Where is Mago..?

Well at least we still haven’t conceded a try in SL in god knows how long Defence was solid enough but with the ball we were poor and brainfarts from Farrell and Keighran (again) didn’t help. Smith had at least 2 decent attempts at a DG but didn’t bother. Instead he tried one from about 45 metres out Also the in-goals are too short, can’t we make them longer?

I know it was game 1 of the year but I'd have liked to have seen them throw the ball about a bit more than that once it became clear that plan A of taking one out drives and waiting for an error or penalty wasn't going to get it done. Waste of Field and French's talents. Daft ways for Farrell and Keighran to get binned, not what you want in a war of attrition.

Harvey Hill is not up to standard

You dust yourself down after that and just focus on attack for a few weeks. Bit disappointed with some lazy tackles in the game and the lack of options on the bench lacked a spark that we don’t get from Forber. How many minutes did Hill/Mago/Dupree do compared to Thompson. That unit is going to need to step up big time this year. Also thought our attack was miles too deep and Leigh just holding a line stopped any space for French to do anything. Having said all that, Field passes the ball instead of holding on and we win that game earlier.

Thought we played a pretty good attritional game tonight. A little dull to watch at times but you could see what Wigan were trying to do. Ultimately it came down to a few poor decisions at key moments - two sin bins, a silly captain's challenge, Dupree and Field not releasing the ball with a couple of the few chances we had and not going for the drop goal with a couple of minutes to go. But Leigh were good - well done to them. Might not be a bad thing for Wigan in the longer term. One other thing - the Wigan fanbase deserve a bit of criticism tonight for me. I know it was cold but it's the first time I can remember having a 21k+ crowd in that stadium and it be that quiet. You could have heard a pin drop.

It had to happen at some point but disappointing non the less. All of the Aussie lads looked undercooked and underperformed compared to their usual high standards. We got everything right on the night apart from the team delivering. Full credit to Leyth the further the game went the more likely they would probably win. At the 20 minute mark I thought that we were going to get turned over. We’ve had poor starts before and we will have them again. Defensively pretty sound but attack clunky and pedestrian. Will be interesting to see how we react next week at Hull. Another loss would really put the pressure on us in Vegas. Interesting times.

[quote="Grimmy":10unf5bp]I know it was game 1 of the year but I'd have liked to have seen them throw the ball about a bit more than that once it became clear that plan A of taking one out drives and waiting for an error or penalty wasn't going to get it done. Waste of Field and French's talents. Daft ways for Farrell and Keighran to get binned, not what you want in a war of attrition.[/quote:10unf5bp] Cant work out what Farrell was SB for to be honest , Keighran was fair but pretty stupid . We didnt look like scoring , so i guess this was the only way it was going to happen . I wouldn't have been upset had it gone the other way , just glad it wasnt 20-40 points victory by wigan

Thought it was an advert for how short and disjointed an English pre season is compared to the one in Australia. Both sides looked jiggered and a few weeks off being fit and ready for the start of a season. We've got lads who were playing internationals up until November and have been back training for about 4/5 weeks only. You compare that to some lads in Oz who get a couple of months to put their feet up and then about 4 months to work on their fitness. We'll be better for the slog and certainly don't have anything to panic about. Longer term though, the sport has to find a way to lengthen pre seasons and lessen the amount of games being played because I think we need better than that on a night like this, when eyes are on the sport.

[quote="doc999":2pxegbmj]Cant work out what Farrell was SB for to be honest , Keighran was fair but pretty stupid . We didnt look like scoring , so i guess this was the only way it was going to happen . I wouldn't have been upset had it gone the other way , just glad it wasnt 20-40 points victory by wigan[/quote:2pxegbmj] He kicked the ball away which denied Leigh a quick restart. It was not deliberate he was frustrated not getting a penalty which to be fair he should have got and would have done had you had not already lost the captain’s challenge.

Thought it was a decent watch that game, despite the clunky attack from both sides. Actually enjoyed it more than the GF, weirdly. Anyone else bored senseless of Vegas? I’m sure those who’re going are loving it & will have a great time. But it feels like it’s all we see & hear at the moment and all for the sake of 2 SL points. You wonder if conditioning is for a little peak there, ala the WCC last year. Wake me up when it’s all over & we can crack on with the churn of the season.

No idea what's going on with the ruck. 80 minutes and no 6 agains.

