Yorkshire Carnegie
Expect the Unexpected!
Constant factor?
By Wildwillie
December 30 2011
This weekend Leeds Carnegie plays host to London Scottish in the Championship. This is the return fixture following a win for the 'Negies down in Richmond back in the autumn. The Exiles are in the bottom group of four teams who will probably fight it out to remain in this division. We can therefore reasonably expect a comfortable win to kick off the new year. Er no...............
Inconsistency has plagued our young squad all season long. We are capable of brilliant passages of play where the opposition hardly gets a sniff of the ball only to cough up the ball at the point of contact or drop it with the whitewash beckoning. Now some of this is down to youthful inexperience but a number of tactics, presumably handed out by the coaches, have not helped. One of these is the lack of players clearing out the rucks. This has led to slow ball and on more than one occasion, a turnover as the opposition pack get superior numbers into the contact zone. I know the arguement is that this tactic gets more defenders into the line to compensate for our lack of tackling in the midfield. With the non-tackling Ford brothers on the pitch together I am guessing that we will be committing even less players to the rucks on Sunday.
Last week's dreary draw at Doncaster saw Danny Paul turn his ankle when his return as a ball-carrying number 8 was just starting to be a big plus for the team. I wonder if Diccon will bring in Barrow or Rieder, perhaps moving Hemingway to 6 and Burrows to 8. Trying to second guess team selection has been harder than knitting fog this season. At least the front row is predictable. Er no - whilst Big Mac and Kane will start at prop our two loyal hookers are equally likely to start at 2. Hohneck is starting to put in some big shifts and will start if fit. The back row will benefit from the versatility of the players who are comfortable in several positions making it the one area where we are blessed with several alternatives.
The halfbacks and 12 remain the big imponderables for me. Has Will Cliff done enough at Donny to earn a start? Will Joe start at 10 with George at 12? Surely not -please! The back 3 plus Thornley ought to be unchanged but one never knows.
London Scottish have a decent pack and a good kicker. Can we expect to give away lots of penalties? Who knows? The only constant theme in our play so far this season has been our inability to put the opposition to the sword when we have the chance (Bedford excepted). Hence we do not score many tries. This has cost us in terms of bonus points. Will Sunday be any different? I certainly hope not. A good win with a bonus point would go a long way to easing my doubts about the future. However one thing is certain - we can expect the unexpected - or can we?
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30/12/2011 11:57
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012:01:02:07:09:09 by WildWillie .
Get behind the team on Sunday, however much we have our doubts about certain selections, and expect another close nerve jangler....
Quote:SoopaLeeds
What can you do?
Get behind the team on Sunday, however much we have our doubts about certain selections, and expect another close nerve jangler....
I reckon following Leeds is like being addicted to heroin. You know it is damaging your health but you keep coming back for more!
COME ON YEW TYKES!!
Miserati - and Proud to be!
Miserati - and Proud to be!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:12:31:23:26:24 by Bobba.
Quote:Bobba
Fully expect an easy five pointer in Leeds favour. Then again, what the hill do I know!
No comment
Get behind the team on Sunday, however much we have our doubts about certain selections, and expect another close nerve jangler....
you need to read the thread from the beginning John, with particular note to post 3....
