As sad/hard as it is to say it; you've got it spot on with regards to penalties. I don't think I've heard a post match interview with Smith yet where he hasn't criticised the ref.
I understood it last year as it took some of the pressure of of the players, but continually blaming the ref and the interpretation in the UK just gives the players a cop out and they start to believe they're beaten as soon as a string of penalties go against them. That's how fans think, not coaches and players!
I have to say that, at present, your standard of fitness would concern me too. This could be down to your preseason being conducted exclusively indoors. Heavy pitches require different conditioning and you can see that the players haven't done much on them and are blowing far too early. I'm sure they'll look better on a summer pitch, but can you afford to wait till those pitches come, if they even do?!
I'm sure I'm not telling anyone anything they don't already know, but Halfback is a key area for you too and to go into the season with your hopes pinned on Finn & Miller was a massive gamble. It was all the more baffling when Godinet was allowed to leave, but it is what it is and I'm sure that what you have will be enough to stay up. The question is how much longer can you go on like this?

Fitness isn't the issue, it's turning the ball over cheaply and having to tackle on repeat sets.
It's skill and team work that needs to improve.

Can were better than us. We have to accept that.
There were a couple of things that the ref picked up that were questionable but Smith didn't say we lost because of the ref, he simply said there were some decisions he didn't like. Nothing wrong with that. Powell isn't exactly a ray of sunshine in his post match interviews when they have lost.

Smith said it was our discipline and our game management that cost us, and the fact that Cas were better.

Steady good post, especially the last paragraph which I have highlighted.

After what this club went through and more importantly, put its faithful supporters through last season I really expected to see more improvement. I would have thought that the close call in the Million pound game would have given the club a massive incentive to improve and push on. So far it looks like our leaders are just dishing up more of the same and yet again loyal supporters are being asked to like it or lump it.

At half time 18-6 one of my mates said "good half but remember last year"

I actually think the team that turned up at cas last year were far superior on paper.

That come back was influenced by the likes of

Tim Smith
Ali Lauititi (especially)
Danny washbrook
Pita godinet
Paul mchshane

Those were 5 genuinely influential players who are no longer there and frankly haven't been replaced.

The squad looks more balanced this year and deeper, however quantity has been preferred to quality it would appear.

Looking at that team yesterday there were very few match winners, especially now it seems kirmond is a spent force.

The five players I mentioned above created opportunities from nowhere and it's sorely missed.

However, I do think Wakefield just need that first win and belief will creep it's way in.

Looking at the fixtures it must be hard to see that win but it will inevitably come.

Ultimately it's still very much a bottom 4 squad, so realistically the team has 5 months to gel.

Any improvement this year will be a bonus and if that means finishing 3Rd in the middle 8 then who would complain?

Your point is well made Dave.
At the end of the day our squad is a bottom 4 squad. If they over achieve they may get 8.
Cas has a top 4 squad and if they under achieve they may get 5th.

It's not good to hear from a rivalry point of view but they are the hard facts.

Cas isn't the game to be upset about losing. We have better games ahead of us. Hull KR is a much better test of where we are. It was disappointing to lose the game in teh middle 8 against them as we had it won. We will see how we perform this time. Clearly they will spot us as a must win as well, so not going to be easy.

Our key players will need to step up. Half backs especially.

From watching the video, I don't think Finn can be criticised for not diving on that ball that led to the early try. The ball was clearly behind two Cas players and by not making a pointless dive at it, he was able to join the defensive line. The problem appeared to be that Gibson went wandering, leaving Reece Lynne exposed. In fact, the video seemed to suggest that the problem is down that side defensively, as Gibson seemed to spend most of it turning to watch someone go past him.

Some of the tackling looked woeful from a tired and beaten pack. That is inexcusable. If you can't be the best, at least be the fittest.

My take on the half-back pairing is that Finn and Miller have very similar games. The best pairings have different styles of players: one who will run the game, and another who can exploit gaps.

I'm prepared to be patient, but my willingness to give up afternoons and cash to watch pummelling after pummelling will wane quickly.

On the realistic side, however, on paper the result is not unexpected. How sides start a season is never an indication of how they finish it. Do we really think Huddersfield, Leeds or Catalan are nailed on bottom 4. On current form, you'd say yes. Who knows how the dry months will turn out.

any news on the lad who got knocked out for you guys? Looked a bit nasty initially

Watch the highlights, would have been a tough ask for him to get on that. He was close but upon seeing the replay, very slim chance of him getting that.

The highlights also shows ....imho... Lyne making an excellent tackle but Solomona being slightly more excellent.
I thought Lyne did everything right to get across to Solomona and hit him hard in to touch. It's just that the guy has some serious skill sand still managed to get an arm free to score the try "superman" style.

There was some woeful tackling on that video and there isn't much excuse, but the repeat sets leading up to it are what makes them look tired in my opinion, not their general fitness. BUT in the one where I think it was Roberts scored, Scruton had hold of him and was clinging on with at least 3 players watching him. If they'd joined the tackle, he'd have been put to the floor. It's a shame, but that game has gone now. Can't tackle him now, only work out how to tackle Kelly or Dixon instead.

Couldn't agree more. Solomona is a freak. There was nothing more that Lyne could realistically do there. Solomona had no business whatsoever scoring that try.

Trinity need to win the forward battle or at least be on a par if their half backs have got any chances to create against quality teams like Cas.

IMHO Scruton and Kirmond need to be 'rested' ...their stats are very poor and no one should be guaranteed a position in the team not even the Captain if they are off form. Simon and Molloy need to come in respectively to give the pack some go forward this week.

I'm not sure where this belief that Finn has a good kicking game has come from. At Cas his best role was right in the middle, passing the ball from one side to the other while other more creative players carved out opportunities. His kicks were always a small little dink over the top which are far too easy for the opposite team to catch, he did plenty of those yesterday. There always used to be a groan around the ground when he got the ball and not Gale on the last tackle because we knew what was about to happen. So I don't know why a fair few Wakefield fans believe he has/had a great kicking game.

Saying that, overall he did a solid job while at Cas and was responsible for a couple of important match winning trys/drop goals, if you had a more creative half alongside him I think he will doing ok for you. I'll stick my neck out and say I honestly think if you still had Tim Smith then it would be a half decent partnership but that's all in the past now.

On another note, around the 55th minute Wakefield just seemed to give up, no one appeared to want the ball, most players weren't rushing to form a scrum or take a quick tap. Then with 35 seconds left until the final hooter, it was like it was a one point game and the Wakefield players rushed to form the scrum. I can't get my head round that at all!

.


On another note, around the 55th minute Wakefield just seemed to give up, no one appeared to want the ball, most players weren't rushing to form a scrum or take a quick tap. Then with 35 seconds left until the final hooter, it was like it was a one point game and the Wakefield players rushed to form the scrum. I can't get my head round that at all!'"

you often find that when a team gets beat by 34 points, they concede more penalties than the other.

Wakefield were on the back for for 75% of the match so will inevitably concede more penalites. Their discipline was poor in general, be it infringements, handling errors or last tackle plays.

Unless by saying "37 penalties" you're suggesting the ref is to blame... Child is very petty and I'd be the last to defend him, a couple of shoulder charge penalties went against you that I didn't see as I was watching the play develop.

I don't think Mr Child had a bearing on the result yesterday though

I don't think anyone would suggest that Child influenced the result, only maybe the score line