Hull Kr play a very boring though effective game. They played near identical tactics to the Grand Final. It’s not expansive, it’s a grind and they keep you in it set for set. They have very powerful wingers and a very good pack who aim to gain 4/50 metres, get on our 3/40 and pen you in on the left hand side with a short but high kick. Our kicking game was poor last night when we really needed it to get out of our own half to alleviate the strangle hold especially in the first half. We did fantastic to go set for set and for large periods looked by far the better team. I feel it was the little 1%’s that cost us at the end unfortunately, kicks out of play, poor kicking, knock on et al. But being neck and neck with last years finalists with I reckon 7 shoe in starting 17 players is absolutely incredible and I actually feel more proud of the team today than I did last week. Also a special mention to the Ref with some bizarre calls

Great effort from the lads, a chance to nick it at the end. 2 moments for me the kick out on the full by Jowitt and the knock-on which was unsuccessfully challenged, turned the momentum back in KR's favour, we was on a roll both times. Cant wait for the saints game! decent bit of rest for the boys get some bodies back and into em!

I don't actually think our kicking game was so bad last night. The key one was Max's u fortunately which led to the try. We were getting hammered on our line and couldn't get out of our 20 sometimes and the kicks weren't long to get us downfield but Lino was kicking them high to give us a chance to get there. Rovers have a great kick return so if we'd given them open field to run at we could have been caught out. Plus the drop out for Tom. Worked once, an inch off twice.

Also worth saying they scored off a piece of luck, though clearly a good kick and reaction, and a piece of individual skill. We scored off two edge to edge team plays. Both executed perfectly. Max's pass to Tom was world class. Bodes well for rest of season.

[quote="PopTart":16ax0k7e]I don't actually think our kicking game was so bad last night. The key one was Max's u fortunately which led to the try. We were getting hammered on our line and couldn't get out of our 20 sometimes and the kicks weren't long to get us downfield but Lino was kicking them high to give us a chance to get there. Rovers have a great kick return so if we'd given them open field to run at we could have been caught out. Plus the drop out for Tom. Worked once, an inch off twice.[/quote:16ax0k7e] Russell’s kicking game isn’t the best. I don’t mind Lino’s as like you say he kicks it up high to get out kick chasers there. They’re all little 1%’s. And yes there first try was beyond lucky. Apart from the Lewis try which was fairly soft, they didn’t look like scoring.

[quote="Pat Bateman":766gpzgi]Russell’s kicking game isn’t the best. I don’t mind Lino’s as like you say he kicks it up high to get out kick chasers there. They’re all little 1%’s. And yes there first try was beyond lucky. Apart from the Lewis try which was fairly soft, they didn’t look like scoring.[/quote:766gpzgi] Exactly, a lucky bounce off a crossbar was the difference. I said as soon as the ball was passed to Max it should have gone left to Russell. Max was under all sorted of pressure to get that kick away. But you know what. The players should all be praised after that. We will beat many teams playing like that this season. Keep it up because it’s working.

Still buzzing ,thought last week's performance was good ,but more impressed with last night ,Trueman out with a bug ,Hall past fit to play, but last minute call because of the bug .Fans go on about Warmsly ,but though he did well I see we got the (,if we lose let's blame Lino fans in again ) all the kicking had to be done by him ,as we had no experience 9 playing but thought both the young 9 went well ..The one player who is not impressing me is Russell .Had a chance to shine but did not bring a lot to the team last night .But the brand of rugby we are playing is on a different planet to any thing I have seen from Wakefield for a lot of years .And if we keep playing as a team to that standed every week, who ever is in the team, we are going to win more than we will lose

First time that I can remember, coming away from a game delighted with the team performance, albeit miserable that we lost. Effort and skill all 100%. Special mention yet again to Mike who just isn't human with the mins and workrate he produces!

[quote="Spookisback":1ksauk3u]my thoughts after watching the game twice.. mike Mckmeeken adds so much by being just out on the pitch... His influence tonight was off the scale... The middles (after a sticky start) equalled and sometimes bettered their much vaunted opposites. Vangana had his best game in a Trinity shirt.. He added impetus from the moment he took the field. Caius looked more settled and his contribution to field position set up the opportunity for John Stones try. I thought the halves were excellent, particularly with ball in hand (the kicking game wasn't great but neither was HKRs so I think the wind played a part in that) defensively we look so organised.. Two weeks running we concede our first try to a fluky kick. ollie Pratt grows every time he plays... May that continue... Big effort from Hall considering his sickness. Max Jowitt is fast becoming the best full back I have seen in a Trinity shirt in 50 years. And the team energy is outstanding![/quote:1ksauk3u] It seems like we mostly drew the same conclusions - apart from how we thought our halves went. I thought they were okay shifting the ball, but thought Russell in particular kicked poorly. Swap Trueman in and we win that game, in my opinion. Overall I'm proud of last night - we're going to be alright this year, especially when we get some bodies back in spring. Imagine our side with Scott, Trueman, Hood, Nikotemo (or Griffin) and Rodwell back in it.

