We saved our worst performance of the season for the most important game of the season.

We just can’t win these big games and I’m really starting to wonder when the last time was that we actually did. Today was another example of being completely out-enthused, outplayed, and out-thought. We didn’t build pressure. We coughed up possession. We fell off tackles. We were lazy and cut corners. We couldn’t finish sets. It was a flat, frustrating, and frankly unacceptable performance.


The fans turned up in numbers, again, and were served up a performance that was well below par. York kept it simple, stuck to their structure, and never once looked like losing control, even when they went a man down. They showed heart. We didn’t. The better team won on the day.


Individual performances? Meadows has offered little this season. I wouldn’t be starting him next week if Keyes is fit. Waine over Mason made no sense. And Gill… after talking it up all week in the media, that left edge got absolutely torched. The try that York scored at the end of the first half was an embarrassment from a defensive perspective. Gill just got swotted away like a fly.


This was our biggest game in a long while, and we bottled it. Morale? I dread to think. I know teams don’t become bad overnight, but that was one of the worst performances we’ve put in and is a hammer blow after what has been a fairly decent opening to the season.

I think bottled it is a fair comment. Bitterly disappointing. 


Missed one on one tackles. Zero willingness to roll our sleeves up, go set for set and build pressure. We just seemed to be making it up as we went along. Once Lawrence and Donaldson went off, our defence parted like the red sea.  That left hand side needs addressing. 


As Doom said we seem to have a problem with these type of games. 


Congratulations to York and good luck in the final. 

I'm not sure it was the worst performance of the season - the Barrow/Toulouse games were far worse than today's.


We clearly didnt take our opportunities when we had momentum in the opening 25 minutes and in a few brief spells in the 2nd half. Some weak defensive efforts in isolated incidents just took the game too far away from our grasps.


When you miss two kickable conversions in a semi final you start to wonder if it will be our day. The Gill 'tackle' was all too familiar and I'm sure York will have highlighted him as a weak link to attack. I imagine York will go on and win fairly convincingly so it that respect it feels like we've blown an opportunity but let's be honest we didnt deserve to win that game. 


Still think we might need to add some quality to that squad if we want a chance of silverware at the end of the season.

I echo all the above. The only thing I would add is that our left edge should be Armitage/Taufua. Gill would be fighting for his place if Taufua was ready

Absolutely but we know Tafua isn't going to play every week due to injuries or suspension. We probably need another winger more than a centre. 


I also thought our pack struggled to punch through the York middles and it isn't the first time we've been outmuscled in the pack this year.

Well York were deserved winners.  Much the better side.  Well done to them.


Thought our selections for this one were odd as were the substitutions.  Starting with Hallas at hooker always baffles me.  His service is slow and inaccurate and he's no threat out of dummy half.  OK his defence is good and we perhaps needed to cope with the initial onslaught from the York forwards.  While we pretty much did that having him there did blunt our attack somewhat so we couldn't kick on from going in front early on.


Then, subbing Donaldson and Lawrence together and bringing on Souter, Michael and Waine meant the defence wasn't as solid.   Surely you need Souter on when he can jump out of dummy half when the forwards are making ground?  He should've started IMO.   Playing when the forwards aren't dominating means his option to run isn't there.   We had no impact on the bench at all.   No offloads from Waine and Michael was well contained.   We missed the likes of Scurr, Pele and Doro.  


As I feared the dodgy left edge defence was a real issue.  From the Sheffield game onwards we've looked very soft where Gee, Gill and Meadows defend.  Clearly Applegarth saw that too.  Some of the defensive efforts there were weak.  We're paying for not recruiting well enough to cover the outside backs.   Armitage ought to be in the centres.   


Thought Logan Bayliss was sat on the bench too long.  He was our one forward that always made ground.  If he was carrying a knock he didn't play like it.   When he came back on the field the game had gone.


Despite all that we got within 8 points - though the score did flatter us a bit.  If Hooley kicks his conversions and Armitage doesn't drop that absolute sitter of a pass we're drawing the game.   York were better than us - their forwards ran and tackled harder but we're better than we showed yesterday.


Some changes required.  We need Mason back in the side.  Keyes in for Meadows - Although I don't think Meadows has been as bad as some think - he's a bit of a whipping boy - but Keyes offers more.  Armitage in the centres please for Gill.  No idea who we play on the wing but we need a change on the left.   No more Hallas at hooker pls.  

I think you summed up perfectly if Keys is fit. A squad on a tighter budget shouldn't be wasting salary on anyone who can't contribute week in week out irrespective of how good they are.

Would suggest we didn't quite get the balance of the squad right.  Not much cover or competition for places in the backs.


Just watched the "highlights" Kieran Gill had a game to forget.   Powder puff defence for one of the York tries and for the other seemed to be stood ball watching in no mans land.    Also the try right up the middle where we had no markers was bad.  Waine and Michael well out of position and Souter left on the floor.   The others you have to credit York's support play.


For us the Okunbor try reminded me what a good game he had.  Safe as houses under the kicks, did a ton of work taking the ball up and glided in for a nice try off a good kick.  

It was a real missed opportunity, we won’t ever have a better chance to appear at Wembley. 
Gill had poor efforts two of Yorks tries but he wasn’t on his own. 
Don’t want to single people out but Meadows usually defends inside Gill and that avenue has been a weak link all season.
Harris try was poor all round, we lost the collision, the opposition get a quick PTB your defence is not set and the rest is history. 
Hallas gets some stick, usually at 9 and I much prefer Souter there but Hallas has a bit of “mongrel” in him, a compliment not a slur. 
When we’re down on blockbusting props I think that’s why Nobby puts him in. 
With players to come back in,  the end of the season the team may have a different look to it

Agree about Hallas. I'm not his biggest fan, but I feel if it had been him who interchanged with Donno, our defence wouldn't have parted as easily as it did do. 

Ott needs to be the interchange hooker with Souter. As Bullseye said, in our period of dominance we weren't clinical enough.