rlSee some rather interesting comments here,rl

Note especially the observation that the players are not playing the way they have been coached. Also hints of issues within the team between performers and non-performers, and reasons why more youngsters have not been blooded.

Make of it what you will, as always.

I think a few of the players need to look at themselves and ask if they want to be here. Over the past few weeks there seems to be some attempt at building a team spirit but when it gets tough too many of them are hiding.

"We’re not doing what we’re being coached. If we did we’d be fine."

Thats a pretty big statement for me. Its a massive and very public vote of confidence for McNamara and his coaching staff and a massive and very public negative towards the players. (Or at least those that are underperforming) You gotta feel for Steve Mc, he must be fuming and some of the plays Bradford make and whilst he can teach the alternatives, he cant always make them put them into practice in a game. I hope Bradford get their team back to full strength soon. It'll be interesting to see who and indeed if Steve Mc does drop?

I'm sorry, but WHY can't the under performers be dropped?

I've read the article and I can't see a reason WHY. Surely there's young lads in the academy to fill the gaps? Yeah, we might not do any better but we could hardly be doing any worse

Well that's very interesting!

I completely disagree with the Macca Out theory. I believe that he has the ability as a coach. And he needs to prove himself. He got us into this messy situation and he should be the one to get us out of it. I think he will.

We need to start winning. At half time on Friday I still thought we'd win. Catalans in reverse kinda way. Then Rikki played part in the most bizarre 5 seconds of rugby league play I've ever seen, still thought we'd win until Halley dropped that kick over. That was game over for me.

We've got a much more clinical side near the line than we've had for about 3 years. We just need all our key men to have big games at once. Beaver has been outstanding all season, Sol is so on/off it's unreal, Jefferies has run the show at 6 all season until Wakey and he's been fairly average since then, Sykes is never a stand off in this world and we're very unlucky to have lost Emperor Nero because he was having a blinding season.

As I keep ending my posts atm it's all about Keeping The Faith. You don't turn into a poor side over night. There's some little things going wrong. Very basic things like sliding defense. Granted, on Friday pretty much all the basic things went to pieces and we got hammered. But all the 2 point losses have to count for something, usually a lot going right. 3/5 of the last games have been 2 point losses, Cas (bad 11 minutes, total control before that), Cats (bad 2nd half, total control before that) and Wakefield (3 shocking tackles and a dreadful ball from a scrum and they have 4 tries which should never have been). 3 games that we should have won with a little bit of luck and more intelligent play. It's going to come right at some point. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Keep the Faith

The associated question has to be why the Academy and Reserve grade system is not producing sufficient quality for First team level?

It's obvious that Macca is not going to play Olbison, Whitehead, Hide or Crossley unless he is absolutely forced to do so. I accept that you don't [ireally [/iwant to be bringing young players into a side when confidence is low and your getting battered every week - but sometimes things don't work out an ideal way, and people have to gradually brought through.

What's the betting that, despite us being garbage against Warrington, that the 19 for St Helens will be the same 16 fit 'senior' players, plus Rinaldi, plus two youngsters who will then miss out of the final 17? In other words, that we'll end up with the same bunch of players who performed so abjectly last week.

Questions about the quality of what goes on at Academy and Reserve level need to be asked - the sole purpose is to produce a steady stream of players for the first team, and it doesn't seem to be happening....

It's a fair question, but I suppose ATEOTD sending out half a squad (as opposed to one or two) kids out to get marmalised by seasoned pros probably isn't the way to develop the youngsters, and might seriously harm them. McNamara has their whole futures to consider.


And we could hardly be doing any worse than the last game, or parts of other games. But then again we could hardly be doing better than the other parts of some of those same games, or the win against Leeds.


That quote, and the general tone, says a lot, but I find it difficult to be confident of what it really means. Does it suggest a split in the camp? Solomona, who interestingly [ilooks[/i to weigh more than ever, can hardly hold himself up as the shining example after the previous nightmare game he'd just had.

A small window into the soul of the team, but I'm really not sure exactly what I can see.

Hmmm

The only thing that I can perceive from these comments in the T&A are that the squad realise that they aren't going to get dropped.

If they know that Macca wants to bring in others, but also know that he isn't going to blood the youngsters, then surely that is going to breed a certain kind of complacency - even arrogance - about their place in the team.

