The Crusaders were excellent today. They threw the ball around so much and made barely any mistakes when in possession. Very disciplined and intelligent display IMO.

that is what happens when you have a former top class player becoming a young top class coach

exactly

get rid now get noble in so he can teach Alker how to coach as i can not see Alker learning much from mcrea

This.

Cru were good today and well done to them but for most of the game they were very beatable yet we made mistake after mistake and allowed their strike players to get into the game and that was it, the lack of effort from Salford compared to Crusaders was embarassing

I can see massive problems if Alker and SM stay in the same coaching set up. Alker was without doubt Salford through and through and I honestly think he has the club at heart and as such think when he and SM fall out for the first time all manner of things will come to a head.

For me get SM out and give Martin Crompton a go till the end of the season, then bring in a top class Aussie to usher us into the new stadium sod Vievers off and have Crompton as number two with a view to him becoming long term first team coach.

Or simply give the genius the job for the season.

Yes and also a weak unprepared pack that gets dominated too easily! When are Salford going to get some forwards that run hard on to the ball and really mean it when they charge in?

We've got them, we just need to start using them correctly

Is this the same Alker who was ' high fiving ' Hudson as he left the pitch , what a muppet

No it was the same Alker who was 'high fiving' GODWIN as he left the pitch! Other than that I know what you're talking about.

I also seen that and thought if i was a coach and my player just did that i'd be annoyed with him, not high fiving him!

we virtually have a new squad with young players who we can all see have the ability to be very good players, only thing that has not changed a lot is the whole backroom staff set up, could it be time to start from new, you look at are bench now, there is so many backroom staff now.

Do the coaching staff not watch the video of last years game at Wrexham. Every time they kicked off it was a short kick off and they gathered the ball almost every time. Also they did that short kick off from under the sticks and re-gathered the ball.Yet they were doing EXACTLY the same thing today and getting posession .We havent learned a thing from last year.

OMG id blanked that out of my memory, thought i was seing things! Could not believe that happened. Im all for team solidarity etc etc but that stick in my thoat. Im going to presume that the riot act was read later on in the dressing room!

To get the topic back on track. Well Done Crusaders. They played a good game exploited our weaknesses and inability to respond to a well thought out and executed game plan

I don't think how well the Crusaders were allowed to play is as much an issue as how easily we capitulated. They just did the job that they are paid to do as professional rugby league players. Work extremely hard over the off season, prepare themselves both physically and mentally for a battle and then follow the astute game plan of Harris.

The Crusaders will never face an easier pack to get on top of again in Superleague this year. Fact.

If thats true than thats the truely disgraceful act. In the end i can be sympathetic to player on the wrong end of a drubbing letting the red mist descend but a coach should never condone a cheap shot no matter what.

You suggest the Crusaders did the bare minimum. How about showing some credit where it is due? Granted we did not play well at all but the Crusaders were impressive. The handling from the Crusaders players and the decision-making were very good.

Crusaders thoroughly deserved to beat us. Our pack was well beaten, we were ill disciplined, lazy and looked unfit. But the real hurt was how we capitulated. Our body language in the second half as we gathered behind the posts after conceding was very worrying. The players looked very sorry for themselves and no evidence of team spirit was on show. We can only improve and yes the players need to hold there hands up for the part they play..but we are coached by a dinosaur from another era. Perhaps until we change that we may find ourselves continuing to tread water while other teams swim past us. Other than that i enjoyed Cardiff immensly.

McRae was outcoached by someone coaching their first ever game. Embarrassing.

And yes, some of the play by Crusaders was excellent so I have no problem in giving them credit. Schifcofske, depsite being a massive bell, is a class act even at his age as is Sammutt and with such a dominant display from their pack then they were given time, space and freedom to cause mayhem, and mayhem they did indeed cause. Fair play to them.

No I am not hang on a minute, am I not giving them credit by saying how hard they must have worked over the winter and how well prepared they were for this game? Plus how well they followed Harris astute gameplan! Come on we were poor by SL standards and they exploited our weaknesses. A team is only as good as you allow them to play. Allow their pack to get on top, give them too much time and space and they will damage you.

I had a gut feeling we were going to be rolled over by Crusaders after watching 3 out of the 4 friendlies. The warning signs were there for all to see.
Outplayed , outcoached. Impressed with the way Crusaders were willing to take a risk on more than one occaision, icing on the cake was the short kick from under the sticks.Looks like a great season in front for Crusaders, pile of cack for us.

And the cake being the four occasions we knocked on in dry, wind free conditions (On the first tackle) Henry, Patten, Feka and Parker all experienced players making embarrassing schoolboy errors.