19-Man Squad vs Tigers

[moto748]

The first half probably made people think we were stronger than we actually were. In the end both teams were fairly even and it came down to goalkicks, and you can't fault Hardaker really because he's been kicking very well and even the best kickers have an off day.

We were running hot in the first half and luckily our weakened pack didn't really have to mix it with theirs. Our left edge caused them plenty of problems and we scored some thrilling tries. However, our weak pack was always going to come into play. Cas may have had their own injuries but generally you can get away with injuries in the backs (we've proven that countless times) but it's much harder to cope when forwards are missing.

As soon as Cas managed to get on a roll and get quick play the ball we were in trouble. When you throw in Sammut's injury forcing Leuluai to play 80 down the middle, then Greenwood going off early in the second half it seemed the tide would inevitably turn. Take him out of the pack and the threat out wide is gone along with size and experience. You can't really expect a pack with Byrne, Partington, Smithies to dominate their opponents 2 weeks in a row, and the Cas pack provided a much sterner test in that second half.

It's frustrating to throw away such a good lead and concede some really soft tries from close range, but the damage was done and the defence weakened by conceding 70-80 metres on some sets. It was men against boys plus a few forwards who haven't been in the best form.

Hamlin's suspension has turned out to be a big blow because just one player like him having a decent game could have made a slight difference.

One of the big turning points was the interchange period of the first half. It's where Flower made such a huge difference against Catalans and aided our younger players. Tonight, without him, our defence was much weaker during that period. Byrne in particular found it difficult and it allowed them to force their way back into the game before half time.

The injuries are a concern as they could really derail our season. Another concussion for Greenwood could be really bad news. He's also missed a couple of weeks with one and it wouldn't surprise me if he's forced to sit out several more weeks after that heavy knock. That alone puts us in deep trouble given how much we've struggled in his absence. Paisley is okay but like any young player is inconsistent and nowhere near the same threat. Sammut was starting to show some really good touches in the halves and looked to compliment Williams well. His injury means we're either getting Leuluai in the halves and Powell at hooker again, or Shorrocks in the halves, neither of which fills me with confidence. Manfredi's injury is the easiest to cover as Davies will come straight in but probably the most frustrating because of all that Dom has been through. I really hope it's not as bad as it seemed at the time.

Some positives from that though were another good performance from Smithies. He didn't look like an 18 year old in only his second game. Also, Ollie Partington did well defensively while playing the full 80.

All in all, a disappointing end but probably not a surprise with the players missing and the disruption to the side during the game. Frustrating how it happened. The bigger worry is how we can bounce back with injuries mounting.

Great post! I think you summed it very well. David Fafita and co next!

[ian.birchall]

The first half probably made people think we were stronger than we actually were. In the end both teams were fairly even and it came down to goalkicks, and you can't fault Hardaker really because he's been kicking very well and even the best kickers have an off day.

We were running hot in the first half and luckily our weakened pack didn't really have to mix it with theirs. Our left edge caused them plenty of problems and we scored some thrilling tries. However, our weak pack was always going to come into play. Cas may have had their own injuries but generally you can get away with injuries in the backs (we've proven that countless times) but it's much harder to cope when forwards are missing.

As soon as Cas managed to get on a roll and get quick play the ball we were in trouble. When you throw in Sammut's injury forcing Leuluai to play 80 down the middle, then Greenwood going off early in the second half it seemed the tide would inevitably turn. Take him out of the pack and the threat out wide is gone along with size and experience. You can't really expect a pack with Byrne, Partington, Smithies to dominate their opponents 2 weeks in a row, and the Cas pack provided a much sterner test in that second half.

It's frustrating to throw away such a good lead and concede some really soft tries from close range, but the damage was done and the defence weakened by conceding 70-80 metres on some sets. It was men against boys plus a few forwards who haven't been in the best form.

Hamlin's suspension has turned out to be a big blow because just one player like him having a decent game could have made a slight difference.

One of the big turning points was the interchange period of the first half. It's where Flower made such a huge difference against Catalans and aided our younger players. Tonight, without him, our defence was much weaker during that period. Byrne in particular found it difficult and it allowed them to force their way back into the game before half time.

