Joined: Jan 16 2003 Posts: 6734 Location: At the cider bus, Worthy Farm, Somerset
widnes were my tip to finish bottom this season, so far i've seen nothing to change my mind. however this is one of those games where we could get dragged down to their level if we have the wrong attitude. i see the weather could be a bit wild on friday (aftermath of some atlantic storm) but its a bit unclear at this stage.
i would keep shaul in place, he did little wrong last week. the normal move would be a straight swap tala for michaels, and this is what i envisage. could maybe see connor on the bench, though the line up will depend on whether ellis makes the team or not.
Joined: Feb 19 2009 Posts: 1957 Location: East stand!
Mild mannered Janitor wrote:With all due respect to Widnes, they do look like they will struggle this season without Brown. That should not affect they way they defend, but if they go a couple of scores down early (like they did against Cas last weekend) then the flood gates could open. If its tight up until half time, we could be in for a low scoring game.
From our teams point of view.
Michaels in for Talanoa (straight swap).
Ellis to start, Thompson to the Bench in place of Turgut.
Problem selection spot is Full Back. If I were picking the side (which clearly I am not) , I'd give Conner the nod over Shaul. 2 reasons for this. Firstly I'd be telling JS that with the squad we have there is competition for places and that he needs to concentrate on a couple of areas of his game in training. I'd be reassuring him that it would have been easy to drop him after the Hudds game (numerous dropped ball from kick offs / bombs) but that faith was kept and he retained his place. Secondly, and possibly more importantly, I'd want to see Conner having a shot at FB in a relatively low risk game to see how he goes should Shaul be injured or out of the frame in future.
Just my thoughts.
Agree. As of the wigan game..That's the start of 5 games in 24 days ridiculously. Squad as a whole will be needed and connor is short on game time and Shaul is out of form Lot of people saying he did nothing wrong on Friday. .Well great. But we need more. By my reckoning the last time you'd say Shaul had a genuinely good game would be 12 plus games ago. We want to challenge. We need a form fullback. Cas and wigan above us have that. Use this week to stick a rocket up his backside and try jolt him into early 2016 form. Like I say loads of games coming so he'll soon be back in anyway
Joined: Feb 09 2004 Posts: 7735 Location: Here there and everywhere
airliebird,runninglate! wrote:Agree. As of the wigan game..That's the start of 5 games in 24 days ridiculously. Squad as a whole will be needed and connor is short on game time and Shaul is out of form Lot of people saying he did nothing wrong on Friday. .Well great. But we need more. By my reckoning the last time you'd say Shaul had a genuinely good game would be 12 plus games ago. We want to challenge. We need a form fullback. Cas and wigan above us have that. Use this week to stick a rocket up his backside and try jolt him into early 2016 form. Like I say loads of games coming so he'll soon be back in anyway
I was unable to attend the St's game in Friday, but did watch it on TV later. Shaul did ok, but after this below par performance at Huddersfield (which I was at) I'd have been looking for a bit more.
The squad needs to be used and as I mentioned, I'd like to see Conner in a game which was relatively low risk. FWIW, irrespective of how Conner shows (if he was selected at FB for the Widens game), I'd have Shaul back in for the Wigan match the following week. And all week I'd be in his ear telling him that his try there last year was a fluke and he should show us it wasnt a one off
Joined: Jan 30 2004 Posts: 8269 Location: Never never land away with the fairies
C for Cuckoo wrote:Connor to the wing. He isn't going to get picked at 6 for a while with Kelly doing well. And Shaul hasn't done enough wrong to be dropped. If Connor has a good game on the wing then that would put pressure on Shaul when Tala comes back.
To be fair whilst Shaul maybe hasn't done enough wrong to be dropped conversely I don't think he's done enough to hold down his spot.
I have to agree I think maybe putting Connor in at FB this weekend would be a positive in giving JS a shot in the arm so he realises he has to perform much better than he has so far, whilst giving Connor a run out at FB using squad rotation with the pitches being heavy it hasn't suited Shaul anpther valid reason for a change.
