Wigan_forever1985 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:29 am
So from my point of view last night was interesting for two reasons
1 Powells extended stint away from 9 which peet said wasn’t planned but down to players not performing
2 Cust full removal
Ironically I thought Powell was having one of his better games - though still not great - O’Neill was better though and actually looked better than I had seen him last night
Cust I’m not sure if it’s Fitness or head but his form is way off and maybe he needs some time on the sidelines to get fit
Smith gets a bashing and I don’t know why personally he tries his best with what he’s got around him he needs more support and the lad has got talent
Farrell was the only forward to come out of that game with any glory
Smithies isn’t a 13 - he’s a 11/12
I go back to my previous point
A 6.5/10 team with 2 10/10 players
Why is he not a 13?
Because he doesn’t pass the ball like Farrell or Lockers did? There aren’t many ball playing 13s around.
Knowles rarely passes the ball and is regarded as the best 13 in the comp.
For all we know it may be tactics rather than ability as some are saying Partington is passing a lot more at Salford…
It also isn’t only up to the “13” to pass the ball in set plays. It can be any forward…
Wait till the morning and post isn't such a bad idea.
I might be totally wrong but the fact that all the forwards had an off-night didn't seem due to Salford's opposing pack and I wonder if there is a virus somewhere in the camp. Add to that, Cust looking drained and off the pace and it might be wrong but something looked up.
I actually thought Ellis was pretty good but suspect he was kept on too long and looked knackered by the time he was subbed.
Field had his best game at full-back and saved two if not three certain tries. Salford would have been out of sight but for him.
O'Neill was back to his absolute best and should start from now on. His finest moment was at the scrum when we had a planned move to the right - the ball got stuck under feet in the scrum so he noted that Salford had moved over to cover and took off down the middle, nearly scoring. He needs work on his passing but the PTB was much faster with his longer and quick passing.
Smithies and King aren't going to change so no point in going on about them. The real worry is Wardle who looks like a lost soul and doesn't seem to know where he is defensively,
As for Marshall, what's the point in having one of the best wingers in SL if he never sees the ball?
I didn't think the best team lost - I thought the team with some inspired skills and determination eventually came through. It wasn't great and work needs to be done but we won a game that could so easily have been lost. We were also fitter than Salford and it showed at the end, despite our forwards struggling throughout.
As for Faz and French - we're lucky to have them.
I thought king had an half decent game yesterday. I know he came up with the error dropped ball but he ran pretty well and seems to do the odd decent offload. We’ve had much worst centres over the last few years than Toby King. As for Wardle I think he will become effective when the ground firms up. These pitches were playing on at the moment are a forwards battle and the reason we are struggling is because we’re not big/powerful enough.
Regarding errors, I expect a few players will have increased their count on that particular statistic but it's a bit harsh on some because they were on the receiving end of some very poor passes.
French dropped one that arrived around his ankles and at least one other player spilled the ball from similar passes. These passes seemed to occur when the team looked clueless and they just got flung out.
Charriots Offiah wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 1:17 am
Our forwards are simply not good enough. Singo is shot, Cooper is a shadow of his former self. Ellis, KPP and Powell are simply not producing the goods. Mago is better in the stands.
Salford were better all over the park, a bit of brilliance and superior fitness got us home.
The stats for Singleton and Cooper are pretty concerning. 28 metres from 8 carries for Singleton. Sam Powell made more metres than him from fewer carries. 15 metres from 4 carries from Cooper. Sure, he didn't play big minutes (that in itself is a bit of a concern) but this is a player who was our top metre making prop last year and could comfortably make over 100m in a game.
Singleton has this bizarre style where he seems to go on angled runs which only serve to take him straight into a big hit from a defender and he gets dominated. He'd make more metres if he just took two steps forward. It's so frustrating because there's no lack of effort there. He's making the carries and he's clearly trying to do something but I'm baffled by what that is.
Cooper I can only assume has an issue or is being managed for some reason. What he was providing last year compared to the start of this season are miles apart.
Ellis I think has been okay so far but he's rarely better than okay. He's fairly consistent with the metres he makes which are good but not spectacular. He hits the 60 metre mark most games, seems solid in defence but doesn't do much of note in attack. I'd be picking him over Singleton and Mago every week because of his consistency but I wish we could get a bit more from him.
I thought Pearce-Paul wasn't too bad and maybe if he's picked consistently he'll improve, although he seemed to carry the ball better and have more of an impact when he moved to centre. What's happened to the maverick player he was when he first came into the team and caused teams so many problems.
Havard deserves credit, he did big minutes last night.
WIGIAN wrote: ↑Fri Mar 24, 2023 9:58 pm
So Powell he's good in defence and has a passing game of sorts so... Bevan 1 Field 6 Cust 9 Powell 13. Still think taking 2 early doors was disastrous lost all.momentum . Still drier pitches better threat.
If Powell isn’t good enough for 9 why does he even make the 17? Selections are surely not about fitting him in the team come what may? As to him having a passing game of sorts, he really doesn’t. The only thing he can do is tackle.
You can add Cust to that as well. He is pinching a living at the moment. Oh for a Brodie Croft or George Williams. I am convinced Hampshire will be our 6 when fully fit.
lucky 13 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 1:11 am
We have three similar players in Smith Cust and Powell. We are definitely in need of not just one of them taking on the line but also causing panic if they do. Cust from the little glimpses at 9 looks far more comfortable there and offers something we don't have, again he may also be better if he had a running partner playing at half with him. We are winning ugly with plenty improvement in us. Bevan King Jai Havard Smithies all worked hard. Ellis is solid but I feel he could take it up a level his little cameo taking the ball and passing shows he has more in the locker. Smiths still developing but needs a running half and let him play both sides. I still think Bevan 1 Jai 6 Smith 7 Cust 9 Ellis 13 causes teams problems how you deal with Jai and Bev running at you all game I'm not sure.
Cust offers nothing. No passing game, no running game, no kicking game and his defence is suspect. If he is one of our two best halfbacks we are in trouble.
WIGIAN wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 1:14 am
Amen to that but its about Powell not the triers . Morgan needs plenty of work hatd as nails but no better that Ollie for me . Loose should be mobile and have a running and ball handling threat. I guess with Hanley , Clark Faŕrell and SOL we've been a little spoiled sadly
Don’t be surprised is O’Neil takes the 13 position. If our forwards play like they did last night at Leigh we will get a bloody nose.
You would have to think that Hampshire is in peets plans for that position. We certainly don’t need cover at the back or out wide. I said last week peet doesn’t make big decisions but taking Powell off after 20 and removing cust from the game were massive decisions and both. I fear come Thursday we’ll be seeing cust and Powell in the lineup again unfortunately
I noticed that Saints had 7 players in their 17 this weekend were over 30. Roby and LMS are both 37. Lomax is 32.
For last night's game, we had a spine (including changes) of:
• Field 25
• French 27
• Cust 24
• Smith 23
• Powell 30
• O'Neill 19
I rate Faz most highly, but his personality and the fact that he's not part of the spine, mean his influence on the pitch seems to be limited.
Without Powell, we're relying mainly on players aged 19 to 25. Good as they are, which of them has the experience to steady the ship when the waters get choppy?
Whatever you think of Sam as a 9, consider his ability to influence others during a game. Which of the other 5 listed above can do the same job?
