I appreciate Mago is going to be a fan favourite but for me Ellis is the kind of player we needed.

I’d rest Cust over Tommy to be honest, however I’d play them both.

Is that what we did? Wow! There has to be an easier answer than all that shuffling around.

That utility back on the bench is a very handy option. We used it after 10 mins at HKR and didn’t have it as an option after a couple of minutes tonight. He might not be a back but Shorrocks is extremely versatile and is surely a better bench option than Partington.

Having a player like Ellis allows us to have a player like Mago, if Havard comes back churning out 100m games then we're looking healthier than for quite a while prop wise

Definitely.

He's been good so far and seems to get better each week. Loved his dart for the line towards the end of the match.

When Havard returns & if Singleton can keep up tonight's performance, I'd love to see Ellis do more mins at 13. He seems to have a decent engine on him.

Mago will bring X-factor but I do think he could have arrived at Wigan a little fitter. Harsh perhaps but Ellis doing half an hour of good quality in his first stint is as you say just what we need and pleases me more than a Feka-esque 10-12 minutes off the bench.

It’s hard because I do think we need to give Smith a go and keep him involved. Another option would be to bring Smith in and move Cust (or Tommy) to hooker for the night.

We’ll see what happens but whatever that may be, I think this next two weeks will be positive for the side and for the season. Aren’t they going to French now and staying there for the next 10-14 days? I could be dreaming that but I thought I’d read that and if so, it’ll be an excellent opportunity to build relationships and team spirit.

I'd echo all that;especially the praise for Tommy. I didn't think he still had it in him, but he was very good tonight. I guess it wasn't until I walked out if the stadium, and got completely drenched walking to the car, that I realised how bad the conditions must have been in that second half. I had to cancel my 'drive to pub after game' plans in favour of, straight home, light the stove, and straight into the shower! Decent win, and once again, although in the first half and start of the second, we had to do a fair bit of defending, we looking like we might score a try or two when we got to their red zone. And we did. 10000+ crowd not bad in the weather, considering Hudds hardly bring any, and Leeds brought a fair few.

I thought Hardaker to full back Isa to centre Smithies to LF and Field to scrum half is what happened .

Yeah it was bizarre, after about 5 minutes KPP went back to RC, Bateman to Right back row and Smithies to left back row which made more sense.

Shorrocks could have come on a done an okay job at 9 with Powell going into the halves.

Whereas Partington can only play prop.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Cust returned, seeing Hardaker at fullback was an awful sight and reminded me of last year.


Cust is going well, like that he’s run first and has a good kicking game. Feel he’s only going to get better too.

Agreed in that Tommy was mom.
I must admit I didn’t think he still had it in him.
He’s the epitome of a top class club man. Loyal, hard working, team comes first. He must be a coaches dream.

I omitted commenting on the positives of Ellis which was wrong on my part. I thought he could be the signing rather than say Cust or Mago and he seems to be quietly going about his business and hopefully will develop into a top class 60 minute prop we have been waiting for.

Huddersfield with their first choice half backs would have been even more dangerous and will be nobody’s mug this season.

Peet now needs to make the judgment on how we keep getting this form out of Tommy. Is it keep playing him and keeping him in rhythm? Or is it to rest him and keep him fresh?

I’m stumped, I do not know. I sense he’s probably a couple of years too old to keep going for 30+ games at this level but who knows.

I agree it is a little difficult however, Smith from the start in Toulouse seems the obvious chance to give Tommy a breather.
Powell looked knackered at the end of the game so for me a chance for young O’Neil to play 80 for the first time for us.

Mago needs to play every week. Potentially a nugget there but 15 minute cameos isn’t what is required for us even if I love his offloads.

Rest Tommy next week and give Smith a full game. Be interesting to see how he goes in this team.

I’d give O’Neill 40 mins at hooker too. Can’t flog Powell for 80 mins every week IMO

Possibly even squeeze Miski and Shorrocks in to get them involved.

I'm sure Peet will be finding room for the likes of Shorrocks and O'Neill to get involved. We need a squad used to first-team action.