[quote="Butcher":2rzjqcf6]It seems like we mostly drew the same conclusions - apart from how we thought our halves went. I thought they were okay shifting the ball, but thought Russell in particular kicked poorly. Swap Trueman in and we win that game, in my opinion. Overall I'm proud of last night - we're going to be alright this year, especially when we get some bodies back in spring. Imagine our side with Scott, Trueman, Hood, Nikotemo (or Griffin) and Rodwell back in it.[/quote:2rzjqcf6] Griffin, as a starter, is done for me, he was starting to become a liability in the Championship and he's another year older following a serious injury. He's back up now.

After comparing the 2 sides before kick off and expecting a KR team with a point to prove after their Cas match I thought we would do well to even come close tonight so I left the game immensely proud and upbeat about the season ahead. Powell post match comments are right, the boys are a superb team, showing up for each other and giving everything till the end. Pleasing points for me…we looks so dangerous when attacking out wide, our defence out wide has also massively improved. We can compete with a depleted squad against one of the biggest packs in the league, we have more quality in depth than I first thought. Special mentions to Jowitt, Storton, Pratt and Smith tonight who had fantastic games. Finally, I’m not sure who had a worse game the ref or Jarrod W Hargreaves. Both were awful.

[quote="Droopy":2nec8gdn]After comparing the 2 sides before kick off and expecting a KR team with a point to prove after their Cas match I thought we would do well to even come close tonight so I left the game immensely proud and upbeat about the season ahead. Powell post match comments are right, the boys are a superb team, showing up for each other and giving everything till the end. Pleasing points for me…we looks so dangerous when attacking out wide, our defence out wide has also massively improved. We can compete with a depleted squad against one of the biggest packs in the league, we have more quality in depth than I first thought. Special mentions to Jowitt, Storton, Pratt and Smith tonight who had fantastic games. Finally, I’m not sure who had a worse game the ref or Jarrod W Hargreaves. Both were awful.[/quote:2nec8gdn]The ref had the worst performance but it was close.

[quote="Droopy":3frjx1v6]After comparing the 2 sides before kick off and expecting a KR team with a point to prove after their Cas match I thought we would do well to even come close tonight so I left the game immensely proud and upbeat about the season ahead. Powell post match comments are right, the boys are a superb team, showing up for each other and giving everything till the end. Pleasing points for me…we looks so dangerous when attacking out wide, our defence out wide has also massively improved. We can compete with a depleted squad against one of the biggest packs in the league, we have more quality in depth than I first thought. Special mentions to Jowitt, Storton, Pratt and Smith tonight who had fantastic games. Finally, I’m not sure who had a worse game the ref or Jarrod W Hargreaves. Both were awful.[/quote:3frjx1v6] Agree with all that, but on the last part would have Touchie Griffiths as the worst on ground, did not even see Burgess in touch, never saw a forward pass or a high shot.

Oliver Pratt was trending on Twitter last night after the game. He's getting noticed and rightly so.

[quote="Big lads mate":161rlmah]The only thing between the teams way that doylam with the whistle, amazes me their interpretation of the game[/quote:161rlmah] Don't want to ref bash, but he made some shocking decisions..... Anyone remember the Kelepi tackled without the ball in the in-goal at Wire and he just played on??

[quote="burtonsrlfc":3c62mjpd]First time that I can remember, coming away from a game delighted with the team performance, albeit miserable that we lost. Effort and skill all 100%. Special mention yet again to Mike who just isn't human with the mins and workrate he produces![/quote:3c62mjpd] For me, McMeeken is the difference. With him playing 70/80 mins a game in the front row it’s essentially like having 2 international quality players in the team. How long he can do it for, I don’t really know. When Rodwell and Atoni are back that’ll take the pressure off him hopefully but he’s unreal is the lad. Genuinely international class who if he carries on playing like this will walk into the test team against the Aussies later in the year.

[quote="Trojan Horse":2rz0s08b]Exactly, a lucky bounce off a crossbar was the difference. I said as soon as the ball was passed to Max it should have gone left to Russell. Max was under all sorted of pressure to get that kick away. But you know what. The players should all be praised after that. We will beat many teams playing like that this season. Keep it up because it’s working.[/quote:2rz0s08b] That small centre of ours didn’t look bad against Gildart did he

I got that lost in the game and the way we were playing last night, I actually forgot the players that we were missing. What is really pleasing is no matter who is on the field, we are playing very much the same, perhaps not as clinical and definitely miss a bit of punch in the front row but it`s a sign of a very well coached side and more so a sign of quality outside of our first choice 17. Years gone by, if we were missing 7 or 8 first team players, we would be getting well beat by most sides. I can`t help but think if we were as close to KR were to full strength last night, we would have been a good 10 points better than them. On a side note, how good are we to watch with the ball?

I went into the game and with the players missing that we had I was hoping that we would give it our best and keep the score respectable but came away thinking we could have won that, regarding Hargreaves, what a waste of money he’s proved so far, I’m 64 and could make more yards, they should have kept Storton, what a signing he’s been, outstanding

I was unsure how dropping into the Championship would be for us but it's really improved our expansive rugby. Our movement of the ball along the line has been superb so far.

