Think Chev was picked to give us the biggest side we could put out

But he's lost his mobility, misses so many tackles these days. If Addy is injured Lowes will probably play him as loose against Haven, i'll reserve judgement.

Walshaw is bigger!

Walshaw in the centre, Chev on bench to cover various positions

I should be the coach lol

I'd like to think there was a bit more to team selection than that.

Walker is too big, slow and devensively weak to play in that position, especially against a speedy centre. I can live with him playing in the pack but he has shown over the past few seasons that his defense isn't up to scratch so to leave him isolated in the centres where defensive lapses can be expolited is strange to say the least.

I'd be a bit put out if I were Ulugia or Henry.

Fine now I have heard both sides of the story thanks. Surprised Bradford shops haven't run out of blinkers yet. You have Lowes and Harrison, enough said

I believe Sam Hopkins falls into that latter category too. Wasn't it him that was giving the Bradford fans some at the end of the game and then kicked the ball into our end?




Now, that explains it much better, thanks for that. It was one of those things that I never actually noticed if they were there or not, as I was too into the game. It was only afterwards that I thought he must have been there. The referee himself was definitely unsighted for that decision, so it explains why he managed to fluff it. Never knew they didn't use in goal TJs though in the Championship, so that's something new learned for me!

Until Blythe is back, I think we're in for an issue in the centres. Henry was very hit and miss last season, and the fact he hasn't featured much makes me thinks he's still the same. Shaw looked ok in the friendlies, but struggled a little in the Leeds match (albeit on the wing). Ulugia I've not been impressed with at all yet, and the very small amount of minutes he played yesterday, he was a liability.

Walker I completely agree is past it nowadays, especially for a position in the three-quarters. He's a great role model and the sort of bloke you want in and around the club. Just not necessarily in and around the matchday 17.

We have plenty of cover for the centres, but I'm not so sure it's quality cover. Hopefully Ulugia or Shaw will come good with time, or Henry will show some improvement. As always when I don't think a player is doing well, I'd absolutely love them to prove me wrong.

I'd be tempted to try Uaisele out in the centres at some point. He played centre for Sheffield at the back end of last season and was scoring tries for fun.
Doing this would also allow us to play Shaw on the wing, and then Shaw can kick the goals for us. The kid is supposedly an absolute whizz with the boot and we're not making use of it!

Chev is getting picked for the side either because of the captaincy, or because of Lowes' Leeds bias. Perhaps a bit of both.

Right now I'm frustrated at us throwing a winning margin away, and even more frustrated that all of my pre-season fears appear to have been consolidated after the very first flipping game!!

The worst thing about losing a game is that you immediately want to get back to it and right some wrongs - having to wait a full week to be able to do so is frustrating enough as a spectator, I cannot imagine how much worse it must be for the players.

I was surprised Mr Walker was chosen as captain in the first place ... Gasgill being a class player and his natural leading ability would have been my choice ... I realise Chev is a total professional in lots of areas, not just on the field. However he is not a centre now, frankly I do not know where he fits in other than LF of the bench. Wished we had had picked up Ryan Bailey for the match yesterday

I certainly don't think that the other centres who were available are world beaters but I do believe they are better centre's than Walker.

And we can't rely on Blythe either. Never known anything like him and Ferguson for injuries.

Would assume in goal TJ's will be in use for the Super 8's games as we did used to have them for play off games in this league.

Thoroughly enjoyed the game. Hugely impressed with Bradford's following and it all added to a great atmosphere and what really felt like a huge occasion. It's been a long time since I've had to be in the ground at 2pm to get my usual spot!

Yes there was plenty of niggle from both teams and I would say both sides got away with as much as was punished. Williams probably should have seen red for his part in the brawl, but there again one or two of ours could be picking up a ban once the incident is reviewed after running in and throwing haymakers.

Though the 6 and 9 for Bradford both had excellent games and the speed of your PTB was absolutely killing us in the first half along with our own indiscipline. Once we concentrated on our own rugby instead of trying to rough you up, well I think 30-4 speaks for itself.

Good luck for the rest of the season and enjoy the ride, it's a great, varied league in all senses.

Can't disagree with any of that really. I couldn't see the brawl as it was the other end of the ground to us, so difficult to say who should have been punished and who shouldn't. I'm sure it'll be heavily reviewed by the disciplinary, and certainly I've seen reports that Williams and Higson may have got away lightly with the on field decision.

I said before the match that Leigh would win, and as much as I didn't want to be proved correct, it wasn't a surprise to see that as the final result (albeit a little gutting considering the first half). If the likes of McNally and Brierley keep up that sort of form though, your guys will take a very good side to stop you this season, and will be a great team to watch no doubt.

Just watching the match back now on LCTV. Couldn't see it from where I was sat yesterday but on the video it is in perfect position and Purtell doesn't ground the ball early 2nd half. He gets spun around in the tackle and lands on his hip with his arm off the floor. The cut out pass from Gaskell was superb but he doesn't get it down. Clear from the video that it was the right decision, great tackle by Higson and arguably won us the match. Couldn't see us coming back from 6 - 26 down.

Wouldn't mind seeing the video evidence. From where i was sat ( which was about 20 yards away from incident ), the point of ball hit ground on first contact and then he was rolled.

And i think at 26-6 we'd have pushed on to a comfortable victory. But that didn't happen and credit to Leigh. Meant a lot to them and understandably so.

Only £3.50 for a months subscription to LCTV. Worth it to watch back a great game. Watched the incident half a dozen times and Purtell is rolled just enough to keep his arm off the floor. Thought that was a turning point along with Siejka's brain fart and subsequent 2nd sin-binning. Shame we have to wait until the end of the season for the replay!

Baille & Purtell will be the 1st choice centres, although form will have a say.

was mentioned in one of t&a articles over weekend that whilst Walker is club captain, Gaskell,Purtell and iirc Sidlow have also been named as co captains. sort of like a leadership group like wigan tried a couple of years ago. so Walker being captain shouldnt guarantee him a start if he isnt upto scratch.

Time to make the refs get changed in the pavilion at Odsal. Once they realise they have to walk through the crowd at Odsal we won't see too many Games like yesterday.

I'd forgotten about Baile to be honest. Could well be the answer, but having him and Blythe both out injured isn't helping matters at the moment.

He had n`t returned to the club 3 seasons ago.... Try better will you.

Not the 'Leeds bias' rubbish again...come on Northus do you honestly believe that?

I could understand Lowes wanting to initially build the side around a core group of existing players. Provide some stability. As the season develops it should be a case of every player having to earn their spot. But I can understand why Lowes would want Walker in the team at the start, especially with players like Blythe being unavailable.

Not sure what to believe to be honest. I'm just trying to see the logic in picking Walker in the centres before at least three other fully fit squad members who are better suited to that position.

I can't. I couldn't understand him being given the last two contracts. I can't understand him being given the captaincy. I can't understand him being in the 17 and am dumbfounded he played at centre.

While I don't think he should be in the centres and is by no means certain of a place in the pack when everyone's fit I'm sure the fact that he played for Leeds years ago has nothing to do with his selection.