2013 Players/Season Review : Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:48 am
Just wanted to give my general view on how the season has gone and how the players in the squad went on so will start with the players:-Ryan Fieldhouse - The clubs top tryscorer and looks like he has a real eye for the try line. Last season he looked like he had bags of potential and could kick on this season. Although his record speaks volumes at times he has looked short of confidence maybe because he seems to be one of a few individuals who gets dropped for every little mistake he makes. Room for improvement but the potential is still obviously there. 7/10
Rob Worrincy - For me up there with the best wingers in the league, for KH another fall guy. Im at a total loss as to why he hasnt played the last few games and think the injury smokescreen is BS. Another player who with a bit of work has the potential to kick on and do well in the game. Makes more yards then our other wingers, earns more penalties than any other player in the team with his quick play the balls. Again theres areas he could do better but I feel if he wants to improve then he is playing under the wrong coach. 6/10
Steve Tyrer - Started the season slowly and was probably rightfully dropped but has got better as the year has gone on. He does seem to have the odd defensive lapse in his game but its something the coaching staff should be working on in the off season now they have had a lot of time with most of the players. Would be nice to see him have a bit more ball but that was never going to happen this season. I think he could have a good year for us next season. 7/10
Lee Patterson - He has been a really good servant to the club and is Mr dependable. He will not let you down but as I said earlier in the season its probably the right time for him to move on as I think we can attract better players to fill his role. I think he will do a very good job at a lower team in this division. 5/10
Wayne Rettie - Another who has got better as the year has gone on. He does not make too many mistakes and although not your typical try scoring winger he does get through a lot of hard graft that others may shirk. His style fits very much in to KH`s game plan. As for areas to improve it would be nice to see him maybe go around someone instead of through them because he certainly isnt short of pace. 7/10
Ben Heaton - possibly the only player under KH to show any improvement and I actually think he can kick on and become a bit of a beast of a centre at this level. He has shown in the games against Sheffield how he can go well against the best in the league. He cant pass a ball though and the coaching staff should be working with him on that in the off season, again though it does not really matter at the moment with out style of play. Expecting a big season off him next year. 7/10
Rikki Sheriffe - At of a bit of a loss what to say really on him. Im a bit stuck as to what he offers the team that others don't. He was caught wanting so many times on Thursday and for me it was kind of summed up when he dropped that ball with open field in front of him. If he takes it he has a free run but we all said he would not have got there. If it were Worrincy theres a chance he still drops the ball but you could bet your last pound that if he does catch it he scores under the sticks. Ive heard he has been offered another contract but I hope it isn't true because we can do so much better. 5/10
Mick Nanyn - who? Got fit sent out on loan when he could maybe have been an asset for us. Not sure on the thinking behind that really.
Paul Handforth - This was probably a season too far for him at Fax. I think he was a touch unlucky that his best position for us has been at hooker and he looked good there but due to injuries and disruptions he has spent a lot of time at half back. At times he has shown glimpses of his quality but it did not happen often enough and a team wanting to be the best needs better options in the halfs. 6/10
Anthony Thackery - Flatters to deceive should be on his report. At times he looks like a quicker version of Ben Black but the truth is that he lacks the real star man quality that Ben Black had and he hasnt seemed to improve at all under the current coaching staff. The fact we ended the season looking better without him probably speaks volumes really. 5/10
Anthony Bowman - Another has has shown no improvement over the last few years although to be fair to him he did play some of his best rugby at centre for us. When KH bowed to fan pressure and put him back in after Thackery`s injury he went on to be anonymous in the games that he played. Truth is he is never going to be a regular first team player at Fax. 4/10
Tony Tonks - Consistently probably our best player all year. I have not seen him have a bad game for us. Total animal and for me the best prop in the division. I wish he could do more minutes but the damage he does on the pitch in those minutes is second to none. Sorry for him he never got a fair crack in SL but delighted for us. More of the same next season. 9/10
Craig Ashall - For me he looked a good find at the start of last season but hasn't improved since. I think he has finished the season well but in the grand scheme of things he has also been unlucky that poor recruitment thrust him in to the hooking role and he is simply not good enough to be a number 9 at a top level championship club. His best position is clearly 13 but unfortunately for him we have better. I think he would do a very good job at a lower or mid table team if used correctly. 6/10
Luke Ambler - A bit like Tonks has been very good for us this year and we will expect more of the same next season. For me the only thing lacking in his game is a bit more of the raw aggression that Tonks seems to have. Still very young for a prop though and think with some good coaching can get even better. 8/10
Dane Manning - In the top 3 second rowers in the competition for me. When on form he is like a machine tackling anything that moves. Pure text book tackler, legs, lift, smash, and on yer back. I think he could do a job in SL and Batley fans thinking they were getting him back, yeah right the lad should be heading upwards not downwards. 8/10
Andy Bracek - I thought he let himself down a bit on Thursday night but I think he has had a real solid first season at Fax. Gets stuck in, is good on his feet, and puts in some big hits, prone to the odd mistake but I think he can be even better next season. 7/10
Scott Murrell - Best player in the league by a mile for probably half if not 3/4 of the season. Pure quality and if lacking a couple of yards of pace easily makes up for it with his reading of the game. Then he broke his hand and his form dipped massively, for me that was the turning point but credit to the lad because he took one for the team because he should not have even been playing. A joy to watch as he fires up his team mates but as could also be seen Thursday when they scored their last play walking out to the dejected players walking back and offering support. A real captain and we are lucky to have a player of that quality at this level. With a top quality quick scrum half in our team next season to compliment him we could be electric. 9/10