[quote="Pat Bateman":1mv8pcop]That small centre of ours didn’t look bad against Gildart did he [/quote:1mv8pcop] I’m glad you’ve finally jumped fully on board the Oli Pratt Train. Lads a real talent.

https://www.alloutrugbyleague.co.uk/new ... ngs-988083

https://www.alloutrugbyleague.co.uk/new ... ngs-988083

[quote="Butcher":2fw0hp1n]Gutted. I thought the scoreline was a fair reflection of the game, but wondered if we might just nick it at the end. Rovers defended really well and found a way to win, but we can learn a lot from that. Some impressions from the game (not conclusions about players, before anyone jumps on): Jowitt really is top drawer - potentially international class. Just thinking about a thread on here with @AnotherCasFan, in which they were sure Niall Evalds was a better player than Jowitt. You only have to put them against each other like tonight to see the difference. If Reece Walsh had thrown that ball to Johnstone you'd never hear the end of it. And what did Evalds do on the ball? Where was he during Oli Pratt's try? Jowitt was fantastic start to finish, barring a wayward kick. But he's got enough credit with me to miss a few of those. Walmsley isn't physically strong enough. He made some great runs in the second half, but if there's ever a body in front of him he gets whacked then dragged backwards. He's a superb finisher and drier weather will suit his game better, but so much of Super League is grunt and 'arm wrestling', and he just physically isn't powerful enough. What an athlete Oli Pratt is. The kind of player you look forward to watching each week. Caused them problems all night. Hall did Hall things but was apparently chucking up in the toilets at half time. Not much to learn about TJ is there. They contained him to making hit ups all night, aside from his try which he took well. Lino needs Trueman. He defended well tonight and he looked okay on the ball, but his kicking just wasn't good enough. On that showing, Olly Russell isn't up to it. He looked just like he did at Huddersfield - steady and toothless. Plus a couple of daft moments in the first half - a ball steal and a dead ball kick - that put us under pressure. I haven't written him off after one competitive game, but we need better than that. McMeeken and Pitts worked their s off again. Look forward to seeing the stats again, but they're carrying our middle so far. Doyle was steady. Defended well, passed accurately, didn't make any mistakes, but also never threatened Hull KR, who had two very threatening hookers in their team. Uele did okay but definitely won't be skittling defenders like he did in the championship. Quick play the balls though. Storton took some monster carries in the second half. Honestly barely noticed Croft. Didn't do anything wrong, and I know a lot of fans really love him but for me he's just filling a gap at the moment. Thought Vagana went okay. Still too slow to retreat and a few gaps opened up around him which fast teams will punish, especially in summer. Similar for Faatili. He's got plenty of potential but let's be honest, at this level he's not going to replicate what we've seen on his highlights reel. Harvey Smith looked good out of dummy half, but I'd like to see him use his speed and run more. There were a couple of chances for him to do that but he played it safe and passed to first receiver. I also don't think he won one collision in defence and that worries me. Overall that didn't feel like our game to lose. We're down on troops and still staying all the way with proven Super League teams, and that's what good teams do. We'll be alright, but we need a rest and a handful of our starting side back fit. After that we'll be grand. More confident next Saturday.[/quote:2fw0hp1n] I agree that Jowitt has looked really good in his first two games , and was better than Evalds yesterday . However , at the time of writing Evalds was a proven SL FB , Jowitt had performed well at SL level but not to the standards we have seen from Evalds in the past . That said , if he continues to improve then he will be right up there with the best of them , but it is still early days . Perhaps I didn't give him the recognition he deserves , and although I don't think you can judge someone on a season in the Championship , he has certainly improved considerably and looks the real deal at the moment . Good luck to him in the future (except against Cas of course )

PS , his pass to send Johnstone in for your first try was sublime

Watched it back on tv now. So many players had great moments in the game. I think it's the thing Powell mentioned, that we are a good team. As a team we kept supporting each other. It wasn't without mistakes but every time it happened someone popped up to support. Add to that the slickness of the passing when we were attacking and the fact that we had a number of 'next player up' players in the team, Powell has built a really tight unit of players. That will stand us in good stead for tougher days. Individually Jowitt was mostly outstanding. His pass for Johnstone was world class in my opinion. His tackle to stop Burgess was outstanding too. His drop out for Tom and his fielding of the kick where he had his foot over the line really shows his Super League quality. Shame he couldn't keep hold of Lewis for the try and the kick out on the full. Pratt really showed his skills. It hasn't been mentioned but he was playing on the right rather than his usual left. Many can't actually do that. He did it and looked outstanding. Sky will be talking about him every game now. Walmsley needs to work out how to get available for a pass when he makes those half breaks if he stays on the right. Pitts made 50 tackles and only missed 1. That alone is outstanding but his leadership on the field can't be underestimated. I like the Croft/Vagana split too. Croft does a lot of hard work and then Vagana comes on and really shook them around when he was hitting the line. McMeekan playing 80 minutes is ridiculous in today's game. He was good value when others would be getting tired but it will be good when Atoni and Rodwell come back to ease the strain.