Re: Jake Connor : Wed Feb 18, 2015 1:02 pm  

nolano87 wrote:

just a thought. i was really disappointed with cudjoe and our right side defence as a whole against wigan . I'd be tempted to line up with

connor
jerry murphy wardle broughton as our back line.

On a separate note these last 2 games just shows the importance too our team that bruno brings. ok we no were not getting much in attack but 50+ tackles a game we miss

Yes Cudjoe is not putting his all into games, he didn`t last season, and has started the same this season. Probably let him play a couple of games at Oldham. I`d agree with your above backline.

Re: Jake Connor : Wed Feb 18, 2015 1:37 pm  

This is exactly why we must get Scott Grix back at fullback. Without Grix in the team there's no majority view on which single player is to blame for all the teams failings. Instead it's Ferres' fault or Leroy's fault or Koppy's fault or(<insert player name here's> fault.

So I start the campaign now to get Grix back at full back...alternatively, after only 2 games, there could just be less panic and less finger pointing and we could just wait a few more games so we can we get a realistic view of the team and the squad. Just a thought

Re: Jake Connor : Wed Feb 18, 2015 1:45 pm  

when im at games it always seems to be cudjoe who gets the flack from alot of our fans when hes on the ball

Re: Jake Connor : Wed Feb 18, 2015 4:51 pm  

Its not a case for of blaming people, but certain players are under performing.

And it's not just after 2 games, it's being going on for a while.

All good saying send cudjoe to Oldham, but who would come in for him without reshuffling the whole back line?

Let's replace a centre with a centre, winger with a winger etc.
If this means playing youngsters then so be it. Saints Wigan and wire have done it and they are all going ok.

Re: Jake Connor : Wed Feb 18, 2015 6:37 pm  

We have had a problem for about a year and a half now getting good ball out to our right hand side. Madness as we have Leroy and Jerry there, but everything goes left through Brough and Ferres.

There was little point bringing in Jamie Ellis to take pressure off Danny Brough and then never giving him the ball. He has had very little given to him in two games so far, he has defended well but been given little opportunity in attack, which means Hughes, Leroy and Jerry get no quality ball.

Both hookers were poor against Hull, Robbo was much better against Wigan, but I can see Kyle wood getting a game soon if Lunt's form continues.

Main point though, sort out the balance of our play and allow the right side attack to thrive, that will stop the opposition focus on our left side and we will suddenly look the real deal.

Re: Jake Connor : Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:53 pm  

wood got man of the match again for oldham at the weekend, must be pushing hard to replace somebody, prob at hooker. as i think anderson will want to run with brough/ellis for a while yet which is undrstandable. the current hookers need to perform soon with wood playing well

Re: Jake Connor : Wed Feb 18, 2015 9:38 pm  

It makes me laugh how some players get blamed for everything yet others can do no wrong. I agree Connor is a great talent but to say he stood out against Wigan is wrong. For Bateman's try he overcommitted leaving a huge gap on his inside. For Mcllorum's try he had already been let down by defence in front of him but still missed a tackle on Bateman. I just think people need to watch the whole game and not just the attacking bit before criticising players. Ferres made more tackles and more metres than any other Giants player but he is the current target so the defeat was obviously his fault.

Re: Jake Connor : Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:01 pm  

Broughton isn't as bad under the high ball as some people like to claim.

He took a Robinson kick to the corner two years ago to win the game at Salford. Unfortunately he was playing against us that day.

David Hodgson acquired the name dodgy due to his weakness fielding kicks, but he was an impressive finisher. Whilst I would say Hodgson was a better finisher near the line (though Broughton finished very adeptly in the pre-season game at Halifax), Broughton has already scored tries for us where none of his current team-mates would (Leeds at home and Bradford at Manchester immediately spring to mind). It's quite correct to say speed isn't everything you look for in a winger, but it is certainly an important attribute. Ignore the ridiculous Dwayne Chambers comparison, by that reckoning there would be no place for Martin Offiah.

Anderson appears to prefer wingers who run the ball up hard. Forget subtlety, he seems to like all our players to take the ball up hard. Whilst he doesn't shirk the work, that simply isn't Broughton's forte. His key attribute, his speed - something of a USP in our first team - is not utilized, partly due to our playing style and partly due to his centre. In order to free his winger, Wardle needs to get on the outside of his opposing number and draw the winger. Wardle's passing, despite several years of Super League coaching, does not afford Broughton such chances. Credit to him, he comes up with some big hits, runs some decent lines and can be an imposing figure, but passing isn't one of his better traits.

When we played Leeds away a couple of years ago Brough put in some wonderful kicks for Murphy, whose pace is incomparable to Broughton's. With two quality kickers I would have thought we would be looking to utilize Broughton's pace more. Broughton was top try scorer for a struggling Salford side in 2010, 2011 and second (by one try!) in 2012. Their side wasn't as strong as ours, but they moved the ball better and created opportunities. We still seem to struggle a little in that respect.

If we want a winger who can provide some tough hit ups from dummy half (in addition to Jerry, who does that well) then Broughton probably isn't the winger for us, and we would be better spending his salary on a different type of player. Not all the wingers will have the speed and agility of Broughton. And with our half back pairing, it will be a shame if we can't (or don't) make better use of his ability. If we were able to pass the ball around and showed some flair, Broughton would be scoring regularly, but with limited opportunities to showcase his talent, his frailties, though somewhat largely perceived, are magnified. A little suspect under the high ball perhaps. But a winger being built for speed and balance instead of being built for hit ups isn't a weakness, it's an opportunity. Whether he gets it with us, and our style of play, however, remains to be seen. And with Wardle as his centre, I don't see there being much chance of that happening.

Re: Jake Connor : Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:16 pm  

I agree with some of what you say- but not all.
Broughton is not being utilised to his strengths- we should indeed be putting him in a position to beat his man in a kick chase as Brough did for murphy but we don't! I don't agree that Wardle isn't supplying broughton correctly- broughton has messed up a fair few times when he's missed a pass with a try begging. Neither does he run himself into space or run round to enable an inside pass. He is disappointingly a one trick pony.
But the team are daft not to utilise that one trick.

Re: Jake Connor : Thu Feb 19, 2015 1:55 pm  

the stella kid wrote:

It makes me laugh how some players get blamed for everything yet others can do no wrong. I agree Connor is a great talent but to say he stood out against Wigan is wrong. For Bateman's try he overcommitted leaving a huge gap on his inside. For Mcllorum's try he had already been let down by defence in front of him but still missed a tackle on Bateman. I just think people need to watch the whole game and not just the attacking bit before criticising players. Ferres made more tackles and more metres than any other Giants player but he is the current target so the defeat was obviously his fault.

yeh thought connor could have done better with that tackle and also the first half try they got

but its a steep learning curve, getting position right at full back is important,lets hope he keeps improving at the rate he has so far