Karl Ashall - For some we had signed a player with potential to become better than Penky, the reality is we had panic bought a player who is well out of his depth. That may sound like me been really harsh but he is still young and could still make it at this level but his tackling would need to vastly improve and his decision making at times was really, really poor. On the plus side on the back of a quick play the ball and pick up he could put the defence to the test but that didnt happen often enough. 4/10
Adam Robinson - I think he has the potential to be a top quality player at this level but has struggled badly with injuries all season just as he got some form. He wont really let you down and has scored some top drawer trys and hits well in defence, just needs a bit more luck in the injury department next year. 6/10
Sam Barlow - its fair to say he was very poor for us this season and if the rumors flying about do happen to be true then I hope he gets what he deserves. I feel very sorry for Leigh if he does actually play for them that they will have his disruptive influence in their team. 3/10
Iain Davies - Looked ok in a couple of games for us then got injured and not had a chance since. By all accounts has not really stood out in the unders that much so pretty hard to say if he could break in to the first team. 4/10
Luke Adamson - Good quality signing and looks good in defence and attack. Really the only thing that he needs to work a lot on is his knack of giving away penalties. Our most penalized player at the back end of the season and sometimes they are really needless penalties. Should be good for us next season. 7/10
Callum Casey - Pretty much a squad player who for me looks like he will struggle to nail down a position in the team. To be fair to him though where he is thrown in he always does a good job and never lets us down. He will struggle though with the utility player tag because there is a lot of players in front of him in every position. I thought he could maybe be given a shot at hooker this year because he has a good pair of hands on him but it has not happened. I guess for next season all we can ask for is more general improvement from him. 6/10
Ross Divorty - Steady Edie really. Does lots of good stuff for the team and rarely has a bad game. Probably in the same ilk as Ambler in that for such a big guy I would like to see him have a bit more aggression in his game but hopefully thats something he can work on. It would take a very good player to oust him from the team. 7/10
Ben Davies - Has done ok since he signed for us. Is he worth another contract? I would say yes and think he will do better as he comes more familiar with everyone. Does not seem to make many mistakes although you dont tend to notice him as much as our other big men. It takes time to settle and if he does not sign then we must have a good player lined up to replace him. 6/10
That brings me to Karl Harrison and I must say along with a lot of others Im very much undecided if he is the right man for the job or not. I know people moan about how dire at times the rugby has been to watch but I also think at times it has been pretty good. We were shown up in crucial areas which has to fall down to the coach and I also totally disagree with his recruitment policies of no overseas and no loan players however I do agree with the dual reg fiasco. Ive said many times that I do not care where a player comes from who plays for us as long as it is the benefit of the team.
The Barlow situation just shows that just because you are from Halifax means you should get any preference over any one else. I cannot tell you how jealous I am of the quality overseas players that Sheffield have. They are the type of players who I would pay good money to watch and who you look forward to watching. We have probably been blessed over recent seasons in that respect which just highlights now our lack of creativity in those key positions.
Recruitment - A mixed bag this season. We have brought Murrell in along with Adamson who have been very good but we knew where the problems lay before the season started but not only did we get rid of Penky we did not replace him with another quality hooker. When you take in to account that Penky wanted to stay you can see what a massive mistake that was. The half backs were the other obvious problem but both were signed on 2 year deals and we knew last season that the combination want working. Sticking with that hurt us. Jury is still out on this one and if the rumors are true about signings for next year then most people wont be over excited. 6/10
Tactics - The team has been built around raw power and getting on top of teams. However we do not have the halfs to kick on in big games when we do get on top which to be fair is in most games. At times we have tried to play some expansive rugby but KH bemoaned the fact about players who all have slow passing movements yet I take it he knew this when assembling the team. Results wise it was good enough to have us finish 3rd in the league which isnt too bad but we were found wanting in most big games. A couple of tweeks I think we could be very good. 7/10
Player Performance - For me this is the big area of question. A coaches job is to get the best out of his players but on the face of it then its hard to find many whos game has really improved under Harrison in fact some have gone backwards and it seems the wish is to take any sort of flair out of the team. One criticism that i hear of KH is his willingness to bollock the players for doing things wrong but a real lack of crediting players when they do well. Maybe that explains why their seems to be a lack of confidence in one or two of our players. When you are afraid to make mistakes you take the safe option hence the style of rugby we seem to have. That was never a problem under Calland though. The Worrincy situation sums it up for me, the guy should now be the best winger in the league and would be under a couple of other certain coaches in this league yet for us he cant get in the team and is dropped for every mistake. For me that boils down to poor coaching. 4/10
Overall its been an ok season without really performing in the big games. A lot of next season depends on our key signing at half back and that could be make or break for KH. Honestly I would not be surprised if we had a new coach by half way through the season. I hope not and I hope he can turn things around when it comes to the fans because he is a legitimate Halifax legend but like some of the players he has some failings that he needs to work on to become a better coach. If he can do it then I feel he could be a great success, if he cant it will just be another coach that people dont really remember.
