Other positional debate is Addy or Siejka at scrum half. Obviously Siejka is the natural choice but if he plays then it's either Blythe or Ryan. If Addy plays Scrum half and Siejka is left out then there might be room for both of them.

So the question is does siejka have enough of an edge over Addy to keep Ryan or Blythe out of the squad?

Clare or Caro
Blythe or Ryan
Luaki or Fleming

This is the team that I think Jimmy will play:

Mullaney
Williams
Purtell
Nielson
Clare
Gaskell
Siejka
Clough
O'Brien
Sidlow
Olbison
Pitts
Addy

Luaki
Crossley
Ferguson
Blythe

I would argue that Ryan has been more effective in the last couple of games than Blythe but I'm sure Jimmy will go with Blythe. Nice dilemma to have at this stage of the competition.

Exactly this...

With the news of Tim Smith I would have to say it's our game to lose now. Not in an arrogant/cocky way but man for man I think we better them. Turn up with the right attitude/heads and we should all be celebrating come 4.45 Saturday... Turn up with the wrong attitude and Wakefield will do a number over us.

COYB

I think we'd be too lightweight with only 1 prop on the bench and we need to match them in the forwards. That said, for the amount of time Luaki is on the pitch does it really matter?

One of the main problems last time was our pack started slow, got slower and were completely dominated in attack & defence.

Wakefield controlled our ruck speed & denied our playmakers time & space. Conversely, they had quick ball & Tim Smith probably couldn't believe the amount of time he had on the ball with no pressure from us.

If it's true that their prop Anderson is also out, I would think that is as big a loss as Smith.

Our pack cannot be as bad again. They will want to show that they aren't that bad.

And as long as our pack gets parity with Wakefield, and our playmakers get as much time as Godinet/Miller for Wakey, then I think we have a great chance.

But if those powderpuff imposters turn up again instead of our usual forwards, then Brian Smith could probably play at halfback for Wakey & do well....

I don't think that the 2 sides are far apart as far a quality goes but Wakefield have played the whole season at a much higher intensity which I fear may be the deciding factor.

It's curious that up until this morning I was fully aware of the importance of the game but my body hadn't quite realised it yet. Then this morning I found myself staring at the ceiling with a feeling of nausea I haven't had since the morning of the 2004 and 2005 grand finals. So yeah the body is on board now.

Pretty much this for me. I'd swap Fleming for Lauaki the penalty machine and Ryan for Blythe. I like Matty Blythe, he makes every run like it's the last one he'll ever do. I just wish he'd calm his t*ts with some of his offloads. I've been impressed with Ryan last couple of games though.

I find it helps to think of England.

Unless Smith is playing games, Anderson is out. He damaged medial ligaments against Sheffield in first minute and didn't come back on.
He is a loss, as he is a great prop for us, in both attack and defence, but we are well stocked in that area.
Scruton and Mullally are great for us. Simon will probably start at 13 as it was very effective against you last time with 5 props. That would mean 2 from Walker, Yates and Kavanagh. They are not Anderson but can hold their own.
Kirmond coming back may influence the prop rotation if Smith decides he doesn't need Simon in the back row any more.

I think our pack is the key to a win for us. Miller and Godinet are great when they have time, and also in broken play but they are not Tim Smith when faced with an organised defence.

I've been nervous ever since I knew we were in this game. I'm starting to get butterflies thinking about it. This is what sports all about. Love it!

As a Cas fan I can sort of understand why you might lay in bed thinking of Keith England, but the equivalent for me would probably be Jon Hamer and I don't think that would help.

Man for man, better team ? You having a laugh ?
If any of the Wakefield pack + Miller and Godinet decide to play to even %50 of their potential, Bradford are in big trouble.

How ridiculous. What does "play to 50% of your potential" even mean?

No point turning up then. Pretty sure every member of the Wakey team should manage at least 50%

We have to play Ryan.

After the way Wakey released him and left him in the dark, I think he has a point to prove and he will take some stopping.

He's had a great couple of games and personally I think he's worth a quota spot for next year. The guy never takes a backward step.

Tell Jimmy. We already know.

That's just what your missus told mine

Exactly my point, I think Ryan can do as good a job as Luaki at prop for the 10-12 minutes he's on.

Change Ryan for Olbison/Blythe/Addy/Pitts

Wakefield are favourites and rightly so I would say. I think they definitely have the edge in the pack so we really need a massive effort from our guys to give our playmakers a chance. Out wide I'd say we might have a bit more pace and skill.

Last time I looked we have 8 start, I'd say that's probably fair.

Wakey are still the favourites. We are massive underdogs. We have absolutely no chance. No point going really.

But we are all still quietly confident - but don't tell anyone! Shush, keep it a secret that we might just win on Saturday.

My heart says Bulls, my head says Wakey, my liver says "Is it ok if you don't have a drink tonight".

The latest available odds are;



I'm actually shocked. I assumed that Wakey would be massive favourites but the bookies are only just favouring them and we are an average of a miserable 2/1.

So the bookies now see this as a very tight game indeed. Anyone who genuinely believes we have no chance against a SL team should absolutely lump on at 4/9 as that's an incredible price for a certainty.

Our pack bullied Salfords a few weeks ago... O'Brien controlling the ruck... Gaskell and Mullaney out the back... Plenty of skill on pace in the fringes... As I said, if we turn out with the right attitude I feel we will edge out Wakey.

Certainly wouldn't claim it to be easy by any stretch but turning up 50%??

I hope that's the attitude your guys turn up with