Fri 13th May : SL : St Helens v Hull FC KO 8pm SKY

[Old Frightful]

Well, the effort was there but we just didn't have the ability to break down a good Saints defence. The penalty and ensuing try in the last few seconds of the first half effectively killed us off.

Pleased that Brad Fash was able to walk off after that hit, didn't look great at the ground but the Sky cameras seem to concentrate on Lees which usually suggests a player might be in trouble but no action taken. I can't really comment as I saw it once live and a couple of times on the screen and couldn't tell if the elbow was used or not. I imagine Liam Watts might recall his dismissal after a similar incident against Michael McIlorum after watching it though.

If Josh Reynolds leaving at the end of season was still in doubt then I think last night made it certain.

Jake Connor tried but not much came off for him but as he was playing behind a struggling team he probably had less time.

Still not sure about Hodgson's thinking behind Chris Satae on the bench, he needs to be on from the start for me, by the time he's introduced we're usually a try or two down. Granted, he'll always make a difference when coming on but I would say chasing a game is harder than defending a lead.

At least a defeat for Hull FC has given the chance for this forum's most bitter poster to start posting again, always good for a laugh but we haven't seen much of their drivel since last Saturday, perhaps they've been trying to flog their cup final tickets.

"Since 1985", etc, etc....

 

 

 

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

1 hour ago, Old Frightful said:

Well, the effort was there but we just didn't have the ability to break down a good Saints defence. The penalty and ensuing try in the last few seconds of the first half effectively killed us off.

Especially galling for the Hull fans as both players had hands on the ball with no bodily contact.  Turn over at worst.  

[dkw]

More bitter in the first few pages of this thread than Matthew Brown's used to make in a month 

Hull are 2 teams, an outstanding pack and a terrible, confused set of backs. Doesn't help that Connor is more interested in dicking about and screaming at refs than just playing the bloody game.

[MZH]

2 hours ago, Saint 1 said:

I thought Hull knocked on by pulling it towards the Saints line. Refs have been overzealous on contact on kick catchers all year though, from memory we had a couple of stinkers of the same type away to Hull FC.

Oh it was certainly a Hull knock on. Very harsh to give a penalty though.

[MZH]

3 hours ago, dkw said:

More bitter in the first few pages of this thread than Matthew Brown's used to make in a month 

Hull are 2 teams, an outstanding pack and a terrible, confused set of backs. Doesn't help that Connor is more interested in dicking about and screaming at refs than just playing the bloody game.

Our backs are a bit of a mishmash. Connor is a great player when he's just focused on playing, but he lets himself be wound up too easily. At this point I'm not sure what to do about that. Tuimavave is as good as any centre in the league imo. McIntosh isnt a superstar, but he's fine. Lovodua has been great, but he's not really a half back. Then you've got Wynne who has loads of promise but is still really erratic and again I'm not sure centre is his position long term. Shaul shouldn't be at the club anymore and he certainly isn't a winger. Reynolds tries but is really poor more often than not. 

We are being heavily linked with Trueman. If we can get him and make a couple other smart signings in the backs I don't think we are far off. The pack will give us a fighting chance in most games.

Edited May 14, 2022 by MZH

[Damien]

 

 

[Josef K]

I didn’t fancy us for this game and when i saw the side i was even more concerned, but it turned out to be a good win in the end. I thought FC put up a really good performance in the first half, but in the second half they lost their way. It was good to see Fash get up because it looked worrying at one stage. I wonder if there was any complaints from “The Game Has Gone Soft Brigade”. Saints first try was nicely worked, but it was a very harsh penalty FC conceded before the try. FC’s try was a nice one catching Saints out, for me Sate, Griffin, Jordan Lane were FC standouts but i don’t see much of them so i don’t know if they’re regularly their best players. For Saints Hurrell had a great second half and im not his biggest fan. Percival was wasted on the wing but he put in a couple of crunching tackles. Roby is just an amazing athlete god knows what his body will be like in another decade or so. Having Davies at 6 just doesn’t work for me he’s nonexistent. Our kicking game was woeful once again especially on the last tackle, we gave away two “7 tackle restarts”, and the discipline was abysmal i don’t know what Bell was thinking. Makinson is playing really well but my man of the match was Welsby.
It was bloody cold there last night with that strong wind. 

