eddiewaringsflatcap wrote:As a Saints fan I disagree with Potter to an extent.
Yes we suffer when teams try to slow us down, and it does not benefit our flamboyant style of play.
And yet, given the expansive rugby Saints play this has always been a tactic many teams try, not a particularly new phenomenon. For example Huddersfield deliberately tried to 'nobble' Alex Murphy and Tom Van Vollenhoven back in the 60's. A quality team has to adapt.
But there is a bigger issue at stake, and that is the quick PTB reducing skill in general.
It has been a common feature of super league to see a little winger scurry into a tackle, and be half way to already playing the ball before he is tackled - i.e he 'surrenders' himself to earn a qucik PTB.
It is cheap and absolutely horrible for the purist to watch. It is followed by the hooker scooting for an easy gain and this has been a centre piece of not only the majority of SL teams tactics, but the British team itself.
It is no cooincidence we have suffered an alarming decline in the standard of our halfbacks (which neatly coincides with the rise of so called star hookers).
The SL has sacrificed skill and vision in place of brute force and a quick scamper. It is so boring to watch.
It has led to the rise of one dimensional players such as Mickey Higham, who we conveniently ignore cannot pass a rugby ball at the expense of the old Andy Greg's who could break a defence down with subtle touches.
The 'case for the defence' long needed to be restated. For too long good, physical defence has been countered by the bizzare need to 'roll away' or 'MOVVVVE!'
I actually would not have been surprised if we had brought in a rule that forced defenders to help the ball player to his feet at one point.
What a post. Agree with all of that.
If Britain in general is ever going to compete on an International stage again then we have to slow the PTB right down and create players with the creativity to open a defence up.
