You have a short memory. We played like that against Wigan in the first playoff game last season, and indeed in the Good Friday game against Wigan last season, and in fact against Leeds away last season when we turned our 2011 season round with the introduction of Lomax and Gaskell.

What we saw tonight was (a) James Roby back (meaning Lance could play at halfback - and hey, Pete, do you still think he isn't a halfback?), (b) no errors, and (c) pride from our senior players and pack, which is what I've been ranting on about for weeks now. Our attitude changed and as Hohaia rightly said, all that the new coaching regime did was speak about pride in the shirt. I think our senior players were stung into finally playing properly by our new coaching regime following the sacking of our coaching staff. Glad to hear Hohaia say the performance was for Royce as well as the fans. Pity they couldn't have done it last week instead.

The test will be if they can back it up against Warrington now that a video will be available. Warrington also have a lot better defence than Leeds came up with tonight.

But whatever. It was great to get a win and finally be able to celebrate a good performance at Langtree Park.

That win had little to do with brilliant coaching and revolutionary new tactics magically appearing into a vacuum over the last week which is no doubt what the kneejerk brigade will be proclaiming on here for the rest of the week. All that happened is that the players, finally relieved of whatever back-monkeys they were suffering from from the previous coaching incumbents, just went out and executed for the first time this season. There's little they did tonight that they would probably not have done under Royce without the baggage going on.

The adrenaline and natural performace boost against Wire and the Pies will likely carry them on to decent results in the next 2 games, but the real challenge will come once the regular season grind starts back in earnest after that. We'll really only see the mettle of the new guys, what they bring to the team coaching/tactics-wise and how capable of maximizing our chances come the big end of season games they are come the slog against Salford, Wakefield, London and the rest.

Lance was outstanding last night, great kicking game, Played with his head up and didn't look like he got out of 3rd gear. He played the role we've been in dire need of.

It's only one game tho, even Jon wilkin played good at 6 against Leeds once and then was gash the following week.

Anyone who believes Simmons wasn't the issue is delusional at best. If Royce was still in charge, we'd have never played like that, no.way on earth. We'd have had Lomax and Gaskell in the halves, Makinson on the wing, Meli in the centres, Wheeler in the 20s, TP at prop, Wilkin at Second Row, Clough at Loose, and the final piece - Hohaia on the bench, with no size in the other three subs.

I don't think kc and rush have coached the team to play that way, I just think they've removed the over cautious tactics of Simmons. I don't think we'd see so many offloads all year as tonight, and not once the "lomax, gaskell, wellens" move, which was so obvious, and desperately showed wello's pace up!

Somebody said our only tactic of five drives and see how far gaskell can hoof it was all we had.

Anyone criticising the decisions to remove Royce has gone strangely quiet. One swallow doesn't make a summer, but I'm 100% sure, we'd have never played like that tonight under Simmons

Great Post well said Sir, spot on

I'll second that

The enormous performance boost from Bradford to Leeds was 95% down to the players pulling their fingers out for the first time this season - fact. No coach who has ever lived could pull around that kind of transformation that quickly purely off his own bat. Royce is now revealed as clearly not the man to take Saints forward and should probably never have had the job in the first place, noone is arguing that, but the players we had out against Bradford and Hull should have won both games with whatever tactics they were employing, and would have done so easily had they put in even remotely the same kind of stint they did against Leeds. The players must shoulder more of the blame than Simmons, an honest guy doing his best who was just a little out of his depth and unable to cope with Player Power at the end of the day.

Some slightly less than gifted people always resort to childish insults at these times I find. Very silly.


Well, you will never know will you. We certainly played that well at times last season, with just not quite as many offloads. We need to be careful with that as Warrington will be far more savvy than Leeds were.


Except me of course. I stand by my position because I still believe it was the wrong thing to do. It is a pity that there was not another way to kick the backsides of our senior players and it's a shame players can have unprofessional attitudes and get away with it completely scot-free. That doesn't happen in any other field of employment.

