Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:03 pm  

I can't believe how quick everyone is to judge GOB.

Should he really have hit his peak at 23? Really?

Other than his kicking game being spotty, GOB is great, world class at times in fact. For me, GOB stays in the halves for the foreseeable future.

Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:33 pm  

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

Without wanting to be too harsh on the lad, its just that he's a bit ordinary, isn't he??

If I go through my time following Wire, its fair to say we have had some cracking half backs over the years.... Parry Gordon, Ken Kelly, Andy Gregory, Keith Holden, John Woods, Phil Blake, Greg Mackey, Kelly Shelford, and quite a few more, the list is a pretty long and impressive one.... Unfortunately, O'Brien (and all the others trying to do the job at present, with the possible exception of Ratchford) isn't a patch on any of those.

I accept it isn't only a Wire problem - the quality of half backs in general in the British game is pretty lousy - but seeing the side continue in such a one-dimensional, tedious manner will not be good for the club, not just in the hunt for honours, but in the long term job of getting folk through the turnstiles and actually being able to entertain them with some rugby that people will actually want to watch, rather than endure.

Kelly Shelford...crikey.....if the internet was around when he was playing.

what an awesome player he was ..........when he could be bothered.........

I'd imagine someone somewhere would sing your just a fat Rangi Chase....

Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:57 pm  

the flying biscuit wrote:

Kelly Shelford...crikey.....if the internet was around when he was playing.

what an awesome player he was ..........when he could be bothered.........

......when he was sober.

Have I told the story that Kelly Shelford used to have to be knocked up every Sunday morning?

Well the club had a copy of his house key never mind knocking him up, it didn't work.
If a player didn't go round his house and pull him out of bed he would sleep right though and miss the game.

One match day they got him out of bed and drove him to the Wilderspool absolutely stinking of alcohol, and obviously still drunk.
He ran out onto the pitch played like he was sober and got man of the Match award.
He returned to the changing room after the match and fell asleep still drunk!

Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Tue Mar 03, 2015 12:18 am  

Must admit I haven't made my mind up about Gareth. He produces the odd-flash of brilliance, the try vs St George being a good example, that would send the Myler camp into raptures and thrashing their keyboards at a frenzied rate, but his tactical kicking game is poor and he gets caught in posession too much for my liking.

The Ratchford-Bridge partnership may be worth reviving but if someone has to make way it should be Myler. Sorry folks. If O'Brien is not the finished article at 23, then Myler is way beyond redemption.

As for the hall of fame of Wire half-backs that was mentioned, any one of them could name their salary and walk into any SL starting XIII, let alone Warrington's. There isn't a halfback in the competiion to compare with any of them, so to compare O'Brien (and indeed any half-back) to them is unfair. They belong to a past that valued individual skill over everything else, and I'd trample over my grandma to have any of them (inc. Fatty Arbuckle Shelford) available for selection in the P&B today.

Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:32 am  

morrisseyisawire wrote:

As for the hall of fame of Wire half-backs that was mentioned, any one of them could name their salary and walk into any SL starting XIII, let alone Warrington's. There isn't a halfback in the competiion to compare with any of them, so to compare O'Brien (and indeed any half-back) to them is unfair. They belong to a past that valued individual skill over everything else, and I'd trample over my grandma to have any of them (inc. Fatty Arbuckle Shelford) available for selection in the P&B today.

The effect of Rugby Union now paying (and much more than League) cannot be underestimated. A look at the background of some of the top Union backs will show up just how many would be playing League years ago. Just a quick think bring Ford/Farrell/Myler/Eastmond/Burgess to mind and that's just a few of the English players. We used to have the pick of rugby players from round the world but far from it now. There is also lots of young talent who never even think of league because they know where the easier money is.

Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Tue Mar 03, 2015 1:57 pm  

The influence of the full back in Wires attacking play cannot be under estimated. Its no coincidence that when we were at our attacking best was when Hodgson was at fullback - in tandam with Briers and Myler.

I never saw the Hull game - but watching the 2 Dragon encounters the lack of the fullback joining the attacking line was one of the reason our ability to convert pressure into tries never happened.

Its one of the reasons Ratchford is prefered at fullback to Russell - due to his ability to create near the oppositions line.

Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Tue Mar 03, 2015 2:20 pm  

Forty - Twenty wrote:

The influence of the full back in Wires attacking play cannot be under estimated. Its no coincidence that when we were at our attacking best was when Hodgson was at fullback - in tandam with Briers and Myler.

I never saw the Hull game - but watching the 2 Dragon encounters the lack of the fullback joining the attacking line was one of the reason our ability to convert pressure into tries never happened.

Its one of the reasons Ratchford is prefered at fullback to Russell - due to his ability to create near the oppositions line.

Was there that problem at fb when R&B were our hb's last season?

Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:37 pm  

rubber duckie wrote:

Was there that problem at fb when R&B were our hb's last season?

Yes, that problem was evident all last season.. but luckily we had Michael Monaghan and an inform Higham causing all sorts of problems.

Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:39 pm  

I don't recall Monas or Higham ever playing fb!?
Joking a part...

Im glad you said that MD because you strengthen the evidence of R&B together being so significant.
The two of them papered over many cracks, and that is the whole point, put the two of them back together because it worked, build a strong winning habit and then look at these areas of weakness you highlight and fix them from a position of strength.

Re: 7 Ratchford & 6 Bridge. Lessons Need To Be Learnt. : Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:43 pm  

i dont know why i even bothered.