Ulster v Dragons Friday 26th Oct 7:55pm Premier Sports 1

[Dharper]

Personally I'm just glad to have MC back on the pitch, and consistently so at that (for us and him personally). If UR can get consistant mins out of him til the end of the season Id be v happy with that. I also think he'll continue to improve to a degree with gametime, after 2 yrs out.

I suspect there may be small improvements in his mobility but doubt he'll ever be the same dynamic player. Perhaps he's already been advised of this and has already physically adapted for a new role, hence extra bulk. If MC can be the inside hard carrying forward we missed all last season I'd take it (especially as we still haven't really recruited anyone who can effectively carry this role out yet), and I suspect Stu McCloskey (who had to do the bloody hard work last yr) would too. The guy is still a total pain at the breakdown which we need, and wins turnovers.

No doubt he's been caught on the inside multiple times, which every attack coach in the Pro 14 will know by now. I think there's a weakness there, not just a lack of gametime or carrying a bit of extra weight. That said Id rather focus on what he can/not what he can't do - what he can offer us, is what we are missing at the mo, - turnovers/hard carrying/physicality.

My instinct "currently" would be not to re sign him at the end of the season, invest the £££ in a LH & SR, and hope there'll be more exposure for a pup.

I've not watched the game but if the malfunctioning LO got more attention then the scrum - then it must have been tom kite. Shoring up a set piece is normally one of the 1st things that occur with a new coaching group, which is worrying. Wonder what wriggle room DMcF will have re recruitment come end of season both NIQ and domestically, as there just isn't really the options for him personnel wise. ZERO chance of success with no set piece.

**********

Fair play to JP - if its brad pitt, say its brad pitt......the days of feeding fans & players bullshit should be over. Yes he may only be a very young coach, but he was a classy intelligent player/defender, and if players can't learn off him - there is a serious issue. Very early days, but lets not gloss over a bad day, honesty is a key ingredient to chasing excellence.

[Dave]

Would we sign Marcell if he was a player at another club, given his injury record?

[UlsterNo9]

Would we sign Marcell if he was a player at another club, given his injury record?

Tee hee hee

[Fortyniner]

Could some of you forward chappies explain to me ( a mere
former 13/14) what is going in the Ur line out? A throw in on the opposition 5 metre line is a cast iron shambles.
Jumpers, calls or.........shock horror, ...... our UR and International captain?
I don't think dragons lost any Los on their throw, we lost at least 5? ( I stopped counting).
Solutions?

[Fortyniner]

Could some of you forward chappies explain to me ( a mere
former 13/14) what is going in the Ur line out? A throw in on the opposition 5 metre line is a cast iron shambles.
Jumpers, calls or.........shock horror, ...... our UR and International captain?
I don't think dragons lost any Los on their throw, we lost at least 5? ( I stopped counting).
Solutions?

Sorry, I should have had this on the newly opened set piece thread........although it does concentrate on rummaging issues, not line outs.
Would we be better to go for the tapped penalty or kick at goal every time?beyond a joke.

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Would we be better to go for the tapped penalty or kick at goal every time?beyond a joke.

for every penalty we are awarded, I think we should just opt for the scrum .... we obviously need the practice.

[Dave]

Attendance: 12,559

[big mervyn]

Attendance: 12,559

.
That's actually slightly higher than the corresponding fixture last year (12,291).

[Kofi Annan]

Attendance: 12,559

.
That's actually slightly higher than the corresponding fixture last year (12,291).

We are brill again.

[Rooster]

Attendance: 12,559

Ballicks there was

[Dave]

Attendance: 12,559

Ballicks there was

I wonder who all they count. Players coaches, refs, caterers etc.

[Columbo]

It was the same story as the rest of the season really - some nice football in attack, set piece an absolute clusterf*@# from start to finish, and more work to be done on the defence (interesting to hear Jared laid into them, glad to hear it!)

Amazingly I think Shanahan has had a decent season - his kicking is a weakness, but he's played pretty well and run some smashing support lines. Thought Baloucoune had a decent debut, looks dangerous in space.

On Marcell, he certainly has missed far too many tackles - I don't think it's to do with mobility (although his size will no doubt need a bit of fine-tuning), in fact I think he's looked quicker than I expected this season, and shown good acceleration. The way he's being caught on the inside is more a positioning / reading issue IMO, a couple of times he's been caught it's been obvious on the TV that it's about to happen, but he just hasn't read it. When he is actually in position to make a tackle, he's a strong tackler (although he needs to get the height down) - you'd like to think it's something he can sort out (he needs to, and quickly!)

[Dave]

It was the same story as the rest of the season really - some nice football in attack, set piece an absolute clusterf*@# from start to finish, and more work to be done on the defence (interesting to hear Jared laid into them, glad to hear it!)

Amazingly I think Shanahan has had a decent season - his kicking is a weakness, but he's played pretty well and run some smashing support lines. Thought Baloucoune had a decent debut, looks dangerous in space.

On Marcell, he certainly has missed far too many tackles - I don't think it's to do with mobility (although his size will no doubt need a bit of fine-tuning), in fact I think he's looked quicker than I expected this season, and shown good acceleration. The way he's being caught on the inside is more a positioning / reading issue IMO, a couple of times he's been caught it's been obvious on the TV that it's about to happen, but he just hasn't read it. When he is actually in position to make a tackle, he's a strong tackler (although he needs to get the height down) - you'd like to think it's something he can sort out (he needs to, and quickly!)

Marcell has no problems with straight lines. Runs very hard and will not miss a tackle head on. For anyone coming back from such an injury the difficulty will be when pivoting, twisting, lateral movements etc. We have to remember that this guy has spent the guts of 2 years deliberately not doing these movements. An ortho consultant guy I know told me it can be the body-mind connection that takes the longest to recover. He might want to move sideways to tackle but even a momentary pause can be enough to offset him.

I have been advised this will improve with time.

[Amiga500]

We have to remember that this guy has spent the guts of 2 years deliberately not doing these movements. An ortho consultant guy I know told me it can be the body-mind connection that takes the longest to recover. He might want to move sideways to tackle but even a momentary pause can be enough to offset him.

I have been advised this will improve with time.

Same with bad hamstrings. Your scared to push up to what you think is the limit just in case. In reality the limit is usually quite a ways from where you think it is.

[Columbo]

Marcell has no problems with straight lines. Runs very hard and will not miss a tackle head on. For anyone coming back from such an injury the difficulty will be when pivoting, twisting, lateral movements etc. We have to remember that this guy has spent the guts of 2 years deliberately not doing these movements. An ortho consultant guy I know told me it can be the body-mind connection that takes the longest to recover. He might want to move sideways to tackle but even a momentary pause can be enough to offset him.

I have been advised this will improve with time.

that's interesting - and certainly preferable to just being bad at defence..