Living The Dream wrote:
League table says played 10 won 5 lost 5 .Position mid table. That's where we are at having been unable to beat the teams above us at the first attempt in the season. realism is the key word for me.We have offloaded/lost our strike players since KH came on board Fieldhouse/Thackray/Worrincy etc and going further back Penky Beswick Black etc. Unfortunately these players are adding real value to their new clubs and we simply have not replaced with the same standard of player. Our backs just don't have the strike power to finish off the great platform our pack lays. Poor core passing skills; running other peoples lines and not adjusting,knocking on, and worse still today not numbering up at a scrum on the blind side leaving a Worrincy walk in try is just not semi professional play I'm afraid. We have a Karl H forward dominated side with little flair in our backs and until RM gets some support to bring some in we are still going to be mid table. It's not time for us yet and people have to be realistic. Whether we like it or not-money talks and the full time teams will have the edge on us . Sheffield have got back on the horse after last seasons blip and showed us how to play a clinical and well managed brand of rugby. Our time will come if we stick together and support the club through this transformation period.
Bolded part sums it up for me today, Sheffield were leagues apart from us in those departments. They looked like a team where the majority of them are full time and for the first time this season I thought we looked like a team that had just met. Our passing has been woeful all season for the most part and we do not have the talent in the team to put the ball where it should be and it makes some players look very bad because of that. For example I can not remember Johnson catching a clean ball today without having to either jump or reach back to take the pass on the other hand he is as guilty because his passing was not the best either but it makes it so easy for the defence when players can not do the basics right.
On the ref I thought it was a game of two halves of two different sets of rules, which must be frustrating for the players. Both teams were horrible at getting onside in the first half but I cant remeber a single penalty for it in the first half yet there must have been about 5 or 6 in the second. It was just a strange performance by the ref.
Not sure where we go from here, same old same old, we are not a team that throws in a surprise win ever now and again. With 2 more loses against Bradford, one against Leigh and with still Sheffield and London to play we are even up against it for even 5th place especially when you throw in games like Dewsbury, Batley and Fev who are all more than capable of beating us. Its a sad day when Im thinking we will do well to finish 6th or 7th.
