Wigan vs roosters

[Caboosegg]

Once again the Aussies proved they are so far ahead of us.Sarginson, Lockers and Greenwood played well, Davies and Gildart had shockers.Our front row were by battered by their props.Hardaker less than average.Williams had the chance to show if he is as good as some people think but he did nothing to say hes better than average.Take away his short kicking game and he offers very little.

Pretty much agree with that, slightly more favourable to Williams though.

The reality is that unless the RFL increase the salary cap, then results like this are inevitable (or at least highly likely and to be expected).

I thought Williams went well last night. He was a threat every time he got the ball.

[ancientnloyal]

Thing is if we are only getting a crap 11,000 gate how can we afford an increase? ST would go up and match day tickets would go up which means fewer people turning up.

I’m all for scrap the cap but unless you have a rich owner willing to spend we need RL investment not a small sum by Sky

[pedro]

Once again the Aussies proved they are so far ahead of us.Sarginson, Lockers and Greenwood played well, Davies and Gildart had shockers.Our front row were by battered by their props.Hardaker less than average.Williams had the chance to show if he is as good as some people think but he did nothing to say hes better than average.Take away his short kicking game and he offers very little.

Pretty much agree with that, slightly more favourable to Williams though.

The reality is that unless the RFL increase the salary cap, then results like this are inevitable (or at least highly likely and to be expected).

I thought Williams went well last night. He was a threat every time he got the ball.

no he wasnt, he was terrible, passing for passing sake, wrong decisions AGAIN. His defence was very good but im looking for more from a pivot.

[Southern Softy]

Well, thank god it wasn't something important like a SL match.
What I feared most was a serious injury like the one Micky Mac had and it duly came to pass with Faz's, which looked pretty serious and long-term.
Overall, we were not great. Sarginson was outstanding but I'll be interested to see if he can turn in that kind of performance in a SL match and not a high-profile one. Thought Marshall had a fine match and was excellent under the high ball. None of the props had particularly good matches - Greenwood was good as usual and George veered between looking dangerous and taking wrong options. Couldn't understand why he didn't kick short kicks for Marshall or Davies near the line - it's always our most likely way to score. Please put Olly back at left-centre where he belongs,
Hardaker was worrying. He didn't seem to fancy any of the high balls and looked a bit like a young colt when faced with an Aussie wave coming at him. Presumably it's match fitness but he looked a shadow of his former self.
As for Man of the Match. It was obvious from the very start. Only one man can start packing his bags for trips Down Under after his display and that's the man who missed every forward pass, every perpetual offside, every cheap shot, every late hit (particularly the shoulder charge in Sam Powell's back), every bit of messing about at the PTB and should release his theme song, Don't Let's Be Beastly To The Aussies immediately in Australia. His finest hour was to ignore the assault on Sam Powell and lecture Lockers and Faz for Faz's unforgiveable assault on an Australian swinging arm with his face. Truly a night to remember for the man who will surely be awarded International matches in the southern hemisphere - step forward Mr Hicks. If you listen carefully, you will still hear the Roosters laughing in their hotel.
His display didn't really affect the result but perhaps if we started a fund for his emigration to OZ, it might mean SL would be better in the future.

[stevethegas]

I was proud of our team yesterday. We did give a pretty good account of ourselves after a slow start. Giving the best team in Australia a 10-0 start was always going to make things difficult.
What was disappointing was there appeared (to my cherry and white eyes) a lot of inconsistency in the referee's decisions. We didn't get any 50-50 decision, and watching the reply I have not seen anything to contradict my opinion last night.
A couple of decisions against us at critical times make a huge difference.
We were good, but they were that little bit better.
Great game and great atmosphere. Pity I come away frustrated by inconsistent refereeing.

[old hooker]

Once again the Aussies proved they are so far ahead of us.Sarginson, Lockers and Greenwood played well, Davies and Gildart had shockers.Our front row were by battered by their props.Hardaker less than average.Williams had the chance to show if he is as good as some people think but he did nothing to say hes better than average.Take away his short kicking game and he offers very little.

Pretty much agree with that, slightly more favourable to Williams though.

The reality is that unless the RFL increase the salary cap, then results like this are inevitable (or at least highly likely and to be expected).

I thought Williams went well last night. He was a threat every time he got the ball.

I find it difficult to see where Williams was a threat,even the pass to Marshall for the try was a shocker,bounced in front of him and he did very well to pick it up

[fozzieskem]

I must admit I was bemused by Williams getting MOM,he really wasn’t much of a threat I don’t know if there’s a magic key to unlock his potential or maybe what we are seeing is what he is nothing more,he’s not a kid any more he’s almost dare I say it a veteran of the side yet time and again excuses are made for him,he needs this,he needs that surely the time has come for him to stand on his own two feet?

Mr Hicks..I’ve said and will still say it he and Childs are SL best refs,I’ve seen games with both of them that they let the game flow and you hardly notice them,sadly though that wasn’t to be last night,I’ve watched it back when we got in and normally you can see on sky that the refs get most things bob on,not last night,the frankly bizarre telling off for Faz was the crowning glory on Hicks poorest performance I’ve seen from him,shocking refereeing from him,it’s time to rest him from these bigger games I think.

It’s sad to say but I thought the game was over after 10 mins there wasn’t a ways back for Wigan,lots of huff and bluster but the Roosters happy enough to let Wigan come at them they deserved the win to be fair even without HIcks sideshow going on.

[Oldprop]

How are we ever going to break down tight defences when playing with a flat attack. Where is the shape lammy promised? Where was the support when Sarg made his 70 metre break? If that had been Saints or Wire there would have been 3 or 4 players in support.
RL is a simple game over complicated with coaches. Tackling one low and one high put the player down stop the off loads. Sadly we do not appear to have a move in us when camped on the oppositions line and have to rely on kicks.
Come on lammy introduce some skilful players Escare, Sammut and a few hungry young forwards and make it a season to remember.

[morley pie eater]

In perspective, I'd say we deserved to lose but it was our best performance this season so far by a long chalk. Roosters beat Melbourne 21-6 in their GF, holding them to one try.

I see the RFL haven't bothered publishing stats for the game. If anyone would like to see them, try this:

https://www.nrl.com/draw/world-club-cha ... v-roosters

[jobo]

Don't like bagging the ref but Hicks seemed in thrall of the Aussies. They were testing his limits and made excellent use of them. Don't think the Roosters needed any help but they certainly got it.