L'Estrange = Hendo
Hall = Gartner?
Kearney = ?

(Reardon = Reardon)

Not sure I would describe Hall as massive but he is a solid looking player. Not overly tall but plenty of bulk, so should slot in well at Prop or Second row.

Kearney looked the most exciting prospect from that game, look a constant danger when we had possession. I feel he could be one to watch out for on the back of Orford directing things around the park.

L'Estrange showed some glimpses of what he'll bring, a lovely delayed pass for Whitehead to score.

I thought Platt looked very fired up and keen to impress, I have a feeling he might well get the nod at right centre from the start this year. I also thought Donaldson looked impressive again and surely he will be in the 17 come the Huddersfield match in Feb.

I think Reardon showed up well considering how long ago he last played, cleaned up kicks effortlessly and made yards from dummy half.

Moment of the match was Donaldson seemingly running straight off the bench, not breaking his stride to take the ball and make the tackle bust and offload that sealed the game. Got a good 'un there.

Kearney if he stays fit will be at his best playing off the cuff rugby off of Orford's midfield play. Kearney for me will be one of the most exiting players within the whole competition. When he played at Cronulla you could here the crowd lift when he was in possession of the football.

Hall I thought did okay yesterday and he is the sort of lad you want to play with. Willing ball carrier and a very good tackler that will stiffen up the defence. Does all the ugly and some times unseen work very well.

L'Estrange was very slick and other than one turn over of possession his delayed and disguised short ball was very impressive. Knowing Orford's game will really help his integration in to the team.

Good game yesterday but the only concern for me is the loss of Semi both in attack and in our clearance sets. Sherriffe was awful and he looks like he's trying to catch the ball wearing boxing gloves !

Finally if Donaldson doesn't go on to be a top class international player in the future Ive never watched the game.

Sherrife was one of the few English players all wrapped up during the warm up, whereras the Ozzie boys were in they shirts and shorts just enjoying being out there.
"Dicky Ricky" as I shall call Sherrife till he proves to be a "Tricky Ricky" was abysmal even by his standards yesterday, which makes one think he is a warm weather player by nature.

Vey impressed by all 3 new Aussies. Kearney is lightning quick, and looked very creative. L'Estrange was absolute quality imo, pinpoint passes, good runs from dummy half also very creative. Hall was good aswell, he is HUGE, he put a couple of big hits in defence in and didn't mis a tackle. Also never took a backwards step going forward.

Reardon didn't do much, but looked solid.

All sound promising, bring on the new season.

Yes, bring it on.


I can't wait to see Kearney and Orford pair up with L'Estrange linking aswell. I think we will be very creative next season, and that will be a mouth watering combo. Godwin to come on against tired out defences should work well too.


Very optimistic now!!

Didn't do much? Did you miss him getting the ball out of the in-goal area with about 3 defenders on him? It was nothing short of brilliant. He also fielded every kick and returned them very well. He may not have got the ball much when attacking, but I'd hardly say he didn't do much. I had reservations about the Reardon signing, but after watching the match yesterday, I think it could turn out to be a very shrewd one.

I think Reardon will bring a safe pair of hands to the left wing next season. He is strong defensively and is safe under a high ball. He isn't lightning fast but he can step well and make a break, if he stays clear of injury he will be a good player for us.

I wonder if our strongest line up may see Sykes playing on the wing outside of Platt.

you may well be right. although I would like to see what platt could do on the wing, cant say sykes impressed their when he play wing for england. Be interesting to see if crookes can force his way into team. If he does then sykes may struggle to get a game imo.

Sykes will be covering Centre, Stand off and FB if Platt continues to play well. Based on the friendly performance one out of -if not both- Platt and Crookes deserves another go, and I see no reason if Nero is quiet like he was at the start of last season that Crookes and Platt couldn't be both playing for some periods. I do believe we have alot more flexibility and options in the backs this year, even if we are lacking some outstanding quality in the threequarters

One player that all potential centres need to match is NERO.

Crookes is another option for the wing, if Sheriffe doesn't find his feet pretty quickly this year. He is pretty quick, so I doubt he would have any trouble slotting into that position.

Huh?

If I recall correctly, Nero started last season on fire and was getting numerous plaudits on this very forum for how much better than the previous season he was looking.

Also did anyone notice Basil Richards or Clawson around on Sat? I didn't see either at pitch side..

Has anyone heard of a more definite arrival date for 'The Ox' other than after Xmas?

Maybe i'm mistaken? I do remember him having a quiet patch last season, must not have been the start.

Yeah I think it was later in the season. I remember before the season started, a lot of people saying he wasn't good enough, as he'd had a poor first year. He then started like a house on fire for 2009 and showed just why he was signed, pretty much changing most people's minds in a matter of weeks.

To be honest, I think Nero is probably our best three quarter at the moment, depending on how well Reardon can do. I can't see Nero missing out on his place except for injury or a big drop in form.

I agree with that. Nero also showed at the end of last season his quality in scoring tries and also assisting Semi with some. I'd like to see him having a full consistent season though for 2010

All in all Boxing day was a good run out all the new boys looked like they will add a lot of fire and pace and Scruts was buzzin' roll on February.

I gotta say, Scruton has been an absolutely superb signing. If he continues to play like he did last year, he could be playing for England very soon.

TBH, I'd prefer we had few players picked for the autum internationals. Mainly as I don't feel that the international game of RL is currently in a place that is competitive and the disruption to our off/pre-season could be done without

Yes and Saints and Leeds seem to cope pretty well too