On Sironen the defensive issues are a real worry.
The unknown structure and new combinations wouldn't help but the mental slowness and failure to commit to any runner is a real worry.
His technique is very good.
His lateral movement is so slow, it almost looks cautious, but it's not. He's just slow. Obviously he's bulked up a fair bit in the offseason, but has done very little running. Focus was stupidly focussed on his upper body bulk.
He doesn't need any more size, he could probably even lose a few kgs to be honest.
Because he's slow sideways, all it takes is for a decoy runner to run near his line, or for a change of direction and his flat footed.
I was always told, there's two types of flat footed
1. Your upper body has momentum in one direction, but you feet are planted flat
2. Your upper body has no momentum in any direction, you are just standing like a statue.
Number 2 is Sironen.
Put a step or jink on in front of him and he is just a statue. By taking all momentum away from a defender, you make them a walk over as an attacker, no matter if they are 6 foot 4 and 115 kgs or 5ft and 50kgs.
Without momentum driving from the knees at the very least, there is no power in the contact and no chance of stopping a player with a tackle.