Put it another way - if Macca could say to Solomona 'Either lose two stones and get properly fit, and you won't be playing in the first team until then - in fact, you'll be playing in the Reserve grade until you shape up' - then that would focus the mind a bit....

Do you think so? I am sure that several of the young lads would get chances this season, as the season rolled on. But you are 100% right when you say ...that you don't [ireally [/iwant to be bringing young players into a side when confidence is low and your getting battered every week - but sometimes things don't work out an ideal way, and people have to gradually brought through.'"

The whole "we're not playing how we're coached" should set off alarm bells with anyone. Why aren't we playing how we're coached. What's the reason? Is there disharmony within the squad? Is it a small clique or is it a larger issue? If it's one or two players then the door is that way fellas.

More good questions.

Re the academy system. If I understand correctly all I have read and heard, this was badly neglected in the Noble years (as was the wider area of promoting the club round the schools and in the wider community). One of the main thrusts of the club in the subsequent years has been to try and get this back on track. But if so, that's not a five minute job so people should not expect immediate answers. Looks like we are STARTING to see some results coming through, but we still have some way down the track to go.

As for chucking the young lads in at the deep end...you can do that with the odd one or two providing you don't do too many at once? There are the exceptions who immediately step up - Fielden was an example - provided they are supported by the rest of a strong team so they don't get stonked and scarred for life. You only have to look at what happened to the young guys at the Piedome who all got chucked in at once to see the longer-term damage that approach can lead to?

But I'm not an expert at all on the detailed playing side (quite the opposite) - my expertise lies elsewhere - so I'd be interested in the views of those who can speak objectively and with some first-hand knowledge about where we are with the academy right now. Those who really know what they are talking about. Anyone?

Indeed. Sure does with me.

What's really worrying me is that I see parallels with other teams or clubs, in the past, where the team appears to have been performing well below how you would expect on paper. Look to Wigan numerous times; look to Wire ditto (sadly they seem to have finally got their shît together on our time...). Look to US in early 2005. For that matter, look to England in the World Cup. And in each case, what came out (or is/was suspected) is serious disharmony in the ranks between players.

Its all very well Macca and others pointing to injuries - and they have a point - but that will cut no ice with the likes of Wakefield who proved that there are ways of getting through that situation without going into meltdown.

Sometimes it looks like that may be the case here - there are hints of it in Sol's (assuming he did it all) piece as I alluded to earlier - yet at other times (like against Leeds) - there was no evidence whatsoever of it - quite the opposite.

Its got me baffled.

One last thought: in 1997 we played Auckland, the bottom team in the Australian superleague competition. And threw the first game away in the last few mins, and got absolutely stonked in the second and third. Much was made in the press at the time about how a top UK team could get hammered by the bottom Oz team. What a lot of the comment overlooked was that the gap in standards between top and bottom was far far smaller in Oz than it was here. There, pretty well any team could beat any other on its day, as indeed is still the case. That's how it has developed here now.

Someone has to be near the bottom, and there is far less shame in being beaten by the likes of Wakefield or Huddersfield or even Wire than there ever was. Hell, there is no shame at all in it now - provided the players give it their best. The shame comes when we see a debacle like Friday.

IMO, of course.

Doesn't this defeat the whole purpose of having a squad?
We are now in the situation where the ones who are playing pants know they won't be dropped so can't be bothered to motivate themselves to play any better and the others in the squad are left thinking what's the effing point, Im never going to get a game.
Brilliant management anyway you look at it!

And why should they get motivated? I bet half of them want to get out of the game anyway. The wages are crap! I mean what is the point of putting your body through hell for 30-40k a year! They are all probably thinking what is the point? I have a son who is very sporty and if he ever showed 1 bit of interest in playing rugby league I will make him join a rugby union club. I mean look at Jonny Wilkinson, been injured for near enough 2 seasons and is about to sign for a French club and earn a massive 700K a year! Why on earth these kids wanna play rugby league is beyond me when they can probably earn double or triple in the other code!

The salary cap needs to be increased now otherwise this sport is going to decrease in popularity year on year and we will increasingly get poorer and poorer seasons and results. Like the one against Warrington!