Quote: D4mo78 "You say he was woeful, but then say Hudds had 2 or 3 men on him when they kicked it. Show me any full back who consistently beats 2 or 3 men on kick returns. I for one am happy to see the youngsters given game time at the cost of consistency. The argument you make is what has us in this situation. Maybe a bit more faith in the younger players would have given is a stronger squad. The need for players with strong defence has left us flogging the same knackered horses over and over. I know players and coaches asre open to criticism but yours is embarrassing!! Maybe message him your thoughts so he can make a point of mentioning it when he's claiming another man of the match award'"
Hmmm, did you read my post? I said he got found out. Huddersfield came up with a solution to take him out of the game. I suspect McD thought the same when he took him off. He only came back due to Myler’s injury. I said his defence was awful. He missed two tackles that lead to soft tries in key moments of the game. If all it takes for his game to be affected is to do what Huddersfield did, do you honestly believe no other coach in the league would analyse that game and spot the same thing?
Golding IS a youngster also. He is better defensively and I believe with him at fullback for the full game last night he stops at least one of those tries, if not both.
Everyone else in the team gets criticised. But if I dare do this to Walker, I’m embarrassing? Get a grip. He had a poor game that’s all I’m saying and that his defence wasn’t good.
Fullbacks that beat 2 or 3 players on kick returns - Barba, Shaul, Ratchford.
The argument I make is that poor defence costs us games? Yes, that is precisely the argument I’m making and was evident last night. Thanks for agreeing with me.
I believe Walker at 18 is an amazing prospect. But in recent weeks he’s been getting a lot of knocks in games and that could have also caught up with him last night. He fell over 2 or 3 times attempting to return the ball. I’m all for bringing in the youngsters to gain experience. But not at the expense of longer term injuries that hasten their development.
I think we’re now seeing what a reserve team could offer and how not having one is impacting sides. If you don’t play week on week at some level, when you’re put into the squad you get injured easily, a reserve squad allows our youngsters and returning players time to get match fit. Yes we can send out a few on loan or in duel reg but that’s nothing compared to playing every week either with the 1st team or reserves. All of our golden generation had the benefits of a reserve team.
