Hull KR conceded - 84 points in two games

Hull FC conceded - 7 points.

How are we getting it so wrong while they seem to get it right?

I really don't get the new WCC format, but I'm grateful for it right now. Seems like we need every available minute, to sort out... well, where to start?
Think we might have tried to run before we could walk with this new expansive, chuck it about style. Hopefully we can find a bit of a balance or at very least be erratic - hoping it comes off for us now and again.
Still early days, and it was never likely it'd gel immediately. Sounded utterly dismal on the radio though.

Are you sure willie poching is defensive coach? Pretty sure Chester was complaining about accountability last season and said it needed to improve and put himself accountable for defence this season

You're mystified my faux Frenchman because being the idiot you are you saw what you wanted to see rather than what was there - as did many of the other VT cretins and but kissing pundits.

Anyone who knows their RL and there have been a few can see that Wakey have assembled a very useful team.

A very big and experienced front row. Strong back rowers and in depth with big Ali and Kirmo providing the flair/

Great pivots in Smith, Miller, Sammut, Godinet and finally McShane who was oddly considered a great up and coming player before he joined us - then he wasn't.

A fit for purpose back line with plenty of natural try scorers. And a squad of players who have for the most part been together a few years.

It's not rocket science it's how teams that's TEAMS used to get built and still do.







Early days for us and much could go wrong but it's not down to a lack of quality if it does.

Enjoy looking daft.

While comparisons with Hull FC can, depending on circumstance, be funny or painful, I'm not sure they're ever particularly helpful. They're one of a good number of rival SL teams that make fewer errors and miss fewer tackles at this moment in time - pretty much all of them in fact, I imagine.
I very much doubt they'll have conceded only 70 after 20 rounds. Of greater concern is whether we'll have shipped 840 at that point. Right now, it seems worryingly plausible. But things can turn, just gotta hope they do.

We are a prop a quality 2nd rower a hooker and a left centre short of having a good team,
I listened to the little ginger wizard on wireless on the way home i think he is the man to take charge of us, with drew as his no2

This

When players are making statements about not taking anything for granted, I can't help but think there might have been an element of complacency around the camp after a reasonably promising showing against Leeds. If this was the case I think we can safely say they now know every minute does actually matter!

Pretty obvious to me - you're starting a season with a large influx of new players - they won't work well together immediately it just doesn't happen! Seen it at Wakefield more times than I care to remember and with players of less quality than HKR have signed.
I thought Kelly looked good and Campese, I feel, will be ok. Just takes time........!

Rovers who had their 3rd best S/L defensive effort last season conceeding 665 pts in 27 games have drafted in willie poching, who helped make warrington a tough team to score against. Chris chester said "willie has been drafted in to make that total even lower" and poching said " he is confident he can instill the same defensive attitude as warrington to help rovers make the top 8",he also believes the new look rovers squad have the right attitude to improve their defence this season, and said "hopefully the days of kr conceeding lots of points are gone" Time for a rethink willie !

yet we only have 2 points on the board. I would be worried about your defence, but it is too early to think the situation is out of control. I am wello chuffed you have had this start, but not gloating in any way as, as I said, the season is too young yet to know what will happen

What would you guys say is the main issue with the defence? Are the forwards not pulling their weight and giving up easy yards, or is it a lack of defensive structure and guys jumping the line etc?

I'd ask Mr Poching, but I think he hasn't a clue either.

I'll field this one. Having stood directly behind the dugouts today, I had the same view as the Rovers bench, I just hope they can see what I see.
(1) Intensity. It's just not there, and this is all about having a collective attitude. The soft underbelly has been there for 4/5 years now.
(2) Tackle dominance. We lose collision frequently, with little or no "wrestle", allowing a quick ptb which opens our outside backs to a world of pain.
(3) Poor line speed. We often stand and await the runners, with a bit of footwork, it gets even worse for us.
(4) Individual missed tackles. The 2 main culprits from last week were dropped, so it could have been worse, however there were still some 1-on-1 misses due to poor technique and lack of energy. This is indefensible.

I'm not knee-jerking, but what we saw today isn't strictly a 2015 phenomenon, it's been a continuation of the last 3 seasons efforts. I do expect us to improve, but by the time we even half get it right, the top 8 will be away in the distance. Huge question marks about the coach for me.

Nailed that. Every part.

