Do you not think this is just a tad extreme- I think this topic of discussion is splitting us down the middle (in terms of sides)? We all agree that it's good to score 50 points, it's good to capitalise on mistakes, there were some nice individual skills involved in the try scoring including Dec Patton's kick.
All that's dividing opinion is that some of us, including me, feel we could be trying to add a few more strings to our bow in terms of how we attack. Aesthetics aside, slick passing/passing moves will make us more dangerous and give the opposition more to think about (in addition to the offensive skills we have at the moment).

Just watched the highlights & i only saw 2 opportunist tries from us & one of the Huddersfield tries was off a cock up. I thought Dec did ok too.

Whilst it’s good to be self-critical I really don’t think we have THAT much to worry about. Apart from the match away at Saints (where most teams will struggle this year) and the following week where we mentally didn’t get over the Saints defeat, we have been putting a lot of points on teams, and generally keeping them out in defence.

We can point to spells in matches where we haven’t kept our focus as we should, or a slight lack of cutting edge where decision making from our RESERVE half back could have been a little better, but we’re second in the table and we look (at the moment) better than the teams below us.

Recent history has shown the top team throughout the year often falls at the final hurdles, and both years that WE finished top we failed to win anything.

Room for a little improvement, sure. Need to panic? Not at all IMO.

I suppose if the OP had just said “room for improvement “ this thread wouldn’t have got past 1 page.

To be fair, it’s the thread title that has got people going a bit:

“Try-scoring ineptness”...

We are averaging 0.46 tries less per game than the top team. I’m not sure I’d get that excited about seeing an extra half a try in every game when we are scoring 6 per game already. Unless of course it’s an Austin special



It’s great to have such first-world problems when you can hit fifty points and moan about the quality of them

long may it last....

To be honest, on my part it did pique something that i had considered following the london game, im pretty sure on the highlights for that, we scored a couple of tries down our left wing that involved multiple dummy runners going back against the run of play, which impressed me.

Obviously though, you have to take the quality of opposition into account which is why im gonna lool at all games, and mention how our pack got on, cos thats obviously key

Statistically, we are outside the top three teams on metres made. I know that particular statistical measurement is a little vague, but maybe that’s more of a concern than getting over the line. When Hill and Cooper go off, it’s noticeable, both in progress forward and offloads.

Let's hope that our attack is a well oiled lethal machine should we make a GF again. I mean to be kept scoreless for a 3rd hour in 3 finals would be concerning, surely?

Or maybe we can hope we play against poor teams in the final and jump down the throats of forum members who raise the point in discussion in the meantime.

I actually agree with you. As Eric Morecambe once said "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is madness" We need to demand that the club gives us more than hope, we aren't satisfied with hope we've been elevated to expectation and there's no turning back without a fight.

What the club needs to do is change the management structure from top to bottom and get out there and try and recruit some quality game changing players not only for their professional pride but to stop throat jumping on here it's like the Wild West and I don't mean Penketh

If we pull together and embrace this season as a fresh start or even a different path to that previously taken rather us continually travelling via Guinea Pig wheel, that burden of expectation can turn us from a Saving Private Ryan outfit to a Band of P&B Brothers...well we can only hope.

I see uber-entertainers Saints are struggling to put away the HKR team we thoroughly dismantled.

Still, I'm sure all the Saints tries were full length of the field passing moves as opposed to our one yard bargeovers.

The BBC don't mention barge overs :

"His (Makinson's) second was a long-distance run-in from inside his own half, which fellow winger Grace replicated with the final play of the match."

Quote ="morrisseyisawire"I see uber-entertainers Saints are struggling to put away the HKR team we thoroughly dismantled. Still, I'm sure all the Saints tries were full length of the field passing moves as opposed to our one yard bargeovers.'" Maybe you should have watched the tries before making this comment. Some good tries from both sides. https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... lens/50450 I can't help you if you truly believe that Warrington are a good a side as St Helens currently.

Quote ="morrisseyisawire"I see uber-entertainers Saints are struggling to put away the HKR team we thoroughly dismantled. Still, I'm sure all the Saints tries were full length of the field passing moves as opposed to our one yard bargeovers.'" Maybe you should have watched the tries before making this comment. Some good tries from both sides. https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... lens/50450 I can't help you if you truly believe that Warrington are a good a side as St Helens currently.

Quote ="Wires71"Maybe you should have watched the tries before making this comment. Some good tries from both sides. https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... lens/50450 I can't help you if you truly believe that Warrington are a good a side as St Helens currently.'" Don’t forget they are about 12 months ahead of our team in development terms. They are playing good rugby at present, but the pressure games are yet to come. If they win trophies playing as they are currently then I will give then their due.

Quote ="Wires71"Maybe you should have watched the tries before making this comment. Some good tries from both sides. https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... lens/50450 I can't help you if you truly believe that Warrington are a good a side as St Helens currently.'" Don’t forget they are about 12 months ahead of our team in development terms. They are playing good rugby at present, but the pressure games are yet to come. If they win trophies playing as they are currently then I will give then their due.

Shutdown Saints right side of room and you beat them.

How does that work? We reached 2 finals last year, they reached none. We added Blake Austin, they lost the Man of Steel. How is that being ahead in development terms?

Easy, their coach has been in place that much longer, the team is his and reflects that. We lost to the same team in the CC that they did. We overperformed at the end of the season whereas they were consistent for much longer. The MOS was AWOL from half way through the season, Coote has strengthened them.
Price has made great strides and we may well beat them when it matters this season but in developmental terms they are ahead of us.
I’m sure you know all this but happy to remind you.

Their coach was in place earlier because Saints acted faster when they could see Cunningham was done. At the same time we persisted with Smith. I remember the discussions on here about it at the time.

If it is that easy how would you explain how only 1 team in 14 attempts this season has managed it?

So are you agreeing with me?

Holbrook has only had half a season more than Price. If it was last season then yes your argument may have some merit but as it is they've both been at their clubs long enough now for it to not be an issue/excuse. Price likes to build throughout the season so hopefully our attack will improve further.....and judging by Burrell's latest try he's in good nick and could be an excellent addition.

Interesting point - if we'd been quicker off the mark and gone for Holbrook when he was available, would we have won SL last year?

We might have been able to pick up Barba too.

I'm happy with SP. I don't like Holbrook and certainly wouldn't have wanted Barba.

I’m working on a 3 year cycle. Look at Saints last year, their main attacking ploy was the Barba move out of the back. They have moved on significantly since then.

why would we of wanted to pick up barba?? and what have saints won with holbrook??

Who would you say had the better squad last year? The answer to that would probably indicate which coach we should have had. If Saints were stronger but didn’t make either final then do you have to look at what the coach did?