AFTER yesterday's tight game, coach Kristian Woolf gave his tjoughts on Golden Point, the conditions, Jack Welsby's big game temperament, Jonny Lomax's steady hand and the impact Curtis Sironen is now having on the team.
Matching Wakefield's effort.
It was a close game. Wakefield deserve credit, they played well and showed up with a great energy and they won that first half.
It was a good lesson there for us and we were not quite where we need to be in that first half and did not back up the energy we showed last week in that first half.
There was a good sign there as well as we showed good character and were willing to fight in the second half and showed that it meant something to us.
That is why we were able to come away with the win.
Half time team talk.
I didn’t need to say too much at half time, the players understood they were not where they needed to be. There are some great leaders out there.
The slippery conditions.
They handled the conditions better than we did and we made a lot more errors in contact.
We had blokes slipping over as well and that is one thing we’ll have to look at in terms of how we handle that a little bit better.
But both teams are playing in them – and we have to play a bit better – but the conditions certainly levels things up a bit and makes it harder to score good tries.
Jonny Lomax's crucial contribution.
Jonny Lomax did a great job and put his hand up to say he needs to be our goalkicker at the moment. Jonny does so many things so well.
It was not quite a game he could influence as we made too many errors to give him a chance. But when we needed a steady head in general play and kicks he did that, and when we needed that steadiness to find points from two kicks he did that as well.
He handles pressure and those situations so well.
Bell and Sironen.
James Bell was great and he came up with some really big plays right at the end and despite having fatigue he found the energy and used his speed and came up with some big plays.
Curtis Sironen was outstanding as well.
Curtis had a spell where he was a little ill-disciplined and was in and out of the team.
If you look at what he’s done in the last six weeks he has really come to the fore and showed his potential. He is starting to have a real influence on this team.
That is a great turnaround from him and great to see him getting rewards.
Six points clear at the summit.
We want to make sure we finish top if we can – and certainly the top two because that gives you the best chance at a Grand Final with the advantage of a home game.
That is certainly something we have done the last couple of years and want to make sure we do it again.
Rotation question.
We had 20 blokes train this week and I walked in the gym and we had Tommy Makinson, Mark Percival, Will Hopoate, Morgan Knowles, Sione Mata’utia and Lewis Dodd sitting there and that is a good chunk of our salary cap and some real class players on the sidelines. So it is not about rotating anyone.
Those players who have come in have stepped up.
We back our squad to get us through the tough times - and always have done – and they are certainly doing that.
Some of those guys are getting valuable experience there and in a game that is close and you have to fight for it and find a win when it is not quite working and things are a bit ugly then that is great experience for them.
Drop goals.
Our first couple didn’t look real good did they. That is a sign of the group. We did not quite get it right there at the end when the kick was going to Jonny – he did not quite get that right but he was smart enough to give it to Jack and he was good enough to nail it. We missed a couple but to get that under pressure is a great sign of us.
Jack Welsby.
He always shows his character. If you go back to the 2020 and why he is such a good player he always shows his character and his effort and he’s done that again. It was not his best game – he has played much better than that but he came up with the crucial play, under pressure that helped us win the game.
Golden Point.
If we had walked away with one point for a draw I could see a reason for that – it was a game that deserved a draw in some ways. At the same time it was exciting for the fans and we were good enough to win it. I don’t care either way on Golden Point but we’ll just play whatever the rules are.
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