Talanoa is a no brainer in that it should be a straight swap with Michaels, winger for a winger otherwise why the hell did we resign him if he isnt played in this scenario?
I really enjoy long walks especially when they are taken by people I don't like!
Mild mannered Janitor wrote:I was unable to attend the St's game in Friday, but did watch it on TV later. Shaul did ok, but after this below par performance at Huddersfield (which I was at) I'd have been looking for a bit more.
The squad needs to be used and as I mentioned, I'd like to see Conner in a game which was relatively low risk. FWIW, irrespective of how Conner shows (if he was selected at FB for the Widens game), I'd have Shaul back in for the Wigan match the following week. And all week I'd be in his ear telling him that his try there last year was a fluke and he should show us it wasnt a one off
Still dont get this love in with Connor.In the game time he has had,and i agree its been limited to only one full game i have seen nothing but average.That said giving him a game at Full back against Widnes is not a bad idea given the recent form of Jamie Shaul but i agree Shaul should be back against Wigan. Why anyone would suggest playing Connor on the wing or moving Griffin and playing Connor at centre ceases to amaze me when we have Steve Michaels available.
Joined: Feb 19 2009 Posts: 1957 Location: East stand!
bonaire wrote:Still dont get this love in with Connor.In the game time he has had,and i agree its been limited to only one full game i have seen nothing but average.That said giving him a game at Full back against Widnes is not a bad idea given the recent form of Jamie Shaul but i agree Shaul should be back against Wigan. Why anyone would suggest playing Connor on the wing or moving Griffin and playing Connor at centre ceases to amaze me when we have Steve Michaels available.
Not sure what you don't see in connor myself Ignore so far with us. Catalans was dire as was whole team so you're halves are always ruined then. Not enough mins in other games What connor has is a beautiful passing game. A kicking game. A bit of go about him in D. Strong. And an eye for the line and can assist tries too. Did plenty of both last yr from no set position and a poor team. Can kick 40.20s as well as had a couple All the above he is better than Shaul. But Shaul is an x factor player with pace and the unexpected in him. Only prob is...Shaul ain't shown that for a long time now Michaels to wing as you say is obviously
airliebird,runninglate! wrote:Not sure what you don't see in connor myself Ignore so far with us. Catalans was dire as was whole team so you're halves are always ruined then. Not enough mins in other games What connor has is a beautiful passing game. A kicking game. A bit of go about him in D. Strong. And an eye for the line and can assist tries too. Did plenty of both last yr from no set position and a poor team. Can kick 40.20s as well as had a couple All the above he is better than Shaul. But Shaul is an x factor player with pace and the unexpected in him. Only prob is...Shaul ain't shown that for a long time now Michaels to wing as you say is obviously
I dont see any ex factor for both fans and the coach to want to include him at the moment. Jordan Abdull has the same attributes as you have pointed out and he is out on loan. I agree his game time has been limited but when you are on the field you have to take your chance with a performance and he hasnt done that so far. As i said previously i wouldnt be adverse to see Connor at full back for the Widnes game with Shaul returning at Wigan. The four forward bench worked well for us last season and i dont see the point changing it and trying to find a place for Connor on the bench when its not necessary. He is a utility player in my opinion and nothing else.
Joined: May 12 2011 Posts: 3338 Location: West Hull
Was going to say Shaul hasn't done anything explicitly wrong but watching the highlights from Saints, for their first try where was he? Looked way, way out of position.
All men are created equal, some work harder in preseason. -Emmitt Smith
Shaul's lacking in confidence and comes across as a player who needs an arm around him rather than a jolt/kick up the back side. 2016 was the only season he's had no competition for his place, and it turned out to be his best. He seems like the kind of player that needs to be comfortable to perform. He does have glaring deficiencies in his game at the moment. Hopefully he'll get 2 or 3 Friday and get that confidence back.
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