So Swinton up next who have been pretty competitive so far in the league. Interesting what everyone would do regards to team selection with us playing on the i-pitch the week before Leigh. Do we wrap Gaskell and OB in cotton wool or continue as we are. Personally i'd wrap them up in cotton wool, i still think replacing half the squad, we should have more than enough to beat Swinton. Last thing we need is Gaskell going over on his ankle the week before Leigh.

For me (Depnding on injuries):

Mathers
Caro
Ryan
Blythe
Clare
Addy
Thomas
Walker
Halafihi
Flemming
Olbison
Lovegrove
Mellor

Lumb
Clark
Lauaki
Walshaw

I think it will be as you were with Jimmy however.

I honestly don't think the ipitch is a problem. In fact I'd say the players were at far more of a risk playing on that sorry state of a pitch last week than they will be on Saturday.
If you watch the highlights of the Leeds injuries, two of them are done in the tackle and were nothing to do with the surface. Ablett is the only one who turned his ankle and tbh it could have happened anywhere. Widnes play on that pitch every other week and they seem fine with it.

As for Saturday I fully expect Jimmy to play the usual spine of the team, with a bit of rotation in the forwards and a slight chance of either Lumb or Ryan getting some game time.

I'd go:

Mathers
Clare
Purtell
Welham
Caro
Gaskell
Addy
Sidlow
AoB
Clark
Olbison
Haggerty
Mellor

Lumb/Thomas/Ryan
Walshaw/Blythe
Lauaki/Lovegrove
Walker/Crossley/Fleming

Even if we're rotating props lauaki shouldn't be getting near team. Having him on bench means props who are playing have to do more minutes to compensate for his short stints. Only way he should be getting a look in now is if we a injury crisis in props.

This is exactly type of game we should be giving likes of Thomas/lumb/halafihi etc a run out in. Certainly not mass changes but at least one of them should be included to at least get some game time off the bench and give one of senior players a breather during match.

It is pretty crap on Whitehaven and Swinton that their Bradford fixtures, which should have been one of their highest gates of the season, were both switched to an attendance decimating slot.

Whitehaven chose to switch their game apparently.

And Swinton's not big enough for any given two of us. Hence Widnes.

All Whitehaven's home fixtures this year are on Saturday evenings with a 18:30 kick off, so it's clearly a choice rather than something forced on them.

With the exception of Workington, I can't see them getting good away followings at that time, as it means fans are getting home very late. It certainly affected my decision to not make the trip.

^this

It's far too early to think about resting players. At this stage we need to have consistency so that people can get used to the systems and combinations

That said, I wouldn't mind seeing Lumb given a spell off the bench, and maybe Oscar Thomas taking Blythe's bench spot and getting a run out at FB when Mathers gets knackered as he seems to do each week.

Which he understandably will considering he won't have trained properly for 6 months and was playing again a week or two after starting.

That being said, if Lowes wants him playing straight away before he's had chance to build up that match fitness, it would make sense to have someone on the bench that can come on for him until he gets back up to full fitness.

Is it Widnes that have the artificial pitch? If so, then we don't need to be as forward heavy with the bench as we won't be playing in the big that is Whitehaven's pitch. I think it might be worth having someone who can spell Mathers now and then while he's building up his fitness levels

On the kick time and day - do people think the traditional Sun afternoon is still the way to go?

I do prefer the Saturday tea time kick offs

Depends if you take into account away support.

Tea Time / Evening kick offs can be off putting to away fans because of getting home late, especially if the opposition are a bit of a distance away.

Personally I like home games being on Friday nights, but I would expect families and away fans would prefer Sunday afternoon.

It's all about routine. Back in the day, it invariably was what it was, and so the match day and time was part of fans' ingrained routine. The more you mess around with exceptions, the more you disturb the routine, and if a fan misses one game because of the change of K.O., and realizes they survived, and the world didn't end, I think it increases the likelihood that they might miss future games.

Overall I'm sure Sunday 3pm suits more than it doesn't, and of course if you want to attract young kids then night games are a poor choice. Successive administrations (

)have largely kept Sun. 3pm as the standard K.O. and so I'm assuming the stats back that up as the best chance of a maximised return.

How come Swinton's forum remains in Championship 1? I mean, I don't think anyone uses it - but maybe they just think it doesn't exist?

I know of a few people who, with the kick off being so late, decided to stay over nearby. Perhaps that's what they're going for. With all the naff weather up there recently I'm sure the local businesses (B&B's, pubs etc) could do with the extra trade. I see what you mean though, on the other side it will have put some other people off.

honest, the fact that we get absolutely no Friday night games in the championship almost makes me want to stay here.....

Warnings of travel chaos getting to Widnes - if you haven't seen it, this is from the Bulls website

It looked like we were gonna have a front row forward crisis until Clark returned - Kavanagh and Clough being sat out for a while should give plenty of game time for our backup front rowers, but it seems Jimmy rates the likes of Clark and Walker higher than Lauaki. I wouldn't expect to see Lauaki too often this season as a result.

Just posted this on Trust In Widnes for a Swinton fan so though I would share it here as well.

The road works are between the roundabout by McDonalds and the bridge for those that know the area, not too bad coming from your direction, best way to avoid all the roadworks is:

Come off at J7 on the M62,
Take the first exit sign posted A57 Warrington,
Turn right at the first set of lights, follow the road to the end,
Turn right at those lights then first exit at the roundabout takes you onto Birchfield Road, (where the train station is),
As you pass Wade Deacon school on your right take the next right, Highfield Road,
Straight through the lights by the Albion pub and you're there.

Hope that helps and have a safe journey.

Thank you Horses mouth- this will certainly help.

Can I ask a dumb question?

Why are Swinton playing at Widnes?

Because their ground isn't currently fit for purpose. It doesn't hold enough people for Championship rules.

And they've had problems trying to get up a temporary stand to make it fit, with some form of bother with the council.

Quote from a statement they gave:

Thank you for that. Bit of a pain for Swinton fans. It's not just round the corner is it?

Crap for them, I agree. They played their first game at Salford as that's a lot closer, but as the statement says, it wasn't available this weekend. So until they sort things out with the council, they're having to live like nomads and turn up wherever someone will have them.

The 19-man squad for the game:

22. James Clare – sponsored by Captain Hornblower, Papa Holmes and the Hornettes
14. Jay Pitts – sponsored by John Fountain
3. Adrian Purtell – sponsored by Brian Widdop
34. Richie Mathers – sponsored by O’Haras Limited
35. Rhys Lovegrove
4. Kris Welham – sponsored by Stuart Readyhough at Maclean and Company
6. Lee Gaskell – sponsored by Hudson Foster Financial Services
9. Adam O’Brien – sponsored by The Monro Family
10. Adam Sidlow – sponsored by Gareth and Ruth Rider
2. Omari Caro – sponsored by Jennifer Bennison
20. Mitch Clark – sponsored by Bradford Bulls Supporters Group
15. Matty Blythe – sponsored by Smith Harrison Sampling
13. Danny Addy – sponsored by Bear Boating Canal Boat Holidays
11. Tom Olbison – sponsored by C and K Wood
23. Alex Mellor – sponsored by The Top House
28. Kurt Haggerty – sponsored by Alexis Ridler
12. Dale Ferguson – sponsored In Memory of Helen Butterworth
30. Joe Lumb – sponsored by The Red Amber and Black Forum
1. Oscar Thomas – sponsored by The Pitchside Crew