[quote="ratticusfinch":2vl1zmdy]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.[/quote:2vl1zmdy] Just reading Sam's post-match quotes. On the Ratchford/Leyland call, he says: "It’s just the way I felt on selection day. It was hard to choose between them but I went with a bit of experience. Oli’s been awesome and would have done a very good job for us, so it’s a tough one. Oli’s handled himself really well and has been a really good pro." Not really sure what to make of that. Yes, you can make a case for going with experience, but it seems quite un-Sam-like, given his previous willingness to give youth a chance. Perhaps there was a bit of sentimentality involved, regarding Stef? I just assumed that Stef would have a 'bits and pieces' kind of role on the fringes of the team this season, but maybe Sam sees it differently? Either way, the onus is on Stef to prove that he deserves to keep the jersey.

IIm a very simple person ... in my opinion the only way to decide whether Sam Burgess made the right decision is to look at the score line .. We won ... Therefore he picked the right team for the game

Was it just my telly or did anyone else notice the commentary was running about 15 sec ahead of the picture on Sky+ Very annoying/confusing.

[quote="wigginswarrior":28kyn64r]Was it just my telly or did anyone else notice the commentary was running about 15 sec ahead of the picture on Sky+ Very annoying/confusing.[/quote:28kyn64r] That is annoying. I watched it on Now TV and it was fine on there.

Hope Leyland plays on Friday as half backs need to work on combinations and plays. He is more dynamic and takes the line on more than Drinkwater and deserves his chance. Ratch just doesn’t have the pace anymore and his kicking wasn’t up to scratch. Having said that Williams had worst game for us that I can recall.

I don’t get the Ratchford bashing. You don’t forget how to ride a bike. He is older that means if he’s injured, it may take him a bit longer to recover. But the guy is fit, and so is better than Hayes and Leyland.

[quote="rubber duckie":29mli8so]I don’t get the Ratchford bashing. You don’t forget how to ride a bike. He is older that means if he’s injured, it may take him a bit longer to recover. But the guy is fit, and so is better than Hayes and Leyland.[/quote:29mli8so] He will be 37 later in the season and it is not bashing - it’s just a realisation that time catches up with everyone and youth has to be given a chance. I am sure he will do a decent job of covering for injuries.

I’m baffled by the Ratchford selection too. Especially as he didn't feature much last season. In the games be did play last season, i thought he was quite ineffective and was only useful for his goal kicking. I suspect Burgess wasn't confident using Leyland with Hudds big pack. I reckon we would have created more chances if Leyland played. Also, talk of Dufty covering at half back? Didnt we trial that last year (or maybe the year before) and it was a disaster. So that would also be a strange choice.

We don’t seem to get enough height on attacking kicks which are often fielded without challenge. Richardson was much better than us on Sunday and it’s a major part of Mikey Lewis and Harry Smith’s game. We have not perfected spiral kicks either since Blake Austin left. On the other hand, Danny Walker’s 40:20’s are as good as anyone’s.

Leyland i believe played every game last year starting in the halves, so he's played every team twice. So he's not nervous of any team, i think he should have gotten the nod but i get his thinking (to a degree) that he properbly went for more experience. Burgess does make odd selections from time to time but i assume he goes with hit gut feeling, and it's steered us well so far. I'm not the coach but i believe there are a few better choices on players to pick each week, that would improve us. But i'm an average joe, and Burgess is a Legend so i'll leave it to him.

I think we should have expected an out of sorts display yesterday, The friendlies have consisted of mostly new or reserve players & the Huddersfield game was the first run out for most of the first team.

[quote="rubber duckie":17wp1ji4]I don’t get the Ratchford bashing. You don’t forget how to ride a bike. He is older that means if he’s injured, it may take him a bit longer to recover. But the guy is fit, and so is better than Hayes and Leyland.[/quote:17wp1ji4] I haven’t forgotten how to ride a bike but I’m considerably slower and a lot more cautious.

[quote="sirlesboyd2":2vx4davq]IIm a very simple person ... in my opinion the only way to decide whether Sam Burgess made the right decision is to look at the score line .. We won ... Therefore he picked the right team for the game[/quote:2vx4davq] What it proves is it was good enough to win. It doesn’t mean he couldn’t have picked a better team. I have been a big fan of Stef but was disappointed he didn’t give Leyland the start.

[quote="ninearches":8koc0b7b]I think we should have expected an out of sorts display yesterday, The friendlies have consisted of mostly new or reserve players & the Huddersfield game was the first run out for most of the first team.[/quote:8koc0b7b] The team have had months of preseason to prepare and we had the choice of what team to pick in the friendlies and the Challenge Cup game. We were dog dirt in that first half, save for a bit of excellence from Lindop, and were lucky we were not playing a better side.

