Quote PAUL M="PAUL M"Looking at where we are after 8 games and the fixtures w have had then I think we have done okay. We have a won a couple of tough games but lost a couple of winnable ones so all in all we are about even. My issue is have we improved from last season? The squad is better and so is the proffessionalism but playing wise I don't think we are doing much different. We still look laboured in attack and whilst in defence we have improved. The ball movement, angles of run, offloading, support play etc etc has not improved and when the summer kicks in I feel our pack will be exposed a little for pace. We still have very little width to our game and still try and coast through games instead of trying to dominate them.
The big factor is consistency, we were not beaten by a better side tonight, we simply did not turn up to play and in SL when you do that you lose. There was defensive intensity, we slow and laborious in attack and we out enthused from start to finish. We look a different when playing away to our home performances and we seem to struggle with motivation. Once again we have coem up short because of our attitude, the coach should be sending them out spitting blood, but we come out like we don't care.
For me this boils down to the coaching team. Agar has done okay, he cleared out deadwood and recruited well but he has not improved us as a team and we are not playing better rugby. There are no real clear tactics either and we often rely on a big play from someone. He is a decent coach but for me is out of his depth at this level, I think he coaches well enough but cannot develop a player. We have young players like Briscoe and Hall who for me have not improved at the rate they should have.
Coaches like McGuire and Brown have taken decent players and improved them through their coaching abilities and they also play to a definate gameplan. If we are to achieve our potential then I feel we must recruit a top NRL coach for next season. I believe players like Hall, Briscoe, Yeaman, Washy, Horne etc etc can all improve uinder the right coach.
I am not having a go at Agar but simply stating my opinion and I have been on the fence about him for a while. We will never progress with Agar as coach and I think the board need to recognise this and start looking for his replacement so we can get the right man.'"
I understand the frustration and boy did I feel frustrated on Saturday but I don't agree with all of your analysis.:
1. Our results are better than last years over all so far this year (team versus team).
2. There is real structure to our attack - the try that Lyne scored was from a very structured attack, the try that Hall scored from the scrum was a planned move, the try that Tansey scored against Bradford before half-time was well-rehed and well executed (there are other examples). Last year we would have probably squandered the opportunity in all examples (the Lyne try would never even have been on the cards). What was missing on Saturday was patience - we rarely gave ourselves the field position we needed to mount serious attacks on the line. When we did we scored (e.g. the Lyne try).
3. I think our pack have plenty of mobility and pace including both O'Meley and Moa who have pace in the front row.
4. The key thing is that it is still a very new team who need time to gel around our half-back pairing and, yet again, our two first choice half-backs have hardly ever taken the field together. Here is where one of our main problems is imo.
5. Another main fault that I see is the defence. If we want to play free-flowing rugby we are likely to spill the ball a lot and, therefore, must be able to back it up with powerful, dominating and steadfast defence.
6. Finally, these fantastic Aussie coaches: do we really, as fans, want to watch Huddersfield/Wigan-esque spoiling tactics every week or do we want the free-flowing style that people so often extol the virtues of on here? As for Huddersfield and Wigan etc - let's wait until they win something with their fantastic coaches. It is only a quarter of the way through the season and, as we all know, the only constant is change. For example, look at the different interpretation at the play-the-ball over the weekend. The referees could completely mess up Wigan and Huddersfield's most potent weapon in one fell swoop by changing their outlook.
7. I am still not convinced about Agar but I think it's too early to get over-excited. There are other teams (and coaches) doing a lot worse than Hull. (
6 wasn't "finally" after all)
Rich.
