Is there a case for moving Hampshire to 9. He has got a good side step and fast off the mark These seem wasted at full back. Roby tore us apart with his movement off the mark, and we seemed short of ideas at play the ball. Jowitt at full back might go some way to helping edge defence [Not having a go at Hampshire] which is very bad and some thing that would not be happening if John Kear was in still in the background

We got done on the outside when Kear was in charge also. I remember Ainscough scoring exactly the same try four times with Blanch floundering in field.

Today both Johnstone and Jones-Bishop were defending the centre position as the whole team bunched up leaving the wings wide open.

Never seems to get sorted does it.
Wingers have been slated at BV for years, but if the second rower and centre didn't leave the winger exposed then it wouldn't happen. The problem therefore is not in the wings but in the middle because players feel they have to move inside to help out.
Apart from that I took heart from todays performance - I though we were worth a point .

I once remember a try being scored on Blanch's wing, and he was half way between the corner flag and the posts when the ball was grounded!

Wing defence was poor today. Think it was their second try, you could see it coming as soon as the ball was played. BJB was so far off his wing, that he had no option other than to watch Makinson stroll in.

is it horo who cant even pick his legs up for the final try and is slow as a wet week...


Guys we had enough ball inside the ops 20 to win 10 games and we didn't t have a clue at ALL!!!!!! radio announcer was even sayin it , same as last year - saints scored nearly every time they had a full set at us attacking.

both the wingers defense is awful.

positive is we are not last- you would have ben happy with today if we won last week but we got thrashed so today means nothing in my eyes....





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When Ainscough was scoring those tries, think it was before the obstruction rule was introduced. Wigan had got it off to a fine art, to get their players into the opponents defence, making it impossible for the defence to move across at speed. Was talking about 2017.

Thought millers diving cover tackle in the corner to knock makinson into touch whilst Tom was left in no mans land was a real captains knock .
Happened right in front and you’d have put your house on a try but then miller had other ideas and threw his body at makinson to deny him.
Early season yet but our wings are looking susceptible to the overlap, for whatever reason it needs sorting ASAP.

As well as Miller did, the way we concertina in the centre of the field it needs the halves/full back to work harder to make those cover tackles. Currently the wings are in a no win position. Stay tight to the touch line and there is a massive gap between them and centre, come inside and look daft as the opposite number strolls in untouched.

Should try and cover the inside which hopefully forces the attack wide and if they do break at least it makes the kick more difficult, sounds easy

After what happened at London, the saints game was a great improvement in many areas. Lets hope we can keep improving further and start to pick up a few wins.

However one thing I should mention that needs sorting is that young Rocky needs to get a set of decent boots. Lost count of the times he lost his footing and finished up on his harris.

Their forwards were dominant and sucked in our defence, and when you've got a hooker as good and intelligent as Roby who takes full advantage its an uphill struggle for any defence.

I was hoping that the smoke which blew over the pitch might make them choke (again ) but it wasn't to be.

Our ability to defend out wide is absolutely appalling it seems all teams have to do to score against us is pass it along the line. The worst thing is it’s a blatant issue with our defensive structure rather than individuals making bad reads. Our coaching staff must be able to see it yet seem powerless to address it.
I’d also like to Jowitt back at fullback or Hooley if Max is that out of favour. I like Hampshire but I don’t think fullback is his best position.

Not much between the two sides - which was a big surprise given last week's debacle; I was with my son, and we both said that the best we could hope for was a performance, since Saints would easily overpower us - which they clearly didn't, so that was definitely progress.

Observations:

Hampshire needs some long studs - he was sliding around like Robin Currie; several times he had space in front of him, and ended up on his backside
Saints were never square at the ptb
Danny Brough is Jekyll & Hyde - brilliant kicking game, but his gob let us down again
We spent too much time in their 20 without scoring; sometimes, the halves were passing to people who had no clue what to do next - a bit embarassing
James Roby is a remarkable athlete
We have to sort out the defensive structure - Johnstone and BJB were left with too much to do on several occasions
Saints NRL signings were crap - Naiqama was anonymous and Coote was made to look foolish by Broughy
Poor old Alex Walmsley looks crocked - I winced every time he went into collision
Huby will be out for a while - looked like a dislocated shoulder
Kopczak & King look like a great additions
Matty Ashurst is an outstanding player
It was very cold

Three times Broughy put us in attacking positions. A try from one of them could have won the game.

Indeed - and he voiced his frustration at those around him when they didn't exploit his good work, which is a bit of a Broughy trademark - I haven't always agreed with it, but this group of players should be able to put together a decent attacking move when given the opportunity.

The LMS try at the end is a very simple example - which we could easily have tried on several occasions - but our middle men took the ball standing still.