Tonight's Game - Team for Thursday

[Mickw]

KPP did a great job shutting down lam,it's a job he can do next week aswell against lomax and Co.

[morley pie eater]

I thought our middles make a huge difference tonight and that allowed our backs a lot of time and space to cause Leigh problems. We know Havard has been solid all year (all career so far) but he was at his best tonight. Liam Byrne had his best game of the season so far and was a monster in defence. I also thought Ellis had his best game of the season too and went about his work quietly and effectively.

I mentioned in the thread about Shorrocks that playing him down the middle meant losing our 5 prop interchange that Peet seemed to favour but losing Singleton or Cooper's input shouldn't be a big issue at present and it proved to be so. We got more minutes out of the middles that were performing well and I'm glad Smithies was re-introduced at prop as he plays like one anyway. I don't think Cooper had a second spell but why should he if he's not as impactful as our other options.
What Shorrocks does off the ball is as important as what he does when he gets the ball and that's part of the game that can go unnoticed. Similar to what Ben Flower used to give us he probably makes more dummy runs than carries but attacking play relies on those runs.

French at fullback was what most of us have wanted to see all year and it was a joy to watch. Field in the halves was much more of a threat than Cust though he did make quite a few bad decisions too. Maybe a lack of familiarity in the role with those players is to blame but I think that's just something you have to accept with Field in more of a playmaking role. He's going to be a big loss and Matt Peet has his work cut out to find the right solution in the halves.

Smith, outstanding and directed the team so well. His kicking game is superb and he's been playing consistently well this year with last week being the only real off day. I was so surprised to read criticism of his performances because I think he's been one of our best so far.

The changes to our backline concerned me when I saw the team sheet but all of them performed really well. King put in bags of effort, Pearce-Paul had his best game of the year with some really impressive defence. Wardle was solid and made some good reads in defence and credit to Miski - he always looks solid when called upon even though he's probably lacking a little match fitness.

Leigh have been flying recently so this is a good win. The next couple of games may provide a reality check or they may see us start to hit our stride but I'm pleased at how many players raised their game tonight. We didn't even have to rely on Farrell being outstanding as he had something of an off day (which probably still means 100m in carries and 30+ tackles).

Excellent summary.

Is Smith best when he's given more responsibility, I wonder? It could be that with Field at 6, Harry was the organiser, whereas with Cust it's more joint responsibility. I could be wrong, but (as Meds knows), I was right once.

[Southern Softy]

I thought just about everyone had a good match.
Miski must have been a MOM contender and I'd switch him to the right wing as soon as Marshall is fit because he must come straight back in.
I worry about Cust because a 'bulging disc in the neck' could be career-ending if it's the worst case - I really hope not.
I did smile about the Havard comments in earlier posts. He's been outstanding all season and he just carried on going about his business being the best forward on display in an enormously long spell on the field. Wardle's tackle was probably a bit too late (showing it in slow motion never helps) but the other two really weren't late at all.
Great defence - KPP nullified Lam (whose kicking was dreadful all night) and I thought MP's comment at the end about being unlikely to switch French from full-back was interesting. I'm guessing Field will be out for 3 weeks (about normal for hamstrings) so I'm not sure what his plans are. Please not Powell in the halves. I thought Shorrocks had a stormer and it was good to see him back.
And although I've still got my doubts about King, he did pretty well.

[pearsy]

Good team performance.Smith was very good apart from his conversations still needs to be nailing more especially in tight games

[craigo]

Easy. Poor Leigh. Every time they get their hopes up.

[Charriots Offiah]

After the first ten minutes, I thought it was a thoroughly professional performance. I have a slight concern about Cooper - he’s not playing long minutes and he is certainly not having the same impact as last season. I hope that he is carrying a slight knock rather than his career waning. Smithy needs to bring his kicking boots next week, when it will probably be crucial, but otherwise he was fantastic last night and Faz needs to find his top form as, for him, he has rarely it the heights this season.

[the pieman]

i listened to the game on 5 live sports extra (or when i could listen), so only got about 30 mins in total

Ryan Brierley i thought was excellent in co-commentary, and gave some real unbiased insights into the players / plays from a current players perspective

He commented on KPP, and how defensively he closed Lam down (as somone else has commented above), and that Leigh didnt have a plan for overcoming it

He also said Smith's in play kicking was excellent and he controlled the game with that. He joked that he never missed a conversion last week v Salford too

He also commented from a Salford perpsective on how they struggled to adapt last week when we made the change and moved Field into 6. he said that he is a dynamic / elusive runner, and sides would prefer for him to pass as its not his strongest asset, but if he runs at you, you are in trouble, either cos he'll break or he'll do something which leaves the defensive line unset for the next play

I've watched the highlights this morning and the final try would have been worth the admission money alone. Excellent piece of RL skill, and something we dont see often enough in our game. Little chip over the top, planned move with Smith and French (confirmed in post match interview), and then French with the skill to take and see Miski clear on the outside

[morley pie eater]

After the first ten minutes, I thought it was a thoroughly professional performance. I have a slight concern about Cooper - he’s not playing long minutes and he is certainly not having the same impact as last season. I hope that he is carrying a slight knock rather than his career waning. Smithy needs to bring his kicking boots next week, when it will probably be crucial, but otherwise he was fantastic last night and Faz needs to find his top form as, for him, he has rarely it the heights this season.

Agree re Faz. He is a jewel in our crown, but I'm beginning to wonder if being captain is affecting his game.

[craigo]

After the first ten minutes, I thought it was a thoroughly professional performance. I have a slight concern about Cooper - he’s not playing long minutes and he is certainly not having the same impact as last season. I hope that he is carrying a slight knock rather than his career waning. Smithy needs to bring his kicking boots next week, when it will probably be crucial, but otherwise he was fantastic last night and Faz needs to find his top form as, for him, he has rarely it the heights this season.

Agree re Faz. He is a jewel in our crown, but I'm beginning to wonder if being captain is affecting his game.

maybe. But who would you have as captain then ?.

[Mike]

Congrats to the team on a great performance - very enjoyable. Such a shame about field as we were just starting to see the beginning of the annual competition between field and french on who can do the most amazing things in a season. We really have to get these two in positions to get their hands on the balls and their confidence up. It just wasn't happening for French on the wing this season for whatever reason. I imagine field will be out for a few months, so it's all about who's going into that halfback role. When's rocky fit?