On one hand I kinda feel that the rule changes that have been effected over the past few years with the emphasis on giving advantage to the attacking team, have been pretty good on the whole.
On the other, it seems like they've gone too far.
Can't really make a call on the Wakey Cas game because the Wakey defense has been....variable....I think its fair to say its a work in progress, whereas the Cas offence has been ripping it up all season, that is more of a constant.
Looking at the Cas card accepting we're only 9 games in, they have a stupid points count in some games and something close to ordinary in others whilst still playing the same brand of rugby.
So, I dunno if its fair to suggest the changes have altered the dynamics so far as to severely disadvantage the team without the ball, clearly some teams have managed to defend well enough to stop Cas running amok, if not actually win the game.
So does defense need to up its game, because this will be the default nature of attacking RL for the next few seasons.

Just watched the first half back on sky. To be honest I think the real killer was the two quick tries before half time. I'd have taken 24-12 at the break. I think the real difference between us and Cas is how clinical they are when attacking our line. More often than not we lack that creativity/skill in the final third to either score or try or force a repeat set. I'm not too down hearted after that performance. Roll on Wigan

Williams (George that is) and Escare will have a field day.

Oh well.......might as well not go then


we're doomed I tell ya.....DOOMED



pfft

Having read many comments about the Cas game many adjectives are used to describe their team and these are the ones that get mentioned the most, quicker, stronger, agressive.

Many of us also remember plenty of present Cas players from a few years back. To a man they have now all become quicker ,stronger more aggressive.

If I could choose one person from Cas to bring to our club it would be their conditioner because whoever he is, I believe he has had a massive influence on them.

Our conditioner seems to be sackless

To be fair all our 2nd half performances since the Leigh game have been pretty good so i'm not sure you can blame a fitness issue.

Win 4 out of 5 and not a murmur but lose to Cas, who can't be where they are because of who they are and all of a sudden our conditioner comes into question.
We got beaten by a team that exploded our disruptions, by a coach who knows how to take advantage of this by players who are well drilled.

Been away all weekend, so have just watched and agree with most of that. I said before the game that intensity and our defensive line speed had to be on point from the first minute, plus we couldn't give away any errors or penalties. It'd simoly allow Cas to get into the rhythm they've been playing so far, with quick PTB, which allows their forwards make good yards down the field & thus it happened in the 1st half.

We just didn't get to grips with their speed both in defense and attack. The other thing we couldn't do is start slow and hope to come back in the 2nd half, like we have in a couple of other games,. Cas are too good, especially at home for any chance of that happening. Although we did play better in the 2nd half, it was a too little too late, although encouraging that we didn't roll over and get our bellies tickled.

Has as been mentioned, I'm not sure why we didn't start FInn again. I think we've looked our best when we've started with Finn and Williams and when Miller has come on as an impact player. On the topic of Williams, if you watched him play in the NRL, everytime he played they'd mention he's the best back up half in the League. His game was all about accurate kicks, his short and long passing game and spotting a gap to put players through. He's shown glimpses of that this season but hasn't done so consistantly. Don't know if he's still settling in and finding his feet over here like some Aussies do or what.

As for finding our level lol, I don't know anyone that thinks we'll be better than in and around that 6th to 8th positions.

I'm looking forward to the Wigan game tonight


If pushed I would say Wigan andvCas for the grand final this year so to play the top two teams in the same weekend is a big ask ...

But I like this Trinity squad ... they have done heart and no little skill

99 % of experts had us finishing 12th before a ball was kicked. Most non Trinity fans had us in bottom two, many Trinity fans had us in bottom 4, many in bottom 2. So our level was bottom two. We are now fighting for that 8th spot. Realistically Saints and Warrington are not going to finish in bottom 4. We need to keep ahead of Widnes, Leigh and Huddersfield ( who will find some form ) making sure we win all games against them and take advantage of the magic weekend extra fixture against Widnes. We have got to hope that Catalans go through another dodgy patch and we must if possible win our home game against them. Catalans are the team we are going to have to finish above in order to get 8th.
With the squad we have 8th would be an incredible result, 9 th would be excellent and 10th above par. Finishing 11th or 12th would not be a disgrace, the league is even and only Cas have shown to be a cut above the rest. Huddersfield will get better and so I think will Widnes, no easy games thats for sure.

I may be a "glass half full" guy, but I really don't understand the negativity, we're not even half way through the first 23 fixtures yet and we're doing quite well. We've just been beaten by the grand finalists (probably/possibly), Cas are beating most teams, Wigan were fortunate to leave us with the 2 points. Lets get behind the team and shout them onto more wins this season.

I agree. Our glass isn't full but it's more than half full for me.

we gain nothing from going home and kicking the cat!

against Wigan I thought our defence was outstanding ... they have some class and an international quality spine to the team.... we handled that well...

I thought however that effort meant we had little energy left in attack

just below the champions.. in a very tight game... that's a level that should make us happier, than not!

our next objective is to do that in every game...

so far this season we have slipped in effort and application on far fewer occasions than I have seen in previous seasons... that's progression

next test is Warrington.