Phuzzy wrote:That's exactly the point. Showing respect AFTER the game would have been fine. Showing it during is not. I'll take you back to something Tyson once said which was that he had opponents beaten before they stepped into the ring. You can't go into games with anything less than an 100% attitude or you'll come unstuck. That's what Hastings did yesterday. Do you think you can just turn it off and on at will? We've seen numerous times that you go into a game with the wrong attitude and it has a snowball effect. Our attitude was wrong across the board yesterday and it certainly wasn't helped by our main playmaker's 'respect' for his former team.
I'll answer your questions.
Any and all reactions have an effect on a rugby field. You can't pick and choose which matter. We were still 14-2 up but would you say we put our foot on their throat during that first half? The attitude you have dictates the way you play. But here's the real point. Don't specifically relate it to the first half where you can find an argument to support your view. Relate it to the whole game and,in particular,the second half. Does your assertion still hold true? I would say not.
So patting Powell on the head negates interviews, pre meditated statemens that he won't celebrate if he scores, ignoring his own players when they come to celebrate his try and an all round deference to Salford? Have a word with yourself!
What does 'park the bus' even mean? Perhaps you'd better ask Hastings himselfas your now arguing with him.
Lastly, attitude is cumulative. Do I think him not celebrating is alone responsible for our loss? Of course not. But if no individual action is ever responsible for the outcome of a game then all those individual actions don't matter, do they? Of course,, we both know that isn't true. In top level sport all actions contribute to the whole. The team can win or lose by one person's attitude as it filters through the team. We've seen it often enough in a positive sense from Lockers or when Barrett pulled the 30-31 rabbit out of the hat for example. We've also seen it many times in the negative sense (the difference between the Noble and Madge versions of basically the same team for example or, even more telling, the Millward version of it).
Attitude is everything in top flight sport. I can't believe for a moment that you think any different.
Typed a reply and phone went dead (not surprisingly) before I hit submit.
Cant be bothered rewriting it all but I'll keep it short
If you believe 100% attitude is everything the you cant pick and choose what does an doesnt count.
Lam Joking with Watson at the end of the match, that's a sign that he doesnt want to win 100%, that will have an effect on the next game and more than likely he will have shown those traits in training and at precious games so that will have an effect on that.game and the whole club.
Any messing about in training, any messing about in the stands laughing at something they're looking at on their phones (hint) or any other kind of messing about I.e. at training or even when sat at home having a sneaky chocolate bar or beer and not being or having 100% attitide has an effect.
To provide a single example of a player who in I think most peoples opinions was just showing respect and use it as some kind of bench mark for any loss or perceived problem at Wigan is IMO just ridiculous.
Tou carry on blaming Hastings
I'll look at why weve not played well nor tha 4 times in 40 plus games (90% of which Hastings wasnt here for).