Watched the game last night, and while Les Cats were well beaten, some of the dismissive posts on another forum don't tell the whole story.
Yes, they dropped ball, and yes, they were caned with a capital C by Kirkpatrick, some of whose decisions were un-bloody-fathomable, but they did some good things.
Their defensive organisation was very good (yeah, yeah, I know, 54-6), they closed Bradford down a lot on numerous sets but were undone by penalties and Bradford's ability to offload against a tiring defence.
Fellous, who this time last year I was prepared to bag mercilessly, is now a superstar forward. He and Fakir were great, but Guisset at lock was an experiment that was meant to counter Bradford's size but which backfired.
However, I've said on numerous occasions that for all his skills Mounis is just too small. He's in danger of becoming an inbetween player, good in French championship but not able to cut it in SL.
Frayssinous is a great example of that. He was recalled yesterday and was hopeless again. Useless tackling and some poor handling errors.
Rudder provides no creativity, which is the Catalans' biggest drawback with ball in hand. Their French forwards plus Beattie do the job but Rudder and Dobson don't do much else.
The latter seems to be suffering from a crisis in confidence. The old cliche about a half not being able to perform behind a beaten pack doesn't register with yesterday's match. Dobson cannot take the line on (although v Hull he showed he has the pace to go the distance) and his kicking game goes from bad to worse. He squanders too, too many fifth tackle options with poor kicks.
Two of the Bulls first three tries came from kicks, and once Les Cats were beaten their heads dropped and the scores mounted, as is so often the case in RL.
Rinaldi, my favourite player, is now testing my patience. His dummy half play just aint as slick nas Berthezenes and the experiment of spelling the two of them isn't working. Rinaldi should get a go at or 6 and Rudder should be sacked.
Kirkpatrick really was that bad though.....
Yes, they dropped ball, and yes, they were caned with a capital C by Kirkpatrick, some of whose decisions were un-bloody-fathomable, but they did some good things.
Their defensive organisation was very good (yeah, yeah, I know, 54-6), they closed Bradford down a lot on numerous sets but were undone by penalties and Bradford's ability to offload against a tiring defence.
Fellous, who this time last year I was prepared to bag mercilessly, is now a superstar forward. He and Fakir were great, but Guisset at lock was an experiment that was meant to counter Bradford's size but which backfired.
However, I've said on numerous occasions that for all his skills Mounis is just too small. He's in danger of becoming an inbetween player, good in French championship but not able to cut it in SL.
Frayssinous is a great example of that. He was recalled yesterday and was hopeless again. Useless tackling and some poor handling errors.
Rudder provides no creativity, which is the Catalans' biggest drawback with ball in hand. Their French forwards plus Beattie do the job but Rudder and Dobson don't do much else.
The latter seems to be suffering from a crisis in confidence. The old cliche about a half not being able to perform behind a beaten pack doesn't register with yesterday's match. Dobson cannot take the line on (although v Hull he showed he has the pace to go the distance) and his kicking game goes from bad to worse. He squanders too, too many fifth tackle options with poor kicks.
Two of the Bulls first three tries came from kicks, and once Les Cats were beaten their heads dropped and the scores mounted, as is so often the case in RL.
Rinaldi, my favourite player, is now testing my patience. His dummy half play just aint as slick nas Berthezenes and the experiment of spelling the two of them isn't working. Rinaldi should get a go at or 6 and Rudder should be sacked.
Kirkpatrick really was that bad though.....
aul bowman. catalan will take time & that is what they have will no relegation worries. the thing with catalan unlike the nz warriors players can stil earn a good crust in the elite if at the right clubs: toulouse, pia, limoux.
