Ive got to say what a great defensive performance from young stevie ward today for a teenager a great performance for such a yound lad in his first challenge cup match never mind first semi-final just thought he deserved a mention

ye hope he still goes to aus next week but hope hes back for the final

gives us legs in the forwards. was very good today

He said he'll sit down and speak to mc and do what ever he thiks is best, personally i cant see him going on tour

If McDermott can tell him with confidence that he'll be in the Cup final team then I can't either.

A willing runner, bu one who can also feed the backs. Any doubt I had about his defending is gone for me after todays performance

He has to be in the 17 for the final, offers something different.

His defence cannot be overlooked, it was superb. Hope he comes out to Australia and plays against our best youngsters, he will return an even better player for the experience.

Agree....dare I say we should also be adding Singleton into the mix too.

Kirke and Griffin I thought offered excellent support to Leuluai and Peacock. I haven't seen enough of Singleton to know whether or not he'd be a consistent improvement on any of the awesome foursome in a big game situation.

They did indeed (yesterday)....and on those performances they deserve to keep their places.

However, can anybody honestly state that has always been the case this season ? There is still room for Singleton IMO.

Unfortunately I simply haven't seen enough of Singleton to form an opinion on his merits over any of yesterday's awesome foursome.

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Forgot to say in my first reply - and it was supposed to be his thread so my bad - Ward continues to impress with every appearance. I was concerned a little whether McDermott was going to get him into the game but he was a big plus in all he did when he got out there.

Unique number (734) on it's way with his next appearance, unless somebody beats him to it but that looks unlikely considering Hood (4), Amor (3) and Singleton (2) are his only known competition at present.

Agree TVOC and good on Kirke he's had alot of stick on here and 99% came from me as for Griffin i thought he always had that in him but he took up another level today.
As for Singleton i personally rate the kid really highly and i stand by my posts made after earlier games in the season.

Neither has nantwich, but it doesn't stop him from forming a definitive opinion.

I thought Leeds bench props in particular were outstanding yesterday. Both Kirke and Griffin ran and hit with aggression and forced Wigan into trying to play around Leeds late in both halves. The idea of leaving either of them out at the moment for an untried kid is laughable.

Kirke was fantastic yesterday, could easily be his best ever game for us.

" At the moment "... Exactly.

Of course we will never know how much Singleton might have already cemented his never given opportunity when both Griffin and Kirke were consistently playing crap.

After so few opportunities too

It doesn't need to be. We've won 1 trophy this season, qualified for the final of another and we're in a decent position for the big one. As I said about Peacock before the game, it's not unusual for him (as well as the rest of the team) to drop off in mid-season. I would like to have seen more of Singleton, but McDermott's handling of Ward suggests that if he believes they're ready, he'll play them.

Kirke was justifiably criticised last season, but he's been twice the player this season. It was only last season that the criticism of him snowballed, mainly because he was doing just fine before that. He's always had this in him.

Stevie Ward is officially out of the tour to Australia.

Great news, I didn't think Ward would want to jeopardise his final spot by missing the next 4 weeks or so. Super league will surely be a better standard than playing with and against youngsters he is better than.

From a club pov it seems to be a great call but in all honesty think of the experience he'd gain whilst touring and playing against he very best at his age level!!
I think he's a great talent and will be one to build our future with but i still think he would have gained a lot from touring then again with nothing promised you cansee why he'd stay and try and cement his place in the 17 for the CC final.

These days when there aren't any proper GB tours it's a big missed experience for him. This tour would be once-in-a-lifetime, hopefully the chance of playing at Wembley won't be.

On the other hand, at least it keeps him out of the Australian shop window. Could see the cash-rich NRL trying to tempt a few of the better prospects from this tour into their own system.

To be honest, I think he'll learn/gain more from being with the team up to and in the CC final than on tour. The big game experience at his age will be fantastic.

And let's face it, a trip to Whitby is just like being on Bondi beach .....

The club were apparently very honest with Stevie's parents right from the outset when he was provisionally selected for the tour squad which was 3 to 4 weeks prior to the official squad being named and were told not to book any flights to Aus in order to see him play even though if released from the club he was almost a certainty for the tour

As long as Stevie was performing in the first team then he was not going to be released for the tour