Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:10 pm  

Last night really highlighted a lot of issues that leeds currently have. If they are not resolved leeds will not win anything this season.

Leeds have poor attacking structure. Cas, as good as they are in attack are not renowned for great defence yet leeds were continually reduced to either kicks to the corner or floated passes wide to the likes of ablett, moon or Watkins. Too often leeds were going sideways. There isn't the movement or shape off the ball to create indecision. Some of the play may look kinda pretty but cas were able to number up comfortably. 3 tries came from kicks, including lucky rebounds and 50/50 offloads.

Leeds defence is not as good as people are making it out to be. People are dining out on the against column in the league (a lot of which was kept down early season) but last night cas were splitting leeds defence left right and centre. There were breaks/halfbreaks and gaps down the middle, on the fringes, everywhere. Once again last gasp defence was able to save tries, resulting in ''only'' 24 points being conceded (remember leeds average of 8 points a game early season?).

I don't think as it stands leeds have the team structure to win a trophy this season. The attack is relying on individual plays too often and the defence is being split open often in midfield and is relying on scrambling defence.

Cas will win the CC and Wigan will retain the title.

Re: Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:17 pm  

The usual stuff from Mr Doom.

We actually went top last night albeit for a brief spell.

Re: Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:18 pm  

Classic overreaction, nothing to see here.

Re: Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:35 pm  

We've seldom had much 'structure' to our game and are more reliant on the 'off the cuff' style but it hasn't stopped us winning the trophys we have over the last decade using this style of play.

Granted as our halfbacks get slower and slower then the 'off the cuff' style is less likely to succeed as often

Re: Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:41 pm  

Just out of interest, what was our attacking structure under Tony Smith

Re: Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:53 pm  

cheekydiddles wrote:

We've seldom had much 'structure' to our game and are more reliant on the 'off the cuff' style but it hasn't stopped us winning the trophys we have over the last decade using this style of play.

Granted as our halfbacks get slower and slower then the 'off the cuff' style is less likely to succeed as often

It is less likely, you are correct. Also becomes more predictable when the tricks have been seen for many years.

Exactly what we are experiencing.

Re: Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:04 pm  

FlexWheeler wrote:

Cas, as good as they are in attack are not renowned for great defence

They didn't do too badly against Wigan in the cup.

Re: Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:13 pm  

I get where Flex is coming from with this, especially regarding the defence. Something in me snapped last night before (and then resulting from) the 3rd Cas try before half-time. I am fed up with the last few weeks, of situations where the opponents are in the final 10-20 metres and just going straight through the middle, in massive gaps in our defence. Sick of it. Several times last night we were in similar positions in Cas' final 20, but never had such scores. It seems a disproptionate number of tries against us are coming in this fashion, but conversely not many of ours do.

Either this is an example of our toothless attack compared to others, or it is our wide-open defence around the goal-posts that result in people having a huge gap around the sticks to score the try.

Seeing it in action a couple of times last night for Cas scores, I don't see it was particularly amazing attacking play, it was more just flimsy defence. Surely the centre of the pitch / try line should be where you have the MOST cover; it is on the flanks you would expect to get 'caught short', in terms of numbers.

As I say, something snapped. Teams worse than Leeds keep scoring in such was against us, so why is our defence so susceptible to this when we score very few tries against the opposition in the same way? Or is it actually clever attacking play and therefore the concern lies with Leeds never scoring in this way, when teams against do regularly.

Hopefully it abates and I am less wound up when we play Bradford. If it happens again in that game though, my reaction will be interesting...

Re: Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:37 pm  

So much nonsense spoken about structure from folk who either haven't played or coached. Of course Leeds practice defensive and attacking structures and these are applied, or not, on the field by the players. When the team make mistakes and suffer periods with poor form it never occurs to some that these are player errors. It is all part of sport.

Re: Big problems for leeds : Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:44 pm  

Juan Cornetto wrote:

So much nonsense spoken about structure from folk who either haven't played or coached. Of course Leeds practice defensive and attacking structures and these are applied, or not, on the field by the players. When the team make mistakes and suffer periods with poor form it never occurs to some that these are player errors. It is all part of sport.

If this was in response to my post, I am not asking if it is done in training / as tactics - I am simply stating why is it that opposition players are routinely able to diver under the sticks after a quick PTB with only one Leeds defender anywhere near them when it happens and why it doesn't happen the other way round?

I see it as purely bad Leeds defence / bad Leeds attack - I wasn't querying 'tactics', 'training', 'play by play position making on a whiteboard' or anything like that. Merely asking how/why it happnes?