You are a complete bell with an end.

Arona was superb last night and Crowthers first stint was possibly the reason that we were able to take a 12 point lead.
Crowthers distribution from dummy half was excellent too.
Still need to sort out our best FB and HB combination, which is leaving us short in attack.

Also, how good was the last minute tackle from Johnstone.
Although the game was gone, it was one of the highlights of the game.

The players put the effort in last night which produced an overall better performance but not in terms of structure either in offence or defence. It was a better performance because of the players having a dig and also because we arguably had our first choice 17 on the field.

You can argue that Jowitt and Hampshire would be in the best 17 with one or the other at Full Back or Half Back and I think that’d be about right.

Walker looks completely out of sorts and perhaps even unsettled at Wakefield, maybe it’s a move that just isn’t working out for club or player with neither at fault.

Gigot was a strange signing right from the start, some would argue it’s another stupid signing by the Carter/Chester brains trust. There was no need for him, just play Max at half.

I could see the improved attitude from the players last night and it was pleasing to see but it’s one element of the performance and on its own was nowhere near good enough. Wigan had around 8 players in their late teens to early twenties and were missing a few like O’Loughlin, Bullock, G Burgess, Smithies, Manfredi, Marshall & Greenwood. French moved from Full Back to the wing and Hardaker moved back to Full Back from Centre. Let’s not forget this is a Wigan team that got beat by HKR a couple of weeks ago!

We looked like we might get something from the game for about 20 minutes but then conceded 26 unanswered points. We had a platform through the forwards for a while but despite being busy and flashing along the face of the opposition defence Miller created absolutely nothing, sorry but he’s never going to control a game and create try’s as a First Choice Half should.

The Crowther pass that some are criticising created a try, I was always taught that you shouldn’t expect a perfect pass and need to be ready to work a bit to catch the ball sometimes. That’s what Arona did and we got 6 points, if only we could get another 4 scruffy try creating passes we’d be doing OK.

I’m in agreement with Mopsey, I applaud and welcome the better attitude but I’m not accepting the poorly organised, incohesive attacking and defensive structure that ultimately undoes all the effort from the players.

But surely that comes with continuity and building combinations on the field?

We had a completely different spine from the previous game...1,6,7 and 9 were all different players. We can all criticise the lack of creativity, cohesion etc but how much impact has Covid had on us in that respect?

CC said the other day it’s the first time for ages we had an intense training session with 13 v 13 and there was clearly a huge improvement from recent weeks. We were a little rusty in execution but can be expected with the constant shuffling.

I can’t agree with the sentiment that we shouldn’t applaud mediocrity because it wasn’t a mediocre performance....

People slagged CC off last week for throwing players under the bus (when we were poor by the way)...then fans come on after what was a good performance and call it mediocre...doesn’t make sense?

I agree Gigot was a bit of a strange signing but can see why they did...we looked to be crying out for a bit of a spark in the halves and he became available so was a bit of a gamble, probably brought on by pressure..

What last night showed to me is that there’s still plenty of hope for next season if we get the crucial signings right...just look at that performance and imagine how good we could be with an Aidan Sezer type player...he proved against us and Cas the other night that a top class 7 can really, really make a difference...

Max is reported to be isolating according to the other board

Going to get shot down ,but it's water of a ducks back though it showed how much we had missed Miller, in fact with Pitts was my man of the match Nice to see Crowther getting stronger .Think we need more attacking options at 7 and 9 but think overall this performance gives us hope for next season But a long way to go yet

Up the cats wrote
What last night showed to me is that there’s still plenty of hope for next season IF WE GET THE CRUCIAL SIGNINGS RIGHT...just look at that performance and imagine how good we could be with an Aidan Sezer type player...he proved against us and Cas the other night that a top class 7 can really, really make a difference...

That's the most important thing "If we get the signings right" Just get what we need.

I never used the word mediocre!

What I see is we’ve got a good squad bar one or two key positions what we lack is any kind of effective defensive structure or understanding of how to work together as a defensive unit. We have no attacking structure beyond the lead run and a man sweeping from the back or a kick to TJ, teams can defend that all day!

Last season there were a few clubs who were obviously moving beyond the prescribed lead and sweep shift attacking structure but not us, our coaching is uninspired and behind the times.

While

I’ve watched the game back 3 or 4 times now and the dropped ball by Powell which was a 100% no try and the Bill touch down from Tom’s challenge was a try due to Bibby knocking it back should have been a closer game, I honestly believe that we were not that far of in all areas in the game. This is no way defending past performances but I honestly believe we could and should have won this one.

But then again Farrell’s pass to Burgess wasn’t forward IMO.

I thought that at first however the camera angle was very deceiving.

I agree, my initial reaction was that it was not forward however when you watch the replay Farrell is behind/on the 10 metre line when he passes the ball and Burgess is about 2 metres past that line when he catches it.

Don’t want to put a downer on the “ How poor were Wakey “ thread Willzay, but I’m afraid Fordy is right and the decision was correct. If you’ve recorded the game it clearly shows it.

Definitely forward IMO