Quote mish="mish"I've got to say I'm really surprised by this turn of events. (I haven't been to any games this season so I'm sure some will say that I'm not entitled to an opinion but you'd be wrong, I am and here it is.)
Everyone is saying that we should sack both coaches and there's obviously something seriously wrong in the camp so I do agree (Jukesy has as much charisma as a curtain pole and Cunningham is slightly less inspiring than a telephone directory) but don't the players shoulder any responsibility for this shambles? Do you think the players are better than the ones they replaced? If coached properly do you think this team is capable of getting us promoted or are they just a bunch of journeymen waiting out their time?
I just don't know the answer to any of those questions, what do you all think?'"
Based on what I've seem, these players are certainly not as good as some of the guys we let go. We seem utterly leaderless; we have no pace; very few individual skills; can't/won't kick the ball when we should; and seem to have a worrying lack of desire. As a consequence of the first four games, confidence is very brittle - as can be witnessed by what happened yesterday. We were totally in command, at 20-6 against twelve apparently dispirited men, when we made a simple error, and conceded a try. From then on, it was obvious what was going to happen, as our confidence evaporated alarmingly, and theirs rapidly increased.
I believe the players must be being coached to play 'boring' rugby - i.e. low risk. Yet we are still making schoolboy errors. Our 'style' is depressingly reminiscent of much of last season, despite a virtually total clearout of players. On paper, these players have an impressive pedigree. Unlike last season's team, they have youth on their side, yet they possess a lot of top level experience. (well over 2,000 SL/NRL appearances) They just can't be as bad as they seem to be!
I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that it must be the coaching - plus the lack of the key type of half back who can organise the team and lead them around the pitch. In my opinion, we have recently driven a player with those credentials out of the club, along with other talented individuals, who appeared to possess the qualities, in abundance, that the current squad appear to lack.
After the Barrow defeat, we were advised to watch the 'wide view', (whatever that is?) and we would see things differently. I wonder what the 'wide view' looked like yesterday?
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