There will be a lot of talk of us bring robbed and so on. But we shouldn't have been in that position in the first place. Jones-Bishop is not a full back, he's a cracking winger but he is not a full back. He was out of position for the two brough kicks that he fumbled. I think we need to introduce a youngster from the academy like Ashton Golding. I like him but he's not good enough for the full back spot and just shows how big a miss Hardaker is.

He was crap.

He was shocking in attack and defence.

Ashton is too young (imo) and his body is definitely not ready to be playing superleague

One down, four to go.

Briscoe to full back, BJB to wing. Simple

Anytime a ball is bobbling along the ground BJB looks so shaky and hesitant. You're just waiting for him to knock it on.

In the first half he didn't commit to catching it on the full. He ambled across but didn't go at it full pelt, like he was in 2 minds, and in the end he ended up just bumbling it into touch.

In the second half he didn't sense the danger early enough, as soon as the ball left brough's feet he should have see n the trajectory and alarm bells shold have been going off.... 40/20 40/20 40/20. If he'd been more urgent in the early stages of the flight he'd have had enough time to keep it in. As it was he did make it there but just didn't take his chance to bat it in on final bounce upwards before it went down and out.

Those are 1%'ers. They can make a big difference in a game, especially in playoff games and finals.

We better hope hardaker is fit and not suspended when the big games roll around.

Actually, I think a move to full back maybe good for Briscoe for a few weeks. He looks a little out of sorts at the moment so putting him a position where he can get his hands on the ball and get his confidence back may do him good.

Looked poor tonight I thought

I agree he didn't look great and I think he's a far better winger than full back, but I have a bit of sympathy with him for the first 2 Brough 40-20's. The one in the first half he was trying to get to on the full and the 2nd was a perfect kick. Both done early in the tackle count and from the middle of the pitch IIRC, making it incredibly difficult for a full back to cover the whole pitch with no winger dropping back. The last one was bad though.

He didn't look mentally on it for me and played like a player who is on his way out which we know to be the case.
I wouldn't put Golding in yet far too early but switching T.Briscoe is certainly an option I'd look at.

I have to ask, why does anyone think that a player who has been largely anonymous these last few games in his preferred wing position, should suddenly blossom into a reasonable full back? And there should have been a taxi waiting outside Headingley to take that other Numpty straight over to Salford!

yeah,we have a scapegoat for everything that goes wrong for the rest of the season. Only one numpty here and it aint BJB

Scaape goat? He was terrible!

BJB positional play was poor tonight but he hasn't been playing for weeks so that could be his excuse. I think Kallum Watkins could be outstanding at FB.

BJB was awful but he's a class player and should have another week at full back to show it. Briscoe poor form has been going on for much, much longer and is more of a worry long term. He and Watkins just do not seem in sync.

I think you are spot on with that bit.




I don't think you are correct with that bit. They certainly looked in sync earlier in season. Think it is more to do with the ball coming across that way rather than the players playing there.

Also partnerships take time. I seem to recall the same said last year about Hall and Moon, wrongly IMO, but all the same they look very good together now.

BJB wasn't great, but as has been pointed out the two kicks by Brough were pretty exceptional pieces of skill.

Briscoe's form is indeed as much of a worry. He looked fantastic at the start of the season but seems to have lost confidence since a period of time out when the backs were rotated. That said, Moon has been inconsistent, Hall's role as an extra forward is bringing diminishing returns, and Watkins is not getting enough quality ball at the right time. I suspect these performances are underpinned by the disruption to the spine of the team. R. Ward isn't able to impose himself in the same way as Aiton or Burrow, and while Sutcliffe looks a good runner his passing and kicking are definitely inferior to those of McGuire. As has been mentioned, BJB isn't really a good full back (whatever he may think), and Hardaker was another huge miss in this respect.

I actually think Robbie Ward has looked pretty good in the last two games. he seems to be coming along quite nicely.

Sutcliffe drifts out of games for too long with moments of class in between. that is to be expected for his age.

We desperately miss Burrow. His absence demonstrates how much. Interesting considering how so few on here have ever rated him.

BJB had a nightmare. But I saw no evidence in our game plan that anyone had really considered the possibility that Brough just might attempt the odd 40/20 on any other tackle than the last. Then again, I saw precious little to indicate that anyone had given much consideration to our own kicking game either.

I can forgive the 40/20s because there wasn't much to get at before it went out, but I thought he ended up taking two kicks into touch which weren't even 40/20 attempts. Either take it on the full or leave it and we'll at least get the scrum! Hardaker plays last night and we probably would have won.

He's a great winger, but not a full back.

The first one was the on the 6th tackle. It was poor play from BJB, he had no reason to catch it on full. It would never have gone out, as the ball landed nearly 20 yards infield, it was only the bounce off his legs that took it to the touchline.

The second one I agree with you totally on.

The last one though, was extremely poor play.

Just highlights why Hardaker is so clearly better than BJB at FB. I would say they have similar speed, possibly BJB is faster but Hardaker's quick reactions and speed of thought and reading of the game would've meant he was off and heading off in the right direction by a few strides to catch/stop the ball before BJB has even made a move.

You want your pivot players to have this kind of confidence in themselves that sets them apart from other positions but BJB always look a bit timid and not like someone who'll go out to grab a game by the throat like Hardaker would try to do.

Agree with all of that Printer.
I would say that maybe Hardaker has had more practice at FB recently than BJB that might explain things a bit.
But without doubt we would have been in safer hands with ZH and he might have come up with something different in attack.

Granted Hardaker has had more time there but from what I remember from when he first switched there in 2012 he looked just as comfortable without really a 'bedding in' period.