Yorkshire Carnegie
And the Crystal Ball Says.......... It's Anybody’s Game?
By Selby Kev
September 24 2014
Have we done enough to come into this match as favourites. Most Certainly not! We started well against Pirates but then took our foot off the pedal for no real reason. We totally lost our way in the second half against Bristol.....
and we ascended to the dizzy heights of first ranking in the sin bin stats against Moseley, a team we should have laid to rest with a comfortable 5 points in the bag....certainly having been 26-12 up after half time! But instead, due to our continuing self-inflicted ill-discipline we only just managed to survive the final onslaught by the skin of our nails and gums...and everything else!
Maybe to some of the loyal and forgiving faithful this will sound more than slightly unfair and definitely less than flattering. But to earn our medals and wings and a place in the play offs this season there will need to be a lot more individual soul searching, consistency and attention to detail...We are good in attack, improving in defence but remain unpredictable and erratic when it comes to discipline.
Donny have done extremely well to bounce straight back after some character building and bruising encounters in NL1. There are many of us that can still painfully remember that about this time in 2012 Leeds Carnegie had recently been beaten at Castle Park on a very forgettable day which opened our season and left us wobbling on like a dazed and drunken man for several weeks. We had tried the lethargic approach, as we do occasionally just to wrong foot our opponents (?).....but we definitely hope to see none of that relaxed attitude reassert itself on this Sunday!
But let’s not kid ourselves.......drawing from last year’s dogged resurgence.....our opponents from the South Side are definitely capable of winning this game. So let’s just hope we have learned some painful lessons from last week and that on Sunday there is no repeat of the woeful ill discipline which blighted our narrow victory at Billesley Common!
What can Donny offer to this encounter? They are a well coached side under the experienced tutelage of Clive Griffiths. From last season they will bring the cohesion and stability of a team playing together in a challenging Division. They will bring extra intensity to what is a local derby and cup game. They will be eager to quickly reassert their Championship credentials after losing to Worcester....and although they gave away precious ground to the Warriors early on, they came back strongly in the second half and by no means capitulated to the more experienced Premiership outfit. So Leeds (Yorkshire Carnegie to those who remain mystified ) should definitely expect to play a full 80 mins. and no surprises if Donny stay well in contention all the way. Although, personally, I have nothing against surprises!!
Donny have a solid scrum, a seasoned front row and talented ball carriers at the back. They have an experienced ex-Premiership fly half in Jamie Lennard and an attacking scrum half in Bruno Bravo. In the backs Armitage, Clark and Flockheart link well in attack. Worcester provided no runaway performance at Castle Park last week but they did find occasional gaps in defence. This (and the restart) is where Donny may be vulnerable and this is where we need to probe and expose the weak links.
What do Leeds bring to this game? We will know for sure at the final whistle on Sunday. What can we bring? That’s a slightly different question. There is no doubt that we have lost a few match breaking players in important positions with experience and clout...indeed a certain useful full back who cut his spurs at Donny. However there is plenty of new and established talent in this Carnegie outfit which will hopefully come together this season....just preferably sooner rather than later?
After the second half debacle at Mosely Gary Mercer looked more than slightly irritated at the outcome. That’s exactly what we need to see and hear...some real disappointment. All these lost bonus points may well cost us at the business end of the season! Indeed, I thought he showed a real sense of urgency and eagerness to redress the persistent poor discipline! So hopefully let’s look forward to a totally different story on Sunday?
From our own pool of talent we potentially have dynamic a back line who can run rings round many teams in this division...when they gel...when they make the passes....and when they keep their heads. Maybe Dave Docherty will be back from injury for this encounter and add an extra bit of glitter and sparkle down the line. At 9 our new scrum half in Chris Pilgrim has shown considerable attacking flair and confidence in the early games. I think he will mature into a powerful presence as he settles into the new regime at Headingly. Leonard showed good boots at Moseley for a new recruit and along with Hughes offers us stronger options going forward.
Our full back Mcllwaine also looks full of early promise and hopefully will also soon reach his full potential. The video of the Moseley game certainly had some inspired moments with that 50 metre charge involving Pilgrim, Goss, Walker, Jones and finally finished off by Mcllwaine. Fantastic teamwork and individual performances from many players... And of course we have the dynamic energy of our captain Buzz to set the tone and make the hard yards...always there for the big shift and a captain's performance.
If we are to believe all that we read the Championship play offs may well have a limited shelf life. So we must take every opportunity while we can and show serious intent in every game to build towards the Premiership. Our performance against Donny must totally eclipse last Friday’s mercurial twilight struggle. If it doesn’t it really is anybody’s game? We need to demonstrate a mature performance in every department, take the full five points, show a massive defence and a finish on a significant points margin....not much to ask???
We surely must have learnt from our mistakes....haven’t we ??? From my cracked and over-used crystal ball I cautiously predict a Leeds win by 15 points.
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24/09/2014 19:01
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:10:05:20:34:14 by Gelbel.
Last week I asked for a mature, professional performance against Mose with as few points conceded as possible. We emphatically didn't get it.
Let's try again
Come on lads
second row choices. Once Beck is back it will be interesting to see whether he will be in the frame for blind side. Chris Jones has fitted in well and I am not sure whether he might move forward to second row, sometimes if not always. Do we know what his preferences are ? Also Williams seemed a sound upcoming choice at blind side last season and will he be in the frame ? Pilgrim as you say seems to be a good replacement for our outgoing scrum halves, and we need to see soon how Dudman is shaping up.
