Hardly, more like the worst injury crisis the team has had to face several seasons.

Yes, there's been times in the past when we've lost several star players for games, but you'd be hard-pressed over the last few years to think of a time when three or four of our players have been out for several months at a time.

Quote ="The Magic Rat"Not too concerned by our slow start. We will have to get through a tough few weeks with the present injury situation but this can have a positive effect later in the season. Players who have played fewer games could be fresher later in the year. Bradford in 2006 were near the bottom of the league around June IIRC, but injured players started returning later in the year and they finished the year as Champions after a great run of wins( cheating the salary cap helped aswell!).'" I think that was 2005 not 2006. www.slstats.org/t5/Bradford+Bull ... mmary.html

Quote ="The Magic Rat"Not too concerned by our slow start. We will have to get through a tough few weeks with the present injury situation but this can have a positive effect later in the season. Players who have played fewer games could be fresher later in the year. Bradford in 2006 were near the bottom of the league around June IIRC, but injured players started returning later in the year and they finished the year as Champions after a great run of wins( cheating the salary cap helped aswell!).'" I think that was 2005 not 2006. www.slstats.org/t5/Bradford+Bull ... mmary.html

Quote ="FoxyRhino"I think that was 2005 not 2006. www.slstats.org/t5/Bradford+Bull ... mmary.html'" Yes 2005 it was.

Quote ="FoxyRhino"I think that was 2005 not 2006. www.slstats.org/t5/Bradford+Bull ... mmary.html'" Yes 2005 it was.

Quiet?

He was everywhere. He was very industrious whilst not necessarily always effective. Better than our 6 but neither can do anything with the way we played ball in hand and the complete lack of runners.

TBF he had to be as no other fekker was - I would describe our performance today (bar the last 5 minutes) as lacklustre and unimaginative.

Bailey was excellent but Peacock was immense - he played 80 minutes and the crossing incident apart - which was as much Burgesses fault as his IMO - he did not put a foot wrong

You are having a laugh - he was really good today, actually took the line on a lot more than he has recently - the better of the two half today

In a squad of 25 if you have 4/7 injuries - Sinfield, Donald, Eastwood, Ablett, Watkins, Delanney and Hall - add to BJB on loan you are down to 18 and given that 4 of the injuries and BJB are in the 3/4s you will struggle - a more even spread of injuries and you can cope.

Should be an interesting back line on Friday

Give over Gareth. That's taking defense of the player to the extreme.

I am also a defender of Bailey most of the time, but he was miles away from our best prop.

Some good and needed tackles, but not so great going forward.

Is there a comment anywhere on our great scrum half by the way? Now 5 out of 6 legues games he has gone missing and outplayed by his oppossite number yet again.

I'm not in the slightest bit worried. It's a long season.

I'd recall BJB if possible though.

Neither am I. Despite Huddersfields dominance yesterdya, I think with Sinfield in the side we would have won that no problem.

If he is back next week, it will make a huge difference to the side.

Agreed, i thought we lacked a leader. Someone to guide us around the park.

I'm unsure with Burrow at 1st receiver too

Not too worried, as has been said i reckon we can get through this period, then on return of the injured player start the climb for the top spot which is not beyond the realms of possibility.

I agree Peacock was immense but excluded from my criteria given he was playin 2nd row. I still maintain Bailey was the best prop.

So, which of our props out-played Bailey?


Yes there is, further up the thread. Try reading it. Also try reading Serge Storms comments. In fact, try reading, full stop.

Tbf G i thought he was switching between the 2 positions as when the subs came on!

he spent the vast majority of his time in the 2nd row.

Where was he at the death when McGuire dropped him off and we incurred the crossing penalty? 2nd row.

He started and finished the game there.

BJB HAS to be recalled.

Donald - 10 weeks out

Hall - Playing on one leg, right knee/hamstring heavily strapped and limping thoughout. Again no way will he be 100% for Friday.

Watkins - No chance of been fit for Friday by the looks of things.

Ablett - another 10 weeks out.

Webb - definately carrying a knock from the WCC still. Looked in discomfort at times yesterday.

Thats just the first choice wingers, reserve wingers and reserve full backs all fooked.

Yesterday was that bad that JJB played a full 80 at centre and Senior on the wing!

I was mulling this over yesterday and concluded that I would leave BJB where he is.

I think a full season at full back down there will do him the world of good as opposed to 7 or 8 games on the wing for us then back in the reserves,

For now, we might have to take a look at Coady and Bush again.

BTW, with the amount of game time JJB has had to spend in the centre and with Delaney's fitness I wonder if/when our coach will consider it a good idea to carry an outside back on the bench.

Ablett's versatillity normally softens the blow of losing a back during the game but as we know he's injured.

If Hall and Watkins are injured for Friday we will have to go with:

Delaney - Coady

Senior - Bush

We all love bush.

Which is why I asked the question. Had I been making a statement I would not have put a ? at the end of the question.

Yet no repsonse to the fact that 5 out of the 6 league games the oppossition number 7 has outplayed him. Some less knowledgable poster actually described him as the best scrumhalf in the league last week though.



Also how can we have an outside back on the bench when we are already weakening our squad by playing 2 hookers?

Very true. What was most dissappointing yesterday was the Buderus/Diskin partenship. For the 5th time this season it just didnt work.

Im Buderus' biggest fan, ive backed him up so many time since we signed him, but even im starting to lose faith.

The biggest disappointment for me (other than the result) was that yet again our kicking game close to their line was generally woeful. We seem to feel the need to have to score from every set of 6 close to the line rather than trying to build pressure to eventually wear them down. Doubly disappointing at the Galpharm where there is a very deep in goal area.
The other real annoyance yesterday was the Rhinos fans constant barracking of the ref, it was like a stuck record.
He wasn't perfect but he had a better game than our attack.
The fact that the Giants fans also thought he was crap suggests to me that he was fair to both teams.
My only quibble would be the Crabtree chicken wing that should have been penalised but wassn't, we could have no complaints about chicken wing that was.
Highlight for me defensively was Bailey's thunderous hit on Crabtree that galvanised us into our scoring spree at the end of the 1st half.
Cudjoe impressed me for them particularly in his kicking from the hand & his Richards like restarts. I don't understand why we don't try to adopt that style of kickoff. Frequetly due to the height he achieved we were attacking on the 1st set from a kick off 10m from our goal line.