I agree with this. The actual standard of rugby was poor. It was a good solid battle but there was very little quality on show.

The game was decided by one piece of brilliance from Williams with that kick. That aside, it was poor.

Pah! That Williams is one-trick pony! That's twice he's done that kick now!

People are criticising (with some justification) our scratchy attack. But let's not be too keen to hold up the NRL as an example of doing it right. I just watched Top NRL Side Newcastle Knights. 50+ tackles in your opponents 20, and yet you still get nilled? At home? That's a pretty Olympian standard of ineptness right there!

I think those who're having a go at Bentham are mainly on about the appalling inability to see players 2 yards in front of him at the PTB. The off-side rule may as well be scrapped for all it's policed (and what [iare[/i the touch-judges looking at anyway?). Apart from that, I agree with SW, he let the game flow. It would have been a completely different game if Child had been in charge for eg.

As for Gelling, he blows hot & cold. When his head's screwed on he's brilliant, but he does have a habit of falling into carelessness on occasion which just gives those who want to find anything to moan about, something to moan about.

FFS - we won the game - stop whinging.

Not a pop at you at all, just an ironic comment. As I've said before, I think Williams is growing into the role week by week. Of course he's not helped by the fact that Smith is not playing as well as he did last year, but he's done OK. Better than OK, in fact.

As I posted on the Saints board.

In the games Williams has played at #6 this year he has scored more tries, same number of assists, made more metres, made more tackles, missed fewer tackles, given fewer penalties and made fewer errors than Burns. He's also made more clean breaks and more tackle busts.
Williams is doing o.k. not brilliant but learning on the job. At least Wane will give our young halves a chance.

I have to laugh when some Saints fans ask what Wigan would do if they had both halves out. Well they could put the England Knights halves from 2013 (Sarginson and Powell) in there couldn't they
or play Hampshire at #6?

Re: the bit in bold. I have already mentioned this in another thread, Bentham was at most of the play the balls standing 12m away from it so anyone 2m or less in front of him was still onside. A ref does not need to stand 10m away from the play the ball and most will stand further away as Bentham did. Additionally a player standing in an offside position when the ball is played does not concede a penalty unless they impact on the play before having moved at least 10m away (to make themselves become onside) from it first. There were some instances of offside players being missed but not nearly so many as a lot of the crowd seemed to think.

I think that undervalues the defensive efforts from both sides.

I didn't mean it that way. I appreciate it was a tough tough match and the players gave their all.

What I meant was that there was very little attacking flair on show and whilst both defences had to work had down the middle, there wasn't much good attacking rugby on show. Far too many errors and a lack of cohesion from both sides.

We all know that the pitch at the DW is extremely heavy at the moment, on the morning of the game we had constant drizzle right up to midday. Twenty five minutes into the match the heavens opened right through till half time. Whilst it won't go down in history as the most expansive game ever, it was better than I've seen in similar conditions previously.

Matty check your pms please.

I don't have an issue with skinny 10s too much as long as it's the same for both teams. Coaches (in all sports, I guess) are the biggest hypocrites going, though. They ask their own players to push their luck; skinny 10s, holding down in the tackle, etc, and moan when the opposition do it. We complain if refs are continually blowing up for pens, disturbing the flow of the game. And we complain if they don't act when we perceive the opposition offside. It would be a simpler world if everyone stuck to the rules, but human nature being what it is...