Players make mistakes. Some of Leeds' most experienced players coughed up the ball inexplicably last night. I can cope with Mose dropping the ball - especially as he has been a tower of strength over the last few games.

What I can't cope with is a halfback who might as well be playing for the opposition for all the help and free tries he's giving them. I backed Cunningham when he criticised Walsh's teammates for not protecting him.

But the players can't and won't be held responsible for his shocking standard of play forever. At some point there is going to be a serious row behind the scenes at the club. Fierce competitors like Walmsley, Roby and company just aren't going to put up with Walsh's inability to recover his form for much longer.

In the first 20 minutes Leeds were too good for you in all departments. It was not just the offloading aspect to our game, but we played at speed in attack and defense that kept you out of our half totally for this period. We also made clean breaks and tackle busts that made the offloads difficult to handle.

Credit to Saints for coming back but you need a game plan that is not just bashing up the middle with the big forwards.

One thing I will say is that I'm getting completely fed up with the way our forwards are handling Leeds' geriatric front row.

I'll never forget the time Kevin Ward played his last game against Australia at Wembley. At the time he was, maybe 36, and still playing very well for Saints.

I can't remember who was coaching Australia back then but I remember him saying something like,[i "a guy that age has no place on a rugby pitch"[/i. From the first minute to the last their younger forwards smashed Ward every time he took the ball. By half time he looked like an old man - finished.

Peacock is a great player. But if you aren't smashing 35 year old forwards every time they take the ball you really are behind the IQ curve. There's certainly no excuse for the treatment we gave KL.

Last night it was only when Mose arrived in his first spell and actually began targeting Leeds' props that we finally began to wake up. It really is frustrating seeing so many fans obsessing over Leeds' first twenty minutes when it is patently obvious that it's impossible for them to keep up such a pace.

Leeds know Saints' big forwards burn fuel quickly. But they also know we are not a high-scoring team. Their entire strategy is entirely dependent on focusing enormous energy early on to get two or three scores ahead. At that point they know we aren't likely to score four or five tries on the bounce. Other Saints' sides could. But not this one.

To be fair, Saints seemed to cope much better last night and our scrambling defence prevented them from going out of sight. But the one thing we couldn't overcome was our walking 14-point handicap.

But if I were Cunningham I'd have a serious word with Walmsley, Amor, Masoe and company about their ridiculous reverence for Peacock and KL. The Aussies never show any respect for age. Just look at some of the treatment dished out to guys like Wille Mason as the years rolled by.

If Peacock isn't leaving the pitch feeling his age and four score years then something is going wrong.

Contrast that with Tony Smiths post match interview.

Peacock isn't just another forward in his mid 30's, he's a modern legend of the game both for club and country. An inspirational leader who is 'still' head and shoulders above most forwards in SL.

You have to be gracious in victory, but you should also be gracious in defeat. Leeds are better than us this season. That doesn't mean we can't beat them but you have to acknowledge they are a fantastic side.

It's up to Cunningham and co to come up with a game plan to beat them.

A couple of years ago Wigan had beaten Leeds in the Superleague semi final at Wigan on a Friday. The next day Wigan were playing their u19's Grand Final v Leeds at Headingley. As we were walking onto the ground Shaun Wane was talking to Peacock. "How are you Jamie"? "Sore Waney" replied Peacock. "Good, we did our job" said Wane. They then put their arms around one another and laughed.

No one beats old Father Time. If Peacock could he wouldn't be retiring.

True, but they're hardly carrying him like we're carrying one or two of ours. He's leading from the front and he could still go out with a challenge cup and league winners medal yet.

He's being ALLOWED to lead from the front. Whereas Leeds have worked hard to execute a tactical plan which keeps the ball in play for as much as possible - thus tiring out our big guys we really have done very little to pick apart the weaknesses in their side.

We know they exist because other sides have exploited them (Warrington being the most obvious example). It's saying something when our forwards are tiring quicker than guys who are close to TEN YEARS older than them.

I certainly think we've shown their forwards far too much respect. We have a big and powerful pack which really should be concentrating on smashing the opposition on or behind the advantage line. Standing back and allowing guys like Peacock to run onto our defensive line is crazy. We should be making them FEEL their age.

Why Walsh wasn't kicking for territory instead of down Hardaker's throat is a complete mystery.

Our pack is very big like you say but 3 times this season against Leeds they've failed to overawe them. That's no coincidence unfortunately.

It's difficult to win week in week out in SL with injuries, form etc I'm not convinced that Wire have their number. In a Play off game or a final, Leeds would tear them a new one.

I'm not downbeat though mate. They're an ageing team and yet we've got Walmsley, Savelio and a few other who will be around for a long time yet

Our pack has come secound best many times this year and isn't as good as some make it out to be. It's a good pack but by no means what some say it is. We've struggled to get out of our own half Many times this year.

I agree. They're a match for any pack in the league but my no means superior.

Hang on a second. Our pack hardly struggled either to make yards or stop yards beyond the first twenty last night. Walmsley, Vea and Savelio were as good as any forward on the pitch.

Even in the previous two defeats we had more than enough firepower in midfield to contain Leeds' pack. The missing link in both games was a defensive strategy which put bodies between Leeds' ball carriers and their close support, an intelligent kicking game and bringing the weight of our younger forwards to bear on some of their older guys.

