spurry went centre. emmett went second row & cooke moved to loose.i think. kes did 55. powley did 25.. is miller not putting any belief in powley?

Stu Sanderson has become the very embodiment of the Dons in the last two seasons.
The man has Dons written through him like a stick of rock.
His enthusiasm and delight in victory is a joy to watch.
I don't know what he must have thought today if he watched the inept performance of a supposed superior player.

The whole mish mash today was as a failure of dual reg players being accommodated at the expense of the team-spirited players that were dropped who were in hindsight doing a better job.
But it was just one game where things went badly wrong and we only lost by six.
I thought we defended really well, but our attack was woeful.
Worryingly woeful.
Yet we were good against Keighley.

We have gone backwards.
These dual reg players need to gel quickly and step up to the plate, otherwise what is the point of them.
I liked the team spirit we already had.

However we will get better, but expect the usual defeat at Barrow first though.
What is that all about?
It must be a mental thing.
Perhaps it's just become a tradition.

PS Why do some people get the hump when someone says the side played badly when it did?
If the side had played well we would be saying that as well wouldn't we, even in defeat?
Are we supposed to act like ostriches and pussy foot about so we don't offend anyone?
Good is good, bad is bad.
Bad is not good ......

COYD

Agree with your comment on Sanderson , his omission was a surprise, but i have still been slightly surprised by the level of criticism placed at the coach and the teams door. Yes they did not play well, they will know that, and we all have a go at picking the team, its part of the build up, but at the end of the day Tony Miller picks a team he thinks can compete, last season he was a god to some, after one game against a side who were already established in the division , and look to have got stronger, he doesn't know what he's doing?. We all knew it was going to be a difficult season, didn't we? The club have said they aiming for mid table, im not so sure about that, anywhere outside the bottom two will be a success.Personally i think we will be ok, its a long season; one game in

Just so there is no confusion.
I personally have nothing but praise for Tony Miller.

Second, I try my hardest nowadays to not mention players by name unless they play well.
Although I did mention Broughton the other day, but he is coming along a bit now.

I say things like the team played badly or well according to actual circumstances.
HTH

Not getting at you personally, you just highlighted the fact about people moaning and team selection, ie: Sanderson, which i agreed with, or particularly anyone who's posted, we are all entitled to an opinion , but at the stadium fans were already turning against the coach and players, some walked out after dewsburys final try. To turn on a team who have just had the most successful season in the Dons history , after one game, i found baffling. But each to their own i guess

Just to add, there were plenty who clapped the players off at the end and i thought the players looked gutted

Along with the team, the crowd seemed flat too. It was like the promotion party had just finished last night, or we were still preseason.

Re: Sando, I understand there may have been a family reason preventing him from being selectable

A couple of times when the crowd really were fired up, we dropped the ball or made a forward pass on the next tackle. Summed up our day, really, especially when later on we managed to knock-on on the first tackle in their 25.

Incidentally, am I right in thinking that if a player is dragged into touch, rather than pushed, a penalty can be awarded this season? Surely Cowling was dragged into touch in the second half?

Correct, I don't think the ref got the memo about rule changes because he didn't play the new advantage rule either. Both teams had opportunities to use it but were both denied by the ref whistling before the tackle was competed

Glad about that. The ref was getting from me.

Otherwise it would have been

Can you explain the advantage rule again please? Am still none-the-wiser from your programme notes, der

James Clare anyone?
Perhaps Baroness Emmuska Orczy would know, if she was still alive.

Oh, I get it now , thanks for that, the working example did it

I thought the advantage rule was a given already but at least now it's set in stone...or not...if you happen to be called Thomason