16 replies to this topic

[John Drake]

Discuss the game here.

[hindle xiii]

Saints to put Cas to the sword after last week's shambles.

No flipping good now, mind. Rush not to mention the ref at all, as his side will get all the calls.

[Kenilworth Tiger]

146-0 to Saints and the 34 cas fans to sing all the way through with their shirts off

[OMEGA]

After being beaten by the better team last Sunday, a game in which the score line flattered Sts no matter what Rush and Wilkin say, Sts will be fired up and angry, ready to perform at their best.

Cas on the other hand look to be in total disarray on and off the field, their players confidence is shot to bits and I don't expect they'll be relishing going to St Helen's.

Sts by 50

[jackknife]

Iv always believed that if we turn up we have a chance but sadly that has been beat out of me thus season so sts by 30+

[The Bobster]

We will win the game, but not by as many as others are suggesting. I don't thinks Saints have any fire left in them this season.

Last home game for me, morning flight Saturday to New York Saturday back in time for the Wigan game.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

If we can beat Cas' by 22, then Saints SHOULD beat them by 62.

[adelwire]

Saints big win..

[GeordieSaint]

26-6 so far...

[GeordieSaint]

Anyone go to this game last night? There is plenty of moaning about Saints at the moment on redvee. What are the opinions on here?

[Saintslass]

Yes, I went to the game, and the moaning is justified.

Saints were dire to watch. Yes, they won although that was by no means a certainty for most of the match as Cas worked hard for most of it (and some of their ball play is looking promising for next season). But Saints were clueless in attack at the line, relying as usual on kicks to score although even they were often poor. Because of the extremely dull fare on offer, there was no atmosphere at the game until the rain came down in torrents and for some reason that brightened us all up!

There were only three passages of Saints play which were good enough to fully engage the crowd and one of those didn't come off. Firstly there was Makinson's full length of the field try which came from him being alert enough to pick up a loose ball and leg it. Secondly there was LMS's pacey run to the ingoal to splat a Cas player on his backside for a drop out (if only LMS would play with that much enthusiasm for the full time he is on the pitch). Thirdly was a wonderful series of passes on the edge by Makinson and Swift that had Swift passed back to Makinson on the final play instead of going for the line himself (and being pushed into touch as a result) would have been the try of the season by any team and I think it was extra special that two young players created the most excitement in ages given that Rush - who I have lost all respect for now - likes to criticise the young players in public.

I was not particularly impressed by the choice of Nathan Brown as our next coach because although he has improved Hudds beyond recognition, there were patterns in the team under him and also his own I'm going/I'm staying game that still concern me. But after almost a season of Rush in charge I can't wait for Brown to come now. He must be able to get more out of the players we have than Rush has done and especially our young players who, almost to a man, have gone backwards this season in one way or another.

There was one other highlight of the match, it has to be said. An almightly brawl occurred among the Cas fans at one point and it was intriguing to watch the tussle between them and the stewards as they were hauled out of the stadium! lol Shame that Cas fans have sunk to that as it is usually only HKR fans that provide us with that kind of entertainment, but the fight livened up the evening even so, along with the torrential rain.

Edited by Saintslass, 18 August 2012 - 02:19 PM.

[GeordieSaint]

But Saints were clueless in attack at the line, relying as usual on kicks to score although even they were often poor.

I think it was extra special that two young players created the most excitement in ages given that Rush - who I have lost all respect for now - likes to criticise the young players in public.

I think your first point highlights that we have absolutely zip-all flair in our current half backs in my opinion and neither of them can kick a ball properly... I am sure Rush/Cunningham have the team playing to a too rigid game plan, which is reflecting how the team is playing. There needs to be an element of 'let the players decide' when on the park on the field when the opportunity arises rather than playing the same patterns all the time.

This surprises me about Rush as he was the coach developing young players before this appointment. Is he too scared to stand up to the senior players? What is wrong with Cunningham doing this or is he still to close to the senior players? I noticed Rush's comments on the young lads on BBC last night and he is so far from the truth, it's unreal. It's the likes of Wellens (he is bloody annoying complaining all the time!), Perry, Lanffranchi, Wilkin, Meli etc who really need to have a kick up the ######. They need to lead from the front, especially in the big matches, not the young lads.

[Saintslass]

I think your first point highlights that we have absolutely zip-all flair in our current half backs in my opinion and neither of them can kick a ball properly...

I appreciate your point but I disagree in that Lomax looked great last year with Gaskell beside him and a coach who didn't criticise young players in public but who worked closely with them, coaching them properly. Thanks to McManus and Rush all our young players have at times looked half the players they looked last season and therefore it is a coaching issue and not a player issue. Hohaia clearly isn't a halfback - and I gave him time to prove himself one - and Simmons was right to play him as the utility player he is. However, Rush is too close to the senior players to drop Hohaia - or indeed any of our underperforming senior players (and there are quite a few) - and so instead of building upon the experience of last season, we have one half back in Gaskell who is thrown in here and there having played in the u20s or nowhere in the interim, and one halfback who clearly doesn't benefit with the partner (Hohaia) he has been stuck with.

Rush has really annoyed me with his post match comment about Makinson (and the young players generally) btw. I've lost all respect I had for him this season and I can't wait to see the back of him.

