If Daniel Anderson was here this nonsense would never have happened.

He would have been in the press calling the referee names and suggesting in passing that he always failed to control the play the ball area. We would then have had wizzy-bang quick play the balls and won by 40.

Meanwhile Potter just sits there nervously hoping no one speaks to him as he's too shy to reply.

Cruel but funny.

Clone a younger version of Wally Lewis. He had the skills to defeat any defence.

More like cruel but true

Huddersfield, in the semi, slowed us down through an awesome defence. Wrestling the player, and throwing numbers in to each tackle. It was skilful defence.

However the big problem with Super League this season, is the referee's allowing sloppy interference as a slowing down tactic. For example when we played wigan they slowed us down by flopping after the tackle, holding down, grabbing hold of a leg as the player tries to get up, and leaving a hand in when the player is trying to play the ball. I am not picking on Wigan here, as most teams are doing it when they can get away with it.

I think fair game for Huddersfield, they earn slowing the play the ball down (in the semi). However when the referee's tolerate interference and meddling at the ruck it not only makes the game more boring, but it dumbs down the game. Teams aren't needing to work at slowing the opponents down. Like Potter said, there should be a reward for good offensive play, and this means not eroding advantage by taking the at the play the ball.

If the RFL think they are helping the game by making things NRL like then its not working. We aren't any better at wrestling, or turning the player; the referees are just more tolerant of players doing whatever they can to stop a player getting up to play the ball quickly.

Sign John Hopoate.
Everyone would get up very quickly!

But are they even making it more NRL like? Hasn't the NRL speeded up somewhat with the two refs initiative?

I think they'll (RFL) will reassess it again in the off season, the game is becoming too slow as a result.
The only way i can see to combat it this season is by not contesting a tackle in attack. At the moment of contact (if you aren't breaking the line obv) the attacking player should simply find the floor or stand still. It has to promote a quicker PTB. Its when we're wrestling that teams are allowed to rule the floor with 3/4 men in.

I was thinking the same. The 'voluntary tackle' method we used under Millward. I got the impression we were doing this in the last 20-30 minutes of last Fridays game and eventually it paid off.

Are we not now playing under a coach who reportedly said that "Saints need to curb their attacking flair", at the start of the season?

the trophy for lying on this season so far has to go to joel tomkins!

i think you're right there mate, they'll have to reassess the ptb in the offseason. The 4 nations should be interesting with ozzies having a very quick ptb. If we get spanked again the rfl will change it, if we win it will stay, imo.

He's a long way to go to master the art like Chris Joynt did.

To be fair, Joynty had a bad back from lifting all those trophies...

and it made his hit the deck in finals without being tackled?

Another fine example of the low quality of schooling in Wigan.

Are you Bratfud in disguise?

Some credit must go to the wrestler, brought in my Saints, to teach the players how to slow the opposition play the ball down and make it look legit!

thought you were a quins fan?


0/10 for effort this morning, must do better

Another thread ruined by trolls. Why do we tolerate these people in here?

Anyway, if anyone wishes to bring this back to a sensible discussion, we were talking about ways of combating this tactic of 4 in the tackle then laying on.

Or should we just give up and join in?

It's a tactic that suits Saints more than any other club TBH. We've got evry few powerful props, no speed anywhere and very few gamebreaking backs. We are now what the likes of Huddersfield were a year or two ago, only with more talented players. We should be getting 4 in the tackle, holding down and focusing on defense.

A futher problem though is our total lack of a short kicking game when Long leaves.

I knew I should have been a coach.

Since I first started supporting London or Fulham then, I never went in one other Club's forum wad not that interested, but then the Quins forum started to become invaded on a daily basis! so the only one I now look at it is my home town, St Helens! as well as the club I support.

RLFans is not a closed society!

Thanks!

You're assuming our coach won't be addressing this problem in the off season? We have a number of young players, not to mention one or two senior ones, who are capable of developing their short kicking game. If he is anywhere near worth his wages, Potter will focus on this weakness in our game (with the other weaknesses too, of course!). It's not like he doesn't actually have anything to work with. It is just that work needs to be done.

Well said, but some folks just dont like the truth