I don't dispute most, if not all, NRL sides would beat every SL side but that is by virtue of having superior players and playing a low-risk error-free style of football , not due to elaborate attacking moves or sophisticated gameplans.

I saw more consequitive passes, offloads and risk taking in the Wires game alone than in an entire round of NRL games but that means more errors. Most on here would rather see that than the five drives and kick to the corner than is the modus operandi of the NRL and has been vilified when we've employed it.

No complaints about last night. Wakefield deserve credit for turning up and having a crack but ultimately there was only ever going to be one winner. There were a few handling errors but, on the whole, discipline was good. We didn't try to score on every play but, when chances did occur, by enlarge we took them. Austin and Widdop look as though they have finally been introduced, Ratchford put in another classy performance, Currie showed some of his old form, Mamo was solid, Matt Davis was lively and Kibula had a decent enough debut. The only disappointment was that I don’t think that Daz Clark has been at his best since the return (not really a bad performance but the expectations were high that the new rules would suit him).

A bigger test next week but both teams have the same 5 day turnaround and Hull FC look as though they have picked up a couple of injuries.

What's worrying about having reservations about a mainstream TV company openly showing prejudice and bias in the appointment of its employees?

Not picking a fight, and agree he was a bit quiet yesterday, but I remember a couple of years ago we were bemoaning the fact that all we seemed to have was Daz's scooting from the PTB in our armoury...I'm actually happy to see more dummy-half distribution to a half-back pairing and back line that is starting to fire on a few more cylinders: if that means less individual brilliance from Daz on show then I'll take it

Probably.. I think what my issue is with the game is that, without a crowd, there is an absolute lack of intensity in the matches and RL without that intensity is a very hard watch, particularly if the quality isn't particularly high.

What I'm getting from ALL the games at the moment is a feeling of glorified training sessions - teams going through training drills, lots of mistakes (which are met with nonchalant pats on the backs, rather than the sound of derision from the crowd) and well, as mentioned, a lack of oomph.

Overall, I think it's turning out as I worried it might without a crowd. It just lacks that something and without it the competition doesn't seem right.. I think, while it will be nice to come out on top, there will be a huge sense of anti climax for whoever wins this year's title and, almost bizarrely, I'd prefer we didn't break our title hoodoo in this season's scenario.

Perhaps ,from the ashes of covid will emerge a more skilful & distantly evasive game without a need for unnecessarily close physical contact.
I must say though ,i thought the cardboard crowd was pretty noisy last night.

Nice of Sky to join in the fun too, with a similarly cardboard-like presenting and analysis team.

CARDBOARDIST!!!!!!

I have a box upstairs which doesn't errrrr and ummmm as much as Jon Wells, and has more insight into the the game, than the erstwhile Yorkshire plant pot.

Well I enjoyed the match yesterday and that is in stark contrast to a lot of Wire matches I have seen over the past year or two. I thought there were quite a few positives. The number of errors is reducing, albeit it slowly. I didn't see players running laterally when we got to within 10m of their line (and giving a nothing drop off pass). Austin gave a performance reminiscent of his first year with us and together with Widdop, provided a lot of cutting edge. Hill has stopped giving away daft penalties and moaning to the ref. As previously mentioned, Currie continues to get better although I wouldn't say he is back to his earlier vintage yet. We didn't pick up any injuries, and we nilled the opposition. All in all that was an encouraging result and should keep morale high in the camp. Not a bad day at the office surely ?

Agreed WO.
I'm not getting carried away as it was clear to me from early on that we'd win against a depleted Wakey team.
We need to back it up against the better teams.

Really feel sorry for Wakey - down on numbers and injuries to key players like Tupou.

This season is weird - for obvious reasons. Whilst I do enjoy the matches I can't wait to see GI next year.

Even the Daily Mail has distanced itself from the "All Lives Matter" movement now.

It didn't fit with their stance on migrants in dinghies and ending coronavirus restrictions.

One player who is going under the radar a bit is Toby King. I thought he was excellent once again on Sunday and seems to be getting better every week.

I’m delighted for him as I have seen first hand how hard he works and that is shining through now in his performances.

Yes, I have watched him from the U19's and chatted to him a couple of times and I really like his attitude. I think he has definitely got better over the past couple of years. I can remember him holding on to the ball last year and trying to score when a pass to his wingman would have been a certain try. Those days are long gone and he knows when to pass now. Then there was his fragility in defence. He was stuck in the back row for a while and that has really taught him how to mark and tackle. Obviously he is not a superstar like Inglis, but for me he would be an easy choice for the 1st 13 and if he continues to progress perhaps an England player as well.