Quote: Winslade's Offload "Some good points in there. Additionally;
I don't think we are getting the best from Daryl Clark, simply because he gets sucked into too much of the hard defensive work with the opposition forwards - which our pack needs to be doing.
We have scored quite a few long distance tries this year. Forget the fact that they look really good when they come off, ask why it is happening. I think the simple reason is that we are not further up field because our pack struggles to get us there.
Whilst no younger props are being introduced to the squad (imported or from Academy), our two front line props will be 32/33 next year and Hill is certainly starting to fade.
We have been running down our resources and doing nothing to replace them ( perhaps with Doro there is some hope).
It's ironic that our near neighbour who has done pretty well with props has now managed to secure a very decent prospect for next year. They have plugged a gap very early whilst we seem to be oblivious to the fact that we have even got a problem.'"
D. Clarke hasn’t quite managed the lofty heights of last year, whether that’s to do shouldering more defensive work or being targeted by the opposition that’s a possibility. This season compared to last, he hasn’t been as influential whether that be due to Covid (not training for 4/5 months) or new baby related who knows but the same can be said about Philbin too, neither of them have really caught my eye compared to their 2019 form. When they both earned their GB spots...
One positive is that we definitely seem to have abit more strike and ability to score from long distance especially down that left side primarily down to King, but assisted by Currie/Mamo/Widdop. I suppose it will be interesting to see if we decide to keep King there or move Inglis to that side, because I’m fairly certain Inglis prefers the left centre position (If he comes of course). But I get your point we seem a lot more eager to try and go around a side rather than run over it...
Time and time again, when it comes to a slug fest down the middle, the going gets tough and we tend to struggle. The Cup semi-final against Salford was a good example of this, we couldn’t do the basics right made far to many costly errors and they out enthused us going forward. You could probably say the same about the Leeds game in Feb and few other examples this year and last that spring to mind.
Age is also a factor, Hill & Cooper realistically don’t have many playing years ahead of them. If there was any a time to blood in a new prop or give an academy lad a start it should be from next year. I’d like to see Hill on the bench with Doro/new signing given an opportunity but unfortunately we are likely to stick with the tried and tested thanks to Price.
St Helens and Wigan have both brought in two decent props A. Paasi & Brad Singleton - they seem to be a lot more efficient in that department, we are just as inconsistent off the field as we are as much on it.