I didn’t go so can’t really say anything specific about yesterdays game but ……

I’ve said this before (so I’ll say it again

)

The difference in Northern hemisphere and Southern is their attitude, to off loads etc, here we say “Why did he try to pass it when no-one was there? That’s Dumb play!”

The Aussies etc say “Why wasn’t there someone there to catch it?”

Throw the thing backwards you’ve got 12 team mates with the chance of catching it, and have the confidence that they’re there to support you, or at least prevent the others from scoring.

Currently undefeated and our points for and against says we’re not doing to much wrong keep throwing it around for me, I can live with the odd lost ball. As dumb as it is.

Says imo....

With regards the 'dumb rugby' issue, we've done it quite a lot this season. It's as if we expect to score off every set, which is great to watch on one of those days where everything goes to hand and you end up putting 50-odd on London, 60 on Whitehaven. The thing that frustrates me at times is our lack of game management. It was probably most evident against Bradford this year. We always have at least four players on the pitch at one time, who is able to kick very well. Riddy, Brierley, McNally and pink/Beswick. Against the better opposition, should we make a good start, why don't we then proceed to use the kicking game for spells to frustrate and wear down the opponents? May not be as exciting to watch, but if this side can master this particular aspect of the game, there wouldn't be many situations it couldn't adapt to IMO.

Agree.

We can get away with that in this league, but we won't so much if we manage to take the step up to SL.

Of course there are times when we should be looking to secure field position or kill the game but in the main we should be looking to score off almost every set.

The alternative is what 5 drives and a kick, Salford or any SL teams would love that just 5 tackles to make each set, we need to be asking them to work a lot harder than that in defence.

For me seeing a team that's always off loading and supporting, actually makes defences hold off which in turn then creates the space, and makes you more likely to win the second phase ball anyway, I for one hope we throw caution to the wind on Saturday, play with a hot potato and run around like two year olds.

Charlie missed the last 2 tries due to a call of nature

but I've just seen the highlights on Eagles TV and must admit Emmitt try doesn't look as though he grounds the ball,what do you Leythers think?

I know what you're saying and I agree in the main, but as long as this team learns when to play daring rugby and when to play the boring stuff then we'll be alright. It's about gettting a balance between the two. Just being a bit more clever.

I've just watched the match again and Sheffield played their best, whilst Leigh played good enough, with flashes of brilliance.

We certainly have the players, the defence and the class. We just need to get the most from our attacking play against the better teams. We're still learning and should be red hot come the end of the season.

Have you watched all Sheffield games to rate this one as their best?

I have watched the Eagles a lot via the internet and I'm pretty sure they put on their best performance, esp' considering what they were up against. Their fans were happy with their team's performance, too, because I spoke to a couple after the game.

If Leigh didn't have such a good defence then Sheffield could well have won yesterday I reckon.

We won't beat Salford playing percentages, we need to be daring from the off and run them ragged

This.

Every time you don't take a chance you miss an opportunity.

Well, we'll see at the weekend.

If we play like we did against Sheffield then we'll not beat Salford.

Sheffield are nowhere near even bottom 4 SL level, but they nearly beat us.

It works both ways ant,Salford could turn up and have a stinker on the day.

We can hope.

In fact, I [ido[/i hope. lol

Bob Hope.

I find this thread quite amusing (in a good way). Not that long ago Rowls was being slated for allegedly "having no ideas and playing boring 5 drives and a kick one out rugby" which personally i thought was a bit harsh considering we only just managed to get a team together and you could see that the priority was structure and defence (well thats what i thought). The post that sticks in my mind the most on this thread is Reffy "[u Every time you don't take a chance you miss an opportunity[/u" . Personally i feel our noticeable game style which i think we have shown for almost 12 months now was best displayed in last years CC game at Leeds. Now if we play like that against Salford we will be in the best possible position to win the game. Adding to that the team spirit and fan power should negate the difference between leagues.

I bet they're fancying their chances against Hull though. Come to think of it, Bradford and 'Fax must be fancying their chances too at the moment

You can play entertaining rugby, without being reckless, or lacking composure when you're in a good position. I think when people refer to "dumb rugby", it's not saying we should play 5 drives and a kick, but more play to match situation. Haven't seen the video yet, but watching game live it felt like they were paying a lot of attention to defending out wide which meant Kay & Armstrong rarely got any space so passing needed to be perfect to come off. Meanwhile the forwards were punching holes and marching forward in every tackle.

Once we complete a few sets on the trot, we get on top of teams and give the backs the space to throw it about. Fev away was a great example.

They are! Fans seem very buoyant and are looking forward to it.

I'll still go with Hull though.

Leythig i get what your saying and agree, Sheffield did their homework on us and stifled our attack from the flanks which you don't find out until you try it. I just watched the highlights on LCTV and i think our trys were mostly closer to the sticks than in previous games. I also feel we are confident of still being fresher towards the end of the game than the opposition are , but all things being equal that shouldn't be the case against SL opposition so deffo could go down to the wire, it should be a stormer of a game .

Your all mad we have won 20 games on the trot League and GF Winners sat season not lost a game this season great points average played Bradford Fev London Sheffield and beat them blimey NOTHING WRONG WITH OUR RUGBY...Some if not the best RL I've seen played by a Leigh Team since 1963.... Get Real...

Great record indeed and some fantastic rugby.

It's just a shame that the opposition isn't that great most weeks.

The Superleague is very Topsy Turvy at the moment..Excellent chance for all involved in the CC to take advantage this weekend.

Don't get me wrong, this is the best Leigh team I've seen and they play some fantastic stuff. But this thread is about a single performance, and the coach himself described it as dumbest they've played all season. And it looked to me like if we'd been a bit more patient yesterday, we would've won comfortably. (Or at least as comfortably as the final score suggested!)

I agree.

Of course we [iall[/i want to see entertaining and open rugby. But sometimes, especially when the opposition are decent, you have to pick your moments better.

I'd just like us to have and show the ability to stifle/suffocate opponents with tactics, as well as blow them away with the skill we already know our team has.