Two points but defence was woeful a lot of the time, thankfully Saints were slightly worse. Plus points were Falloon at acting half improved us no end from recent weeks and Sutcliffe looks like he may be the one to take over the kicking duties. Still look lost on the last tackle and in general near the opposition line, McGuire is going to be such a vital player in the coming months.

Oh, and we are we song is getting on my bloody wick now!

Well it wasn't pretty, but it was an improvement.

Defence as a whole tightened up (but isn't where we know it can be). Hoping it's just a case of Ablett getting used to defending on the other side. Ferres and Zak I felt were the pick of the team, despite all the flack that was Galloways best game in a Leeds shirt as well. Burrow didn't do a bad impersonation of a scrum half and Sutty went, and kicked well. Even a week looking bench did well, with Mullaly and Walters both playing big minutes and not putting a foot wrong.

The biggest issue is the continuing poor form of Watkins (granted ball was limited). Not to mention Hall.

Zac was one of your best players??
He was terrible at passing the ball he just chucks it and hopes there's a Leeds player around and never broke a tackle until the 70th minute his only saving grace is his defence tbh

Galloway doesn't deserve the stick he's had on this site. He's not JP's replacement, JP is not replaceable in the modern game. Ferres also, pens apart, good good defensive effort. Not a purists game by any stretch, but Leeds ground it out.

Thought quality was much better than seen so far this season. Defence was quite woeful at times though. Ablett was getting murdered in first half in defence, and Zak was woeful too. Thought Hardaker ran better though today. Handley was superb throughout. Falloon made an absolute massive difference to our attacking game. Thought Galloway put in a good shift.

Clinton Toopi and Chris Mckenna also didn't pull up any trees in their debut season,but did come good eventually.Garbutt and Cuthbertson debut seasons were just a bonus.
As for tonight performace the 1st half defensive effort was pish poor, but improved in the 2nd.I'd be happier once we have a more settled squad,since at the moment it just seems to be one injury after another.Is Hall another victim?

Can't keep blaming injuries for poor performances.

The players are full time professionals, are they not?

Pretty much spot on. I'd give Handley MOM. Burrow did ok but not MOM like he got off Sky.

Agree but professionals can still lose form can they not?

Pretty scrappy game with far too many errors with a crazy period when we missed a succession of missed tackles. On the positive side Leeds played with much more enthusiasm and character exemplified by JJB who put in a huge effort and set a good example (did he play the full 80?)

I thought Galloway and Sutcliffe had their best games so far and I like the look of Mullally, I thought he went really well as did Ferres in defence. Despite some defensive mix-ups with Ablett, Falloon did some good work and made a great kick for Handley's try and Burrow was much better. Hall looked out of sorts again and Watkins seems to have lost his pace along with is concentration.

Hall looks shot confidence wise as does Hardaker. Hopefully a few more positive results will get the confidence flowing again throughout the side, it all looks a bit dis jointed at the minute and desperate at times but they showed some character to get the result even though we are miles from hitting our full potential imo.

Perhaps the sum is no longer greater than its parts?

I thought that but when you watch it back Watkins doesn't seem to realise he has Dawson tracking him and is cruising for the line.( at least i hope so

)

I forgot to mention Handley, he was great. One in the eye to all those wanting to bin him after one or two shaky performances.

You do know that you can't run as fast with the ball as without it? Watkins was caught up in possession by Dawson - who is very rapid - but that doesn't mean he's lost his pace.

Watkins used to be very rapid but for some time has looked to have lost some speed off the mark and pace over a distance. A couple of season ago he would not have been caught as he was tonight IMO. He doesn't look sharp or fully fit to me.

World's Biggest Winger out for 6 weeks.

Allegedly.

According to acolyte Peter Smith of the YEP.

He looked like a centre looking for his winger or inside man instead of pinning his ears back as a winger (as he was playing in the 2nd half)

What injury did you sustain that forced your year long absence in 2015?

Much work to be done.

Nice to see JJB play a full game. Falloon looks a compromise, has some skills around the ruck with the ball but a gaping gash in the middle defensively at times.
Still, he didn't get a lot of help from the chuckle brothers, Galloway and Cuthbertson.

Watkins was awful. I don't think he's lost any pace, he just didn't realise anyone was chasing him. Big mistake, always gas it, never assume your clear. Still, he was better on the wing than at centre in the first half.

I guess we're seeing what "off the cuff" looks like with players totally unaware of what each other are doing.
All Indians and no Chiefs.

Still, we were a level or three better than Saints. What a shower of $h1te.

Think it was something to do with his eyes, after trying to count empty Club Wembley seats. Must've been bad as he kept mistaking fans for empty seats.

Or... broke his jaw spitting his dummy out (again) when when he quit the forums (again), vowing never to return (again) leaving us to enjoy our "dying game".

Or (least likely) he he got a girlfriend last summer and she dumped him just after Xmas when she realised what we've all known for years

I though we looked much better with Faloon playing and doing well. Hardaker apart from the dropped bomb had a good game making plenty of breaks.

Watkins had a stinker, Hall was poor again.

Ablett was awesome on his return.

Big Keithy and Cuthbo did well.

Anybody know why Garbutt and Singo didn't play?

The less involvement Hardaker has in our attacking line the better for me - still a major weak area of his (his only weak area fwiw)

I think it's time to admit defeat in trying to push him into an extra pivot role and concentrate on trying to make into a support playing full back, similar to Wellens, getting on the shoulder of any half breaks. We'll need this even more so when McGuire retires.

McGuire has a calf tear so it could be a few more weeks. Singleton and Garbutt were dropped because their poor performance last week i.e. missed tackles primarily.

Interesting game last night - defence in the first half was attrocious from both sides, it should have been better given Thaler allowed both sides to be offside for much of the game.

On the positive - Galloway had his best game so far, Handley was really good and showed his versatility when moved to the opposite wing. JJB put in a huge stint as did Falloon who will improve once he gets used to the structure.

Very good turn out from the Saints fans which was impressive - Roby showed his class best player on the field by a distance

I kept commenting how less effective Roby is these days, didn't think he was that great at all. All their danger was McCarthy Scarsbrook, and Walsh because we wouldn't tackle him. But then again Roby was still a big presence in defence.

Our missed tackles though from certain individuals was pathetic. Your fullback you could normally excuse with breaks, but he normally pulls them off. Five missed tackles from Zak is poor. Walters and Sutcliffe also with five missed tackles each, and Walters wasn't exactly on for that long. Ablett with six missed tackles, which I am sure all or the majority at least we're in the first half. They are appalling stats for a champion chasing team. Our metres per carry is hardly anything to write home about, but as Thaler forgot about the offside rule, probably explainable.