Official West Hartlepool RFC

On a +ve note Alex Keys's folks won the sweep for the first try scorer 😁

Always finish on a high...be positive , be resolute, and believe

A lot of hard work needed in all aspects of the game, especially defence and set piece. But we have time (just)let’s hope we all pull together.

Is that right we had two subs who never got on the pitch?
Also not sure what to make of the Penrith match report which says - The relegation threatened North East club were always in the game and enjoyed by far the majority of possession but unlike Penrith were unable to turn it into points. The home side when in possession were both clinical and very pacey behind the scrum.

Sounds like we need a defence coach.

The Penrith report echoes pretty much what I said in our match report.
As fas as replacements are concerned both Dan Quinn and James Tyers were late call-ups with Dan even driving himself to Penrith because he had to be back early. I think both were asked in the second half if they wanted a run out and, no doubt, would have gone on in the case of injury.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 26/02/2018 10:54 by davepicken.

Yes, DP's report is an accurate reflection of the match; it;s hard to visualise I know, due to the massive points differential but that's pretty much as it happened.

In summary this game came down to % of possession converted into Converted Tries.

We looked really good with the ball but not so good without it. Saying that, this is a really good Penrith Squad - I've watched them a few times now; great No 9 running the game and they really work hard to get players into supporting positions so their moves seldom break down.

Equally, in defence they really work for each other and the majority of the time are making 2 on 1 tackles meaning they get a lot of turnovers and scrum put ins.

Aerobic fitness is also a factor - if you cant keep running you cant hurt anyone.

Best Team in the league in my view - by a Cumbrian Country Mile - they tend to be the equivalent as about 3 of ours 'cos of the Ups & Downs :-)

We can learn from this though, as always - onward and upward lads.

Stand fast boys - No Surrender - Clecky next.

Should of also added another thing, obvious though it may sound...

Familiarity on the pitch - it was really obvious that these guys are part of a really settled squad with very few availability issues whether it be around Training Nights or Match days.

I don't know the numbers concerned but I would hazard a guess that the number of players we have to use at different times exceeds those used by the likes of Penrith and Morpeth by a decent %.

No discredit intended to anyone who pulls on one of our special shirts of course; it's just that sometimes it helps if you are in a settled team.

It is what is is though and we are where we are.

" Only we are the Masters of our souls; only we are the Captains of our fate."

Hmm defence coach?
Interesting given we have shipped 618 points this season, only Percy Park and Northern have had more put past them at 622 each.
Im not sure what the philosophy has been this season regarding structure and play but the points against clearly indicates our defence hasn't been very good at all this season.
Im fully aware that numbers and being unable to field a lot of senior players for big parts of the season does have a huge impact and some people may see that as the main reason for a lot of our results, but surely players we bring in should realistically be able to transition into the team already knowing calls, moves and defensive structures.
Is it something that is worked on from Academy upwards or First team down.....are all senior teams including potentially from u16 using the same moves, calls and attacking/defensive structures......Or does each team just do their own thing??
I would think or even hope that there is a process in place that covers this and ensures that players moving up teams/squads are able to do so seamlessly without having to learn everything over again which does take time.........and can impact on their confidence and those around them?

Before we get a defence coach we need someone who can persuade players to get out training and travel to away games

Aye, Aye, Aye.