If we don't already know by now that Leeds clearly feel that they NEED to score early and are prepared to take risks doing so then we really aren't very smart.

No team can maintain such a pace beyond twenty minutes. We're not facing some kind of supernatural force. Hit the Leeds ball carriers. Hit them hard with three men who are all looking to jar the ball loose. Be alert for spilled ball and be the first to sweep it up. Going forward, play the game at OUR pace - not theirs. Ping the ball over the tram lines. Keep turning them round. For heaven's sake - I shouldn't need to explain basic strategy. Especially given that we've used similar tactics in the past.

You're right, I'm sure the saints players and coaching staff don't realise. Just a shame the game isn't played out on paper/Internet message board.

Momentum is a killer, once it's lost its very difficult to get back and even if you do playing to your potential after energy sapping phases is tough going. Knowing what a team want to do to you is one thing, preventing it is another. Sound like cunningham with no credit to the quality of the opposition

The standard of the opposition is of no concern to me. The team exists to perform one task - which is to beat whatever is put in front of it. If Leeds can devise a strategy which exploits Saints' weaknesses whilst playing to their strengths there is no reason Saints can't do similarly.

Admittedly we aren't playing with anything like a full compliment. But they had sufficient reserves to do the job yesterday.

And clearly SOMEONE at the club DOESN'T realise the patently obvious. Even if our big forward pack wasn't bothered by Leeds' keeping the ball in play as much as possible in the first twenty minutes it still makes absolutely no sense targeting the safest pair of hands under the high ball in SL with bombs from the first minute to the last.

If ANYONE can explain why this was a sound strategy I'd love to know.

Clear from your posts you've not the first clue about the game from a playing or coaching perspective as it's played out in reality. I guess you're one of these people who continually berates the team from the terraces 'shouting advice'. If you want to know why things don't always go well, ask your self if you're the best at your job every day.

I take it you can't explain the reason for Saints' inexplicable kicking strategy yesterday, either.





Unsurprising that you guess wrong, then. Has no one told you yet that I am one of the most infuriatingly supportive posters on this site whose [i"Rose Tinted Specs"[/i are now bordering upon a registered trade mark?





I am the best at my job. And I take pride in that fact.

Watching the other Semi Final today Saints should break the bank for Hull KR's advisors (scouts) i'd absolutely love us sign Albert Kelly and Ken Sio who are both still very young.

I'm not sure about Kelly. There doesn't seem to be anything between Hollywood or bust when I'm watching him. For me too many aspiring scrum halves make the mistake of concentrating on their strengths instead of eliminating their weaknesses.

Sean Long is a great example of someone who could easily have fallen back on the obvious talents he possessed at a young age (most notably his blistering acceleration and eye for a gap) but instead chose to do the hard thing and attack the many glaring weaknesses he had too.

When you consider he had very little kicking ability or organisational skills at Wigan it's a testament to his professionalism that he addressed those issues to such an extent he became the player he did.

The point here is - it is easy to say just do this just do that. Just because your forwards might be younger they may actually lack quality and the ability to do what you are suggesting. If you look at your pack only Roby is a proven "real deal". Perhaps you miss placed belief in their ability to carry out your simple (sic)
tactics.

Your idea that if you stick to game plan the opposition will indeed capitulate is arrogant beyond belief.

I've been to all 3 games so far this season between Saints and Leeds, and I've got to say we have looked best in every department. Would I swap the Leeds pack for the Saints forwards, would I hell. A lot of Saints fans forget we let Amor go because he wasn't good enough for Leeds, and with the arrival of Galloway, Garbutt, Mullaney for next season I don't see us having anything to worry about. Get Steve Ward fit to replace JJB for the 8's, and I'd be happy to play you and your "big" pack for a place at Old Trafford.

I agree. Some posters on here don't live in the real world. Every week they bamg on about how good our pack is but it getting beat most weeks now. If any team pins us back in our own 20m zone we struggle big time to get out which results in walsh having to kick deep in our own half which is very hard.

Alex Walmsley and James Roby are very consistent. Those two are virtually top class every week and Imo the best hooker and prop in super league. The others are hit and miss.

All but a handful of your side were there last season. Don't recall you even making the Grand Final. Must have been bad luck, eh?









All the form in the world means nothing unless you win the big banana. And there's a long, long way to go yet.

Perhaps my "belief" is based on the fact that St. Helens - not Leeds - are the reigning Super League Champions. In case you have forgotten, this club played far WORSE last season and yet still triumphed. I think it tells us something rather important about what this group of players is capable of when push comes to shove.



It's also the essence of coaching. We are not in control of the opposition so there's no point thinking about it. Like many Leeds fans you still haven't grasped a rather obvious point: three victories and all the form in the competition so far has secured you precisely ZERO trophies. Nor will such count for a single point in the Grand Final.

If you get there.

Because you didn't last season.

Perhaps you should be thinking a little more about winning the title before you carry it off?

Whilst true our three victories over Saints haven't won us anything in 2015 yet......you bragging about Saints winning the Grand Final LAST YEAR means even less in the context of who'll win anything this year.