[quote="Or thane":9wgvg554]What's the wire TV coverage like, is it ok?[/quote:9wgvg554] It was okay. Dave Cain was a bit RL Raw in his 1st commentary, but he did ok and he’ll be better for reviewing himself, and I guess better than I would have been…. Yes I had done RL radio commentary in the early 90s.

[quote="Or thane":17j2mfvy]Yeah it was a good run out for some of the players and valuable experience for the younger guys. Alfie Johnson seemed to go really well, Russell put a good stint with alot of effort in. No improvement from Musgrove, Leyland just sat back and kicked for most of the game. But this is just listening to the radio, also it's basically a game for the younger guys. First game of pre-season and doesn't really mean much yet.[/quote:17j2mfvy] Pretty much the way I saw it. Harthill looked busy and I felt the same regarding Musgrove he just was not making meters after contact the way Wood was. Just to be clear I am not saying Musgrove was garbage just I expect more from a bloke his size. When I saw the Widnes side come out for warm up I was thinking jeez Musgrove should skittle these.

A bit disappointed in the half’s, a couple of nice balls for tries but overall not enough ball distribution for me, defensively a bit weak but as mentioned a good run out for the young lads, I agree that Patton was the best player on the pitch

I've had a good look at the first 28 mins of the game. Musgrove only lasted 27/28 mins before being taken off. I particularly watched Musgrove/Wood/Russell though Whitehead got through a lot of early work. Musgrove took the ball up to the opposition 7 times, Russell 5 and Wood 4. The tougher carries (from KO & close to the ruck) were made by Musgrove. Musgrove lost the ball in a three man tackle once. Russell lost it once. Musgrove also gave a penalty away for delaying the opposition player getting to his feet. Wood stood wider from the play the ball. I think our play lost something from about the 30 minute mark. Musgrove does seem to frustrate a few (who know a lot about the game) but in those 27 minutes he made quite a contribution.

[quote="Smiffy27":2zjbsuao]I've had a good look at the first 28 mins of the game. Musgrove only lasted 27/28 mins before being taken off. I particularly watched Musgrove/Wood/Russell though Whitehead got through a lot of early work. Musgrove took the ball up to the opposition 7 times, Russell 5 and Wood 4. The tougher carries (from KO & close to the ruck) were made by Musgrove. Musgrove lost the ball in a three man tackle once. Russell lost it once. Musgrove also gave a penalty away for delaying the opposition player getting to his feet. Wood stood wider from the play the ball. I think our play lost something from about the 30 minute mark. Musgrove does seem to frustrate a few (who know a lot about the game) but in those 27 minutes he made quite a contribution.[/quote:2zjbsuao] I watched Musgrove closely last night - did a lot of work in the time he was on the pitch, ran very hard and while he didn't break the line it was taking three men to bring him down. I thought he did pretty well. To be honest I think the Widnes defence deserves a huge amount of credit. Cai Taylor-Wray saw a lot of the ball and was very threatening with ball in hand but they dealt with him more effectively than some SL teams did last season. I don't think he broke the line once. Ben Harthill was excellent, a really promising option if one of Walker or Powell are injured or rested, strong in defence and good running and distribution.