Exactly, if KR can pull out that sort of result against a team like Saints when they've a very similar injury list to us then injuries cannot be used as an excuse for poor performance.

Their forwards have some get up and go. The majority of ours got up and went ( after they'd missed a few tackles)

as a KR fan i feared the worst on sunday with no half backs and then losing both hookers during the game but in the end i felt disapointed we only drew i remember our first season in super league when you came to our place and were 26-0 up at HT and i thought were miles behind them and now id be gutted if we lost to you.I think youve gone backwards under potter and your a soft touch nowadays

Not so. Nobody was sicker than me at Menzies going, but we did offer Menzies a new deal, the problem was that it couldn't start till Awford left, which could have been today, next week, next month or next year. So it was pretty much down to Awford hanging on. Menzies would have stayed, but you couldn't expect him to risk being out of a job for months.

FA is correct re it was "Awfuls" delaying that meant Menzies went elsewhere.

WE can moan as much as we like about injuries and how all the Coaching Staff aren't doing enough.
It's down to the Players themselves individually and as a Team to step up to the plate and perform a lot lot better than of late!

Nb: It was reported we had a new coach at Odsal but it turned out to be MP who had pulled out all his hair in frustation. Megan was not amused!

I did post a comment that after 3 games i would be happy with 2 points with the teams we have played, however, the nature of the defeat against Wigan did not point to an improved side this year but we are still only 3 matches in and if we win against the Wildcats with a good performance I will still be relatively happy.
The 5/6 match point will be a good indicator of how we are going to perform this year but we have drawn some of the top sides to play in the first few matches with a number of injuries. ( no need to burn my season ticket yet)

Just keep the faith. The Next fans open forum is going to be a cracker.

A slight bit of positive news, win on Saturday and there's a very good chance we'll be in the top 8 by Sunday evening. All of the teams we will supposedly be competing with for 7th & 8th spot have tough games this weekend.

Hardly a good indictment of the rest of the squad when you are lamenting the loss of a 35/36 year old as being crucial to your season. IIRC he stood out when he last played for Bradford but results were still going the same way.

The likes of Menzies and Solomona have looked better after leaving Bradford because they are now surrounded by better players who are doing more of the hard work. Stick them back in the Bulls squad with the extra responsibility heaped upon them and they won't make much difference at this stage of their careers IMO.

Menzies was easily the best player in our squad a couple of years ago and from seeing him since that wouldn't change much.

As for his re-signing being scuppered by the Awford business I beg to differ. IIRC we had already signed some other players like Ah Van before trying to secure Menzies. I wonder if we should have tried to sign Menzies as first priority before going after anyone else. I suspect Potter had made a decision to bring in new players first and the Awford business subsequently left them unable to sign Menzies. Unfortunate but possibly avoidable, to let him go was a terrible mistake. Whitehead commented publicly that he loved playing with him and couldn't understand why he'd been let go. One can only dream about what Menzies would have done with a decent winger outside him.

I don't recollect anyone saying they were "happy" to be beaten. Maybe some are just a bit more realistic than others?

Given the state of your pack, I'd say having Lynch back would offer more to the side than Menzies in taking the team forward and giving you some shape in the middle of the field. Another player who hasn't been adequately replaced - who was responsible for that decision? This must be the softest Bradford pack in my living memory. It is a shame you finally have more quality in the backs and halves when a blind eye has been seemingly turned to forward recruitment. Most other SL clubs seem to have a lot more options in the pack - even the likes of Salford.

There's still Manuofakoa to come in to the side, hopefully quite shortly and also Olivier Elima to return, both from injury, so hopefully that will stiffen the pack. I'd like Nick Scruton to get back to his best form but he's been a bit disappointing and losing Donno hasn't helped as both have been strong tacklers previously. I'd hope with a (somewhere near) fully fit first choice pack things will look up.

His replacement hasn't even pulled on a Bulls jersey yet - give him a bloody chance!
I still think we'll see Langley moving into a prop position before too long, Manase might even come in as a second rower rather than a prop. It's such a shame Donaldson got his injury because I really thought he could push on and make the 13 jersey his own.

We let Lynch go because "it was good business" to quote Potter. I don't think he was happy about it from a playing perspective but we apprently did very well out of it financially given Lynch's age.

Trouble is he was the main workhorse in the pack. Kopczak appears to have stepped into those shoes this season but we would've been much stronger with both on board. Especially so with Scruton struggling for any kind of form, Burgess still very raw and Hargeaves steady at best.

Since 2008 we've had a sub standard squad that has become imbalanced with every season. We've either had a solid pack and no outside backs or no halfbacks and this year we're light up front even before injuries hit (6 forwards out injured at the moment). In some ways it's a reflection of us having no money but also some mistakes have been made, Menzies one of them.

As much as I'd like like Lynch back, our pack needs a Bailey type player more than a workhorse. I'm happy with Koppys development and he has a bit more aggression than he used to, but when someones knocking us about (eg hock on sunday) we have noone to step in and give him a seeing to. Elima will when he's back, but we need a nasty prop too.