I am sure Rush/Cunningham have the team playing to a too rigid game plan,

They don't seem to actually have a game plan, just one game that they play no matter who the opposition is. It works most of the time, hence the wins, but against wiley opposition, like all the Ws, it doesn't. It's so predictable and boring it's unreal.

Is he too scared to stand up to the senior players? What is wrong with Cunningham doing this or is he still to close to the senior players?

I would say so on both counts.

I noticed Rush's comments on the young lads on BBC last night and he is so far from the truth, it's unreal. It's the likes of Wellens (he is bloody annoying complaining all the time!), Perry, Lanffranchi, Wilkin, Meli etc who really need to have a kick up the ######. They need to lead from the front, especially in the big matches, not the young lads.

Totally agree. His comments have really wound me up. And I'm sick of Wello hogging the ball close to the line and then embarrassing us all with his immitation of a helicopter whenever things don't go his way.

I wish the Olympics had gone on for the rest of the rugby league season! I really enjoyed my two week holiday from Saints!

[bewareshadows]

How quickly we all forget.

Royce got us to ninth. Rush and Cunningham have almost no SL experience as coaches and they have done and surpassed the job they were hired to do. They stopped the rot, they have stabalised the ship and managed to drag our butts as far as the top 3. That is no small turn around. Yes we are not going to win the GF, but so are 12 other teams. The difference is we have created a solid defensive platform from which Brown can work and concentrate his efforts.

I am not a fan of all the things that are going on at Saints, but this team have had zero amount of control in terms of money to spend, players to sign, they simply have had to get the team working hard on defence. You can see why all our young players can tackle all day when they come out of the academy, we drill defensive lines really well.

If people were expecting more from Cunningham and Rush than 9th to 3rd, then they are living in cloud cuckoo land. There is too much damage to repair and even next year we will not be the finished article because of some of the signings that we need to make but can't due to Royce filling holes with players we did not need.

A class FB to play halfback
A very good 2nd rower trying to fill in at prop for James Graham
Mark Flanghan another 2nd rower, yes he works hard but does he really offer much more than dixon did??

As for the lack of atmosphere, sadly the fans gave little but background chatter until the rain came and we had already had some fantasitic play before that, ie the Makinson full lengther. The Saints fans are dull and boring and that's before a ball is kicked. But then I expected that. It happens with every move to a new ground especially when you move the popular side.

People will take time to settle, and I know some in the north who are looking forward to buying East stand tickets next year to try and get back some atmosphere and to be able to move and stand with those they want to be with rather than allocated seating which whilst novel and nice is a bit of a drag when no one interacts or gets up to shout for the team for fear of getting on a strangers nerves. It took WIgan years to get their atmosphere back and we will just as fans have to work on gettting our mojo back.

[Saintslass]

How quickly we all forget.

Royce got us to ninth.

That's a daft thing to say. Royce got us to third last season, and to another Grand Final. Royce didn't get us anywhere this season because he was sacked.

The season hasn't finished yet. We haven't secured third and we will have to play a whole lot better than we played last night to get past a revitalised and impressive London Broncos in a fortnight.

The difference is we have created a solid defensive platform from which Brown can work and concentrate his efforts.

Except that we haven't. We defended well against a poor side last night but you seem to forget that a week earlier we shipped how many points? And that is not the first time this team has done that under either of our coaches.

If people were expecting more from Cunningham and Rush than 9th to 3rd, then they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

Rush took the job on and was boasting not so long ago that the team had not lost to anyone other than Wigan under him. Well, he can boast no longer because now they have lost to all the Ws and look no different to earlier in the season. And on top of that, unlike Royce, Rush criticises the young players in public which is enough to make me dislike the man. He sounds like a bully. Wont criticise the lazy senior players - and we have a fair few - but only the young players, and to publically dig at Makinson (a) after he played so well and ( b ) after he was so good as to turn our GF around last year really nails it for me. I'll be glad to see the back of him.

As for the lack of atmosphere, sadly the fans gave little but background chatter until the rain came and we had already had some fantasitic play before that, ie the Makinson full lengther.

The ONLY bit of fantastic play before the rain came in was Makinson's full lengther and that is why there is no atmosphere at matches. We are all snoozing as the way Saints are playing is so predictable and utterly dull. The best piece of play all night was that between Makinson and Swift and it was such a shame it didn't come off.

By this time last season at Widnes there was a cracking atmosphere. But then Saints were playing better rugby by this time last season than they are playing at the same stage this season.

I can't wait for Brown to turn up. Hopefully he'll coach and support our young players instead of criticising them in public.

Edited by Saintslass, 18 August 2012 - 06:28 PM.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Theres a lot of complaining for a team that will likely finish 3rd this year!

I wish my team were that bad!

[Saintslass]

Theres a lot of complaining for a team that will likely finish 3rd this year!

Sometimes there is more to a rugby season than where your team will finish. Going to game after game to watch five drives and a kick is very, very dull. I enjoyed my sabbatical, care of the Olympics, and it was only thanks to said sabbatical that I was able to go along and endure five drives and a kick again. Thankfully, though, Tommy Makinson saved the day with his length of the field try and his interplay with Swift which should have ended in another try but for the inexperience of Swift. Had Tommy Mak not been playing, I would have left halfway through the second half as watching paint dry in the rain is a more entertaining experience than watching Saints at present.

I'm a season ticket holder. I would have appreciated some value for my money.