Very poor performance tonight in every department. Defence was terrible, and we had no threat in attack. Thought our subs policy was really strange as well - we ended up with Siejka at hooker! I'd have had Halafihi on the bench rather than two second rowers. Blame has to lie with Jimmy for this one.

Well, never mind glass half full, normally it is, but that was the most complete performance of the season. If you like garbage. Against Batley, parts were pretty dire, but these were interspersed with some pretty nice rugby and some sharp attacking moves. But tnight, apart from maybe Mendeika's try at the end - which was irrelevant so can be almost discounted - our performance had no - repeat none whatsoever, not one - redeeming feature.

It would have probably been an interesting game if we had been anything like, because Featherstone came to play, they looked lively, committed and keen and would have posed a big challenge. It could have been some game.

Instead, we went out so tamely that in the end I couldn't work out what was going on.

The main reasons we lost and they won? Well, the above: desire. Fev wanted it. They murdered us in the collision all night, we in contrast just had the occasional good hard yards, but mostly, nobody did anything, except pass the ball to a stationary bloke, who might crab, or just pass it on, or, more probably, just drop it. Fev were keen, we were visibly not. Even in the last 20, when 3 scores would have won it, we couldn't be arrsed to form scrums to stop the clock.

Next, halfbacks and creativity. Fev presented problems all night, and we couldn't handle their speedof thought and variety of moves. In contrast, we offered nothing - literally, nothing - all night. Sieka is a waste of space. I made a point of watching him when we were 3 scores away and wanted to see him scampering about, in people's faces, demanding teh ball, taking it up and demanding players follow his lead and go for it. Instead, he was just anonymous. Fev's halfbacks made a monkey out of him.

Mistakes and giving up territory were pretty awful too, although that was just icing on the shiitcake, but really, kicking it off dead? Giving away a string of penalties just because players are too lazy to get back the ten? And the dropsy - well, what can you say? Were these really the well-paid pro players that we pay, or some lookalikes? I'm frankly not sure. Some of the errors were really a joke. At least Jimmy got one thing right when the hook came on for Henry - he was abysmal, and the turnstile tackle that led to the try immediately before his hook was awful. I don't know what we can do to try to stop the haemorrhaging of cheap yards. It probably wasn't as bad as it sometimes is - but that would be because Fev had most of the ball!

One thing you can say having watched us all season so far is that anyone who claims we have some edge in fitness due to being full time is having a laugh. It may be true against one or two teams but tonight, a mid week game, that is when in the second half our full-time training and conditioning should have been apparent. Let's just say that it wasn't. We looked out on our feet, and that is appalling. We have a big squad, and if we had players who had nowhere near recovered from their ordeal against Batley, then why were they playing? Suffice to say, tonight it was clear that Featherstone were much fitter than us, and lasted the 80 minutes far better than us. How that can be, I have no clue.

I would say that whatever his coaching abilities turn out to be, Jimmy was comprehensively out-coached tonight. Fev had done their homework, they double-teamed on our main strike player Purtell and he ended up looking stupid, and they never let AOB off the leash either.

I hope there were some reasons that I don't know, and I hope we have a plan. Come out like that against a SL team in the Super 8s and it will be a 70 point pasting - if we're lucky. We looked an exceedingly poor team tonight - in fact that was the worst team i have seen all season, and I include Whitehaven, Batley, Workington and the rest in that. I haven't seen any other team that managed to produce basically nothing, at all, over 80 minutes. What a waste of 80 minutes.

^
What he said

(Thanks FA, saved me typing out a rant....)

Today showed what we a lot us have feared all year, no idea without Gaskell, no speed, no defence today, the only thing we have a lot of are well paid ball boys. Going by name of Peterson, Davies, Tahouri, Ulugia, Brook, Halafihi etc etc

Well that result and performance has been coming for some weeks now and it is no surprise to me that it happened tonight. I expected that Fev would want to right a few wrongs after we demolished them at home and they pretty much did the same to us on our own patch so congratulations to them. They were far more enthusiastic than us and seemed to have twice as much energy.

Lowes surely has to take some responsibility to this, his faith in our recovery and players not needing resting appears to be flawed based on recent performances. We look absolutely shot right now, O'Brien in particular looked shattered tonight. We all thought we were vulnerable for halfback cover and without Gaskell we look clueless.

The momentum seems to be gaining at Wakefield, Leigh etc whereas we look to be going backwards right now. Sadly I suspect even if Gaskell does get fit, SL teams will all too easily shut him out the game without another strong playmaker to rely on to take some responsibility.

Feeling very low after tonight. We're absolutely shot to pieces. One of our best player can hardly walk due to Jimmy hammering him for 80 minutes every week. The whole squad were out on their knees, against a team who hasn't had a week off (like we have earlier in the year), played on Sunday too, are part time, and some of their players may have had to work today!!

