Quote Fames="Fames"Wane got it right - but I still feel it is worth trying Rocky on the bench instead of Powell.'"
But he did that the other week against Salford and it was a complete mess and didn't work, swapping half backs round mid game and moving people between 2 or 3 different positions. I'm not Powell's biggest fan but he does a job in games like tonight and means we can spell McIlorum. I'd be happy if we go with McIlorum playing the full 80 against Saints, Wire and Leeds with Powell getting half an hour against the others.
Williams and Smith did a lot better tonight, mostly due to a woeful Hull performance but also down to a much improved performance from the pack. Not the sort of game to judge them on because it was too easy but all of the props at least showed some willingness to roll their sleeves up and get through some work - struggling to see Mossop getting back in now tbh. They need to show they can do it against the top sides who actually put up some resistance now.
The faux hysteria because Hampshire wasn't selected tonight is a bit OTT. FWIW I would've played him at 6 tonight but in all honesty this stage of the season isn't the time to be experimenting with different combinations. If there's one criticism of how Wane has dealt with Hampshire it's that he should've had more game time at 6 earlier in the season, but even then he's played 15 times this year, which isn't bad for a 20 year old whether it's in his "preferred" position or not. It's also worth remembering that Hampshire was only in last week because Bowen was rested, not dropped, and was in great form prior to that.