Yeah.

Trimmed down on weight and the locks and is going under the name 'Hall'. Anyone know how he's doing?

He was stood opposite his opponent and moved up in the line, as you'd want him to do so. Attackers make a read in this kind of situation, and if the defender hangs back anticipating a kick, then run at him. If Smith had hung back he'd have been run at and we would have conceded a try. In those situations, the line has to move up and someone has to come from the other side....probably the fullback, to sweep up any kick.

You either want your fullback reading it or your winger dropping back and around in cover - it's a weakness in Webb's game IMO that doesn't get raised very often.

He showed his class as he has been doing for some time. Leeds looked a different team. A tean with balance and capable of attacking from both flanks.

FWIW still think he performs better in other positions but his pace, work rate and ability to beat a man will always make him stand out.

I don’t think it's as simple as that Andy, a fullback has to cover the entire width of the field, Webb has to follow the ball and was in line with Horne when he kicked through, a well timed kick and run is almost impossible to defend against.

Fair enough then. You have to come up in the line, otherwise there is a big gap. Definitely Wing or Fullback to mop up. What tackle was it?

There's a few things you can do here. What you would normally do is have your fullback mirror the play, and the winger on the opposite side (away from where the acting half pass went) cover across behind the line on his side. If the opposition switch play back that way, he should have time to get back into the line and the only way they can get to that wing quickly is a kick, which he's positioned to attack with his move behind the line anyway.
The other thing you can do is pull a halfback out of the line as a second sweeper when on your goal line, and rely on getting up fast to shut down the overlap that inevitably allows.

Sounds p155 easy, give Brian a ring

Nothing much Smith could do (or Webb), Donald was closest to Yeaman when he scored but it was a well executed move.

I agree with this. Granted perfect defence can always stop great attacking play, but it was a very well executed play, and very difficult to defend. The weight and angle of the kick were spot on, the run was well timed and the pick-up with one hand was good to watch. Good try.

Sometimes you have to credit the attack for scoring a good try

You do mate, and i agree it was a well worked move that paid off!

Knowing it's the easy bit, getting players to do it is the hard bit.
I'll need to count up, but I think I've lost more games than I've won as a coach

or smith could hang back a little further forcing Horne to attempt the cut out ball past sinfield and their number 22 with him still having 10m to bring down yeaman, which would have been much more difficult than a simple kick into the acres of space which was behind them,

At the moment the ball was kicked smith was level with yeaman covering the pass sinfield was already covering,

It looks like, as he had a play or two before, smith went looking for the interception rather than holding his position

You can't hang back in the defensive line, and have to rely on your teammates to fulfil their own responsibilities.

of course you can, there is no reason to race out on the 4th or last on your own 10m line, when your third man away from the ball,

I had the game sky plussed, and have watched the try again, lauitiiti was marking Horne, and sinfield did a great job marking the man inside, had smith slowed as both sinfield and lauitiiti did horne wouldn't have hadtgat gap to kick into,

I also think you are being very harsh on Webb, whose was positioned slighlty inside horne covering almost all the rest of pitch, the kick was from a pretty central postion and he had most of the pitch covered, there was a small amount which smith and donald between them should have been able to cover, and don't get me wrong donald positioning wasn't great either

I don't think it was a great try, I think was an outstanding read and execution by horne who had seen smith rush out for the intercept a play before, but we could have defended it,

And I accept defensive positioning at centre is probably one of the most difficult skills to learn and smith needs time, but he defended that like a winger defending an overlap, where an intercept or ball and all is the only option

Smith didn't race out of the line, so why bring that up? Smith just moved up flat in the line, as he should.
If Smith had hung back, the pass would have gone to the centre rather than the kickk.
Once the ball had gone to Horne and Horne had turned to his outside, the kick could only go one way. Webb should have been opposite Horne and facing to the outside.

Smokey, have another look on your Sky+ It' at 37:45 into the game. Smith is perfectly level with Sinfield, and not out of the line at all. Webb reacted far too slowly from the PTB.

Haven't read back on those threads but wasn't the gist of your gripe with GH for not signing a right centre rather than with Smith's abilities there?

But maybe your gripe was unfounded as GH didn't sign a right centre because he already had the one we need in the squad, for this year at least?

Pretty much. Smith's abilities as a centre were largely unknown but I've always rated Smith's ability as a rugby league player. The issue for me was that Leeds hadn't replaced Clinton Toopi from the 2008 squad and right centre (in his abscence) was an identified weakness both within the club and within the game at large. Part of the questionable solution within the club was to switch their strike winger for 2009. On the plus side Hall has cemented his place in the team outside Senior whereas (with the recruitment of a Soliola type) he would have been competing with (and probably losing out to) Smith.



You yourself suggested GH had targetted Soliola in the off season. Not sure he'd have done that if he felt the position was adequately filled from within for 2009.

The only issue I have with the Soliola scenario is that I suspect had GH desperately wanted to sign a centre for this season he would have. Not suggesting they didn't have a look at Soliola but what evidence we have suggests GH wasn't exactly chasing a centre as top priority - more like a second row/prop. If they had been 'desperate' there are plenty of Carmont standard players in the NRL who could have been tapped on the shoulder and even under contract likely to get a release.

They offered him a contract. He got injured. Contract was put on hold with other priorities.

Whether he wanted a centre desperately is debatable, but he wanted the player.

You can't not come up in the line, otherwise there is a big gap to run into, and if they run into that gap, they're likely to take you over the line with you, or be able to step more easily without the threat of a tackler either side. You'll probably find that a large number of tries in RL come from the defensive line being doglegged, and the gap being ex[ploited

Ablett didn't come up when defending at right centre away at Castleford a couple of weeks ago. The result was Ferres made a clean break and Castleford probably should have scored and that was from around the half way line let alone 15 metres out.

Exactly, the only players who should be out of the line, are the two markers, the full back, and wingers on 4th/5th tackle