Jimmys policy of playing the same team every week was always a gamble and it has gone horribly wrong. We now have a situation where our players looked absolutely shattered, yet the fringe players have hardly played. Do we now play rusty players against Sheffield, Leigh & Fax? Or do we go with the same tired players, hammering them even more before we start the middle 8's on zero points like eveyrone else. We don't win promotion by smashing Doncaster by 70+. We will win it by beating Wakefield/Leigh etc. Problem is now out best players are physically and mentally fatigued. Meanwhile we have about 4 fringe players out on loan, while the rest don't get a look in. He absolutely has to make a huge amount of changes for Hunslet. Swapping Lauaki i for Flemming and Uaisele for Henry won't cut it. The whole team looks knackard.

Far too many players out there have become complacent. Danny Addy was hopeless yet again. He was just as guilty for Featherstones tries as Henry was. Yet it will be Henry dropped while Addy carries on. Whens the last time he had a good game? We had Purtell running round like a headless chicken. And Siejka who not once even attempted to take on the line or draw a player in. I could have done what he did today. Just catch and pass. Meanwhile we have a young HB who we've sent out on loan. Can Brook really play as badly as Addy today?

Unfortunately i think Jimmy will make one or two changes, we'll beat a poor Hunslet team and we'll think it's ok. We are in a bad way at the moment. This isn't a performance our of the blue. It's been coming for about a month! Time to bring in Ulugia, Davies, Walshaw, Halafihi in, bring some enthusiasm and let the other players feel their pressure. At the moment the players and fans know what the squad is going to be every week and many have become complacent.

What makes it worse is that Fev weren't exactly spectacular. Their discipline in the first half was appalling and they made multiple errors. But it didn't seem difficult for them to find their way over the line, not at all. The Maitua try was embarrassingly easily. They cut through us all over the park, whether it be on the right wing, left wing, getting in behind the ruck, etc. It was comfortable for them and they didn't have to try too hard to break our line.

As for own attack? Non existent. Addy isn't a scrum-half, for one, and Siejka does nothing at all but move the ball along the line. I can think of maybe one occasion all evening where he actually took the ball vaguely close to the opposition defensive line. And I'm not sure what was going on with the outside backs but it seemed in the end like Walker was at left centre, Blythe was at right centre, Henry was in the second row, and Purtell was at ... scrum half? I'm not sure. They looked lost in attack tonight.

A very poor coach is Lowes, a decision based on heart not ability but very glad you made it

We will not make Super League with Jimmy Lowes in charge. Simple as.

When is Gaskell due back, we obviously need our key defensive player back never mind for attack!! What a shambolic, inept performance that's the culmination of weeks of bad performances whilst still scraping wins. No energy, no enthusiasm, no defensive work, no attack ideas, still no half backs, half a squad with no game time and a coach who needs to recognise there will be no promotion without major surgery. It isn't simply a rubbish performance from a good team, it's one where all our faults were evident in the one game. Middle 8s are but a dream. JL has to shoulder his share of the blame and rotate - let's get some return from 20 odd weeks training of all those in the sat in the stand - however poor JL believes they are is he big enough to let them prove it?? We are wasted and due more pastings if our tactics don't change.

Where's the infamous post match review by JL? Normally up within an hour or so -can't face the fans??

Prior to this game I thought that although our performances have been below par for a few weeks we still had an outside chance for direct promotion and a definite chance for the 'million pound' match in the playoffs. After this I doubt if we will be any threat at all and more worryingly for the future where do we go from here given that a large majority of our squad will be still under contract for next year. My glass has gone from half full to just about empty.

Featherstone bossed us in every aspect of the game without even breaking sweat.

To be fair they haven't had all evening to edit and do whatever else they do with Bulls TV. They probably wanted to go home to bed like the rest of us!

Not sure what future Siejka has at the club anymore after that. I can't recall ever seeing a half back get shifted to hooker and then hauled off the pitch completely a few minutes later. I mean by no means was the loss his fault entirely, but 6 and 7 are such key positions in any side you just can't have passengers in those roles.
The subs and role swapping on the fly last night just gave me the impression of a coach who was either panicking or just didn't have a clue how to rectify a bad situation.

We have to use the rest of our squad now. Have to. I honestly don't even care if we lose some more league games, do enough to get in the top 2 and just go into the playoffs and have a decent crack at it. It seems like Wakefield are finally getting their act together so in all honesty I can't see anybody switching places once these playoffs are done, but at least we can go in and put a bit more effort in than we showed last night.

That was the Henry I remember from last season. I was wondering where he'd got to. That will be him done for the season I think. Purtell & Blythe will be the centres going forwards.

Siejka was hobbling again. If he wasn't 100%, why play him? Because all the other people who can play in the halves are injured or on loan. Except Mendeika - who did ok at fullback.

Mullaney & Gaskell are going to be our halves for the 8's. They just need to be fit

And our starting front row - Clough, AoB & Sidlow all looked completely knackered from the start. I don't know how that was missed with the conditioning team & technical support we're meant to have.

As everyone has said, this performance has been coming for at least 4weeks. I just hope this can be a wake up call for all concerned. Because they've needed one.