[quote="rubber duckie":1rex8yid]I don’t get the Ratchford bashing. You don’t forget how to ride a bike. He is older that means if he’s injured, it may take him a bit longer to recover. But the guy is fit, and so is better than Hayes and Leyland.[/quote:1rex8yid] Leyland was fit, least injury was not cited as the reason for absence. Nah Sam dropped a bollock there with that selection. Why sign a back up half and play him in all the preseason if you are not going to play him when your first choice half is out? What happened to "next man up" ? Are we really going to see Ratch at halfback vs Wigan in Vegas?

I think the Leyland non-selection has been one of the biggest selection shocks, for so many, for some time. Why did we sign him? He'd looked so lively in the early games. He is likely to get his chance but he must be gutted.

[quote="Smiffy27":3dl73mbs]I think the Leyland non-selection has been one of the biggest selection shocks, for so many, for some time. Why did we sign him? He'd looked so lively in the early games. He is likely to get his chance but he must be gutted.[/quote:3dl73mbs] Sam's selections have been refreshingly bold thus far, so yes, this one raised eyebrows all round, I think (except for Abe!). Leyland knew he was in a fight with Hayes for a starting spot, but he probably didn't expect to be behind Stef in the pecking order. It will be interesting to see if Sam sticks with Stef. As Wires71 suggests, taking on Wigan with Stef in the halves would be a big gamble, even by Las Vegas standards!

Even legends like Sam make mistakes, but as alluded to earlier, we did win after all. It's a different argument if we lost/lose with this selection.

My guess is Sam is just more confident with Ratch in there, I would imagine defensively he's a better option as well. That said I expected - and hoped - we would see Leyland in these first 5 games to compare vs Hayes, I thought Leyland took the line on more and his kicking from hand was much better than we've seen from a Wire player in a couple of years.

[quote="rubber duckie":1r3a29dp]I don’t get the Ratchford bashing. You don’t forget how to ride a bike. He is older that means if he’s injured, it may take him a bit longer to recover. But the guy is fit, and so is better than Hayes and Leyland.[/quote:1r3a29dp] As I said earlier, he has no pace, no kicking game and offers no creativity. At least Leyland can take the line on and has a half decent running game.

[quote="Or thane":170cmj0y]Leyland i believe played every game last year starting in the halves, so he's played every team twice. So he's not nervous of any team, i think he should have gotten the nod but i get his thinking (to a degree) that he properbly went for more experience. Burgess does make odd selections from time to time but i assume he goes with hit gut feeling, and it's steered us well so far. I'm not the coach but i believe there are a few better choices on players to pick each week, that would improve us. But i'm an average joe, and Burgess is a Legend so i'll leave it to him.[/quote:170cmj0y] His team also finished the season bottom of the league.

Interesting how almost everyone on here knows better than Sam. I can seen Steph being 7 in Vegas, and should we win that game, they’ll be some eggy faces on here.

[quote="rubber duckie":k1h5hr9r]Interesting how almost everyone on here knows better than Sam. I can seen Steph being 7 in Vegas, and should we win that game, they’ll be some eggy faces on here.[/quote:k1h5hr9r] If Steph is selected I’m sure we will all back him. I would like to see Leyland selected though, otherwise what was the point of singing him?

[quote="rubber duckie":3177y5pq]Interesting how almost everyone on here knows better than Sam. I can seen Steph being 7 in Vegas, and should we win that game, they’ll be some eggy faces on here.[/quote:3177y5pq] I don't think anyone is professing to "know better" than Sam, they are expressing their opinions. You do this all the time often with wild projections that turn up a bit wide of the mark. The opinion seems to suggest that playing a 37 year old in a crucial position that he has not played in much/effectively during his earlier career is a bit of a backwards facing choice when we have recruited an understudy. Sam is, by his own admission, a new coach who will make mistakes like the rest of us. A classic example was the preparation for the CC Final which completely back fired. I also think our prep for the start of the season has been so-so based on the Hudds game. But everyone is behind Sam, just raising eyebrows as we are entitled to do so. Plenty on here been watching the Wire long before Sam, and will so long after he has gone. He is not beyond critique. As for eggy faces, I'll cope if we get the 2 points in LV, I just worry about Ratch not being able to lay a finger on French and us being nullified by the Wigan defence which will be a significant upgrade on Huddersfield's. We will see.

[quote="rubber duckie":3trm0og8]His team also finished the season bottom of the league.[/quote:3trm0og8] So, following your rationale...why sign him? Why play him in the pre-season games and not Ratchford?