Putting a back on the bench is always odd, but when Souter went off, it was an easy reshuffle. Holmes looked good. 


As said above - errors. And lacking desperation in defence. 


And a little poor luck also. If Blake had still been on the pitch, I think Okunbor would have been much more likely to have gone man for man and had a good chance to defend that last try. But he made the call that Fulton was getting done for pace, so stepped in to cover. 


Anyway, another good game, York are the form team of the competition at the moment. 

For me next week it has to be Keyes and Holmes at half back, Hooley at full back and Lilley at hooker. That's if Hooley is fit and Souter is injured.

Another frustrating game.  One we should have won if we'd shown a bit more composure in the last 10mins.  We just made too many mistakes and invited them up the field when we needed to be composed.   Going for a drop goal or forcing a drop out was needed when we were up their end.  Instead we turned the ball over and then gave away a penalty.  Brainless.  


We're making far too many stupid mistakes, the most infuriating being the errors from kick offs, it's like the players switch off once we've scored. We need to be more mentally tough and stay switched on.  This was always going to be a close game so we need to be more composed.


In many ways our attacking game was just as disappointing.   We scored when we did something unorthodox or when we managed to put in a decent kick but these instances were all too rare.   Just passing the ball along the line or turning it inside isn't going to trouble any defence.  There's often a lack of runners or options for the ball carrier with players content to just watch.  This plays into opposition hands.  Some of the last tackle options were abysmal, where were the halfbacks?  I know Lilley got moved to hooker but I thought Keyes and Meadows offered very little, particularly for the first 50mins.


Hurrell got a bit better as the game went on but that was a low bar to clear.  The way he allowed a player to just run past him for York's first try was very poor.  I was surprised they didn't throw more at him considering how slow he looked.   It was good to have Holmes back, we really need his pace and it was his break that led to the try that put us in front after Scurr's offload.  


Batley on Friday and a chance to make amends (again).  Noble was bemoaning the lack of options to be able to make changes but IMO it's not just about the personnel but the way we play that needs to change.  

I think the chopping and changing of our spine was evident. Granted injuries played a part in that. York seem to be able to name the same side every week, whereas we lose our Hooker early in the game. But York looked like every player knew their role. We looked muddled and the tries we scored weren't well created. Meadows is 6, then at FB today, then back at 6. Lilley starts season at Hooker, then moves to 7, then back at Hooker today. 


Even Goal-kicking. We seem to give someone else a go everytime our nominated kicker has a few missed attempts. 


I don't know what the answer is. Meadows doesn't have the right IQ to be a top end HB to unlock top teams. Lilleys erratic. Holmes is a FB. 

You're right about the halfbacks, they've all got some faults in their game, if they didn't they'd probably be at a SL club.  

I noticed Holmes went in at stand off to begin with when he came on but that didn't last long.  I prefer him at FB too where he can come into the line and use his pace.  As a halfback he's more difficult to run off as he often runs first and looks to pass later.    Keyes is our best IMO but he was pretty anonymous yesterday.  


With Holmes being back fit where does this leave Hooley?  He's better defensively and a better passer of the ball than Holmes but we need Holmes on the field for us as he has pace unlike the rest of the team (apart from Blake).

I'd go with Hooley at centre. I just don't get the Hurrell signing. OK he wasn't bad. But his defence made me nervous everytime York went that side. And that's on our small pitch! I just don't like these loan signings. The team looked like it needed freshening up a little, bring in an enthusiastic young player. Otherwise what's the point of the academy if we just loan players everytime we're short on numbers.  I'd definitely bring in Peposhi for Batley. We need that raw youthful energy at the moment. 

Definitely think we need a point of difference.  A lot of what we do is very predictable.  

My instinct was for Armitage/Hooley as the centre/wing combination, once Hooley is fit again. Lilley, keyes/meadows and Holmes was our starting spine combination which trained through preseason together. I can't remember that far back now but I vaguely think it started the season ok before Holmes was injured. I would be ok with them having another shot. 


Gee and Fulton are both looking tired. They've played a lot of minutes this season already. Which is worrying as we've had a bye week and also the cup final week off in the last 2 months. 

I agree some players are looking tired and I agree that Peposhi needs a shot, he impressed me in pre season.  He's a bit raw but needs game time otherwise what's the point?

I'd hope Mason is fit so he can also get some gametime.  Waine and Ott too.  Waine is a real rocks and diamonds type of player.  His offloading ability is what we need to create some openings but we don't need the errors or penalties.  


What's Sam Ackroyd up to?  Is he on loan?  

Halifax set to play next 5 home games at odsal it's on love rugby