Apart from the obvious, although see that lino is not included in the Fev game ,fingers crossed it’s precautionary and the leg injury Willie alluded to is not too troublesome , although still a few weeks off the hull game ,so no worries.But we really need our best on the park that day to hit the ground running as a win would give everyone a boost and set us up nicely going forwards

I was surprised not to see Lino in the team too. Really hoping he is ready to go for round 1.

Not ideal but if Lino is the only player carrying an injury by the Hull game I'll still be pretty happy. Both Gaskell and Walker have looked good enough in the friendlies, especially Walker.

Yes we do have options thankfully. I do hope he is ready and there’s still a few weeks yet as you say. No point risking players if they’re not 100%.

So if he is as good at prop and for the team need to win the battle of the middle how come this didnt happen with him in the middle but when he was played in the SR for period of time not only did his own performances improve but the team did too.now.Now WP as had alot of praise on here and rightley so and oneof first things he did was put kelepi back to his best postion and the rewards where there for all to see even on sunday when we had young ones out there he still played on the left edge.kelepi got in dream team playing as a SR not prop. I believe kelepi is one of our best attacking weapons and moving him to prop takes takes that away as its been proved .

Luppy I've just explained that to you, when he was playing prop the whole team was underperforming, now let's hope they are performing.

Why is everything with you so extreme? I agree he's possibly better at S/R for us than at Prop but it's marginal, If you look at his stats he was very good at prop, not adequate but good. So your assumption that his performance improved at S/R is plain wrong. What happened was that he just happened to be moved back to a more dynamic position in a revitalised team and bingo he looked better, they all looked better.

He's as good in either position in truth, it's just that our S/R options are greater and due to his physicality he is the obvious S/R to cover prop. Let's be right here, Ashurst, Crowther, Batchelor are hardly rubbish replacements. I see no reason why WP would play him at prop without a very good reason.

You don't need to make the point that Tanginoa is a great S/R by dismissing his ability as a Prop, you can actually have both.

The point that Belly was making or at least I was is that whilst the grounds are still heavy I'd be tempted to use Tanginoa at prop. Once we find our feet and the pitches dry up then he moves to S/R. That said WP may have a completely different plan.

WP as got a different plan by playing a more attacking brand of Rugby ,and by the look of it not trying to fit square pegs in round holes . Could be interesting to see who gets the first crack at L F word

There’s a lot of options for 13 in Whitbread, Pitts, Crowther, Walker, O’Donnovan, Bowes. It’s a position we are stacked in.

After re watching the fax game I think Whitbread has put himself well in contention for 13. Two try’s and involved in the buildup to another two try’s plus some drives which were Westerman-Esque (he’s a similar build too imo). Probably gave Poching a headache he didn’t think he’d have.

To be honest I’m happy with whoever Poching goes with at 13 as they all have something to offer. It’s great to have so much depth!

On the two games I’ve seen so far I’d go:

Fifita
Hood
Battye
Tanginoa
Pitts
Whitbread

That’s some starting forward pack imo. I’ll probably change my mind after fev game but I’m starting to get excited for the season!

As a fan I think POR is a horrible ground to go to. Probably because we only visit in winter once a year and it always seems to be the coldest day I’ve ever experienced! I always come away not feeling my extremities no matter how many layers I put on lol!

I agree about the pitch seeming somewhat narrow. It doesn’t really suit us and as you say fev will be looking to stick it to us no doubt. It’s a very strong line up from trinity so will be interesting to see how we get on.

I just can’t wait for the season to start now.

The pitch is full sized, including width, and has been for a few years ie 100m long and 68m wide. It just feels more narrow because the stands are so close to the touchlines. You are right about the slope also being reduced a few years ago, although it is still there but to a lesser degree.

I don’t doubt you but as you say for some reason it does feel narrow. What you also have to remember is that we Trinity fans have been spoiled by having an extra wide and level pitch, BV’s only saving grace. I get the same feeling at Cas tbf however for some reason I find POR more intimidating.

Another odd thing about BV is that there are a number of tall mature trees on its outskirts and I always think this gives it an unwarranted grandeur.

Trojan is right about one thing, it’s twenty odd years since we have played you out of the depth of winter so that never helps.

Finally I really miss playing Fev, they were the club that got me into British RL when Bob Ashby and then Richard Evans were in charge. You owe me a lot I spent days helping sort out the new stand after the old one burnt down in 1984 ish? My main contribution were the two boxes, I think it’s two, took me ages to convince the board they were a good idea.

I never minded RL being a local game for local folk and I miss the genuine rivalries that you just don’t get now. The build up to the Fev game meant something as did the result. If Trin beat Leeds, Cas or Fev I walked tall in our Pontefract factory for the whole week and bragged myself to death. I never worried about minimum standards or the club going bust because there were none and all clubs went bust and started again. What mattered was the game and the following days report in the YP. Happy times.

This is a good point, I think the one year you were in the Middle 8s we didn't qualify for them, and we haven't drawn you in the Challenge Cup for years have we? My memory might be failing me but I think we haven't played you in a meaningful game (ie other than pre-season) since that fateful day back in 1998?

Hoping for dry weather up to and including Sunday as the pitch was very heavy for the Leeds game, though I'm blaming Wakefield for that (Wakefield AFC that is, who played there the previous day - they are away from home this week).

We got drawn to play you in the cup at our place but the initial covid outbreak put an end to that!