Post by gary on Sept 8, 2012 17:14:29 GMT
Strange game.
A for effort especially after we went down to 14 men (more on that later). I thought we possibly deserved at least a bonus point out of the match.
Our much vaunted back line missed a couple of chances in the first half by wild passing or dropping the ball. We need to be ruthless and take our chances when we get them. If we had done the match might have turned out differently.
Forwards played well and provided as much ball (more or less) as the Nottingham forwards did. I still think that when any of our first choice 8 go off we are short on replacements but if they prove me wrong I'll be delighted.
When we went down to 14 men we played with an intensity we did not have previously. We need to demonstrate that intensity from the start.
About the sending off. Certainly a yellow card (tackle without using arms) but certainly not a red. The referee indicated an elbow/forearm to the throat but the player got treated for a rib injury!
A word about Anthony Carter. Absolutely rock solid in defence but I think he has lost his speed in attack. I think we need to think seriously that Ollie Thomas could well be a long term solution at fullback. Our three quarter defence was excellent today and maybe allows us the luxury of Ollie's attacking option.
We are not there yet but I'm not as dismayed as I was after last week. Plenty of room for improvement and if our back line can start firing I'm optimistic that we can score tries.
I thought the officials were poor and in fairness to Nottingham they 'scored' with a conversion that the officials ruled out. We did not lose the game because of them but...
So, in summary, a disappointing loss but enough to show me that there is still hope for the season.
A for effort especially after we went down to 14 men (more on that later). I thought we possibly deserved at least a bonus point out of the match.
Our much vaunted back line missed a couple of chances in the first half by wild passing or dropping the ball. We need to be ruthless and take our chances when we get them. If we had done the match might have turned out differently.
Forwards played well and provided as much ball (more or less) as the Nottingham forwards did. I still think that when any of our first choice 8 go off we are short on replacements but if they prove me wrong I'll be delighted.
When we went down to 14 men we played with an intensity we did not have previously. We need to demonstrate that intensity from the start.
About the sending off. Certainly a yellow card (tackle without using arms) but certainly not a red. The referee indicated an elbow/forearm to the throat but the player got treated for a rib injury!
A word about Anthony Carter. Absolutely rock solid in defence but I think he has lost his speed in attack. I think we need to think seriously that Ollie Thomas could well be a long term solution at fullback. Our three quarter defence was excellent today and maybe allows us the luxury of Ollie's attacking option.
We are not there yet but I'm not as dismayed as I was after last week. Plenty of room for improvement and if our back line can start firing I'm optimistic that we can score tries.
I thought the officials were poor and in fairness to Nottingham they 'scored' with a conversion that the officials ruled out. We did not lose the game because of them but...
So, in summary, a disappointing loss but enough to show me that there is still hope for the season.