What I would give for a Harris, either Ben or Iestyn, preferably both varieties.

I'm not convinced it is lack of effort on Deacon's part so I don't think he needs a kick up the harris. I just think age has caught up with him and he's past his best. He just isn't the same player anymore and it is sad to see to be honest.

There was a brief spell in the first half when I said to people near me "Have they cloned Deacon from his DNA from a few years ago? That's not the same player!"

Unfortunately, from that point on he went on to prove that medical science had indeed not yet advanced that far.

The slightest bump at all in the tackle and Deacon is whimpering in pain on the ground.

Didn't Cas have a 17 year old in their team.

Was he on debut or playing in the pack? I think there is a difference between playing on the wing and mixing it with the big boys in the pack. But as I said, I don't think it is simply a case of age not every 17 is the same.

Does it matter if he was on debut or not, he's obviously made his debut as a 17 year old, perhaps younger, I'm not sure in the case of Cas.

Doesn't a winger run into forwards then in this day and age, I think you'll find most wingers carry the ball as most of the forwards if not more.

Are you seriously claiming that you can compare the role of a forward to a winger? How often do wingers tackle props in a RL game? A lot less than a 2nd rower/loose forward would.

But I think the coach is right to introduce youngster gradually and as and when the game dictates. That's my opinion and I do not subscribe to throw them in and let them sink or swim theory. He'll get plenty more opportunities to impress. That's all I have to say on the matter.

Made his debut of the bench when we played saints away, today was his second game and first start.

With regards to your chances of finishing in the top 8, in most other years you could probably have got away with your poor form and still got into the top 8 - and from there anything can happen in play off rugby (as 2005 proved!). The problem is, in past years you could pretty much rely on the top 2 or 3 teams winning virtually all games against teams in the bottom half of the table. This year, every week it seems there's at least one "unexpected" result, and this weekend we had Salford (13th) beating Saints (1st) and Catalans (at the time 11th) beating Hull K R (at the time 3rd). Results like this are making it harder and harder for Bradford to make the top 8.

Before this weekend I genuinely thought Bradford had a good chance of making it, especially after the way they'd played in patches against Leeds and Saints. However, losing to Cas, a match I had down as a definite win for you, could well be the killer blow. Now I'd say that every team from Warrington upwards is probably too far ahead of you, leaving 8th place the only realistic possibility. With Wigan & Cas 5 clear of you now, and Hull and Catalans 3 clear, even with a game in hand on 3 of those teams to pass all 4 of them is probably going to be a bridge too far. The prospect of both Wigan and yourselves both finishing below the top 8 is one I don't think anyone could have forseen in their widlest imaginations at the start of the year, and although I have a feeling Wigan might just squeeze in, does this season signify a permanent "changing of the guard"?

Toss a coin 27 times and you expect roughly 13-14 heads and 13-14 tails. But it wouldn't necessarily be HTHTHTHTHTHT etc...

The one hope remaining hinges on a patch/couple of patches of Ws over the last two months of the regular season. Could happen. Probably won't but still. We know the side are capable of decent performances, though not half the time as yet. But then heads or tails could be well ahead by round 18, yet back around level by r27.

What odds are being offered on Bulls making it/missing out?

I suspect that at least one side that has been well placed for most of the year will drop out off the play-offs completely. Maybe Quins, maybe Wakey, maybe even Rovers.