Well personally although it was a very competetive, close game & very hard fought I thought it was dour & tedious. Very little good expansive play & just drive in after drive in. Defences were good but there were very few plays that were unpredictable making defending much easier to accomplish. Being a neutral observer may also have something to do with my opinion. I may be wrong but I think the reason for the lack of play makers & the footballing skills of yester year is because,with a few exceptions, the attacking skill level of players these days is poor. This is no doubt due to most of the best players either now either preferring a direct route into Rugby Union or starting in the British game but then moving to the NRL in Australia where the monetary rewards are so much better. I also think all coaches today forbid certain plays that they think are a risk to losing possession.
Its long been a bug bear of mine but primarily for me the PTB or lack of enforcement at the PTB are the ruination of the game. The skill levels in our game are almost non existent now as opportunities are usually only made through "speed" . Tackled players move forward , to the left or right , roll the ball between their legs, very rarely get their feet, anything to get a quick PTB and catch or make the defender offside
The refs either ignore it or 9 times out of 10 incorrectly penalise the defender instead of the man who has moved off the mark , all to give sky a "fast game". The game is about athleticism rather than skill, the majority of players have just about managed basic passing ability
The NRL have tidied up the PTB, the player must be stood up, the ball must be played with the foot and the defence cannot move until the ball has cleared the ruck, if the defence is set then the attacking side has to come up with a way of breaking them down. The lack of skill in our game becomes completely apparent when a team has the ball in the oppositions 20, very rarely do the actually manage to score using skill and ability, it is either through a kick (admittedly a skill to some extent) or through pure attrition such as having repeat sets
And that is with a ten metre separation!
I thought Cleal was really good for us(Noel not Les🙄), although he didn’t play very many games for us. Meninga played well in a lot more for Saints.
I thought Cleal was really good for us(Noel not Les🙄), although he didn’t play very many games for us. Meninga played well in a lot more for Saints.
Dennis Moran has the be the "best" with regards to what he contributed, Dale Shearer was my fav
For saints it has to be Jamie Lyon
Saints must be blessed.How many games have they won in the last seconds or even after the final hooter ? Loads of late drop goals in the last minute as well.One was against us in SL 2002, our first game.