cpwigan wrote:The problenm for me Geoff is that it often happens to Shaun. I think it was Jason Robinson who did something similar v Cas at Cas years ago and we lost but it was a one off. Shaun needs to learn from his mistakes. I don't understand why he finds it so hard. The high kicks (fair enough) but the grubbers should be perfect for him.
If you are winning games easily then such mistakes do not matter but in a tight '4 pointer' it is those mistakes that hurt. You tend to have fewer chances on attack in such games and basics / defence are more crucial IMO.
cpwigan wrote:The problenm for me Geoff is that it often happens to Shaun. I think it was Jason Robinson who did something similar v Cas at Cas years ago and we lost but it was a one off. Shaun needs to learn from his mistakes. I don't understand why he finds it so hard. The high kicks (fair enough) but the grubbers should be perfect for him.
If you are winning games easily then such mistakes do not matter but in a tight '4 pointer' it is those mistakes that hurt. You tend to have fewer chances on attack in such games and basics / defence are more crucial IMO.
Seems to me he's learning very quickly - he was perfect under the bombs, which have been his main weakness, and clearly something he's been working hard on. You're expecting too much, too soon, IMO.
Not really Dave. Maybe he is not ready. I have to say I nearly choked laughing when a decent poster on RLfans claimed Sam Tomkins has more faults than Ainsy. They are simply not in the same league and the learning curve with Sam is umpteen times faster. Hence why I find it hard to have lots of faith in Ainscough. I can understand him being outjumped etc but to keep making mistakes on the ground and it keeps happening? Why? He is akin to Mathers for the wobbles in defence but obviously much better in attack.
No top coach will pick a player he cannot trust defensively in my experience.
That is my thinking Cherry. Madge is like Monie was and all the best Aussies. Defence is the base for everything including attack and if you show weakness on defence then that is a black mark.
Mixed views across the board, but I reckon he has the potential to be a great winger. And if we let him go, I envisage the Sean Long experience being repeated all over again!
Kittwazzer wrote:Mixed views across the board, but I reckon he has the potential to be a great winger. And if we let him go, I envisage the Sean Long experience being repeated all over again!
Very much so. No-one's claiming he's the finished product, of course, but he's probably the best winger in his age range right now, and if he continues to improve as he has, he'll be starring on the wing for us in a year or two. I have confidence that MM means what he says, when he says Ainsy is definitely in our plans for the future.
cpwigan wrote:The problenm for me Geoff is that it often happens to Shaun. I think it was Jason Robinson who did something similar v Cas at Cas years ago and we lost but it was a one off. Shaun needs to learn from his mistakes. I don't understand why he finds it so hard. The high kicks (fair enough) but the grubbers should be perfect for him.
If you are winning games easily then such mistakes do not matter but in a tight '4 pointer' it is those mistakes that hurt. You tend to have fewer chances on attack in such games and basics / defence are more crucial IMO.
I'm going to agree with CPW on this. Unfortunately for Shaun these mistakes have continued through from his academy / reserve days. He needs to eradicate them from his game.
I'm sure he will get a lot of help from the coaching staff but the basic mistakes have to stop if he is ever going to claim his place as first choice winger.
He has been taken to task regarding his after match interview, but let's remember he is not the sharpest knife in the draw and that is not disrespectful, and I believe the question really threw him.
In summary, Ainscough is a talented attacking winger who needs to work really hard on the defensive side of his game.
No straw has hit the nail on the head. Everybody who has watched Shaun from the day he came into the Academy set up has seen the same outstanding attacking attributes but the same defensive errors time and time again.
You keep hoping he will learn but as already said he is not overly bright up top. I could not believe it on RLfans when somebody compared Ainsy and Sam T re learning curves. Sam T has a degree in RL in terms of intelligence whereas Shaun is resitting his GCSE for the 15th time.
Its called an analogy Shaun and it worked for me. I can't imagine Ainy ever getting a job as a coach or doing post match analysis on Sky, can you? Some players have natural rugby brains. Against weaker sides Ainy will look brilliant but in bigger games he will be targeted as a weak link. Many players have weaknesses but only the best are able to turn them into strengths. I can't see evidence to suggest Shaun has made any progress in addressing his issues. If MM cant help him nobody can so lets wait and see.
Gareth Thomas before his first game: "You wanna spend 10 mins getting smashed up by these guys..Big dudes here.."
Always good to put things into context fan. In terms of a rugby brain it is a fair analogy when comparing Sam Tomkins and Shaun Ainscough. I am sure if you thought rationally about it you would agree.
Ainsy himself makes far more disparaging remarks about himself.
Chill lol
N.B Both myself and Straw alluded to the same thing and both issued statements for the hyper sensitive.
