Sykes did himself no favours did he, but was no worse than most others to be fair. Even usually reliable players like Elliott Whitehead and Brett Kearney had poor games yesterday, so it's a hard to blame individuals. The coach is still trying to find his best combination by switching the squad around, which is the only reason I can think of for leaving Royston out(assuming he wasn't injured) whilst at the same time as they are still getting used to each other. We all knew it would take time though, so I'm not going to moan.

We never looked like we could threaten the line with ball in hand yesterday, though I think getting Briggs back will make a big difference because you really need a good pair of regular halves. I've not seen Tom Burgess this season but I didn't feel he was quite ready at the end of last year. He's been getting good reports though so I guess he'll get his chance, if not immediately.

According to Connor, Royston wasn't injured.

Guess it was just squad rotation then. Seems strange when the team is still trying to gel and (so far as I know) Sykes hasn't been ripping it up in the A team to such and extent that Potter felt he had to be given a shot. Especially as we were always second favourites in the game and would probably need that bit of flair that Royston has.

Think the team selection is determined by Potter's expectation of the result.If he thinks we are in with a chance he plays a strong team. If we are second favourites (as on Sunday) he is more inclined to gamble with team selection.

For me it should be out Sykes, Sibbit and Whitehead and in Royston, Addy and Bateman. Start Royston at 1, Addy at 13 with Elima in the the 2nd row and Bateman on the bench. Players like Sykes and Sibbit are only stopping younger players gaining experience and they won't be around in the near future I hope.

This, saves me typing.

I disagree. As good as some parts of his games are he has made far far too many errors so far and is proving to be somewhat of a liability. the most errors and missed tackles in the league.

EDIT: 24 missed tackles in 5 games that is and 12 errors.......take all of them away from our game (or even take half of them) and you could maybe say we would have done slightly better in a couple of games

well t&a says raynor likely to miss 3 weeks with injury. which frees up slot for ah van to move back to wing, where his defence didnt look as bad, or at least wasnt as noticeable. Problem will be who do we play in the spot. with walker out still only option seems to be sykes who is weak defensively. Dont think it matters which side we put him on as ainscough and ah van have their own weaknesses. I'd be tempted to keep platt and ainscough together as they seem to be clicking quite well. but that means ah van/sykes pairing will be targetted. other option is to put royston in but that isnt his best position and would mean sykes at FB which I dont really want to see again after sunday.

Centre is probably Sykes favoured position so I expect him to get the nod with Finnigan, Halley and Crookes all unavailable for selection.

Finigan & Crookes are available whenever we need them. They train full time with the Bulls, but can play for Sheffield too.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Crookes, but I'd rather play him than Sykes. However I'd expect Potter would choose Sykes & Royston as centre & fullback (although which way round is anyone's guess) and Ah Van on the wing.

Shame Halley isn't back yet, as bringing him in for an injured Raynor with Royston replacing Sykes would have been my preference.

Also all those calling for Bateman to be put in or Addy in the backrow, let's also remember that Donaldson is available again after a couple of games in the U20s.

I didn't make the game but have watched the highlights and whilst I wouldn't 'defend' the players who missed one on one tackles I fear we are missing the major weakness which was the number of times Brough/Brown ran diagonally across the entire middle third of our defence waiting for outside backs to commit before making the pass.

The defensive line speed and aggression of our forwards has been appalling in every game so far including Wakey. For some it's near heresy but Andy Lynch has started the season poorly and as skipper needs to lead the line and hit a lot harder. Give Chase and Orr the freedom of Odsal like we did Brough/Brown and you will see our outside backs look like mugs again - no matter who is picked.

they might be available in terms of us being able to recall them with no notice, but finnigan isnt available as he's out injured

That's what I was meaning, but I actually didn't know Finigan was injured anyways! Crookes is still available though

cant say I see crookes as an improvement on sykes/royston tbh.

He's not an improvement on Royston, but as much as I'm not a particular fan of Crookes, I'd take him at centre over Sykes.

seem to remember his defense was suspect when he featured last year which is biggest problem I have with sykes at .

I thought Crookes looked pretty ordinary in all the pre season games.. even against Keighley he didn't really stand out that much. It will be interesting to see how Potter goes with this selection, Sykes and Ah Van would be targeted all afternoon in defence.

This team really needs to gel, and shifting people around too much won't do that. Crookes in for Raynor - even though he hasn't impressed yet, he deserves a chance.

Royston
Ainscough
Platt
Ah Van - He was shocking, but I think he should get a chance to put it right.
Crookes
Kearney
Herbert
Lynch
Diskin
Hargreaves
Olbison
Whitehead
Elima

O'Brien
Kopzcak
Scruton
Addy

crookes is a and looked ordinary on wing last year when he was tried there

But what are the other options?

I thought he did pretty well on the wing vs Wigan. Limited the damage Richards could have caused and showed some good strength at some points in the game.

I think you're only remembering one half of that game. If I remember right, one half he limited him well, but in the other he got absolutely creamed by him repeatedly.

I accept Crookes isn't the best option with a fully fit squad. But if we're short of three quarters, I'd be more confident with him in the side than Sykes (without wanting to jump on the Sykes Scapegoat bandwagon).

Crookes arrived at the club as a loose forward but stopped growing.

I'd go with this given the injuries:

Kearney
Ainscough
Platt
Royston
Ah Van
Addy
Herbert
Lynch
Diskin
Hargreaves
Olbison
Elima
Donaldson

O'Brien
Kopzcak
Scruton
Whitehead

Not ideal to be playing Addy and Royston out of position but these seem like the best options to me given what we've got to pick from. Whatever way you move people around one side in the backs is going to be weak on Sunday.

If Donaldson is up to speed now we should play him, was good last season before the injury and reports from the u20 games have been encouraging. Are either Donaldson or Olbison in a position to do a job at centre?

Olbison has played centre numerous times for the junior teams.

royston played centre for fax a few times, but still think he should play fullback etc as was before being dropped last week.