I agree with what Bull Mania is saying. Chizzy must have put his kicking boots on e bay. Onwards and upwards. C.O.Y.B.

Please, does anyone know the results from the Ladies match? Owing to 4 big quakes here, no internet for last 3 days, thanks

My Apologies, just been informed they don't play until Sunday. As I say, internet very sketchy here. Thanks

Looking at the result I guess it's a decent result, though I was (maybe unfairly?) underwhelmed throughout.

As BM said, we started pretty strongly, but my overall impression was that, there was a lot of effort, and we kept the score ticking over quite nicely but we never really seemed to 'get going' and then giving away those really soft tries left a definite feeling that the performance overall was generally 'scratchy'. I thought all our props were excellent, Chissy was dashing around as usual, Ethan Ryan's finishing has finally hit the levels of last season (maybe he was just getting better service?) also young Milnes showed good touches and was worth his place. There were no really poor performances, except maybe Chissy's goal kicking..

pretty much agree with that. thought we were pretty flat all match. Didn't do much obviously wrong but didn't really put them to sword either. pretty soft defending for their tries too. A better opposition would have caused us problems.

Yes pretty flat performance yesterday, very stop start and hit and miss
Thought the big prop for them ran very well, although he got a bit niggly towards the end.

Also my lads face is a right mess, never seen him with so many bruises, he looks like he’s been mugged and beaten up

Thats what happens to forwards can't all be pretty boy centres

I thought London were better than expected. Their scrum half Thorman had an excellent passing game. The big no14 who came on was a real handful, if he got himself fit he could develop into a good prop. But yes we were flat and I think underestimated them, we thought we would just brush them aside like West Wales.

It must be really difficult to maintain a high level of intensity going into matches like this one where you are expected to win and win comfortably. It's almost a lose/lose situation for us.
Chisholm kicks more goals in this match and we pretty much hit 70 points. And yet almost every comment on here is voicing disappointment at our performance!

Go back and look at how slow the game was yesterday, nearly every ptb took an absolute eternity. I've no doubt that a faster game would suit our players more but it just isn't going to happen in this division.

We scored some nice tries yesterday, I'm not sure what our completion rate was like but it didn't seem too bad. On the whole I was relatively satisfied even though I'm still frustrated at the performances of our centres week on week. Lee Smith had an ok game and is only being let down by his age now I think. Gibson doesn't have that excuse and continues to starve his winger of any ball. I would like Oakes to have a run out in the first team but I'm not expecting it to happen.

I thought it was another inconsistent performance from us. Kear was apparently very unhappy with aspects of our play and I can see why. We started ok but the letting in of three soft tries was concerning. It was as if we fell into that habit of cruising and not giving the opposition enough respect. These games are challenging in some ways in that they can breed complacency and bad habits.

In attack I thought Ethan Ryan was very good indeed. With Lee Smith losing a few pounds he’s a bit more mobile which means we’re more of a threat down that side. Young Milnes did alright with some nice kicks for tries. There was some breakdowns in movement at times when both he and Chisholm decided to change direction and this threw out a lot of the structure and players seemed at a loss to read them. It’s clear we’re missing Keyes.

Newcastle will be a tougher prospect but it’s again a game we ought to win easily. I hope Kear can prevent this run of games from making us too “soft” for when the bigger games vs Whitehaven, Doncaster, Hunslet and York come along.

Oakes and Ryan were scoring tries for fun last year against better opposition.. now Oakes can't get a game?????

It baffles me too. Some say it's because of Oakes' defence but I'm not sure it's any worse than Lee Smith's tbh.

On the topic of centres, we may well get a glimpse of another of our promising youngsters making their SL debuts for another club this weekend. Hull's injury/discipline woes have led to them recalling Cameron Scott back from Dewsbury so he might end up getting a game in the Hull derby!
It will be a sickener see him play for someone other than us but at the same time I hope he does well if he does end up playing.

I think Oakes having a slow start to the season really held him back. He looked well below par in the friendlies.

His strength is he's a real "winger's centre" but I'm not sure he's actually that much quicker than Smith in a foot race.

I think Kear knows what he's doing.

On the subject of our former youngsters I hope Scott has a good game for Hull. I watched Trueman for Cas on the telly, he looks good but still has a lot to learn.

I also wonder if that move to Saints is working out for James Bentley. He wasn't playing this weekend for Sheffield but he's been on the end of some hidings this year. I wonder if he's still positive about that move?

Sorry got to disagree about Oakes and his lack of speed. Watch him in the reserves and you'll see he can keep up with Ricko and would certainly outpace Smith who tends to have a couple of burst during a game for twenty metres or so then tends to hide,I watched him come off at half time and the guy was really blowing, but the reason Oakes won't get a game there's no way Kear will drop his captain unless he picks up a knock.

Except he has left out the captain a few times (Hitchcox, Butler-Fleming & Oakes have all played there ahead of him this year)

Only when Smith was injured.

Maybe Smith has more influence on the players around him, something that's harder to see as a spectator. We need leaders, every top team has them, not just youthful enthusiasm. It's about getting the balance right.

I'm not convinced that's been the case every time to be honest Ross, although as people will attest from my previous posts, I'm certainly no fan of Smith and he wouldn't be near my first choice 17. But then I'm not a qualified coach.

I'm confident that Kear knows all about Oakes, in the pre-match interview on Saturday re Milnes he was basically saying that he'd seen pretty much all his performances this year. Kear is no mug, and maybe he judges that the experience of Smith is a key factor in some games. I too think Oakes provided great service to Ethan and looks in the mould of a genuine centre, but I'd be confident he is somewhere in Kear's plans. Smith is I think now aged around 60 and if Oakes bides his time he will get plenty of chances.

Fair points and I agree, to be honest.
I do trust Kear's judgment and he's around the group on a daily basis, so is able to pick up on all the little nuances not available to us - even if we had the judgment to be able spot them. So, if JK feels that he brings something to the squad that we don't see, like leadership, a steadying influence or a mentoring ability, then I'm happy to accept his opinion.

Kear goes to all the U19 and reserve games too so is well aware of how well or not everyone is playing.

I think Smith has improved a bit recently since he lost weight.

When Smith was missing against Workington thought we missed a leader on field.

Totally agree about Smith.
Don't get me wrong - I was one of the people calling for his head last season, when he appeared to be coasting along through games. However, I've seen him roll his sleeves up and get stuck in more this year.
We've been saying for some time now that we don't have any leaders in the team. Well, Smith is the most likely player for me to lead the team for the foreseeable, so for that reason we have to play him and keep Oakes in reserve.

I personally, based on this season think smith is improving he fed Ryan a nice try and got a decent on of his own tbf

...yes I'm another pleasantly surprised by Smith this year.. though the side 'step' for his try was the funniest thing I've seen in years but was certainly effective. And definitely seems to have a calming effect on the field when we seem like we're about to do something utterly stupid.