Currie was our best. Back row is vulnerable, Holroyd and Russell were ok but feel like they are plugging gaps rather than them being there on purpose. Dufty turned it around towards the end but wasn’t great if we’re honest. Same with Walker, as the game went on he got better. Don’t get the Vaughan and King comments, again. But everyone needs a scapegoat I suppose. A win and a clean bill of health, we’ll take that for round 1

Defences well on top in the games I watched. Sides are holding down but only for a brief time so difficult to penalise. I don't think speccies will be happy if defences continue to dominate the game. The fact that Wigan haven't had a try scored against them for so long is a worry. Might have to tinker with some laws if this continues.

[quote="Barbed Wire":gfx2i56g]Currie was our best. Back row is vulnerable, Holroyd and Russell were ok but feel like they are plugging gaps rather than them being there on purpose. Dufty turned it around towards the end but wasn’t great if we’re honest. Same with Walker, as the game went on he got better. Don’t get the Vaughan and King comments, again. But everyone needs a scapegoat I suppose. A win and a clean bill of health, we’ll take that for round 1[/quote:gfx2i56g] Must have missed it I didn’t see any negative comments about Vaughan, I actually thought he was good making good meters after contact.

We looked under cooked and a bit rusty today, but to be honest that`s how we should be. Early season excellent form usually shows that a team has hit the wraps before their rivals, and as other teams catch-up then they can be left behind e.g Daryl Powell`s last season at Wire. It`s end of season form that matters and a slow start can be beneficial, if we we can stay in the mix until later. I was disappointed with the Ratchford selection at 7 instead of Leyland but hopefully Oli will grab the spot when he gets the opportunity. For me the only way Ratchford should be in our 17, is as a substitute, where he can cover halfback, centre, hooker and loose forward but with Powell on the bench too, that would make it too light. So it would be either a choice between Powell and Ratchford but not both.

[quote="BOSS HOG":38qux0ms]We looked under cooked and a bit rusty today, but to be honest that`s how we should be. Early season excellent form usually shows that a team has hit the wraps before their rivals, and as other teams catch-up then they can be left behind e.g Daryl Powell`s last season at Wire. It`s end of season form that matters and a slow start can be beneficial, if we we can stay in the mix until later. I was disappointed with the Ratchford selection at 7 instead of Leyland but hopefully Oli will grab the spot when he gets the opportunity. For me the only way Ratchford should be in our 17, is as a substitute, where he can cover halfback, centre, hooker and loose forward but with Powell on the bench too, that would make it too light. So it would be either a choice between Powell and Ratchford but not both.[/quote:38qux0ms] I hope Leyland gets a chance sooner rather than later because Burgess has said in an interview today regarding the choice today that he sees Hayes as the long term half. So soon as he is fit he will likely come in. No disrespect to Ratchford but he is probably in his last season and Leyland and Hayes have a lot longer.

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... field-win/

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... field-win/

I’m sorry but playing Ratchford ahead of Leyland was a poor decision and post-match comments suggest that this is to continue. Worrying

[quote="ratticusfinch":oq2kcc85]I’m sorry but playing Ratchford ahead of Leyland was a poor decision and post-match comments suggest that this is to continue. Worrying[/quote:oq2kcc85] If that’s the case and Hayes comes back before Leyland gets a chance I can see him going out on loan.

Russell played well, good in defense, hits hardand drives the ball up well. I've got no complaints at all with him. Nothing fancy from him but he put in a graft and played for big minutes. Musgrove on the other hand played what, 15 mins? He's an absolute waste, i don't get the burgess love with him, Max Wood should be picked every single week ahead of him Very pleased to see Holroyd start, and as we see every time he plays, he puts 100% isn't afraid of any one, stopped Tom Bugess 1 on 1 early in the game, he's brilliant. We did look very rusty but credit to Hudds for making it a hard fought win. As Karetaker said, hopefully this blows the cobwebs off and gets us going. On Harrison is he not Fully fit or recovering from a knock do we know. ** Just read the article** Hopefully he's back soon. Also on the try that king "missed" it was 5 on 2 and they would have scored regardless, at least king tried an intercept, if he took it he would have been a hero.

[quote="Or thane":usdcbl8i]Russell played well, good in defense, hits hardand drives the ball up well. I've got no complaints at all with him. Nothing fancy from him but he put in a graft and played for big minutes. Musgrove on the other hand played what, 15 mins? He's an absolute waste, i don't get the burgess love with him, Max Wood should be picked every single week ahead of him Very pleased to see Holroyd start, and as we see every time he plays, he puts 100% isn't afraid of any one, stopped Tom Bugess 1 on 1 early in the game, he's brilliant. We did look very rusty but credit to Hudds for making it a hard fought win. As Karetaker said, hopefully this blows the cobwebs off and gets us going. On Harrison is he not Fully fit or recovering from a knock do we know. Also on the try that king "missed" it was 5 on 2 and they would have scored regardless, at least king tried an intercept, if he took it he would have been a hero.[/quote:usdcbl8i] On Harrison Burgess said it was because he as missed a bit of training that he was not selected.

Hopefully he's back soon, i genuinely don't like what Musgrove brings to the team. Fair enough he did have a little bit more impact then i've seen often but his minutes played are absolutely pathetic. I'd rather have Sitaleki back to play 15 mins but have 2 runs that absolutely smashes the line, and not just fill a gap.