I find the players simpering support for Simmons to be a little sickening. It was their performances that lost him his job, and to dedicate last night's perfomrace to him is really just a kick in the slats. Having said that, I am absolutely delighted that we have at last turned in a top performance, and if Simmons was sacrificed to that end, then so be it.

We could make an educated guess, though.
Except for you....
Of course.

Guilt and shame can do that to people.


I thought he was an incompetent coach? Not that I don't agree with your statement; I definitely do. But you don't seem to, judging by your other posts.

They aren't going to come out and call him a clueless idiot though are they?

I don't understand? I have always been completely behind Royce. Check my posts.

I agree with all that but I fear for what state we'll be left in in a couple of months' time if KC and Rush are eventually revealed to not be up to the job and the players all start to pull their bottom lips over their heads and take their balls home with them again. Royce was clearly no genius (the unused back on the bench and utter inability of any of our halves to ever pass to their right maddened the hell out of me every single game), but he was good enough to get basically the same set of players as we currently have to both a Wembley final and a Grand Final win last season (in [iincredibly[/i difficult circumstances let's not forget), a couple of unluckily timed injuries excepted. He would have been good enough to give us a decent chance of the same again this year if the players had done the jobs they were paid to do. Now instead we're in limbo for the rest of the year and our season could go either way. I know which situation would make me happier right now.

I agree that player power has to be stomped out, and for that reason the next coach has to have an authoritarian streak backed up 100% by the board. We cannot afford to end up in a Chelsea situation where the players decide they no longer care for the manager and have him removed.

Sorry. My bad. I'm used to the abuse and so I just reacted as I would to more abuse!

I agree with the authoritarian streak thing. My only concern about Royce was that he was just too nice and sympathetic. Some characters will just walk all over that. Also, I think there were a few bruised egos as a result of his rotation policy.

I think it's interesting, for example, that Meli played on the wing again having been shifted to centre actually during Potter's time. I wonder whether that was Meli saying he wanted to play on the wing and getting his way? My guess is probably it is. He managed to let Leeds cross on his side again I notice. Fortunately luck was with us this time though and the try was ruled out for a knock on. It wasn't a Grand Final either!

Meli asked to play wing and got his way





What a silly post!

Interesting. I don't know what position Brad Dwyer plays in but according to League Weekly, he sat on the bench for the full 80 minutes for Warrington on Friday night. I guess Tony Smith is no genius either?

Nor is Phil Veivers. He used only 16 players when Salford played us at Langtree Park. The back stayed on the bench, as did ours.

Why is it silly? Meli has never been any good on the wing. Oh, he pulled out a performance on Sunday night, just as we all know he can against the big teams (except at Grand Finals). But then he disappears again. That's been the way with him since Anderson's time. I can very much see a whole bunch of egos directing play actually. Did Jon Wilkin play loose forward?

one of so many, i think she's trying to be a satarical poster like Saddened, but its not working

Mike rush and KC are no easy touch and will not be told what to do by any player.

They have worked with the players this week and both parties have had input but the last call is rush and KC.

All (senior) parties had an input into the job lot according to Mike Rush's interview in this week's League Weekly.

Like I said, let's see how well that goes if things get sticky!

Well, everyone has an opinion don't they? For me playing a back on the bench is playing a man light in the modern game particularly in tough games, but some coaches might indeed prefer to have a back available to do a 1-for-1 swap if there's an injury. Each to their own. That still doesn't explain why we had Wheeler and Clough on the bench for the CC semi last year when they'd both only just come back from serious injury and couldn't have played (and indeed didn't play) more than 10 minutes of the game between them. I can appreciate the back on the bench as a tactical move to minimise disruption in the forwards if there's an injury (although I don't agree with it personally), but a coach that picks someone completely unfit and in no state to be able to play more than 10 minutes in that role is a coach that needs to be severely questioned in their methods.

I think it was injury which drove Royce to be honest and I don't blame him, especially this season after last.


Did he have much choice at that time? We were seriously hard pushed for troops all through the season. I honestly can't remember.