Quote: Gerry Mander "Pace is not just speed but more importantly a combination of speed threat and evasion.
Being quick enough to contribute once Saints have bashed down the middle for three tackles until
roby get a quick ptb is one thing.
A player with real menace from your own 20 is another.
Saints stopped being Saints years ago. No offload game , no back play of note. Everything down channel one
for Roby nothing else. It has become boring.
Saints are Bradford of old and that's why Saints lose finals to teams who play like Saints used to and have the flair players
to match.
Keep resigning seasoned runners up who fit this pattern of play such Gardner Flannery and Meli is a statement of intent.
Monotonous also rans is what is the club is content with.
At least in the bridesmaid days of the eighties and early nineties Saints could play football.
These days Saints bore as well as disappoint.'"
I came away saying to my mate that I thought Saints had played well. I'd love to see their completion rate, it must have been very, very high. However, a lot of this was down to a very conservative gameplan with a lot of forward carries, some kicks early in the count and very few offloads which just isn't the Saints I'm used to playing. I can only assume they were playing to instructions as there are obviously players in that side who can offload.
I still think that it was a good Saints performance given the injury situation poth before and during the match, and the number of young players who were out there. Next time. I'd hope for the same commitment and defence, but a bit more adventure from them.