I agree re Handley.
It was only to add some pace at FB.
Watched the TV replay and no idea why Sezer was getting all uptight at the end after putting in such a crap kick to Fusitua.
It was if it was Fusi`s fault and not his for playing terrible 99% of the game.

I think this flat line, passive style defence is also a problem for Smith in terms of fan perception. If you win it’s all good, but if you lose then rightly or wrongly a lot of fans view it as players not getting stuck in etc. He got a tune out of it last year and hopefully will again if we get more attacking strike as the year goes on. That leads in turn to their defence being under more stress and less impact in attack. Personally I think we’ve got to stick with him even if first part of year is poor and the whole season disappointing. It might help him to explain it in more detail in press conferences to try and lessen wider fan negativity.

What’s the old saying, if coaches listen to the fans they’ll end up sitting with them.

Of course he has to stay for the year it was always a long term appointment.

Can’t believe some are already wanting him out. Do they realise what we’ve endured with Agar and what the options would be!
The guy took us from relegation to Grand Final last year. Let’s see where at after next two years. We will play some good stuff with Smith…..
May also add he’s not immune to some criticism, I’m not a fan of the no captain, and not sure how Myler ended up first choice FB, or Leeming plays so many minutes, but minor things really…..

I can believe it!!

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None of the proper RL fans I know are saying this. People been watching too much footy, but not noticing the mistakes either….
Just look at Chelsea!!!

The problem with the no line speed from a fan perception is that it is often seen as a really simple attitude/effort indicator alongside kick chase. No line speed can easily be seen as no effort.

But don’t forget a lot of these ‘fans’ calling for smiths head are the same ones who thought Dwyer was a good 9 because he scored a few dive overs and ran lots from dummy half.

I'm not a fan of the passive defensive approach because it ignores the fact that RL is largely a territorial game. Put two basically equal sides against each other, and 9 times out of 10 the winner will be the one that has better field position throughout the game. Its clear as day there's a huge difference starting sets coming off your own line against even 20 yards out. Its far harder running off your line because the defence can compress more and you won't take as many risks moving the ball.

I'm not really sure what's going on, because it looks for sure that its a deliberate tactic, which it almost certainly was when he first arrived. But post the Wire game Smith said that all sides need to be able to defend occasionally when they're being rolled backwards, but did slip in that yardage defence was an issue. So I'm not sure that he is actively pushing this as much as we might think.

Either way I'd prefer a defence that gave away less yardage, particularly when we get the opposition pinned on their own line after a kick.

Not looked at any stats or watched it on TV, but my impression at the game, was that our line speed was much improved and the forwards certainly ran harder. Poor decision making, and lack of speed and athleticism from the spine players was the chief concern for me. Sure the organisation will improve in the coming weeks, but you can't coach pace. Anybody calling for Smith to be sacked needs to reinsert their dummy and have a good nap time.

Saints are the benchmark on how to defend. If they were passive against Penrith they’d have got well beat