vs Castleford

[Charriots Offiah]

The biggest issue we have is our defensive line speed, at times it is non existent. Saints do it really well, I suggest the team is shown a video of how it should be done. It is not rocket science but it can make a massive difference.

[moto748]

I always struggle to judge until I've seen the game back, but I didn't think Cust was great. I do like him, and he did well for one of the scores, and I think he will be a good player for us, but he hasn't hit his straps yet. God job we had Field to make something out of nothing. Some pretty soft scores conceded, and there seemed to be a fair bit of arm-grabbing going on, I wonder what the missed tackle count was like?

And can we please speed the ruck up? Come on, refs, get a grip!

[blindsideprop]

A win is a win but to be fair Cas are poor atm and most teams would have beat them.Field was once again outstanding,Partington,Smithies and Byrne were good and Tommy also.We lost direction when he went off and Smith and Powell as usual offered nothing in attack and Cust is average .KPP is not a centre and needs to be back in the second row.Of course it is early in the season but i have seen little in the performances so far to suggest we can get to a GF.

[Wigan Watcher]

Really poor performance in all departments and it has to be said we have too many players who are not good enough. As someone else has said without Field we would have lost. This is going to be a long painful season ahead.

[josie andrews]

I always struggle to judge until I've seen the game back, but I didn't think Cust was great. I do like him, and he did well for one of the scores, and I think he will be a good player for us, but he hasn't hit his straps yet. God job we had Field to make something out of nothing. Some pretty soft scores conceded, and there seemed to be a fair bit of arm-grabbing going on, I wonder what the missed tackle count was like?

And can we please speed the ruck up? Come on, refs, get a grip!

We were complaining all night about this! Why are teams allowed to lie on is just getting ridiculous!
We must be the only team who allow others to make a quick PTB

[EagleEyePie]

I defended Powell last week because I didn't think the conditions were really suitable for him to do much out of dummy half. Tonight the conditions weren't absolutely perfect but they were much better and there were times when we had some good position and some less than enthusiastic defence to run at. And despite that Powell didn't run from dummy half at all. I don't even know how that's possible for a hooker except for in the worst of conditions.

I love the effort in defence but it's been obvious for a while now that Powell's best performances come when he actually gets out of dummy half and is willing to run the ball a bit. It's not his biggest strength but it keeps the defenders around the ruck on their toes. It's so frustrating when he reverts to just pick and pass. It's not like he was overworked defensively. I've been hoping for us to go for an interchange hooking option and I can't understand why we haven't yet.

I hoped the team selection for last night was so that Smith went to halfback and Cust got some time at hooker, where he looked pretty good for Manly. Turns out Smith was there because Leuluai was carrying a knock.

We're definitely needing something more in that department and we've got options.

I wasn't too concerned about Marshall under the high ball. The attacking winger has the advantage in that situation and often the best thing a winger can do is just make sure a try isn't scored, and Cas didn't score. It was his other errors and general lack of involvement that disappointment me the most. Halsall was shaky at times but not bad. I'd love to see him get a few more games.

In general though I think our forwards are hard working and honest enough but we're right back where we were last season relying on the young forwards thanks to Ellis and Singleton's stupidity.

Our backline is full of uncertainty except for Field. Hardaker is solid but not very threatening on the wing. KPP is barely involved in attack when at centre and was badly exposed defensively tonight. Bibby is solid but can't pass to save his life at left centre (why was he not first choice on the right wing?). Halsall decent at centre but won't get a good run of games in that position to develop. I think he'd be a better wing option than Hardaker though but I doubt that will happen. Miski had one bad game but that's all we really have to judge, so who knows when he'll get his next chance in the first team. We've got French to come back which seems likely to be on the wing but that probably means a backline reshuffle of some sort. We've also got Thornley to return soon who was considered a first team pick by Peet so I'm not sure where he will fit in.

I think we're a long way from a settled team. One the one hand it means we might still have more to come but on the other I think we're going to be inconsistent for a while.

[Caboosegg]

Bibby can't pass to his winger? On what evidence? Bibby has been the least of our worries.

It's very strange though that when Bibby has shown he is a decent winger even when in a bad team like us last year that we have continued with Hardaker on the wing. I presume its only because KPP needs to be fitted In and hardaker being.the kicker forces his spot.

Last night was dissapointing in how we let Cas back in the game but they did the same vs Huddersfield. We are 6 games in though so either stuff needs to click or they need to bring in someone to fix the knock on issues, we give up so much ball that every game is an uphill struggle.

[CheshireWarrior]

Not sure how I feel after yesterday's result!

I was saying to the people I sit next to, it seems like we have a strong ability to grind out victories and two points are two points at the end of the day, but it makes me wonder are we in the same league as Saints and Catalans.

There aren't cracks in the team as such, but it still feels like we are at an experimental stage, which is possibly understandable given a new head coach and staff etc. I think I was looking/expecting a victory which looked more pacy, fluent and executing well. At times I felt we looked so flat.

Jai Field is superb at fullback and Liam Farrell is 2023 captain!

We needed to win this and we have, room for improvement if we are to challenge for all trophies on offer this season.

[widdenoldboy]

A real mixed bag, we are shipping points, 28, 28 and 22 in the last three games.
Didn't see much from Powell, KPP, Hardaker, Marshall and Mago, Cust and Smith made bad handling errors but Smith's kicking was a plus and Cust was OK over the 80 as was Batman. On the plus side was Byrne, Smithies, Havard with Tommy, Farrell and Field outstanding.

Thought Peet's session on the big screen after the game was good.

[Wintergreen]

As others have said, Pro's and Con 's.

Without Field we lose that game (you have to feel sorry for Lam in this regard)

Think about that. Without ONE player we would have lost, at home, to one of the worst sides in the competition.

That said, the tries were entertaining. We had some good performances (Partington and Smithies and obviously Field).

Plenty to work on. The obvious question imo is in the halves. When Tommy goes off, we look like rabbits in the headlights. I'm now convinced Smith is not the answer. We desperately need a solution there.