Quote ="sally cinnamon"The gutwrenching thing about that was it wasn't really just hype, Andrew Johns was at the peak of his powers that season, he was one of the once in a generation players influential enough to win games on his own, NSW had beaten a better Qld side because of Johns that year, he'd come back from injury and been in storming form with Newcastle second half of the season, even though he was 31 he was at his peak.
Against English players who were not nearly in his league all he needed was a few games under his belt and he would have just been laying on try after try, so even though we were well off the pace of Saints, Leeds and Bradford in quality I thought Johns could have knocked those teams off.
Had we got past Hull, Bradford away with Hape and Vainikolo in the form they were would have been tough but with Johns in the team we could have done it. I thought Simon Moran had pulled off the biggest coup in sporting history and to be honest in all my time of watching any sport, us signing Johns is the most exciting thing and unbelievable thing that has ever happened.
That it went down so lamely and so quickly still rankles. I actually reckon it will rankle more, than if we lose to Hull this weekend, because any disappointment we feel this season will be tempered by the fact we have won the Challenge Cup.'"
From memory, sally, we did everything but score that night.
We knocked on their door all night, we just couldn't open it. Forced passes, panic rugby
Iirc, the only times Hull entered our 20m area, was to score tries (sign of a good side, that)
We threw the kitchen sink at them, but it was (at the time) "same old Warrington"
Johns was a Collossus in our sport, it's just a pity he came to a side with a lot of ok players, with a coach who was a bit of a Barak Obama (lots of nice orations, but not much in the way of substance). The dream was nice while it lasted. But that's all it was.
Fast forward another 12 months, and we do the "impossible" and turn over an in-form Leeds, after the debacle of the team bus being late (familiar coach in the oposition dugout), but then fall short against a dominant Bradford. Again, in the Bradford game, for half an hour, we throw the kitchen sink at them, but we PANIC.
Fast forward 6 years, to 72 hours ago. We've much better players, a better coach, BUT, we still panic.
Now, as I've said in another thread I couldn't go on Saturday night (work) but listened to the "commentary" (if you can call French and Rooney commentators), and I'm picturing the same old Warrington. Panic rugby, forcing passses etc. I didn't need depressing, so I deleted the match from Sky+, and just forgot about it.
This isn't blind faith, but we wont play that badly again. Smith's an intelligent man, he'll call them in, and address this. No need for bollockings, tea cups thrown, hairdryer treatment etc. Saturday will be a measured game. No foul ups. Just a regulation win (sorry to any Hull fans reading this). The same mistakes will not be made two weeks running.
Stains the week after, and the same measured approach will see us through. As it did in the beginning of August.
We played crap on Saturday. Live with it. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water, and come out with 5h1t3 like Smith's not up to it/we're not a big club, tosh.
Smith WILL get this right. BELIEVE.
