newgroundb4wakey wrote:
I actually think that in high pressure games when we're talking about clocking off its mental fatigue.
They're difficult to separate though - I think it's pretty well researched now that fatigue leads to reduced cognitive ability, impaired decision making and memory function; so if you're an athlete in a team game, with a particular job to do that's been drilled into you in training, the more fatigued you are, the less likely to are to perform that function to a high standard.
That said - I agree with Vastman - this myth of an entire team 'clocking off' doesn't make any sense; it's more to do with the ebb and flow of a game - one team will always have a period of 'dominance,' either of possession, penalty count, scoring, making metres, or a combination of them all; the real test is how the other team handles that, and what the outcome is - and I think in Castleford's case, particularly last season, Powell got a real insight into that and coached his team to make sure that every period of dominance resulted in points - hence the short bursts of intensity when they would score a hatful of tries and really punish the opposing team.