Blazing Saddles
Ward Prentice (10)
Popped in to Cranbrook and caught most of the game and a few quick observations (apologies for numbers as i did not have a program)-
Scrum time was frustrating for all, given it was the first game of the year however there were a lot of resets at scrum time which slowed the game down. Lineouts as mentioned in other posts Cranbrook performed well, their hookers throws were far more accurate.
Knox controlled the game well, the majority of the pack worked hard, would love to see the 6 and 7 get a bit more of the ball as they were doing a lot of hard work at the breakdown , others were waiting to run the ball.
The 10 was under pressure and coped well despite the service he was recieving, hopefully the combination with the 9 will improve as they get used to each others style of play.The 8 appeared to be used as a first reciever in the 9/10 channel which also led to some confusion (maybe this is a new ploy from coach williams).
The 13 and 15 were standouts , there is plenty of pace out wide for Knox.
For Cranbrook I was certainly impressed with the workrate of the 2, the 7 worked hard around the field.The forward pack worked well as a unit and will improve throughout the year.
The service to 10 was crisp and set the backline up well. Would like to see the 13 get some more ball, he certainly looked very dangerous and could be a darkhorse for rep selection this year. If Cranbrook choose to keep the ball in hand more and use their big backline they wiill threaten all teams.
Scrum time was frustrating for all, given it was the first game of the year however there were a lot of resets at scrum time which slowed the game down. Lineouts as mentioned in other posts Cranbrook performed well, their hookers throws were far more accurate.
Knox controlled the game well, the majority of the pack worked hard, would love to see the 6 and 7 get a bit more of the ball as they were doing a lot of hard work at the breakdown , others were waiting to run the ball.
The 10 was under pressure and coped well despite the service he was recieving, hopefully the combination with the 9 will improve as they get used to each others style of play.The 8 appeared to be used as a first reciever in the 9/10 channel which also led to some confusion (maybe this is a new ploy from coach williams).
The 13 and 15 were standouts , there is plenty of pace out wide for Knox.
For Cranbrook I was certainly impressed with the workrate of the 2, the 7 worked hard around the field.The forward pack worked well as a unit and will improve throughout the year.
The service to 10 was crisp and set the backline up well. Would like to see the 13 get some more ball, he certainly looked very dangerous and could be a darkhorse for rep selection this year. If Cranbrook choose to keep the ball in hand more and use their big backline they wiill threaten all teams.