The bookies (Wm Hill) are giving us 8 points on the handicap and it will probably be a tight first game.
Desperately hoping for a Wakey win and it's probably a good time to be playing them (we have a more settled squad and they have new players in key positions)

It would be a great game for Owen to score a couple and prove some of the doubters wrong.

Come on Trin !

maybe thats one of suprizes in sundays team alluded too at the fans forum that johnstone gets the nod ahead of owen

Think you're probably right there, I wouldn't enjoy seeing a Carney V Owen match up.

There aren't too many wingers that can match up to Carney.
We have to try and make sure that we either keep the ball away from him or, at least make him turn round.
The guy is a beast with ball in hand but, his game is all power and not quite so much fancy footwork etc.

Having said that, Owen against his old club should have a point to prove.

I think teams later in the season got him Sussed, just make sure there is enough cover so your centre and winger can double tackle him.

Holmes, Roberts and Moors are all fit according to Powell in todays paper. I love your optimism but I think the clubs around the bottom are so close the hope to win all 3 three opening games is a big ask, although not an impossible one. They will all be tight I reckon with a score or so either way in each. If you offered me 2 wins from 3 now i'd snatch your hand off. FWIW i've got us down to finish 10th ahead of Hull KR and Widnes.

Agree on both points. Our squad might not be as big as Widnes, think they have over 30 odd players but imo it's got more quality. They're playing decent against Wigan tonight so far though.
Hull KR, they've had a masssive player turnover. As we know that can be a nightmare, especially the first half of the season, which is more important than ever to get off to a decent start and I'm not convinced by a couple of their big signings. Could be wrong but we'll see.

Bit off topic but great draw for Widnes that. Wigan lost it at the end there,very strange for them. 16-0 up 1 man advantage and they somehow manage to only draw. Hope this is sign of how close this season is going to be.

Think the way widnes battled tonight shows just how tight the bottom half of the table is going to be. We really have to be on our mettle from the get go.

Yes, I think Wigan almost took it for granted at half time that they were going to come out, go through the motions and win. What they didn'y exect was the fight in Widnes and also how sometimes going a man down gives a team a bit of a lift and can cause the oposition problems. Mainly because they've nothing to lose and they start to play a bit mre off the cuff.

Think we need our half backs to click and the big forwards we've now got such as Paea, Simon, Ashurst, Scruton and Kirke to really toughen up our middle defensively and give decent go forward. If that happens we will surprise a few again this season including castleford and avoid the drop.

Wigan were garbage that second half. But credit to widnes they fought hard for that point. Thought it would be a walkover with the bus wide gaps first 20 in widnes's defensive line but they patched it up.

wigan look to lack some creativity at half backs. The number 6 doesn't look ready on first showing. He drove it in well but that was about it. I'm sure wigan will be up there but think this may be there area of weakness this year.

Just bringing it back to something Wakefield related, Tautai was a real handful as usual. Just that one mistake from what I can remember, when he went without the ball near the end.

There aren't too many props either, you're correct though some teams sussed him out but some came unstuck.

Great game and a good result for 12 man Widnes. James Child ?