[PopTart]

Re: Observations : Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:13 pm  

Great post Belly. A touch of realism there.

I'll add to that,
for those that say we haven't done well this year compared to last there is really not much difference
We had 24 points after round 23 last year, we have 21 this time.

The difference is we lost to Warrington at home and Catalan at home where we won last year. Clearly both teams hit good form when we played them and Warrington was 2 points. We also lost the magic game against Giants where we beat Widnes last year.
And we lost to Salford away. This was a strange one and never really explained but every team has an off day I guess.
To balance that we drew at Leeds where we lost home and away last year and we beat Hull at home where we lost last year.

All other games went the same way as last year with a few H/A wins switched this year.

When you look at that, we would most likely have been 5th if we'd played Widnes again at Magic Weekend rather than Giants.


For me, we are a team competing in the 5-8 part of the league. Coming top and bottom of that group is marginal.
When you come top you can have a realistic tilt at 4th but in reality, we are not going to win the Grand Final from that position.

I'm happy enough with what we have done. I'd like a decent run of wins in the 8s with our best team playing then consolidate for next year and review individuals and decide whether change is needed anywhere.

Re: Observations : Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:38 pm  

PopTart wrote:

Great post Belly. A touch of realism there.

I'll add to that,
for those that say we haven't done well this year compared to last there is really not much difference
We had 24 points after round 23 last year, we have 21 this time.

The difference is we lost to Warrington at home and Catalan at home where we won last year. Clearly both teams hit good form when we played them and Warrington was 2 points. We also lost the magic game against Giants where we beat Widnes last year.
And we lost to Salford away. This was a strange one and never really explained but every team has an off day I guess.
To balance that we drew at Leeds where we lost home and away last year and we beat Hull at home where we lost last year.

All other games went the same way as last year with a few H/A wins switched this year.

When you look at that, we would most likely have been 5th if we'd played Widnes again at Magic Weekend rather than Giants.


For me, we are a team competing in the 5-8 part of the league. Coming top and bottom of that group is marginal.
When you come top you can have a realistic tilt at 4th but in reality, we are not going to win the Grand Final from that position.

I'm happy enough with what we have done. I'd like a decent run of wins in the 8s with our best team playing then consolidate for next year and review individuals and decide whether change is needed anywhere.

We had 26 points after round 23 last year, but your point still stands I get that. We have not been far off this year, the difference for me has been those 3 or 4 really close losses mid season. That said, I am happy where we are at currently and hoping we can push on now and pick up a good few wins in the 8`s.

Re: Observations : Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:44 pm  

BOJ042 wrote:

agree st helens and warringtin have already strengthened their squads and we are keeping same old same old so what chance have we against them.

That is fine if it gets us to the top 8 in my eyes though,

Sorry guys but we need something in new in the attacking department a new 7 and 6 in my books.

I was going to reply with ‘I can’t keep pulling rabbits out of a hat’ but I reckon Belly’s post has saved me the trouble. Salute Belly.

[PopTart]

Re: Observations : Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:58 pm  

If also say that keeping a settled squad is as valuable as getting new people in.

Leeds didn't sign more than 1 maybe two players a season when they were at the top, yet their team was consistently better.

We constantly talk about keeping a settled side but then want to change it.

Re: Observations : Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:00 pm  

On the whole yes Wild Moggy we should be pleased. At the start of the season before a ball was kicked I think it was commonly regarded that Widnes and Hull KrR would not be in Top 8 and That Leeds would 100 % be a top 8 side. We were on paper competing with Hudds, Salford for that 8th spot. So as a fan I have been entertained, I have seen some great trys, some good Rugby, some close exciting finishes, seen us beat Saints and Wigan, stuff Hull. The away game at Hull was great entertainment , the away games at Hudds and Salford were not. It has been brilliant to see Jowitt, Hampshire and Batch cement places in the team, all very pleasing.
With the team we have we should be happy to finish 7th. That said you just cant help thinking that with shall we say more mature tactics, taking the two and some odd selections we could have been 5th or 6th. Then again our coach is young, he is learning, its not a perfect Science, he has shown that he learns from his mistakes. I said at the start of the season that we could play well and finish 11th so I am pleased that we have, on the whole played well and finished 7th, you can see with a little more consistency, some better decision making that we can compete in the top 8 matches and compete again next season. My main point is that if the people of Wakefield continue to be so apathetic then it is beyond our wildest expectations for us to expect MC to keep producing miracle Top 8 finishes.

Re: Observations : Mon Jul 30, 2018 10:42 pm  

hey DC I am so happy with were we have got to this year and the last 3 as I said its enormous.

its just a discussion (dream) of what we need to be a top 4 hope!

You guys have done a fantastic job.