One thing that, to me, is becoming apparent and something of an achilles heel is that we are struggling to find a plan B, to adapt our style and gameplan as conditions, situations and opposition tactics dictate.

Anyone could see tonight called for solid, unspectacular rugby allied to a penetrative kicking game. Instead we played like it was July again and tried miracle passes. Even with a one-man advantage a simple play for posession and force errors approach would have been sufficient.

In the CC SF the game turned on the Bridge kick and we failed to react to the shift in momentum by closing the game down and getting a grip of the PTB.

We come up against teams being allowed to encroach offiside and play into their hands, hoping the ref will penalise them to death rather than changing our dummy-run tactics.

Kind of agree but our players were incapable of holding the ball in contact at all, so doubtful that even one-man rugby would have worked. Ratchford's ball control would have been no worse if he'd decided just to spin it on his finger once he received it.

I think our completion rate in the second half was 0%!!!!!!

seems like the loss to Hull didn't hurt them as much as they said.

Yeah someone really needs to tell Ratchford how to hold a rugby ball, or at least point out that on a night wetter than a haddocks underwear ball security might be helped if he clasped it to his chest.

Tonight was awful 1 man rugby. We had no running lines and how we never managed to spread the ball about when they went down to 12 was madness. Granted the conditions were poor but 1 man rugby was not what I thought I would see when we were behind on the scoreboard and against the clock.
Hey ho!

It's true we were totally naive with regards to a sensible wet weather game plan, but as pointed out, our error count was astronomical.

What was also obvious was a lack of pivot. With Briers out, Myler injured, Monas crocked ( can't understand why he is here for another year) and Hodgeson off the field, we had very little idea.

I cannot remember Wire playing as poorly as that for a very long time.

Poorest display since smith took over...not much chance of another GF appearance based on that. Monas proves again that he ain't a scrum half. Two weeks to lick our wounds and hopefully move on. Well done to Widnes...played well in the conditions and very well with 12 men.

What really showed for me tonight was the lack of direction and organisation on the pitch. With no Briers, Myler and Ratch being moved to full back we really looked like we didn't know what to do with the ball and resorted to pass, drive, pass, drive. It was like watching Warrington of 10 years ago. I can't for the life of me understand why O'Brien is still at Saints, helping them win games, when we are so desperate for a fully functional half back. I worry for our play off chances when I read Myler is possibly out for the season

Could'nt have put it better myself RC.

Been saying this for the last few weeks, if our usual game plan doesn't work we seem to go into meltdown in the second stanza, part not wanting to move away from it and part playing dumb football.

Of the players guilty of dropping the ball who was the worst offender?

Hard to recall who DIDN'T drop a ball last night. Maybe Chris Hill the worst offender.

Chris Hill? Steph Ratchford? Monas?....they all seemed to drop it a few times?

Basic ball retention is a big issue at the moment....too many loose carries and silly offload attempts.

We seem to have forgotten that you have to build pressure on teams with great defence and a good kicking game....not coughing up possession without completing a set of six in our own half!

Fancy offloads is not going to win any game where you aren't going to put in the real effort needed to put teams under pressure.

We also need a half back on the pitch...at least one. Last night we had none and it showed.

Basically we are guilty of the same thing that st Helen's used to be, and that is trying to play expansive rugby in bad conditions. Ultimately, this was the main reason why saints have lost so many grand finals, they just could not adapt to the conditions.

Bad weather is always a leveller, Widnes adapted better, but the main reason for the loss was we had no half backs on the pitch. You may get away with it at lower levels, but not in SL, wether you are playing Widnes London or whoever.

Time to get Gaz o Brien back, fast.

We all know plan B is to revert to plan A

Same old trouble for me is that our opponents attack the ball and/or ball carrying arm, where as us, we just don't. To my mind dropping the ball is when there is no real pressure from the opposing side on the ball or ball carrying arm and throwing dumb passes as usual we were guilty too many times of this feat.

It's amazing we have won three Challenge Cups, been to a Grand Final and finished in the top 3 for the past three years when we have no Plan B.

Seems all clubs have followed Leeds' example and wised up to the playoff system.

Result nothing to worry about.

As for a lack of "plan B" then welcome to the club. Wigan have the same issue.

Falling standards of RL due to the communist cap I am afraid.

Amazing, isn't it.

In our house we find it bizarre that we do pre-season training in hot weather climes when we spend much of our season playing in the cold and rain. Get them training up in the Scottish highlands, that'll sort 'em out

And we still regularly get the "it's always your year...." taunt thrown at us? Let's hope we can sort ourselves out and soon

Walking to the ground last night, I'd commented how a season of getting to the Challenge Cup SF and the Qualifying Semi-Finals and not winning the LLS, but finishing Top 3 would be deemed disappointing and how excited we would have been about that only five years ago.

We were talking about the same thing in the blue Bell after the game. Last night was purely and simply a one off exceptionally poor performance that none of us have seen for some time. We played the wrong tactics and when we did get round to using the right tactics we couldn't hold on to the ball. Three CC's a LLS, a Grand Final and 3 years in the top three says we are not a bad side.

Wire very poor Widnes played the conditions well we did not. However, the above is also all too true. I was amazed that Riley didn't go to full back to at least leave us one player with recent half-back experience in position. No halfbacks and no Hodgson chiming in robbed us of all direction, which just made the already shocking 53% completion rate in second half even less effective.