Was impressed with Sims not rising to Paterson's bait, as he had every right to. If my eyes didn't decieve me there was a moment very early on when Corey pulled his hair and actually had his hands round his neck.

I normally try and do. I know what you mean as well. I remember being at the gf v wigan in wire end behind the goal line and as wigan came back, our fans did nothing to lift the players. I stood up a few times and tried to get things going (I'd had few) and no-one seemed to be be bothered about lifting the team. I ended up sing/shouting "sit down if you can't be d" and everyone was still sat down. We've been spoilt over the past few years with top notch rugby and i wouldn't swap it for anything.. Apart from the buzz I used to have when all the wire fans lit up wherever with great passion and support. I used to love that as much as when played well. Going home in the coaches in the 90s, even if we lost didn't seem that bad as we'd often out sung and out passioned the opposing fans.
Anyway, great attendance today and great start. Nothing's perfect, but I'm happy and confident were going really going to do something special this season.

I didn't see very much creative football from Messrs Myler and O"Brian.
We lacked a presence until late in the 1st half when Ratchford pushed up.
Then bang! Myler goes in off him.
Unpopular it may be with some, but if we want to make the most of our depth one of them must make way for a footballer, either Bridge, Wheeler or Ratchford.

Penny was terrific. Shove that haters.

Who was the guy that used the number of tries scored against us down Pennys wing v's the other wing as some kind of talent indicator???...He'll never make it as a professional rugby player was one of his often used quotes......

I thought bar the Aussie rules style dropped catch Kevin Penny was faultless......

he'll score some absolute belters this year I have no doubt of it .....

....on condition Atkins gives him service.
Atkins has the build to play his position as well a pre substance Martin Gleeson, but he does little of it.
I can only imagine what Penny could do outside of Rhys, Wheeler or Joel.
I really hope it happens at least once this season to shut me up.

Atkins has the ability it just his timing and decision making not quite there chuckingit out to the touchline on early plays if he doesn't Improve I'd try move him to second row.

Enjoyed the call or radio Wire FM. As a cowboy fan I have seen a fair bit of both Paterson and Simms. Believe me Warrington have got the best of it having Simms. The Cowboys got Paterson when the Newcastle Knights cut him mid contract. His first game for us was against Newcastle and he went ok but it was all down hill from there. He has struggled to consistently hold any sort of first grade NRL spot and while he is athletic I don't think he has much of a football brain.

Because he is a practicing Moslem we were worried about how he would go during Ramadam with all the daylight fasting which has to be a concern for a power foreward. We should not have worried though because he was just as ordinary all year as he was in August.

On the other hand Simms has a lot to offer and most Cowboy fans were really sorry to see him go. Seems from the time half way through last season when Smith got him to sign for Wire his football stepped up another notch. Not that there was anything wrong with it prior to that. I think Simms became a better footballer with a more controlled aggression around the time of the last World Cup series when he represented Fiji with Petero Civoniceva. He stopped giving away so many silly penalties although he still has one or two in him. I think he played his best games when he captained the Cowboys during the origin period.

Player by player

Ratchford - Again proved to me that he's the man to play at fullback. Great support runner, and offers far more than Russell wrapping around the line in attack. Defence was great too. For our style of play we need a smart fullback - Ratchford is that man.

R Evans - Looked dangerous with the ball and seems to have found that step again when hitting the line. Got caught out a couple of times when Salford went wide.

Monaghan (Capt) - Constantly talking on the pitch, much like last year which was good to see. Looked dangerous with ball in hand, but like his winger was caught out on both scores for Salford. That said in defence of both of them, if Dobson isn't on the pitch Salford don't score those tries.

Atkins - Took his try well, showing great speed. I thought it was Penny that scored it initially. Still suspect defensively for me, and better sides will exploit us out wide. He's not the smartest of players, as seen when getting both himself and Penny bundled into touch early in the count. A better player off a short ball where his speed and power exploit lazy edge defenders.

Penny - Great performance, looks like a rugby league player now. Very dangerous in attack, and great enthusiasm in defence. Obvious test will be against better sides and wingers. Looks better equipped though now.

O'Brien - Steady performance. Kicking game not up to much but otherwise directed the team well and looked ot take the line on. Took quite a few late hits, but got up and carried on.

Myler - Best game in a fair while. Looked interested, looked to direct play, and backed up well for his try. Tested in defence and came up well from it.

Sims - Targeted by Salford all game. Did what he needed to in both attack and defence. Lasted longer on the field than the bully boys who targeted him, which speaks volumes.

Clark - Quietly effective. Shipped the ball quickly and accurately, stood up well in defence. He'll get better when he's fitter and morecused to how we play.

Hill - Your normal 8/10 performance. Surprised he got riled early on throwing the ball at the Salford player after being pushed back in goal - that could be down to dirty Salford niggle though.

Laithwaite - What every team wants in a back rower. Carts the ball up strongly, defends very very well. Setting high standards early.

Currie - Looking like the player that burst through a few years back - but with better defence.

Westwood - Typical performance. Strong with the ball, strong in defence. Typical brain fart that could have seen a red with a different ref. Needs to control that.

Subs

Higham - Effective against a tiring Salford defence. Offers something different to Clark. Typical Higham performance.

Harrison - Solid if unspectacular. Defended well, took the ball up strongly.

Asotasi - Couple of decent stints. Great shot on Morley on our own line to cause and error, and drew Morley in to free Higham up for his try.

Wheeler - Decent cameo, keep him fit and we've a very useful player. Quick, evasive and smart.

Happy overall - room for improvement, but a decent start against niggling opposition.

Salford did have most of the possession in the 1st 20 minutes, but luck wasn't the reason we didn't concede it was top class defence that kept Salford out.

I said this at the game, my understanding is that if the Ref makes a decision on the pitch and awards a Pen, Yellow or Red, then that is the punishment that the Ref feels is appropriate and no more action can follow.

But if the Ref puts an incident on report or doesn't see something then the Panel can step in.

Players can be cited by the match review panel regardless of whether the ref took on field action or not

Thanks Paul.
Benny will be banned for Hull and probably the St George game.

I'd just like to point out that whichever of the walked brothers Westwood hit, he completed Fucking deserved it and got off lightly in my opinion, he was just as bad if not worse than Patterson yesterday.

Yeah its the psychology of a constantly losing team that bands together.

With success comes boring fans, look at Wigan and Leeds, the latter have shipped a brass band in to try and generate some noise Saints are alright after going so long empty handed but now they've got an extra 2k or so fair weather fans in there so..

It'll pick up at the HJ, I'm determined to make it so.