Wakey Game

[cumbria_warrior]

I thought we were terrible on the left defensively, huge gaps and every time jones bishop got the ball we had to madly scramble. First half we were poor in attack but to be fair the red gave us nothing and some of the crossing calls would of been hard to see on video replay never mind in real-time.
For me Isa and escare were stand out players

[cumbria_warrior]

On another note

What he hell is the music about every time a scrum?? It’s awful

[medlocke]

On another note

What he hell is the music about every time a scrum?? It’s awful

It sounded awful on the radio

[shimmy192]

Quite a good performance, totally agree with the comments about our number 6- where was he all game- about time he showed why he is our Marquee player!

What the hell is Joe doing on defending his line- the number of times he came in field by at least 10 meters- it was embarrassing and I bet Mr Powell will have taken notice!

Loved the fact that Roman was given a chance and did not waste it- he was all out to impress and could easily teach TT how he used to be! Such a shame he dropped the ball after busting through- awesome!

Have we a new musical director? If so sack him- what was that music lol!

[Josie's friend]

Gildart positionally was shocking leaving Budgie isolated defensively, both tries on that side down to him and the players knew it.
Imo he needs dropping to sort himself out, good prospect but nowhere near as complete as he seems to think he is.

Overall a good team performance

[lucky 13]

I think we have still not got our combinations in attack sorted but once again we look fitter. I thought we piggy backed Trin up the park and that was the only time they looked dangerous. Second half without a string of penalties giving them ball I think we would have hit 40 points. Left edge looks a bit all over the place in D, though all are decent enough so that can be sorted. I dont get all the crap heading Williams way, yes ye makes the wrong choice now and again but who in SL would you says better at providing tries from 6? Can he do more? Yes would I swap him? No. All the props did well today Flower is in his best form for a while and clubb is that tough rough edged player we need. T has been below his best but not today for me, intensity didnt drop when he came on, Sutton and Romain also kept us going when Lockers Flower and Clubb hit the bench. Tomkins is not the speedy kid any more but hes still got the RL brain and hands to cause damage.... how Kevin Brown is a England player and hes not is a mystery to me. Escare I just love to watch he played a roaming role at 7 and even at acting half his line D needs work.... on a dry track with Williams and Tomkins should be interesting. Tom Davies early mistake didnt drop his spirit and if anything he did more than match Tom Johnstone today. Batty not a centre? Well hes a good enough rugby player to do a good impression of one. Powell Lulu Faz and Lockers solid, Gildart ran hard Burgess three tries but seemed to want to fly off his wing to tackle.... will need to watch on tv to see whats going on.
Finally unsung but very much the kind of player every team needs on and off the field Isa. One of his best games for us today.

[doc]

That's three games in a row where we have been exposed on the edges. Other teams seem to be making the overlap on us too easily and with a bit better execution we could have lost the last thee matches.

[shaunedwardsfanclub]

It was a good performance overall. We could easily have struggled with the size of their pack and given their good form but we dealt with them quite well even with our tendency to give away daft penalties and concede soft tries.

Just like last week the right edge was exceptional and the left edge a little bit dodgy at times, despite Budgie's hat trick. Some frantic defending on our left looked like it could be exploited. Not sure if it was just Gildart and Burgess making bad judgements or a problem with communication further in field that only became noticeable when the ball came wide but either way it's a concern.

Escare played scrum half the that decision certainly paid off. Tomkins was brilliant throughout at fullback and a contender for man of the match and Escare did well causing problems on the right with good passing and pace. His defence did look a bit suspect late on though - perhaps because he's not used to defending in the line.

Williams was largely ineffective and it's definitely a concern. I do think there are some mitigating cicrumstances in that last season he looked jaded and in need of a rest and a good pre-season, only to go to the World Cup when he shouldn't have been picked. He still looks a shadow of what he was a couple of years ago but these are important years for him and he needs to pick his game up somehow. He's got competition for places now.

Our props did very well. Flower was excellent defensively and was one of the key men in keeping their big forwards quiet. Good efforts from Clubb and Sutton too. Navarrete was impressive, but made a silly error after a cracking kick off return and was subbed shortly after and never returned.

Tautai bagged a try and was a little bit better than previous weeks, but stil a long way from his best form and I'd say still prime candidate for being ousted. On balance Navarrete was more effective.

Once again Bateman was brilliant at centre. Kept Tupou quiet all game, defending well, ran strong and helped provide an attacking threat down the left. People need to get over this dislike of him playing centre. He might not have blown anyone away in that position at the World Cup but he's been our best centre so far this year and with Joel doing well at second row and Isa playing very well there today I just don't see a reason to weaken the centre position simply because people have decided they don't want him there regardless of how well he plays.

In a nutshell CP.

Sam T was excellent today and anybody who writes him off is a fool, he's a champion player.

We need to fix up our left defence and get George ticking again, otherwise a good day at the office.

[shaunedwardsfanclub]

Gildart positionally was shocking leaving Budgie isolated defensively, both tries on that side down to him and the players knew it.
Imo he needs dropping to sort himself out, good prospect but nowhere near as complete as he seems to think he is.

Overall a good team performance

I think the problem was inside Oli but I need to watch it again. I'm not sure what has happened to Faz!

[shaunedwardsfanclub]

Wakefield are a very good side and first half were really quick and looked a well drilled team. Wigan did well to beat them and i'm not sure if Castleford are tougher opposition . Maybe because its at their place but thats about it

They are a well coached outfit and will trouble a lot of teams this season.