Match Analysis - Cas

Now, i look forward to Cas away, imo it is one of the best away games of the season and it genuinely is great to see them back in SL.

But today there was very little atmosphere, i think the first time i heard the Cas fans was about 14 mins into the game.
Sure enough i managed to be unfortunate enough to stand in front of some whinging bint who if she were ref would have yellow carded every player and given a penalty to cas at every tackle and play of the ball. It was funny when i kept cheering for the Giants and when Cas kept knocking on, Cas scored and she said to me "ha, your not cheering now are you" I answered "Obviously"

Well, the game.

First half, Silverwood slowed the game down unbelievably, but in fairness i think he was poor for both sides. Both teams came out and clearly could not really be arsed playing. Needless to say once they got in the mood the game took some pace and was decent. The lads were playing well and at about 75% id say. Couple of good tries and 14 - 14 by the half hour mark. Thorman had a few brain farts, first of all we were 5m out of the try line, instead of kicking short but deep and and forcing another 6 he just booted it out of play. Then 50 seconds left and he is stood deep and instead of popping one over he kicks straight to Cas Full Back Donlan. That said he kicked a great conversion from the side line. But for me the first half lacked the 'team player element' It almost seemed as though it was their first game together.

Second half, it was almost as if Anderson had pumped them full of amphetamine, both sides came out in force. There was everything that great about our game all wrapped up. Silverwood lost his whistle and the game really flowed. It really was like watching the two bottom of the league sides battle it out. Both teams had turned it up a notch and were playing 100%. Cas gifted up with a knock on when they had a try begging, twice and i said to the guy next to me "at this pace whoever scores next will go on to win" and i was right. Korkidas was binned after being on the pitch 10 seconds for a late tackle on Robbo. Nice one i though Cas are one man down this is our ticket. No, Griffin wound up a Cas player which resulted in him getting chinned and then 10 minutes in the bin for them both.
The team played very well and walked away with what i thought was a lucky win. Lucky that Cas had a nightmare holding the ball. Lucky but deserved though.

Criticisms:
Thormans in game kicking in first half
Whatuira not passing to Hodgson who was wide open
Griffin blatantly being ill disciplined
The stupid bitch behind me

MOM
Tough one, Eorl ran like a man possessed, Brown realised the game he was playing, Robbo found out he could pass, Raleigh his usual workhorse self, Griffin before he got sent off, Hudson was on fire, Cudjoe showed us what a great player he is and how he has justified his extension (shame it wasnt till 2020!) Whatuira showing class in attack, Mason still not showing why he is worth an extension. Hudson and to be honest most of the others were brilliant.
Thorman would get my MOM had it not been for his brain farts, he showed the skill we saw back in 2006, his side step try was brilliant, he controlled the game and showed me that it would be a shame for him to go (and im his worst critic) but for me, the MOM was Kirkmond. This guy plays every game like his life depends on it. Constantly looking for work, running as hard and fast as Eorl, if Sharp can be commended for one thing its his signing of this lad. Brilliant.

All in all a mediocre first half spoiled by a dick of a ref, but turned up several gears in the second. Cas lost because they were their own worst enemy. They did all the work and then threw just about every oppertunity away, up until the 70th minute we were lucky, but we well deserved the win.

Sorry Stu, but I sometimes wonder about you!!

My take is this [same as the other place, so if you've read that why not read the masterpiece again here!].

The despondency of a few weeks ago "huh, 3 away games on the trot" to the elation of "can we make it 3 out of 3 away from home?".

What was particularly pleasing was the way we didn't panic when Cas looked as though they were holding their own &, at times, clawing their way back into the game.

Thorman was, I thought, outstanding. OK, he isn't slicing through a gap like he did a few years ago, but he is now controlling our game. His place kicks are excellent, he is passing the ball, he is varying his short kicks at the opponents tryline, he is bossing the players, and yes, he is getting caught in possession when he tries to go through a gap!

