Rugby League is hamstrung by its geographical limitations, always has been and always will be.

It's a bit early to evaluate the success of the Middle 8s though, the Bulls failure yesterday has much more to do with poor coaching and a lack of a winning mentality (which didn't even seem to exist during the unbeaten run).

A better coach would have got us closer to Wakefield and it would still be all to play for. I think Leigh will make it (through the million pound game rather than automatically) and disprove the theory that the gap is too far to bridge. We've had every opportunity this year to make our mark and build momentum towards the Middle 8s but I'm afraid Lowes has not capitalised on it because basically he is gash.

This. On paper, there is not much to choose between the sides. The difference was, as you say, ENERGY!. Wakey moved off their line and wanted to hurt us in defence, We stood back, and looked flat. In the biggest game of the year, Lowes has to take blame for this. Wakefield wanted that win at all costs yesterday. We didn't and it's an attitude i think has crept in this year. I'd say since May, there have been two games we have given our all in.

We've had patchy performances since then and Lowes reacted churlish to reporters saying it i will be all OK. When now is the time when we NEED it to be OK, and we're woeful and look tired.

His interview sounded like de-ja-vu. Lost count number of times he has said we were rubbish, but this performance won't define our season etc. That was a huge game yesterday and we put in another flat, poor performance in a game that really mattered. Before, when we've been cr@p against a championship team, he's had an easier game to recover. We don't have this now as we have another tough game coming up.

He now has a big job psychologically to pick the team up.

Oh and Adam O'Brien, one of our best players made FIVE runs from dummy half. The guy looks shot to pieces and is offering no threat in attack like he was at the beginning of the season. But hey he's a tough kid Jimmy so lets keep flogging a 21 year old for 80 minutes all season and wonder why he looks tired in the games that matter at the end

Still angry as i believe we have a team to get promoted.

If it's any consolation it seems Leigh did as well as we did against SL opposition....

Today's results just reinforcing the gulf between the two leagues. All the CL clubs scrapping for that 5th spot.

Leigh were competitive though and had a few things go against them. Wakey at home is a big one for them!

I have no doubt, I bet you hear it a lot!

Salford 46 Leigh 18 [despite Paul Cullen's assessment that "Leigh are the best team in the champ [iby far[/i"seems to suggest that there is a little more in play here than just Lowes [and presumably, Rowley being poor coaches.

The context of both our defeats is the fact we play in a league which, in general, is way below our [iactual [/i standard, let alone our potential standard and prevents us playing, week by week, under the sort of pressure which we need to allow us to compete at the higher level.

Maybe we should just play Leigh every week. It seems to fire everybody up.

Apart from our support staff, who behaved impeccably.

The bookies, as I pointed out as soon as the odds came out, are the unbiased realists and the odds of Wakey making the 2016 SL were 1/12. Which was greater than the other SL clubs. The bookies had Leigh as the leading candidate from the rest (at a miserly 6/4) but I assume that that is because the bookies know one Championship team wil be in the playoff final, and so anything could happen on that day. Barring that factor, the bookies always call it pretty close.

As for Lowes, as I have said, he led a team oto the field that on the day were flat, nervous and basicallly standing around in awe. Of Wakefield ffs. No disrespect, but our lads should have been full of fire and confidence and if they had come out and up and at em, and had a right good go, then i for one would not be complaining. But they didn't. And they didn't meekly surrender either. They just looked nothing like the team we have been for most of the season, instead verged on the shambolic for much of the time, and the blame must ultimately lie with Lowes.

"It's just one game"? Hmm. For me, as I also said, it was our biggest chance to try for SL this year. So far as I am concerned that result killed our chances stone dead. Pity, as I honestly believe that team could run Wakey very close if we played the right way, but Wakey did nothing extraordinary or frightening, they just stuck to their task, and yet we seemed unable to offer any response. So on the strength of that (and a couple of other recent results) you'd have to conclude that for whatever reason, this team doesn't have the dog or the heart to force its way into SL contention. God help us if they come out against the other SL teams in a similar beaten frame of mind, but anyway it doesn't really matter as we just blew our season.

Just seen the scores

Salford giving Leigh a good thrashing.

Maybe we aren't the only bottlers?!



If it finsihed now, we would be in the big game against Wakey. Even I wouldn't bet on us in that!

Leigh have a good go against Salford. A
Couple of things went against them. Wouldn't write them off next week at home to Wakefield.

Us on the other hand, if we give Rangi Chase as much time and space we gave Tim Smith yesterday, he'll put 50 past us on his own.

It is starting to look like all of the 23 rounds and these play-offs are pretty irrelevant as what will happen is the worst SL team will play the best CH team in a one off game at the end. That £1m game was planned to happen from the beginning. The rest of the games are just a build up to it.

It will all come down to the Leigh Vs Bulls game and then a game with a SL team. So, looking back those 23 games meant nothing as Leigh and us were always going to be in the top two and one of us is going to be in the last £1m game.

If fans see that happening again next year Mr Green may regret saying it was the longest pre-season in history as those fans may decide to pick and choose which of those 23 pre-season games to go to next year. Why pay £220 for 11 warm up games.

That is the problem for the RFL if it becomes obvious that everything is meaningless until the last few games in the play-offs.