[Saint Toppy]

On 13/05/2022 at 20:18, WN83 said:

Nearly did it again from the kick off Lees. He is leading with his non ball carrying arm. Awful technique that. 

Jeeze some people need to learn the rules and/or take their anti-Saints specs off.

Probably half of all carries in a game the ball carrier turns their body so its their shoulder that takes the first impact. First contact in that tackle Lees arm is down by his side and the point of contact is between Lees shoulder and Fash's head, at no point did Lees elbow ever make contact with Fash.

It was just one of those unfortunate incidents where the tackler gets his technique all wrong and didn't get his head to the side properly. There was an almost identical incident in a game last a few years ago between Saints & Wakey where it was Paasi who went in for the big hit and got knocked out by Pauli Pauli by getting his head in the wrong spot when Pauli Pauli turned his shoulder.

The only player who makes this sort of run a dangerous play is Akuola because he deliberately dips his shoulder just before impact to intentionally make contact with the defenders head.

[Saint Toppy]

On 14/05/2022 at 17:50, Josef K said:

 Having Davies at 6 just doesn’t work for me he’s nonexistent. Our kicking game was woeful once again especially on the last tackle, we gave away two “7 tackle restarts”,

and the discipline was abysmal i don’t know what Bell was thinking. 

Agree about Davies, the lad tries hard but just isn't going to be a 6. Though by next month things could change. The main reason the 2 young 7's at the club (Moss & Archer) aren't getting picked is they aren't full time and can only train in the evenings. They'll finish College shortly so will be available for full time training so I suspect we'll see one of those 2 get a run out at 7 in the coming months.

As for Bell, he's a cracking player but his tackling technique sometimes is awful. The Tuimavave tackle looked bad on the night, though when you look at the replay thankfully his head never comes into contact with the ground as he gets his arms up first as he lands. Bell will still get a ban for it but probably only 1-2 games instead of a much lengthier one.

[Josef K]

1 hour ago, Saint Toppy said:

Agree about Davies, the lad tries hard but just isn't going to be a 6. Though by next month things could change. The main reason the 2 young 7's at the club (Moss & Archer) aren't getting picked is they aren't full time and can only train in the evenings. They'll finish College shortly so will be available for full time training so I suspect we'll see one of those 2 get a run out at 7 in the coming months.

As for Bell, he's a cracking player but his tackling technique sometimes is awful. The Tuimavave tackle looked bad on the night, though when you look at the replay thankfully his head never comes into contact with the ground as he gets his arms up first as he lands. Bell will still get a ban for it but probably only 1-2 games instead of a much lengthier one.

Totally agree with you Toppy, as much as Moss & Archer would to have a runout it just wouldn’t be wise. Once we get Grace & Hopoate back that’ll be a big boost for the back line. 

[Saint Toppy]

4 hours ago, Saint Toppy said:

Jeeze some people need to learn the rules and/or take their anti-Saints specs off.

Probably half of all carries in a game the ball carrier turns their body so its their shoulder that takes the first impact. First contact in that tackle Lees arm is down by his side and the point of contact is between Lees shoulder and Fash's head, at no point did Lees elbow ever make contact with Fash.

It was just one of those unfortunate incidents where the tackler gets his technique all wrong and didn't get his head to the side properly. There was an almost identical incident in a game last a few years ago between Saints & Wakey where it was Paasi who went in for the big hit and got knocked out by Pauli Pauli by getting his head in the wrong spot when Pauli Pauli turned his shoulder.

The only player who makes this sort of run a dangerous play is Akuola because he deliberately dips his shoulder just before impact to intentionally make contact with the defenders head.

It seems the Disciplinary agree regarding the Lees / Fash tackle - Incident not even considered for any further action.

I think Bell is lucky though not to get a ban based on other bans this year. He was probably saved by the fact Tuimavave's head never came into contact with the ground even though his legs were lifted above the horizontal. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by Saint Toppy