We were definitely our own worst enemy in that game. When we got a decent lead we failed to capitalise on it because of some poor handling errors and some dumb last tackle plays (on the occasions when we actually managed to reach the end of a set). There wasn't much invention in our attack. A lot of what we did was one out drives. Whether that was a reaction to our errors and trying to keep it simple, or just not getting into the right field position to try anything, I'm not sure, but it was a fairly turgid and attritional affair.
I thought yet again Havard was our best prop. His carries, his tackles, his all round play. He's been outstanding so far this year. Compare that with Burgess, who was clearly our worst prop. Ineffective carrying the ball and sluggish in defence. Consider how much more Burgess is getting paid than Havard. 10 times more?
I can't be too critical of the positional changes as French was injured, and the change did lead to Hardaker setting up French for a try. I doubt we missed out on expansive attacking moves and thrilling play because of the switch.
While Hastings and Smith both made good contributions to set up tries the rest of their play wasn't quite so good. There's seems to be little understanding between the two. I'd be more critical of Hastings though as the more experienced player. He seems to go missing for long periods of games although he undoubtedly produces moments of outstanding play.
Bibby seems to be lacking in attack. It's been a tough year for him so I don't want to be too critical, and perhaps he'll just be a slow starter who comes good next season but we need to deal with this season first and right now it looks like neither Bibby nor Hankinson pose a credible attacking threat. He took his try well, but ultimately if your best moment of the season is driving very hard towards the line it's not going to make a great highlight reel.
Our pack is hard working but not exactly exciting or threatening. Farrell works harder than anyone but his attacking best comes from a half being on the same page and putting him through gaps. Isa offers nothing threatening on the other side. Most of our props offer hard work but not exactly the most effective of carries. Bullock is probably best in that department. Havard isn't too bad and will hopefully show more of what he's capable of in time. Byrne, Clark, Flower, Partington, Clubb - there's not really a dangerous runner or crafty offloader among them. The less said about what Burgess offers the better. I'm not saying our pack is poor - but I imagine a lot of teams find our play quite predictable.
