while he won't be match-fit, leaving him on the sidelines without any competitive rugby to play won't help either, so I think he should be given a chance...either that or we just need to get rid. The current situation isn't doing Miller or the club any favours.

Completely agree.

Whats with the yeamo haters? Prob our second best player on sunday. Getting a good partnership going with talanoa. Will only blossom. Id rest shaul. Bring miller in. Azza to bench. Crooks made mistakes but think he should be given another chance this week

The longer we wait to play Miller the longer he's sat on the sidelines getting rusty and the longer we're without a 7, he needs to play.

agree 100% cal.

Our right edge defence is more of a concern than shuffling Horne and Azza to give Miller a game. 26 trys tells me that attack wise we're not to shabby.

Arundel deserves a shot and Tuson needs to get up to speed quickly or Whiting will be in without question.

Agree re right edge defence. In terms of changing the halves I did think the same in terms of the number of tries scored, however against a good Cas defence scoring three tries wasn't enough to win and we maybe took one or two wrong options. Miller has yet to prove himself at this level and his inclusion wouldn't be an automatic guarantee of improvement however there is a strong case for returning Azza to rotate hooker and Rankin did well at FB so by default it may be time to freshen things up. Pack is obviously the main concern for Sunday.

Chopping and changing on the back of a small number of game performances isn’t the best way to go. Fans tend to scream for players to be dropped after a poor game but the knock on effect of doing this too often is that players end up playing under fear of the chop then they will never perform with the freedom to be fully effective.
Crooks could end up being ruined as a player if he’s dropped one week, reinstated the next and then playing knowing one mistake and he’s out again.

Half backs equally need time to build up an understanding, and also a level of confidence to really dictate games and see themselves as the key players. Yes they may well be ineffective for a few weeks but they will improve and ultimately become clubs key pairing. Radford needs to make a decision on who he plays in the key spots and stick with it otherwise you’ll end up getting to the business end of the season and still be looking for the best mix.

i keep wondering if the reason Miller is not playing is related to the salary cap, if we offloaded him without him playing then we'd have his full salary available? assuming friendlies don't count that is. I am sure someone will know the rules on this.

That said, i would have played him from the start of the season to give him time

.

At the moment I'm happy with our 1,6,7,13 in terms of organisation(set and play structure), basic core skills and play tempo. Yes one or two wrong options were taken but I still don't yet see the need to shake things up around these key positions. Rankin on the bench I like as both times he's come onto the field off of the bench I've been quite impressed. At the moment Miller needs to be patient and when the time comes grasp his opportunity with both hands.

Perspective required here. We've been as good, ball in hand, as I can recall in a long time. With a different ref, we win comfy away at Wire, we've nearly beaten the league leaders on their own patch, the reason we didn't was down to individual defensive mishaps around the ruck area. Why change the halves?

The only change i'd make is to make sure Whiting starts. He'll probably be propping this week!

I agree to an extent, but I personally think (in the halves at least) our current problem is that we're backing the wrong horse(s). Horne and Heremaia is actually the pairing that has had the most time, but IMO at least it has been shown as not good enough long term. What we see, and will continue to see, is a few games where we're on top and they look more cohesive (which probably comes from the fact that they have played together the most), and then closer games where they're just not enough. What we need to do is give Miller another chance behind the new pack with a halfback partner who is interested most of the time and stick with him for half a dozen games at least.

I'm a big fan of Heremaia, but at hooker, he's simply not a half. Moving him there just weakens both positions.

Lummy,agree with everything you just said,total overreaction to a defeat,that we should of won.Also Radders need's trust Ben Crooks and give him time to be the player I think he will become.
Same team as last week with Whiting starting.

Agree completely.

Great post, Heremia goes a good job at halfback for the odd game, but isn't the answer long term. I am not sure Miller is, but he needs to be given a chance and as you say with a better pack and a more attacking game plan I think we might see Miller have a good season.