[quote="NickyKiss":23wbyib1]Thought it was an advert for how short and disjointed an English pre season is compared to the one in Australia. Both sides looked jiggered and a few weeks off being fit and ready for the start of a season. We've got lads who were playing internationals up until November and have been back training for about 4/5 weeks only. You compare that to some lads in Oz who get a couple of months to put their feet up and then about 4 months to work on their fitness. We'll be better for the slog and certainly don't have anything to panic about. Longer term though, the sport has to find a way to lengthen pre seasons and lessen the amount of games being played because I think we need better than that on a night like this, when eyes are on the sport.[/quote:23wbyib1] Poor excuse that.

Not the result I wanted, of course, but objectively I thought that was a fantastic advert for Rugby League. Hats off to everyone who worked to make the opening feel special, bringing in Michael Buffer was absolutely brilliant. I've heard some people moaning about the spectacle in the stands and on social media, I don't understand that negativity towards promoting the game. In my eyes, Leigh were well-deserved winners; their forwards ate up metres post-contact and they moved the ball around far more than Wigan did. Defence from both teams was great, and I think Moore had a decent game overall, a bit too lenient in my opinion but he seemed to want the game to flow; I thought his decision to sin-bin Farrell was harsh, though. The game could've gone either way at any point, I felt like Wigan was on the front foot for most of the first half but the momentum swung in Leigh's favour in the second after Wigan conceded a few penalties. Leeming and Ellis had great games but Wardle was my MotM for Wigan, he shut down the Leigh attack time and time again. The lowest-scoring game in Super League history and Leigh ended their 40-year winless streak against Wigan in regular games, (minus that one pre-season friendly a few years ago), the biggest Super League opener attendance ever. Three records were broken in a single night in the derby, for the sport as a whole, that's an immensely successful night.

Had to tune to Classic FM to calm down on the drive back.... 2 indomitable defences but where was the attack? And why, WHY (!!!) didn't Smith kick the drop goals he was repeatedly set for in the last quarter?! Normally I like the lad, but he loses confidence quicker than a gnatt's fart.

Well played to Leigh, they really such to it all the way when I think we were thinking they would do of in the last 15. I think it will remove any sense of complacency from the team. I thought we only really upped the intensity for 1 set straight after Faz got binned and then the disallowed try fizzled out there urgency. I don't normally bag the ref, but the amount of 2nd or 3rd efforts in the table was ridiculous, made the game so slow.

[quote="Cokey":1y4r22jz]Poor excuse that.[/quote:1y4r22jz] Where's an excuses? It's the same for both teams in terms of short pre seasons. Even lads not involved in the internationals aren't getting long enough. It was a slog of a game, with both sides looking tired and but fair play to them all for gritting their teeth and battling hard to stick in there. It could've gone either way but for the good of the sport more preparation time is needed IMO. Enjoy the win

[quote="karetaker":1h1hhlg3]He kicked the ball away which denied Leigh a quick restart. It was not deliberate he was frustrated not getting a penalty which to be fair he should have got and would have done had you had not already lost the captain’s challenge.[/quote:1h1hhlg3] I thought he was obstructed too , didn't realise the penalty was for the ball kick .

[quote="Geese":34jivn57]Not the result I wanted, of course, but objectively I thought that was a fantastic advert for Rugby League. Hats off to everyone who worked to make the opening feel special, bringing in Michael Buffer was absolutely brilliant. I've heard some people moaning about the spectacle in the stands and on social media, I don't understand that negativity towards promoting the game. In my eyes, Leigh were well-deserved winners; their forwards ate up metres post-contact and they moved the ball around far more than Wigan did. Defence from both teams was great, and I think Moore had a decent game overall, a bit too lenient in my opinion but he seemed to want the game to flow; I thought his decision to sin-bin Farrell was harsh, though. The game could've gone either way at any point, I felt like Wigan was on the front foot for most of the first half but the momentum swung in Leigh's favour in the second after Wigan conceded a few penalties. Leeming and Ellis had great games but Wardle was my MotM for Wigan, he shut down the Leigh attack time and time again. The lowest-scoring game in Super League history and Leigh ended their 40-year winless streak against Wigan in regular games, (minus that one pre-season friendly a few years ago), the biggest Super League opener attendance ever. Three records were broken in a single night in the derby, for the sport as a whole, that's an immensely successful night.[/quote:34jivn57] Adnt his one in super league https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7oTjE84d9o the 40 year steak was for away games.

