MORRISON REVIEWS TIGERS CLASH

We spoke with academy head coach Glenn Morrison following their game against Castleford Tigers. The Young Bulls side raced into an early 6-0 lead but ultimately came out 44-28 down at full-time.

Reflecting on the performance, Glenn said “I had sort of mixed thoughts on the game really, we had a lot of people unavailable. We went into the game with a fullback and a winger as our two half-backs and another winger on the bench to play hooker. Other people pulled out the morning of the game so we had late replacements and it was always going to be tough. In the first 15 minutes, we scored a try and we got some sets and good ball where we probably should have scored another one or two tries. Not having a halfback in there to control the sets meant we couldn’t get to the end and we were forcing things. 

I think we got to one kick in the whole first half. They tried hard but it’s a tough job. We came out in the second half and it was the same thing. We said to try and make things a bit more basic, playing around the middle and the nine but we didn’t get into the game well in that first 15/20 minutes. In the last 20 minutes, everything clicked and they played like we’d asked them to. They pushed hard, ran hard, made their tackles and supported well. We came up with some really good scores and got back to 28-38. We probably could have kicked on again, but we got excited and threw the ball into touch instead of doing what got us the three tries before that. Then they scored a late one to put it to bed. I’m pleased they were able to get there for that period but just frustrated that we were a little bit dumb at times.” 

Morrison expressed a desire for more consistent performances from the squad. Injuries have been a key issue as players have had to be chopped and changed to cover gaps. “It’s tough”, Glenn remarked. “We haven’t had the same team on the pitch week in, week out. We have had a different team every single week and that’s down to injuries and unavailability. This makes it hard as you need a consistent team, especially in the spine but we haven’t been able to have our strongest team on the pitch since our first trial game against Leeds and that makes a difference. When you are playing with the same people around you, you know how they defend, how they are attacking. You know their skills and what they will do and you can try and work with that. At the moment, we are a little bit behind because of where we are in terms of personnel. Everyone is trying hard, you can’t knock the effort or commitment levels. It’s just consistency with the squad and using our rugby brains and game management that’s letting us down.” 

Despite impressive performances, the team haven’t been able to convert strong patches into winning results. Glenn insisted that the current run had not influenced the team’s mood, but instead given them key learning opportunities, especially when it came to game management. “We know ourselves that if we play the full 80 minutes then we could have had a few results on the park. We’ve either not started well and given ourselves too much to do despite coming home strong and just not quite had enough time to get the win. Or we’ve started well and just not been able to hang on. Everyone is on the same page, everybody knows that we’ve got the talent and the depth there and if we get our strongest 13, 17, or 20 available to put pressure on and competition for spots then it’s going to be a different result and the boys know that. They’ve seen how good we can be and we just want to get everyone available and on that pitch at the same time to be able to get that win.

Despite the tough start to the campaign, there is still plenty to be positive about. Adversity often leads to opportunity, and Glenn was very confident that results would begin to change soon. “We have a squad in place that we are trying to add to. We’ve had long-term injuries to our halves. The first team has had a few injuries so we’ve had players that have been called up, which is good for them and what we want but obviously it makes them unavailable for us. So, it’s just been a mixture of things at the moment. I hope we are not far off but it does get frustrating. But we just have to take it as it comes. As long as we train hard, we work hard, and everyone available on the training pitch is doing their best to get the output that we need. I don’t think it’s too far away. I admire the character of the boys. They don’t give in and they put their hands up to play out of position which is a credit to them. They’ve put their hand up and said they’ll do a job for me and they’ve tried their best which is credit to them as a person and what we want at the club. They all want to do what they can, and whatever is best for the team and the squad. So I really am proud of them. I’m happy for where they are and what they are putting in for the squad, but obviously I am disappointed that we haven’t been able to get the results from it.”