The injuries are a concern as they could really derail our season. Another concussion for Greenwood could be really bad news. He's also missed a couple of weeks with one and it wouldn't surprise me if he's forced to sit out several more weeks after that heavy knock. That alone puts us in deep trouble given how much we've struggled in his absence. Paisley is okay but like any young player is inconsistent and nowhere near the same threat. Sammut was starting to show some really good touches in the halves and looked to compliment Williams well. His injury means we're either getting Leuluai in the halves and Powell at hooker again, or Shorrocks in the halves, neither of which fills me with confidence. Manfredi's injury is the easiest to cover as Davies will come straight in but probably the most frustrating because of all that Dom has been through. I really hope it's not as bad as it seemed at the time.

Some positives from that though were another good performance from Smithies. He didn't look like an 18 year old in only his second game. Also, Ollie Partington did well defensively while playing the full 80.

All in all, a disappointing end but probably not a surprise with the players missing and the disruption to the side during the game. Frustrating how it happened. The bigger worry is how we can bounce back with injuries mounting.

Great post! I think you summed it very well. David Fafita and co next!

Before the match I was concerned about Cas having an eight day turn around compared to our five days after Sunday and that must have been a contributing fact if only in a small way?

[Blackpool_Pie]

EEP has summed it up perfectly for me. With our starting pack we kept in the arm wrestle up front and beat them with our backs. Sammut ran it a bit, gildart and Williams shone outside him. Without him we lose a heck of a lot and if he's out for the season, we should really look at a short term signing.
Losing Greenwood was a huge blow, as was Flower. We couldn't mix it up once we had the youngsters on and they brought a revved up Cook on. We let them win collisions and it was an uphill battle from there. As average as Clubb has been this season, he would have been an influence too, we just missed a bit of a gnarled older head. Tautai did nothing of note bar his early break.
As much of a loss Greenwood would be for any side, as he is no doubt, world class, Sammut will be our biggest loss. We had just started to put plays together, he showed vision and guile in attack and created tries with his passing range, which we haven't seen for a while with Tommy and Powell there, and he brought Williams into the game brilliantly. It looked bad immediately and I don't see him playing again this season unfortunately.

[Dev]

Only positive about tonight is that I didn't go.

Lam is out of his depth.

Our defence is a thing of theory.

Can’t blame lam for that yesterday, his hands are tied with that squad he’s got, can’t buy anyone because the salary cap is maxed out, he’s got to many bang average players at his disposal. Should never loose a game with a 20
Point lead at half time!

[fozzieskem]

For me the game turned as soon as Cas scored the defence looked brittle again from then on,the memory of the Catalan game was soon forgotten as Cas just seemed to find that extra something and then their size really told in the second half.

That said on another day Wigan could have won it but the club really has to start looking at shaking the squad up a bit and try and unearth a prop or two that can do the sort of minutes Fifuta,Watts,Millington can do and along with their size,though where these gems are hidden I don’t know

[Wiganer Ted]

We started with 5 of our pack missing in Flower, Powell, Clubb, Farrell and O'Loughlin. When Greenwood went off the whole of our first team starting pack was missing. We could all see this and as much as the young lads gave their all their inexperience and lack of defensive cohesion left us very vulnerable down the middle.
Cas knew this and that's where they went all game. Eden and Clare didn't get a pass all night.
If we could just have kept Sammut and Greenwood on for the full game we'd have won and by some distance.

Don't know where we go from here as if we thought the Cas pack was big they're nothing compared to Wakey next week. Who will be back I'm not sure but talk of Flower and Powell returning. We could do with Clubb and Farrell back as well. Lockers on the field is anyone's guess but let's hope its not too far away.

If, that's a big if, we could ever get our 1-17 playing I do think we have e very decent squad once they hit form.

[Southern Softy]

Everything that everyone has posted is true but it still doesn't alter the fact that the first six tries against us were all scored by a big forward running solo from short range. This is the kind of tactic that Under 11s are taught to play against and stop. It doesn't matter how under strength we are, the way to play against us has been signposted for every other club and if you were them, why wouldn't you play the same way?
Something is very wrong with the training regime if we can't cope with this kind of basic attack, even if we have a young pack.

[medlocke]

Time for the club to grow a set of nads and cut the chaff from the wheat and bring in a couple of burly props, Also if they could send Powell out on a season long loan then that would also benefit the side

[stevo38]

Time for the club to grow a set of nads and cut the chaff from the wheat and bring in a couple of burly props, Also if they could send Powell out on a season long loan then that would also benefit the side

could they not send him for longer the blokes absolutley useless

[pearsy]

So we really did not learn anything from last night we already new the defence is shot and our forwards got a lesson in how to go forward.Still think SE rethink was partly due the players that Wigan have and the recruitment policy now within the club