What a personal turnround for him. Even the crowd were chanting "There's only one Chris Thorman".

Robinson had his best game since the start of the season with his darting and probing runs being very effective.

Brown, whom I have totally slagged off at SO, is ten times the player now he's back at centre.

Kirmond's name must now be one of the first on the teamsheet. Mr Tackle. And he can spot a gap and go through with pace.

Typical, we sign a FB when an up-and-coming star gets a chance to make the position his own. Poor Leroy. For 2 years he will have to sit on the sidelines. Yes, he'll learn from Hodgson, but I bet he learns as much from Hemingway!!

Wild. Another players back to his best. Didn't miss a tackle. Did one of his famous defensive run-backs to save a certain try. And how many players would have had the presence of mind to drop the ball backwards whilst being tackled just short of the tryline?

If Eorl will run like he did today in every match he'd be a long-term GB international. As it is, he's got 4 more games to catch Smith's eye.

I'm not going to write much more. The playes I haven't mentioned did NOT have bad games. They simply had very good ones.

But what stood out today - as at Wigan last week - were:
- the side played as a TEAM;
- the side played for each other;
- the side played as 1 unit;
- the side backed each other up.

And boy, did they enjoy the reception they got at the end!

Well done everyone - & that includes Messrs Purtill & Anderson. If Brown's better than them, then we're in for one hell of a season next year!

Oh, almost forgot.

What support!

As my mate Danril said, if we can bring so many here, why can't we [couldn't hear the rest, but I'll add] take half this number to Bradford and Leeds? Even most of the other away matches are only half an hour's more travelling time.

I always like going to Cas, knackered ground but it has character which is something the new stadiums don't have. As has been said I thought Silverfish allowed Cas to lay on too long, at the start of the season 60% of those tackles would have been pulled up for holding down. Yesterdays performance was one of our best imo cos Cas haven't been bad at all at home and have taken some decent scalps and add to that they've hit a little bit of form of late. Highlights of the game for me were Kirmond who's becoming a fans favourite with his determination to make as many extra inches as he can like his life depends on it. Wild's chase back to catch the Cas winger(where was this pace when he broke clear against Warrington the other week?). Eorl running as hard as i've ever seen him run. Cudjoe's effort near the end where he broke clear and set up the try. Thorman playing maybe his best game of the season and realizing he's allowed to gain more than 5 yards when kicking for touch from a penalty. The other thing that pleased me was the support we took which could be seen at it's best after the game when the Cas fans were walking out and we were clapping our lads.

Wish we were there but unfortunately I had to get that stupid sickness bug
from sound of it on Radio it was a great game and we heard the chants of
"Fartown Fartown" not bad for the 57 that went according to the commentator.

yesterday the commentators at the quins and wakey match said "The Giants" so Mick sent in a text saying we must be Super Giants to be playing at 3 Grounds lol

Ivor C&G Scarf wrote:

Sorry Stu, but I sometimes wonder about you!!

My take is this [same as the other place, so if you've read that why not read the masterpiece again here!].

The despondency of a few weeks ago "huh, 3 away games on the trot" to the elation of "can we make it 3 out of 3 away from home?".

What was particularly pleasing was the way we didn't panic when Cas looked as though they were holding their own &, at times, clawing their way back into the game.

Thorman was, I thought, outstanding. OK, he isn't slicing through a gap like he did a few years ago, but he is now controlling our game. His place kicks are excellent, he is passing the ball, he is varying his short kicks at the opponents tryline, he is bossing the players, and yes, he is getting caught in possession when he tries to go through a gap!

What a personal turnround for him. Even the crowd were chanting "There's only one Chris Thorman".

Robinson had his best game since the start of the season with his darting and probing runs being very effective.

Brown, whom I have totally slagged off at SO, is ten times the player now he's back at centre.

Kirmond's name must now be one of the first on the teamsheet. Mr Tackle. And he can spot a gap and go through with pace.

