It's a fool's errand trying to understand what Smith is doing.

It certainly did not look as though we were a stone heavier per man , so you probably have a good point

Get what you’re saying - Sangare would be in the 17. I don’t think we were completely dominated down the middle; various players made errors throughout the game which lost us possession and position, that was a far bigger problem.

Wire gang tackled very well and that is a technique issue.

When we did get into good ball we either fluffed a set move or ended the set really weakly. Warrington forced 4-5 drop outs by comparison. Again you could argue the coaching and intent is lacking there.

I agree regarding the turnovers and poor completion rate but not withstanding that Wire dominated. Their starting pack made 559m in the game compared to 298m from ours. I know we lost Holroyd early but if you add in the subs the picture doesnt change as Bullock and Wrench collectively made more metres than Lisone Goudemand and O conner. Only Oledski over 100m for Leeds and 33 tackles.Our 2nd rows played the whole game pretty much and Martin 5 carries for 45m and Mcdonnell 4 for 23m.
Fitzgibbon Crowther Bullock and Harrison all over 100m. Williams was over 100m which show how much time he was given. We made more tackles and thats part of the issue as players are worn out defending and then dont contribute offensively.

We actively do not use the forwards to drive the ball in. This is why they have only a few runs and hardly any metres. The backs do the ball work under Smith, and then they are also expected to score the points on miracle plays, whilst the forwards are passive in defence inviting the opposition to make metres at will. Our forwards are simply not performing and the game plan is nonsense.

I wonder if the forwards are performing, just how Smith wants. One of his big brain ideas does seem to be "energy conservation". Last year it was taking the first 20 minutes off, this year its the passive defence. As a coach smith has always shied away from the arm wrestle side of the game . It wouldn't surprise me if the forwards are instructed to just go through the motions in attack to preserve energy for defence or the last 20 minutes, or some reason only known to Rohan, as the forwards we have are better than they are showing.

We were poor , Mik ran hard but didn’t break the line ,Lisone ok but in very short doses, the hardest running forward who pushed the line was OConner !
The backs should have been good , Miller is a bit headless but is 100%.
Frawley has shown very little all season.
Croft has gone backwards, Newman doesn’t get the ball and is predictable, Momorovski so far has been very disappointing.
But what really es me off is , why pick a centre on the bench and when an injury occurs you don’t use him ?

Great post. Tells us all we need to know.

Quote: batleyrhino "We actively do not use the forwards to drive the ball in. This is why they have only a few runs and hardly any metres. The backs do the ball work under Smith, and then they are also expected to score the points on miracle plays, whilst the forwards are passive in defence inviting the opposition to make metres at will. Our forwards are simply not performing and the game plan is nonsense.'" Blake Austin's Instagram essentially confirming what you say about backs being treated like forwards when it comes to work. Smith's tactics are complete emperor's new clothes nonsense. You've got to be really smart and have a big brain to buy into it, just remember to completely ignore the results, performances and the fact that teams who actually compete in the Super League play nothing like this. https://content-eu.invisioncic.com/x324 ... 2af6fd.jpg

Quote: batleyrhino "We actively do not use the forwards to drive the ball in. This is why they have only a few runs and hardly any metres. The backs do the ball work under Smith, and then they are also expected to score the points on miracle plays, whilst the forwards are passive in defence inviting the opposition to make metres at will. Our forwards are simply not performing and the game plan is nonsense.'" Blake Austin's Instagram essentially confirming what you say about backs being treated like forwards when it comes to work. Smith's tactics are complete emperor's new clothes nonsense. You've got to be really smart and have a big brain to buy into it, just remember to completely ignore the results, performances and the fact that teams who actually compete in the Super League play nothing like this. https://content-eu.invisioncic.com/x324 ... 2af6fd.jpg

Surely Smith has to question or at least modify his philosophy at some point, its like he defies convention for the sake of it. He's not going to reinvent the game and he needs to acknowledge that and quickly as we're fast turning into a failed experiment and we've already had enough years in the wilderness.

If Gawy reads that he will be offering you the job I would good form sir

Oh no, I was jumped on the other week for calling crossfield kicks and 20 meter passes in our own 20 'trick plays, short cuts or gimmicks', I'm sorry but that's exactly what they are when you cant get the basics right. Rohan your system is a load of bollox.

We weren’t great against Saints in the cup, but this is the first time we were really disappointing over the whole game this season.

I want to see us come out against Huddersfield looking hurt and determined. I still think we are top six but we are in a pivot point.

Compare what we served up compared to what Catalans have just done against saints, with players missing and 2 on the bench for a big spell.

Yep, said same watching the game. Catalan Saints Wigan Warrington look well ahead of Leeds. And possibly KR do too.not a massive amount in it squad wise but look much better coached.