This is why I said weeks ago that these play-offs are good but the the top CH team should get automatic promotion and bottom SL team get relegated. The other 6 could then play-off for additional up and down places. 6 team play-off not 8 teams.

That would make all teams push right to the end in the normal 23 games as one goes up / down each year and stop such as Wakey preparing for play-offs half way through the season. Once you are guaranteed in bottom 4 or top two what is the point in trying any more till the play-offs.

I think this would be a better idea as two teams would get what they deserve and other 6 would still have something to play for.

A very dissapointing result yesterday but not a disaster. Wakefield have brought in one of the greatest and most experienced coaches in the game. If they had lost yesterday they would have been going to Leigh next week with their SL place under serious threat and with it their contracts. That was all the motivation they needed and probably inspired them to get on the front foot from the off.
As for us it was only the second SL team we have faced this season. The players will know now what they will be up against in the coming weeks and level of performance required in order to compete. Hopefully they will learn from yesterday and be more competetive next week.
There's still a long way to go and a lot might rest on Gaskill's availabilty. If Tim Smith had left the field after 12mins instead of Gaskill then who knows how it might have played out.
Certainly not time to write them off yet even if the odds are against them.

That's the point I made yesterday but was told I was wrong and were just infact turd.

Well how is it that the Bulls Fans are blaming the fact that we have been playing Championship Football all season. Its only a factor for us because the Club has been lazy and the players unprofessional. The management and coach are directly to blame for that. The heroes of the championship are Halifax at the moment. They have actually done us a big favour. We rather blindly perhaps have been focusing on the so called troubled teams but Halifax have shown that a determined team with a bit more class can beat the other two big guns....

Halifax haven't won a game yet. Plucky losers are still losers.

Bradford's problem is Gaskell. We don't have a plan B if he's out of the team, mainly because we don't have any leaders out on the field. Back in the glory days, we had guys like Lowes, Peacock and Robbie and others all out on the field. They led by example and if one was off, the others would step up and take the team to task. Who have we got out there who you can say could lead the team? Someone who, when the chips are down can stand up and get the team over the line?
Danny Addy and Harry Siejka should both have their hat in the ring to lead the team, yet neither do. Addy just doesn't have the confidence in his own ability to make the step up and Siejka...well, Lowes keeps saying "He's playing his role" though what that role is, I don't think anyone actually knows and I'm not sure "Spare Prick At A Wedding" is actually a recognised role for a rugby player

True in the context you mention, but they are going home with dignity and a bit of pride.

Yes again ... who? ... What? yes I get it ... JL, who I really want to believe in does not communicate anything, so all we can judge on is the games. Poor all season. He said about the last game, that the players have not been doing what he said to do. Effective Communication. We as supporters might not be as far of right as JL may well be wrong. Focus,Passion, Desire and absolute determination is missing.

That's just it - we are a long way from turd. I genuinely believe that in the right frame of mind a confident Bulls can compete with Wakey and Salford. And it wasn't losing I was bothered about - it was how we played. If we had lost but played a decent game I would be cool

Wouldn't this premise require us to have cruised through the fixtures easily, thereby leaving us unprepared for playing teams of a higher standard? In fact, we've struggled to beat teams like Batley and Dewsbury, haven't been able to beat Leigh and were borderline outclassed by Fev, who didn't make the top 4. The league wasn't way below our actual standard.

Absolutely we are clearly not good enough so why the pretence we have a God given right to SL. Carry on with the progress made this season off the field and carry on building

The trouble is a lot of the off the field work is built on the massive vote of confidence the fans have shown in the regime, namely continuing to support the club like they're still operating at Super League level. Can that be repeated in year two? Highly doubtful.

If we are to build successfully on the field we need to sack the site foreman because the work the brickies have been turning out this year on his watch would be condemned for demolition.

Has anyone got any faith in Lowes doing any better next season? In my opinion, barring a miracle in the next few weeks, he has to go. He's simply not up to it.

Part of the problem for next year is that we will be paying out wages to a lot of players that seem to have been discarded by the coach and they have the security of a 2 year contract. We can't really complain about a low salary cap whilst we seem to have squandered large chunks of it.

The opening 30mins yesterday showed we've become too used to playing at a championship level of intensity.

I'm not sure why but we were far too tentative and our line speed was pathetic and we allowed far too much space around the ruck and for Smith.

Were the players nervous or lacking in confidence? If not then why the collective failure? The buck really does stop with the coach sometimes to judge the atmosphere in the dressing room and do something about it if necessary.

We played yesterday like many games this season where we underperformed but scraped a win. There's no way you can get away with that in the 8s.

It's hard enough when you lose key players like Gaskell, Pitts and Mullaney without the rest playing like individuals.

We probably blew it yesterday. Some players who look good at championship level were shown up. Others fell short of their usual levels.

Thankfully we've a chance to make amends on Sunday. I don't expect to win but I expect a better performance.

I disagree about "intensity". I didn't think it was a particularly intense game at all. I am sure the team as it ran onto the field was, psychologically, not ready and looked as if they really didn't want to be there. The frame of mind they were in, they were beat before they came on the field. Why that is, would be the question, but I'm sure of it.