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Looks like Gregson has a broken jaw. Strewth,will this curse ever end? The game changed when Joel came back on,the crowd got vocal at the same moment (salfords last try had just been scored), Joel put in a couple of big hits,young Woods started bossing the team around,the other kids responded,the senior players got going and with a bit more composure I actually believe we could have nicked it. Salford were knackered by the end. Wigan didn't deserve to win but it got very interesting for the last 25 minutes. Lewis was just awful in the first half,but once he'd caught a ball he was a completely different player in the second half. Joel played the best I've seen him play for a long time when he came back on,the rest of the forwards followed his example and pushed Salford backwards from then on. Just a shame it was 28-0 by that time. Side note,Woods can only play for Swinton next week as he played for them last round so is cup tied.

Agree with that. I thought Woods looked a talent, and I hope we hang on to him. Just not good enough in the first half, though. The early optimism about Burgess playing in the centres has evaporated pretty quickly in the last couple of games. Faz has looked way off the pace and below his usual standard (injured?). The space we allowed Robert Lui, who seemed to be able to run 10-15 metres every time he got the ball before deciding what to do with it, was ridiculous.

As I said at the game, reminded me of the Kiwis in the Anzac Test I'd watched earlier: didn't get a bit of fire in their bellies and really start playing until the game was already lost.

endoman wrote:Jaw injury for Gregson, I blame his boots, and the training, physios, sports scientists etc.

If you saw the incident he was absolutely "smashed" by Murdock-Masilla.

Does conditioning, sportswear, tactics etc come into that?? Stop being facetious and acknowledge that the combination of slow passing and predictability of our our play made him an "easy target" (and not for the first time for a player)

5miler wrote:Joel put in a couple of big hits,young Woods started bossing the team around,the other kids responded,the senior players got going and with a bit more composure I actually believe we could have nicked it.Joel played the best I've seen him play for a long time when he came back on,the rest of the forwards followed his example and pushed Salford backwards from then on.

At that point we were like lambs to the slaughter, it was almost too embarrassing to watch. No cohesion, sliding defence none existent and players dropping off tackles like we were playing the Australian test team from the 80's.

I cannot say for certain, but I can guess that Wane was furious with what he was seeing at that time and told Tomkins to go on and lead the players into a similar plan to "mix it". From his very first input he conceded a penalty, but from that point on we stopped hanging back and admiring how good Salford were and actually started playing ourselves. I even though FPN ran well when he joined in with this when he also returned. Pity we were so far behind on the scoreline and meekly submitting to their tactics until that point!

moto748 wrote:Agree with that. I thought Woods looked a talent, and I hope we hang on to him. Just not good enough in the first half, though. The early optimism about Burgess playing in the centres has evaporated pretty quickly in the last couple of games. Faz has looked way off the pace and below his usual standard (injured?). The space we allowed Robert Lui, who seemed to be able to run 10-15 metres every time he got the ball before deciding what to do with it, was ridiculous.

As I said at the game, reminded me of the Kiwis in the Anzac Test I'd watched earlier: didn't get a bit of fire in their bellies and really start playing until the game was already lost.

Faz seems to have a problem turning to his right,players running inside him are getting free passage atm. Budgie needs putting back on the wing as our left winger was always 5 yards infield when we were defending.

endoman wrote:Jaw injury for Gregson, I blame his boots, and the training, physios, sports scientists etc.

With our injury list I feel there is a danger of falling into a decline like Leeds and Huddersfield. They both have pretty good teams but that did not stop them having a disastrous season last year, and one from which Huddersfield have still to recover despite having a good team on paper. Leeds are also struggling to recover old ground.

We have gone through this before and we need to be very careful.

LORENZO wrote:With our injury list I feel there is a danger of falling into a decline like Leeds and Huddersfield. They both have pretty good teams but that did not stop them having a disastrous season last year, and one from which Huddersfield have still to recover despite having a good team on paper. Leeds are also struggling to recover old ground.

We have gone through this before and we need to be very careful.

We just need to get through the next month without any further injuries (serious ones) and stay close to the top four. We are due to get some major players back in June and a good quarter-final draw could make Wembley realistic as well as making the top four a good possibility. In the interim, I fear we will have to take some defeats on the chin!

Think if we beat Swinton, we'll have to be Away in the next round, even if we get a Home tie - pitch being dug up.

Surely the difference between us and Leeds and Hudds is, Leeds' senior players have either retired, or are getting on. Hudds rely heavily on Brough, who is, what, 34? Lockers aside, we have a young squad with their best years in front of them, something neither of the other two can say.