So if it's nothing to do with favourites (this is professional sport), why do you think he's not being selected??? Could it be that the coaches (who see the players all the time) don't feel the time is right for Max. I do really rate Max, but having said that, his one on one defence was embarrassing, so hopefully all that is being worked on.

Happy to leave this to CC to manage.

At least we get one on one occasions with Max. On Sunday there were far too many one on nobody.

I think you'll find thar might be a team defence issue as much as anything. I'm not saying Grix didn't have issues on Sunday because he certainly did, but it's a big leap of faith to say Max would have faired any better. Of course he might have had a blinder, who knows, all I know is that CC and JK will have picked the best players available from the squad to win the game.

We all quite rightly have opinions but the coaches are working on better information than us speccies, so you have to have faith with them, especially considering the position they have put the club in and the quality of rugby they have us generally playing. Nothing wrong with a healthy and reasonable debate about selection issues though

I really don't like the speculation that a player is not selected because someone doesn't like him - it's a bit fanciful to suggest that a professional coach in a results driven environment would be so petty; if there'd been a dispute with a player, the coach would surely sit down with him and thrash it out, so he could get the player back on the field and contributing to his own success?

So - there's much more likely to be a very reasonable explanation for why Jowitt hasn't been selected and Grix has been thrashed to death; I'm inclined to trust the coaching staff.

Grix has looked a bit shy on confidence at times this season.
Still not getting to the high ball, unless there is nobody near him and just looks to be holding back slightly.
He's been very good overall this season but, as I mentioned previously, Max must have broken a mirror after the league game at Salford. The lad was excellent that day and Grix, along with others, had a shocker in the cup.
Let's hope he gets another shot and then makes it even more difficult for Chester to leave him out.

I said the same regarding Grix and his positioning on sunday,

I feel that if he had made more of an effort to do his job and get to the ball first, rather than trying to block off Makinson for his first, then he could have stopped the try.

Also, why does Scott Grix feel the need to pass the ball on kick return every time?! some were in very dubious circumstances and actually left us in a worse position than if Grix had have just run forwards and taken the tackle.

For me, it is time to give Max a go. I think it has been said regularly over the last 1-2 months that he was our best player early on in the season and I agree, but how long can you give someone based on their performances in feb-may?

Jowitt to start against hudds.

Because that is the game plan. He passes to give the speed men as much time as possible to make a break.
It sometimes comes off. I'm happy for him to keep doing it as long as Chester likes it......though my heart of often in my mouth when he does.

dont think so .its because he keeps away from any contact ,with or without the ball

dont think so .its because he keeps away from any contact ,with or without the ball

So do you really think the coaching staff would consistently select a player who shirks physical contact ? Get real !

It does sometimes look like he shirks contact, see every time he has a kick to return or his effort for the Regan Grace try for examples.

Do you not think it could be that the game plan is set up in such a way that certain players do avoid heavy contact? Does Liam Finn routinely run into a 3 man tackle for example, or does he preserve himself by spinning the ball out and setting up a move? There are smaller pivots on the pitch who wouldn't last a full game if they were being smashed by forwards on a regular basis - and most fb's are now acting as pivots - so it seems entirely reasonable that they aren't expected to be involved in big collisions.

To suggest that Scott Grix is in any way a shirker, is just shameful.

You'd have to be extremely thick to not realise that Chris Chester clearly tells Grix to pass to one of the wingers if possible on kick returns since he's been doing it regularly all season. If the coach didn't want him doing it he would have told him by now.

So the next question is this then, why did Max not do this last year/ this year, if it is in a game plan for the full back to avoid any contact?