Looks very fast and in other circumstances you might be right but Quinlan is in his way for FB, and I wouldn't swap them over.

Good game and result. Letting in 4 tries wasn't great though, especially the first which was quite soft. Sheens has got 22 rounds to keep tightening things up though. Bradford are out to prove a point this season and on that performance, will do well this year.

The highlight for me was the support play. Minns try on the stroke of half time was a prime example, but the one that impressed me most was the linkage between Clarkson and Scruton for Scruton's 2nd try. Sheens is working his magic here. Clarkson looks like a rejuvenated player and at last he is showing us what a good ball player he is.

I was disappointed with the way Rovers didn't get to grips with the outstanding leadership of Lilley. Did he get tackled at all in the game? If he hadn't of played it would have been a cricket score. One he returns to his parent club the Bulls will struggle. Pryce was way off the pace and is a spent force.

I was talking to Clint Newton after the game and he remarked on Rovers completion rates as an area Sheens will be looking for improvement. He also thought too much respect was being afforded to the Bulls by the players and the crowd. I daren't reveal what he thought of the ref!

Looking at the other results, Toulouse thrashing Batley sends out a msg of intent, and Swinton's big pack almost turned over London. A mate of mine went to the Fax v Fev game and said it was 'a rough, tough give no quarter slog in the bog'. Result of the day has to be newcomers Rochdale's thrashing of Dewsbury. I'm warming to this division.

Much more enthusiasm for me. Lots of support runners and passing at the line hence our forwards scoring down the middle of the park.
Lots of options seemed like we could score at will at times.
Hard to really judge as it was both teams first game. They kept going. Lilly kicked fantastically. Our kick execution was poor.
Thought our defence was ok. Dominated the ruck. Can only recall one break by them. Their kicking was excellent and scored 2 intercepts. Our back row can contribute a lot more which is promising.
A lot of positives.
Quinlan causes mayhem when he joins the attack. More to come from Moss, Heffernan and Abdul.
The ref....well.

To reiterate what a lot of people are saying:

1. The Championship is a great competition! It's fun and exciting and can get brutal at times. We are in our 3rd season here. So I hope for your sake you have a good season and get out haha.

2. Most Bulls fans were probably expecting a spirited 20 minutes followed by a 40-60 point hammering against what was essentially your full first 17? So we are buzzing that we managed to keep it to 30 and put on 24 ourselves.

3. We will get reinforcements this week and in the coming months. So hopefully our Summer Bash game will be class! Look forward to seeing you all there!

4. None of us were really bothered about losing the likes of Addy/Donaldson/Shaw. Average Championship players. But you have gained unquestionable talent in Clark and Moss. With your support play being good you won't be wasting Moss too long. He needs to be at FB and maybe need to think about maybe putting Quinlan in the halves or something. Yes I know he did well, but long term.

Finally. Enjoy your season You'll come up against tougher opposition that us. London and Toulouse look like very strong prospects for top 4. I counted out Rochdale, Swinton and Oldham before this weekend and they all look really good too! So good luck and see you in Blackpool!

its not the championship clubs we are bothered about its the middle 8s were our problems may start if we cannot beat Rochdale Swinton etc we may as well give up

I think you are right about moving Quinlan to the halfs. It won't be long before Sheens relises that Addy and Abdul are essentially the same player.
We will need to find a running half to use the ball that our forwards are looking to serve up.
Yesterday we looked like what we are, a new team playing their first competitive game together, by Summer Bash we should be a lot slicker and more organised.
Bradford will improve with more personal, but so will we !

How did abdul go?

He did well. One really strong run that stood out. Pretty solid in defence and attack.

Bradford deserve huge credit for the spirit they showed, after what's happened there. Some good players, especially in the front row and Young Lilley - but also 3 or 4 lads who looked like they'd come straight out of under-19s. Very probably they had. Add in a few more signings and, if they can add some cohesion to their play, they should avoid the drop. 12 points is a lot to make up in 22 remaining games though. It might be the Championship 8s before they climb off the bottom.

Despite conceding 24, I thought we did okay defensively. The first try was soft, but the second was a good kick, and the two interceptions were attacking misfires rather than defensive weakness.

With ball in hand it was nice to see the props chewing up the yards down the middle. Bradford, while not lacking effort, understandably didn't look that well drilled in defence. It'll be tougher in some other games, but we should get sharper as the season progresses too.

He did ok, is defence was good but our left edge didn't see as much ball as the right, so had limited chances to influence play.
I wasn't criticising him or Addy, it is just that they seem to want the same space on the field at times.
I think you need to play one or the other and a running half to exploit the amount of second phase ball we seem to be producing.

For me I suggested the Quinlan to the halves move purely to move Moss to FB but now you mention it. Addy and Abdul are pretty much the same. I'd personally play Quinlan off of Ellis. Can't see Abdul being your regular halfback.

Yeah I guess you are right in terms of a new squad playing together. Although if I were a Hull KR fan I would be very disappointed conceding 24 points to a vastly inferior and younger Bradford side. Alas these are small problems in a very long season. You should be well oiled by the time Blackpool comes around. Although I expect it to be closer than Sunday's game!

You should be bothered about the Champ clubs. Look at us last season? Same attitude and we finished outside the top 4. As an SL relegated side we had the attitude of "We will walk this league and get promoted". Please don't fall into the same trap. You should finish top in theory but there's still games to be won.

I really rated his performance against Bradford tbh. Not quite as good as Jamie Ellis who was a justified choice for Mom but JA put in a decent shift and contribution and didn't really put a foot wrong. He switched play well, he passed well, he ran forcefully, supported some runners, made good yards in attack. His last kick options could have been a bit better.

In defence, he was solid and enthusiastic.

Also to put the record straight, Bradford scored their final interception try from Danny Addy's pass and not Abdull's pass as was widely reported.

He has shed some timber since he's been with us and looks fit and hungry. He will only get better with more game time and to do that he knows he will have to play well. I think Sheens rates him too, judging by his post match comments. As a failed clairvoyant in another life, I predict he will sign with us permanently when we get promoted back to SL in Sept.

theres no way we will finish outside the top 4 cant see a championship club stopping us getting promoted it will be a superleague club

Privately this is my opinion and belief.

However in sport, definitive statements like this at the start of a campaign have a history of backfiring. Expect the unexpected and take nothing for granted. Just look at Leeds last year in SL. You should also take a look back at the posts of Zook Ema's Hose which he made during the Middle 8s last year. Unerring similarities in tone to yours and look what happened.

Don't underestimate Toulouse either.

hope the coach is not as pessimistic as you what I am saying is we will be in the middle 8s come july that's all. haven't mentioned we will be promoted. our chances will improve depending on strengthening the squad before the middle 8s . I am most definitely taking it for granted we will be in there hopefully with 4 home games