Superb Chops wrote: ↑Sat Jul 08, 2023 9:55 am
Yes so did we & shoved off the m62 stuck on saddleworth moors trying to get home cars broke down all over place What a fecking end to a crap night. Don’t think this road has had so many vehicles on it in one go stop start stop start!
Next year, maybe for Wakey and Fev, consider using Snakes Pass, if you see any hint of delays on this stretch of the M62.
As daft as that it is, it is probably better than the Buckstones Pass route you were pushed on to.
I live nearby and commute to Leeds and around Greater Manchester. This M62 stretch often seems to have evening works while rush hour is routinely gridlock, meaning the barren A640 is often unexpectedly busy.
On the plus side, less chance of snow unless played in January, February, etc.
Wigan, meanwhile, seem increasingly inconsistent from attending a few games this year. Maybe it’s both playing and coaching that needs improving, beyond sorting out a stand-off?
Woodhead I can understand, ( A628) but Snake Pass ( A57) is a poor option, you'd have to go down to Sheffield to get to it, and it's been closed quite often for landslips.
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Yes, sorry Woodhead is correct, not Snakes Pass (I often mix them up). Woodhead brings you out towards Mottram without taking you too south. Thank you Endoman.
Woodhead starts at the end of the M67. It goes through Tintwhistle and over the Pennines. Eventually you'd arrive at a Roundabout on the M1. Go North and Wakefield is not too far.
Woodhead is a slow road and in February/March there is fog and mist.
Friday night on the M62 is dreadful. Motorway closures forever. Went to game at Hudds and there were 5 motorway closures between Yorks and the M'way exit near where I live.
A 7.30pm kick off with a 9.15pm end would give us fans a chance of avoiding at least some of the closures.
But he isn't always a 100% kicker so my point is still valid.
Focus on this kicker all you want and I agree we need a better goal kicker but our defence is up and down and that's the issue. We let Wakefield score 4 tries. Other teams have put 30 past us as well.
Defence wins trophies and ours isn't good enough.
I don’t disagree on defence but few teams are successful where half their tries only count for four points. Smith can kick difficult goals but he misses sitters and I am going to hazard a guess he looked much like he did lining up kicks v HKR when we played there which is like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
When we are away from the DW he looks nervous and it’s about time the coaching staff got to grips with this issue. It’s not use anyone asking anyone on here “who else” as if that excuses them from dealing with this because that’s not our job nor are we able to decide the best way forward such as kicking coaches or whatever. The trouble is the coaching staff seem to be ignoring the issue.
The coaching staff are not capable of resolving the problem. The reason for Smiths success last season was Briers. We need a kicking coach because, based on his success rate last year, Smith is a decent kicker.
You know for a fact that Briers helped Smith with goal kicking or is it an assumption?
I don’t disagree on defence but few teams are successful where half their tries only count for four points. Smith can kick difficult goals but he misses sitters and I am going to hazard a guess he looked much like he did lining up kicks v HKR when we played there which is like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
When we are away from the DW he looks nervous and it’s about time the coaching staff got to grips with this issue. It’s not use anyone asking anyone on here “who else” as if that excuses them from dealing with this because that’s not our job nor are we able to decide the best way forward such as kicking coaches or whatever. The trouble is the coaching staff seem to be ignoring the issue.
The coaching staff are not capable of resolving the problem. The reason for Smiths success last season was Briers. We need a kicking coach because, based on his success rate last year, Smith is a decent kicker.
You know for a fact that Briers helped Smith with goal kicking or is it an assumption?
EDINBURGH-WARRIOR wrote: ↑Sat Jul 08, 2023 7:49 am
Much as I like Minski he is our 3rd choice winger and giving him the extra year and singing his praises to high heaven Peet has made a rod for his own back and feels he has to play him to save face. Field at full back French on the wing and Cust or Rocky at 6 is the way to go for me . We have signed Thornley three times and I'm still waiting for a decent return from him .
EW
Got a point there they seem to have painted themselves into a corner with Miski,good player for sure but as good as French flying down the wing? As good as Marshall pinning his ears back and pumping those little legs of his? I'm not so sure,yes he's improving all the time but Wigan's success last year had those 2 on the wing with Field creating merry hell when he had the chance.
The problem is we don't have Field creating merry hell this season. We don't have Smith on the right edge either, so while Miski isn't as good as French flying down the wing how are we going to get French flying down the wing when the person in the team most capable of producing the passes to get French flying down the wing is French himself?
French has scored 4 tries while playing wing this year. 2 against Catalans, 1 against Huddersfield and 1 against Salford. (His other 2 tries in the Hudds and Salford games were when he was at fullback). He also had 3 games without scoring in the 6 games he's started on the wing this year.
Miski has 10 tries in 12 games on the wing. It's not like we're massively lacking a threat on the wing and he's scored some very impressive tries this year. One of the reasons he's scoring tries is because of the creativity of French, whether that be at fullback or at stand off. French averages an assist per game at stand off and a try every 2 games.
