4 games in. What have we learned? : Mon Feb 18, 2019 9:50 am  

Firstly we are still trying to fill the holes left by the departures of Sam, Sutty and Bateman. Secondly we are unbalanced, several players are less effective for being played out of position and perhaps it might be better to play untried players in those, their natural positions. Thirdly several players , including Davies, seem to have lost confidence in their own abilities.

Re: 3 games in. What have we learned? : Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:16 am  

our attack is still garbage and our defence has gone backwards

Re: 3 games in. What have we learned? : Mon Feb 18, 2019 1:40 pm  

We’ve not been brilliant but we need to appreciate that 8/9yrs worth of structured attacking and defensive play doesn’t just go away in a few months. It takes time to adjust, as it would any team. Factor in the players lost in John Bateman and Sam Tomkins (the latter of which would be my choice for HB alongside GW if he was still here) and some backroom staff too and it’s a huge shift in the culture of our club and playing style too.

I’m not in the camp who signed up to it all being perfect once Wane left, I probably did think we’d play a little better but we have to reserve judgement for game 12 and see where we are then.

That said, our defence is something which needs working on. We’ve lost that aggression and nastiness we once had. Regardless of whether Wane has gone or not, players shouldn’t just lost that from one season to the next.

Re: 3 games in. What have we learned? : Mon Feb 18, 2019 3:40 pm  

the defence has

Re: 3 games in. What have we learned? : Mon Feb 18, 2019 5:19 pm  

Fix up the defence, add a new agressive prop, more time and we will be fine. I saw enough from last nights performance to know we are headed the right direction in attack. We just need to perfect it and fine tune it now. We caused them problems but didnt execute smoothly or fast enough.

Re: 3 games in. What have we learned? : Mon Feb 18, 2019 11:13 pm  

Pieman wrote:

our attack is still garbage and our defence has gone backwards

Harsh but fair,

Re: 3 games in. What have we learned? : Wed Feb 20, 2019 8:54 am  

I’m obviously watching something different to some on here. We have made slow starts in 3 games but not down to defensive structure or anything like it.

Saints game - An unforced knock on by Navarette in our first set followed by a missed one on one tackle by Sarginson that gave them their first try. 6-0 down after 2 minutes.

Leeds game - Simple dropped high kick by Davies at the end of their 1st set which bounced straight into their arms for a try. 6-0 down after 2 minutes.

Sydney game - Missed one on one tackle on Morris by Gildart and then again by Tommy before Gildart fell off him again! 6-0 down after 2 minutes.

That’s nothing to do with structure. That’s simple basic, largely uncharacteristic errors by individual players, after which the side as a whole performered as I’d expect at the start of a new season with a new coach. What’s clear is we’ve improved significantly week on week and that bodes well for the season. There are obvious differences in our attack with Williams playing left and right and with forwards looking for off loads.

I’m very optimistic after the 1st 3 games.

Re: 3 games in. What have we learned? : Wed Feb 20, 2019 8:55 am  

100% Warrior wrote:

We’ve not been brilliant but we need to appreciate that 8/9yrs worth of structured attacking and defensive play doesn’t just go away in a few months. It takes time to adjust, as it would any team. Factor in the players lost in John Bateman and Sam Tomkins (the latter of which would be my choice for HB alongside GW if he was still here) and some backroom staff too and it’s a huge shift in the culture of our club and playing style too.

I’m not in the camp who signed up to it all being perfect once Wane left, I probably did think we’d play a little better but we have to reserve judgement for game 12 and see where we are then.

That said, our defence is something which needs working on. We’ve lost that aggression and nastiness we once had. Regardless of whether Wane has gone or not, players shouldn’t just lost that from one season to the next.

Good post. Totally agree with this evaluation.

Re: 3 games in. What have we learned? : Wed Feb 20, 2019 8:56 am  

Bigredwarrior wrote:

I’m obviously watching something different to some on here. We have made slow starts in 3 games but not down to defensive structure or anything like it.

Saints game - An unforced knock on by Navarette in our first set followed by a missed one on one tackle by Sarginson that gave them their first try. 6-0 down after 2 minutes.

Leeds game - Simple dropped high kick by Davies at the end of their 1st set which bounced straight into their arms for a try. 6-0 down after 2 minutes.

Sydney game - Missed one on one tackle on Morris by Gildart and then again by Tommy before Gildart fell off him again! 6-0 down after 2 minutes.

That’s nothing to do with structure. That’s simple basic errors by individual players, after which the side as a whole performers aa I’d expect at the start of a new season with a new coach. What’s clear is we’ve improved significantly week on week and that bodes well for the season. There are obvious differences in our attack with Williams playing left and right and with forwards looking for off loads.

I’m very optimistic after the 1st 3 games.

Our D has let in a number of soft tries in each of the games we've played.

Re: 3 games in. What have we learned? : Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:36 am  

Apart from tackling Powell is not Wigan standard
Sarginson still can't pass the ball
Clubb, Navarette need moving on
Not playing Escare is a mistake
Tommy Lulu is a year past his sell by date
Certain fans still can't handle the fact that other fans might not like their favourite player