Well said Stan I know Rome was not built in a day but can we wait to find out if Chester is a good coach

Agree 100%.

I think all the posters on this forum need to get a sense of perspective and I include myself in this. Most are talking down our chances for the Super 8s this season already and it is still early doors.
Self evidently, if we are still shipping 40 points every game after week 5 or 6, then I would expect us to be making major changes on the coaching front. I would want to see our overall play be much more structured thereafter and those selected players to show more passion and intensity for 80 minutes and several to show better overall technique.
Yes, we all expected Saints, Wigan, Leeds and Wire to be unbeaten after 2 games, but I defy anybody but the most visionary pundit or ardent supporter to have predicted Wakey to be up there in this exalted company too. No fluke either.
Similarly, nobody would have predicted Cas and Huddersfield to be 0 from 2 like us. Salford - yes, given their opening opposition and multiple personnel changes.
What really p***es me off is people going overboard on Hull's miserly defence so far, but it still didn't get them a win against Warrington did It?

I also think injuries and suspensions will have an even bigger impact than ever this season on some team's chances.

One certainty, never believe the club generated media spin and hype published on the Rovers website and in the print media and start believing that it will take time for this team to get, given all the new faces and that this will be a season of transition as we all thought.

We owe it to the team to stay positive for now and for now we are only 1 point behind the team in 8th.

I welcome feedback.

PS - just seen Stan's post and he would appear to be right on the money from a playing perspective. I'll have to respond after I have seen the full game on Hull KR TV

Think the 4 wins out of 11 tells us something, especially considering 2 of them wins came from London and a very poor wakey side end of last year! Losing badly in that Widnes game that defined our play off quest last year where players should be right up for it and getting nilled in a derby. Also losing against Salford and Catalan at home in disappointing fashion...

Spot on, was stood in similar spot. Was it you giving them all earache at the end and asking where Chezzy was?

A very disappointing display, was really excited for the start of the new season but somewhere at the back of mind I had a niggling horrible feeling that we would have a nightmare start with the gelling time needed, probably as a result of watching Salford splutter last season. We need another performance against Wigan on a par with last seasons, but not same result. RRTR!

PS
Dixon was not dropped, been ill in bed all week and can imagine will walk back in!

To those at the game, how did Bailey and Boudebza perform?

No, had moved before the end was out the exit as Hall lined up his last kick.

Not bad. Bailey put himself about a bit and found his front when taking it up, allowing a quick-ish ptb.

French John went well, the highlight of an otherwise shocking day at the office.

agree with that thought Goulding looked injured and miss a lot of tackles. Campese also looked unfit with wakey looking like scoring every time they attacked our edges. I'd like to use sio more either at fb or centre

I said at the end of last season that I didn't believe Chris Chester was the right man to take us forward but that I would reserve judgment until we had played a few games under him or at least words to that effect.
I do still hope that he will be for the clubs sake and that my concerns will be proven unfounded but, at the end of the day you get what you pay for I suppose and if Rovers appointed him simply on the basis that he was the cheap option then it may turn out to be a false economy.
Although its only a couple of games in there are already some worrying traits emerging, including some of those been mentioned above and unless there are some radical improvements made very soon then its going to be another long hard fruitless season.
I keep hearing people saying that we have a new team and that it will take time to gel, that's true to a point but with two games played and two lost with 84 points conceded, plus Wigan and Warrington games on the horizon, we don't have that luxury of time.

Our fitness levels or lack of which were a talking point last season still looks look questionable, we must have the slowest PTB in Super league, our line speed at times today was pathetically slow and the less said about the teams terrible defense in the last quarter and on the left fringe the better, some of the other basic mistakes today were also simply inexcusable imo, they cannot simply be down to lack of playing time together. We were lead to believe that many of these issues were supposed to be resolved by the appointment of Pooching but at the moment I see no sign of any such improvements been made.
The clubs coaching team and conditioners need to get their act together and fast, otherwise fans will become disillusioned once again, the thing is ...how much more disillusionment and false dawns will a lot of fans(especially the fickle ones of which there are many), take before they start to vote with their feet.
We now have got two weeks to somehow rectify these problems but I fear the worst against Wigan and Warrington who will both certainly pose a greater attacking threat than Wakefield (no disrespect to Wakefield) and will certainly fancy their chances after todays performance.