Field's form was noticeably weaker even at the start of this year and that's one of the reasons why French wasn't scoring for fun early in the year and why the general consensus was he needed to be starting at fullback rather than playing there for part of a game. Field to 6 was also the call because the team attacked much better whenever Field was at 6 and French at 1. I think people forget that Field played 6 quite a few times before his nightmare against Catalans, he just hadn't started many games there.
If I had to be a bit critical of Matt Peet I think he got spooked by the Catalans game. Every time Field played 6 prior to that he had looked okay and his defence had been surprisingly good considering his size and build. One nightmare game after returning from injury and Field at 6 becomes something to avoid at all costs. But it was our weak pack that allowed our edges to be targeted that was the biggest problem. The following week we played Saints and they attack more down their right edge and it was Smith who looked a shambles. Smith isn't a terrible defender, the team just allowed him to be picked out.
Basically, French is our most creative player right now and I don't see how we benefit from moving him into a position (on the wing) where he can't create anything. We'll just be removing a threat from a playmaking position and not sufficiently replacing it.
This is a big problem IMO
When Smith was on the right, Cust on the left, French on the right wing & Marshy on the left we had a very impressive attacking side. We’ve changed those positions this year & to me it isn’t working.
If we attack more on the right, more often than not we score on the right. Smith is a left footed kicker & I’m sure he had a better percentage last season than this kicking from the right!
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
Well, Fridays performance can be described accurately as ‘a load of rubbish’. Over the last few weeks we have been on an upward trajectory, but with this debacle we seem to have gone back quite steps.
In my opinion it seem we can play with our hearts but not our heads. In the big games like the cup games, Wire away or Saints home we seem up for it, really fired up, playing with drive, passion and determination and we get results. In the ‘regulation’ games where on paper we are superior like on Friday last were we can win by playing to our potential we seem to struggle. Our decision making seems to go out of the window, mistakes creep in and we allow teams to play.
If we are to get anywhere near the top of the league this year we need consistency and the ability to take games like Wakefield in our stride
Flash wrote: ↑Sat Jul 08, 2023 12:43 pm
Most seem to be trying to put the loss down to a single issue; say "missed kicks", "discipline" or the "French/Field conundrum", maybe even "recruitment" when, in truth, it's a combination of all these things.
The overriding thought from last night is that if I'd told you we were going into a game with Singleton, Mago and Byrne as our only props, who would have expected a win? I certainly wouldn't! We were already without Cooper and Ellis and lost Havard after 6 minutes. Take Walmsley, Paasi and Lees out if the Saints pack and they probably lose too. Add Batchelor, Percival and a couple others and they definitely do!
I'm as angry and disappointed as anyone else at losing to the bottom placed side but were a stupid penalty away from winning that match. Things to address, certainly. But one individual problem was not the reason.
Good perspective and agree, add to this we were down one sub space as well - this really put us on the spot where we already lack quality. Look at it this way, our back line is better than Wakey's but they still ran us close, eventually winning, why? Their big lads wer able to get a roll on and we couldn't stop them. Contrast this with Saints v Wire, Wire threw everything at Saints but they brought their big lads back on and closed the game out.
Flash wrote: ↑Sat Jul 08, 2023 12:43 pm
Most seem to be trying to put the loss down to a single issue; say "missed kicks", "discipline" or the "French/Field conundrum", maybe even "recruitment" when, in truth, it's a combination of all these things.
The overriding thought from last night is that if I'd told you we were going into a game with Singleton, Mago and Byrne as our only props, who would have expected a win? I certainly wouldn't! We were already without Cooper and Ellis and lost Havard after 6 minutes. Take Walmsley, Paasi and Lees out if the Saints pack and they probably lose too. Add Batchelor, Percival and a couple others and they definitely do!
I'm as angry and disappointed as anyone else at losing to the bottom placed side but were a stupid penalty away from winning that match. Things to address, certainly. But one individual problem was not the reason.
Good perspective and agree, add to this we were down one sub space as well - this really put us on the spot where we already lack quality. Look at it this way, our back line is better than Wakey's but they still ran us close, eventually winning, why? Their big lads wer able to get a roll on and we couldn't stop them. Contrast this with Saints v Wire, Wire threw everything at Saints but they brought their big lads back on and closed the game out.
Any news on Havard?
Exactly. Just because players wear the same jersey doesn't mean they're equally as good. A forward pack with Cooper, Havard, Ellis and Byrne is a hell of a lot different than one with just Singleton, Mago and Byrne. It's unreasonable to expect the same level of performance from the latter that you'd get from the former. It really is chalk and cheese. If we faced a Saints team with that latter prop rotation we'd expect to give them a drubbing! However a Saints team with Walmsley, Paasi and Lees and we'd expect a tough game or even a loss.
The bottom line is we have certain issues but these are massively exacerbated by the continual loss of so many players. The disruption alone makes it difficult to get any consistency and that's before you factor in the poor quality of some of the replacements.
I'm not making excuses or taking an "everything is rosey" stance but we do need to look at each situation for what it is. In this case a prop rotation of Singleton, Mago and Byrne wasn't good enough to get the win. No sh!t Sherlock!
*I believe Havard has a hamstring problem. No news as to how long he'll be out but you would imagine several weeks at least.
stop start stop start!
stop start stop start!