[quote="Geese":34jivn57]Not the result I wanted, of course, but objectively I thought that was a fantastic advert for Rugby League. Hats off to everyone who worked to make the opening feel special, bringing in Michael Buffer was absolutely brilliant. I've heard some people moaning about the spectacle in the stands and on social media, I don't understand that negativity towards promoting the game. In my eyes, Leigh were well-deserved winners; their forwards ate up metres post-contact and they moved the ball around far more than Wigan did. Defence from both teams was great, and I think Moore had a decent game overall, a bit too lenient in my opinion but he seemed to want the game to flow; I thought his decision to sin-bin Farrell was harsh, though. The game could've gone either way at any point, I felt like Wigan was on the front foot for most of the first half but the momentum swung in Leigh's favour in the second after Wigan conceded a few penalties. Leeming and Ellis had great games but Wardle was my MotM for Wigan, he shut down the Leigh attack time and time again. The lowest-scoring game in Super League history and Leigh ended their 40-year winless streak against Wigan in regular games, (minus that one pre-season friendly a few years ago), the biggest Super League opener attendance ever. Three records were broken in a single night in the derby, for the sport as a whole, that's an immensely successful night.[/quote:34jivn57] Adnt his one in super league https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7oTjE84d9o the 40 year steak was for away games.

[quote="doc999":2n6j0nvh]Adnt his one in super league https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7oTjE84d9o the 40 year steak was for away games.[/quote:2n6j0nvh] I stand corrected, thank you.

[quote="doc999":2n6j0nvh]Adnt his one in super league https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7oTjE84d9o the 40 year steak was for away games.[/quote:2n6j0nvh] I stand corrected, thank you.

Enthralling watch. Great defence by both sides and a good pipe opener. Another record set, think the ref got one too for the most obstructions missed in one match. Leigh will go well this season but all the talk about Armstrong beforehand was unjustified. He was a non entity and dealt with very comfortably. Smith had numerous opportunities to win the match but for whatever reason decided to keep playing as if it was the 20th minute. Great watch though and credit to the lobby gobblers on their first and hopefully last win here for over 40 years. Onwards.

[quote="karetaker":1rdnyq47] It was not deliberate[/quote:1rdnyq47] Give over he kicked it twice for good measure to stop the Leigh player picking it up after his first kick at it didn't clear the advertising hoardings. As for the chase prior to it, not enough there for a penalty for me (don't forget, Hughes doesn't have to get out of his way). I assume Farrell didn't realise it would be a professional foul to delay the restart, he knew exactly what he was doing.

There were a couple more occasions where Farrell didn’t seem to know what basic rules were; asking what happens if the VR can’t see the incident in the captains challenge and if extra time is 5 mins each half.

[quote="NickyKiss":50qkvg6c]Thought it was an advert for how short and disjointed an English pre season is compared to the one in Australia. Both sides looked jiggered and a few weeks off being fit and ready for the start of a season. We've got lads who were playing internationals up until November and have been back training for about 4/5 weeks only. You compare that to some lads in Oz who get a couple of months to put their feet up and then about 4 months to work on their fitness. We'll be better for the slog and certainly don't have anything to panic about. Longer term though, the sport has to find a way to lengthen pre seasons and lessen the amount of games being played because I think we need better than that on a night like this, when eyes are on the sport.[/quote:50qkvg6c] Think this comment sums up the current state of where we are. Too many games resulting in short pre season which will inevitably lead to unnecessary injuries and reduction in quality. That game had everything from an excellent pre match build up to a physical bruising encounter with nothing given or taken. Lam said after the game that was the first of three games against Wigan this season which brings up the absurdity of loop fixtures. When the game is properly staged and presented like last night there is no need for these extra games which effectively extend the season and reduce the time available in pre season. IIRC the loop,games were introduced temporarily to ensure extra revenue for clubs but now need to be stopped. Proper game presentation like yesterday together with a similar type of game will lead to increased gates and make them unnecessary and benefit everyone at the same time.

Thought it was a decent spectacle, great crowd and Wigan really made it an event. 2 great defences but 2 pretty blunt attacks, Wigan had the only real opportunities to score but those were few and far between, it’s the first game of the season so I’m not too concerned our attack didn’t click, if anyone was gonna score a try it was us, just thought we ran out of steam the last 20/30 minutes and the Faz yellow hurt us, from then I thought Leigh looked the stronger and their forwards made more yardage without threatening to ever over run us. That defensive effort will get us over the line in nearly every game, 5 Superleague games without a try conceded and only 3 points against.