[quote="karetaker":h1a0hupw]Must have missed it I didn’t see any negative comments about Vaughan, I actually thought he was good making good meters after contact.[/quote:h1a0hupw] There was a lady sat behind me who called him a lazy sod every 5-10 seconds for the full 80, even when he was off the field. Even when someone else was taking the ball up she was shouting: "that's what you should be doing Vaughan, you lazy sod." Still, it was nice to meet RD in the flesh.

[quote="just_browny":10tsmu5c]There was a lady sat behind me who called him a lazy sod every 5-10 seconds for the full 80, even when he was off the field. Even when someone else was taking the ball up she was shouting: "that's what you should be doing Vaughan, you lazy sod." Still, it was nice to meet RD in the flesh.[/quote:10tsmu5c] I have no issue with Vaughan on the pitch. My issue is only with his time spent off it But good try.

Ratchford should be nowhere near the 13 let alone at halfback. No creativity, no pace, no kicking game, couldn't even kick goals anymore on yesterdays showing. Leyland must be utter tripe in training. Refreshing to see Lindop play over Tai. Outstanding young talent.

[quote="karetaker":1ob2rnrv]I hope Leyland gets a chance sooner rather than later because Burgess has said in an interview today regarding the choice today that he sees [b:1ob2rnrv]Hayes as the long term half.[/b:1ob2rnrv] [/quote:1ob2rnrv] Amazing confidence in a player that has played 11.5 games for the first team. Whilst he has promise we have no idea how he will recover from injury or whether he is good enough at the top level. In the meantime Leyland should be given his chance. Playing Ratchford in the halves is a retrograde move.

Thought it was just me that felt quite depressed seeing Ratchford named ahead of Leyland. Clearly not based on these comments. I wouldn’t mind so much if Leyland had been average preseason but he was our standout player in both games with a far better kicking game and looking pretty lively with ball in hand. As others have said, playing Ratchford is a retrograde step and quite un-Burgess like given his confidence in Holroyd, Lindop etc. Very disappointing

[quote="karetaker":2qmvs3ln]Must have missed it I didn’t see any negative comments about Vaughan, I actually thought he was good making good meters after contact.[/quote:2qmvs3ln] There was a group sat near me calling him fit to burn, which I attributed to dark fruits commentary. But it cropped up on page 5 of this too. It’s tough to measure the front row at the moment, as it’s clear that the intention is for the backs to do the heavy lifting with yardage. But Vaughan is still head and shoulders the best prop we have in my opinion.

[quote="Barbed Wire":napxqjnf] It’s tough to measure the front row at the moment, as it’s clear that the intention is for the backs to do the heavy lifting with yardage. But Vaughan is still head and shoulders the best prop we have in my opinion.[/quote:napxqjnf] He is, without doubt.

My thoughts Ratch was most probably picked ahead of Leyland for his goal kicking, we must of anticipated a rusty performance in a low scoring game where two/four points could make the difference, also he has tons of experience and a calm figure in the squad as previously mentioned. I would like to see Leyland given a chance but that is up to him now to snatch that shirt away from Ratch and impress in training.

People having a pop at Musgrove for only doing 15 minutes need to realise it's the coach who decides when he comes on and when he gets taken off.

[quote="Kevin Turvey":1hz3dhc2]Thought it was just me that felt quite depressed seeing Ratchford named ahead of Leyland. Clearly not based on these comments. I wouldn’t mind so much if Leyland had been average preseason but he was our standout player in both games with a far better kicking game and looking pretty lively with ball in hand. As others have said, playing Ratchford is a retrograde step and quite un-Burgess like given his confidence in Holroyd, Lindop etc. Very disappointing[/quote:1hz3dhc2] I'm sure Sam has his reasons, but I think he has made a mistake here. He will probably double down on it next game too. He also has a massive blind spot with Musgrove who is our biggest waste of an overseas spot since, well, Dan Russell. Musgrove has Sitaleki minutes without the Sitaleki fireworks. But Sam got the Lindop call right. That centre position should be Lindop's to lose now. I'm not sure how much more he can do to earn the place.

[quote="Moe syslak":2qxlivqx]People having a pop at Musgrove for only doing 15 minutes need to realise it's the coach who decides when he comes on and when he gets taken off.[/quote:2qxlivqx] The coaches monitor the telemetry and the impact on the field. I don't think players get taken off if their performance is still strong. Musgrove has had ample opportunity to show his worth and for me, he hasn't shown to be very effective at all. But I am just a casual observer so probably missing something.

I think everyone was gobsmacked by the decision to leave Leyland out. I'm also surprised by how little time in the pitch he allows Musgrove to have. I can only guess that Sam is looking at defensive duties. I can't think of any other reason.

I can't quite get my head around the Ratchford decision either, I just assumed at the time that Leyland had a knock. I don't quite buy into the more hyperbolic statements about how bad he was - he certainly made a few very important defensive interventions - but he clearly shouldn't be the first choice halfback and Leyland and Hayes will be the future so get them in the team.

[quote="Velcro Boots":125ol89d]My thoughts Ratch was most probably picked ahead of Leyland for his goal kicking, we must of anticipated a rusty performance in a low scoring game where two/four points could make the difference, also he has tons of experience and a calm figure in the squad as previously mentioned. I would like to see Leyland given a chance but that is up to him now to snatch that shirt away from Ratch and impress in training.[/quote:125ol89d] Leyland’s goal-kicking was superb in the pre-season friendlies so it can’t have been that. I’ve no idea what he is like in training but he had two good games pre-season (I didn’t catch the Whitehaven game but by all accounts he did well). Strange decision.