Typical, we sign a FB when an up-and-coming star gets a chance to make the position his own. Poor Leroy. For 2 years he will have to sit on the sidelines. Yes, he'll learn from Hodgson, but I bet he learns as much from Hemingway!!

Wild. Another players back to his best. Didn't miss a tackle. Did one of his famous defensive run-backs to save a certain try. And how many players would have had the presence of mind to drop the ball backwards whilst being tackled just short of the tryline?

If Eorl will run like he did today in every match he'd be a long-term GB international. As it is, he's got 4 more games to catch Smith's eye.

I'm not going to write much more. The playes I haven't mentioned did NOT have bad games. They simply had very good ones.

But what stood out today - as at Wigan last week - were:
- the side played as a TEAM;
- the side played for each other;
- the side played as 1 unit;
- the side backed each other up.

And boy, did they enjoy the reception they got at the end!

Well done everyone - & that includes Messrs Purtill & Anderson. If Brown's better than them, then we're in for one hell of a season next year!

Oh, almost forgot.

What support!

As my mate Danril said, if we can bring so many here, why can't we [couldn't hear the rest, but I'll add] take half this number to Bradford and Leeds? Even most of the other away matches are only half an hour's more travelling time.

You practically echoed what i said Dave?

My opening comment wasn't meant in a nasty way, I should have clarified it more.

It was in reference to your negative comments about Thorman, the teams not being bothered in the first half, and the lack of atmosphere.

Mandy Giants Fan wrote:

Wish we were there but unfortunately I had to get that stupid sickness bug

You could have taken a plastic bag with you. It would have made a fitting present for Mr S.

Ivor C&G Scarf wrote:

My opening comment wasn't meant in a nasty way, I should have clarified it more.

It was in reference to your negative comments about Thorman, the teams not being bothered in the first half, and the lack of atmosphere.

Oh, i was wondering what you mean, having read yours it looked like we said pretty much the same.
Ill expand on what i meant though about Thorman in the first half. I think he made a couple of stupid and questionable decisions. Having said that i did say he was a strong contender for the MOM and that he was back to the form we remembered.

The atmosphere was lacking i thought. Whether this was down to the tense nature of the game or the annoying actions of Sliverwood i dont know. But imo it was certainly not up to standard.

In the first half i dont think the team played to their full capacity, if they were then change in pace wouldnt have been noticed in the second half, it would have been consistent for 80 minutes - but it wasnt.

I was happy with the game yesterday, it was one of our best of the season in my opinion and we are clearly building a great team spirit and correcting out faults. There is still things that need doing but it really is great to see us back playing the way we know we can.

Ivor C&G Scarf wrote:

Mandy Giants Fan wrote:

Wish we were there but unfortunately I had to get that stupid sickness bug

You could have taken a plastic bag with you. It would have made a fitting present for Mr S.

I would have if I could have stayed awake long enough to drive there, but unfortunately I was in and out of sleep, and Mick chose to look after me, as he had been worried about me

Mandy Giants Fan wrote:

Ivor C&G Scarf wrote:

Mandy Giants Fan wrote:

Wish we were there but unfortunately I had to get that stupid sickness bug

You could have taken a plastic bag with you. It would have made a fitting present for Mr S.

I would have if I could have stayed awake long enough to drive there, but unfortunately I was in and out of sleep, and Mick chose to look after me, as he had been worried about me

It must be love

why you think I was being sick lol

Mandy Giants Fan wrote:

why you think I was being sick lol

Anyways great 2 get those 2 points we need them.

Robinson a good solid performance, Thorman good effort plus must be one of the best goal kickers in the league. Most of the lads had a good game and defence a lot better than a few weeks back.
We did seem to play a compressed defence to try and stop the ball being passed to the backs which left our flanks with an overlap to cover with a sliding defence. We were caught a bit short a few times on the wings but managed to cover (just).
Don`t know if this was the coaches tactics but we will suffer against the bigger sides if we do this regularly.