Was a decent hit out...exactly what you want from a pre-season friendly with the season 3 weeks away.

Fev are a strong championship side and to come from 0-12 at half time and cope with the adversity of losing Hood and Lino in the space of about 30 seconds was quite pleasing...good signs in that we turned it around and whatever MA said at half time he certainly got a reaction which bodes well moving forward.

Been a good pre season so far though...as good as I can remember...we've put strong sides out against good opposition the last twice, so have been good tests and we've won all matches comfortably. Should put us in a good position to start the season strong, even though we've a tough looking start on paper.

For all the talk a few months ago of losing all our stars and hardly signing anyone I think we've recruited very shrewdly and have a feeling all the new recruits are going to have big impacts on the season and really looking forward to it.

One last point...

I also thought Dean played very well for Fev first half...looked dangerous every time he had the ball and think he'll be a cracking player for them this season in the championship!

To me as yet another arm chair coach , we stepped up a gear or two in intensity ,ran with more purpose and showed the differences in quality in the second period . I’ve been to Fev and watched our team get mullered in the mud ,the classic being fev kicking off and the ball dropping at Richard moors feet under the sticks , the fev play bet rich to the ball from the half way line .This team were up for it every bit as fev were the difference is that quality showed in the end between the teams . Great run out for both teams ,Fev threw the kitchen sink at us and we hit back with some purpose. Really liking Proctors constant barking at the players ,can’t wait to see him match fit , not too fussed like some on here where he plays just so long as he does , he will be a cracker for us .

Vastman, you are making things up again, which is funny because whenever anyone else does you seem to throw a hissy fit. He`s played 27 out of his 43 SL appearances at hooker so how has he "virtually never played there"?

Blind faith? Surprising from you PT.

It's interesting to see how fans of other teams see things. I like Morgan a lot, he has a terrific attitude and he'll never let you down, he'll stick to the coach's game plan 100%,and he's deceptively hard to stop near the line for a small guy but for me, at the moment at least, he just lacks that creativity and ability to create gaps for his runners that is ideal in a top-level half back. He played on the same side as Leilua all last year and rarely seemed to create an opening for him, and I think that's why Morgan was dropped in the play-offs.

He might be a good pairing with Lino though as Lino seems a bit more mercurial from what I've seen, capable of flashes of brilliance like the try he created for Battye on Sunday but also maybe the type of half who sometimes disappears for stretches of the game?

Pretty much spot on there, Horseman...that's been our main issue with Lino.
His best game by far was away at Warrington last year (think it was the cup game ??), when he won us the game almost single-handedly, but unfortunately that appears to have been a one-off as he doesn't do that often enough. Hopefully him and Smith can bring out the best in each other but it depends when and where Smith gets to play as Gaskell looks like being our first choice 6 so far

For me the main issue with Lino happened the day we signed him.

The coaches at the time lauded him as finally the missing piece of the jigsaw in our halves that we had failed to fill since Liam Finn joined us.

Miller needed an organiser so he could play his game. Brough didn’t really work out and Lino is then hailed as the play making organising play in a dinner suit half back we had in Finn, who would sit in the pocket, move us round the field and let Milky play the off the cuff exciting attacking rugby off those foundations.

If you saw Lino in his time in the NRL he was a strike half too, not an organiser/playmaker. That is still what he is and why he is maybe inconsistent as he has been playing with another half who does the same job and the partnership didn’t bring the best out of each other.

Gaskill is a very intelligent player and more of a playmaker these days and I’m hoping with him taking on the responsibility of moving the team around the field Lino can consistently play as the strike half which is his natural game and we will see him at his best more often.

I think similarly Miller will go well at Cas playing along side Widdop who will shoulder the midfield general responsibilities leaving him to focus on the strike role.

Hard to disagree with any of that, Jonh

Well FIL and Jonh, I'll have a go at disagreeing, because I think you're both wrong. Not so much about Lino, I tend to agree there, but certainly regarding Cas.

Widdop is where Broughy was when we signed him, only difference is Broughy always had more heart than Widdop.

Miller hs never regained his pace but he's still a decent player, but combined with Widdop that is one slow HB partnership by anyones standards. True Fin was slow but we are not Cas, Classy Cas as they love to call themselves play a fast game, and that team is no longer fast. Lino and Smith are far quicker, even Gaskell is faster than Widdop, and imho that will count. Added to that McShane is also now older and slower, though pace was not the cornerstone of his game.

The current Cas team is IMHO slower than the Powell model in certain key areas, if we can't exploit that then shame on us.

So yes Miller will do ok, but only if Widdop does, with Richardson out, Trueman gone, they are thin on the ground for alternative.

Widdop isn't fast but im sure he isn't as slow as you think. I guess we'll see.

They really are fragile at HB should either of these get injured. I honestly think they will struggle