute commitment from the squad, fitness & conditioning - Leeds were blowing well before us. Couldn't believe Cuthbertson forced that drop out with a kick on about the 27th offload last tackle !! BUT I think they outskilled us in their offloads & all round handling, our defence was mainly exceptional but needed to be.
Next year will be tougher with Wire, Wigan & Saints likely to be stronger, maybe Hudds. too, not to mention Salford & Cats ( if they survive today ).
Agree massive overall improvement in the club - 4 years ago the last two years would have been a fantasy. IF we are to step up I think it is attack that needs the focus, whether that is some assistance in the coaching for Radders or adding creativity & pace in the squad or both.
Still massive congratulations to AP, Radders all the back room staff & the players for two great years
We will miss Fonua for sure but he does miss tackles and last night came up with five errors.
Not sure that will be good enough for success in the NRL so i wouldnt be surprised to see him back in two or three years.
Our fitness and effort on the field is second to none but you are correct our attack particularly in the opposition 20 needs attention as we rely almost entirely on a sneyd kick on the last tackle.
We attack too deep with players passing the ball backwards sometimes as much as five or six metres which is easy for the opposition to defend.
If you watch the Catleford/Saints game then our match last night this is really highlighted and makes the Castleford attack look slick and our attack slow.
Im sure Radford can see this but it does need attention.
Still gutted from last night as i dont think we will get a better chance of a Grand Final victory than this season with Ellis in the team.
Had no doubt we would have beaten Castleford in the final
