They have both been pretty good so far this season for me. Wrench returning from fitness and some second row options becoming available should help as well.

Brierly going off probably helped them he was having a terrible game already and was just as bad when he returned.

re.Centres
Ratchford & Mata'utia have been fine so far. Both have done some top class offloads to set up tries.
When I watched HKR v Wigan I was thinking that Wigan were struggling to adapt to their new expensive centres who we know well.

Heard that Kasiano and Harrison were both carrying knocks so they only had one stint. (Harrison has had a knee problem for a couple of weeks, not sure when Sam picked his knock up).

Looks like we could've done with Dudson, Philbin et al next week, not in 2 or 3.

Having watched it back I’m not sure on this. Yes, we had the majority of the ball but they had the answers to the questions up to that point. There’s an argument that time spent under pressure would have told eventually, but the sin bin certainly moved that tipping point forward.

Without singling you out to critique, it’s important that we don’t turn into other fan dynamics who will deny benefit from referee decisions but still bemoan those that go against. The “core” of our fans are better than that. While we may rant and rave, it’s at the people directly responsible, who earn the appropriate wage for their work.

The sinbinning was obviously a factor, but can you recall any team being able to take advantage of that to the extent of 3 tries? I certainly can’t which hopefully shows our ruthless streak as much as a Salford collapse.

One is still receiving remuneration from us

Don’t know which Warrington you’ve been watching then. Ratchford has been exceptionally good.

Absolutely, that streak of really digging in to their vulnerabilities has not been in a Warrington team in my memory. We’ve often let teams off the hook.

While we did make the most of the advantage, I think the question was if we could have without the sin bin. Up to that point you could sense a tension in the ground, and the dam burst with it, and probably with it took that anxiety away from the players.

But, there is definitely a different mindset in this group this year. Something that I didn’t see coming on the evidence of last season.

According to Saints fans they’ll see how good we are when the injuries pile up….don’t think they’re aware we’re already struggling in that regard.

They are right, to a point. We are largely untested. Leeds offered nothing, Huddersfield we’re awkward but if we’re honest they looked like they were still in pre-season mode, and Salford aren’t expected to be challenging towards the top end of the table. And we’ve faced them with the core of the team fit and healthy, with only McGuire, Nicholson and maybe Dudson from the first choice 17. The test will come at some point where we need to be without Williams. That is the puzzle piece we would miss most, then Drinkwater, Dufty, Ashton, Vaughan etc.

But, the indicators are there that we are equipped to cope. Other than the second row/centre sections, we are quite well stocked.

If you flip this, the sides we've faced will have played more games together and will already have had much more gelling time given the upheaval of last season. If it's anyone who could make an excuse, it's us.

Agree on the second row/centre.

I’ve never bought into the gel theory.
You’re good enough or not good enough.
10 new signings and top of the league, if there was ever proof to back up,
gel is bullocks, there it is.

We have been in camp uninterrupted since November to be fair. One player affected by the WC. So far as pre season goes that is the most smooth sailing I can recall. So that would aide the “gelling”.

Sorry RD but combinations need to be built, you get to anticipate how your team mate reacts in a given situation.. Not sure why you are picking on the future legend J Bullock but it even applies to him.

That's just training, it's a different kettle of fish in a real competitive game. We've only played 3 games together as a full squad, whereas the teams we've faced have had most of their players battle hardened as a team collective for much longer than us.

Still a long way to go, but I'm extremely positive about where we are and where we could go.

What I will say is that we've had to come out the blocks on fire to prove last season a blip. The other sides we've faced wouldn't of had that same pressure. That pressure, I think, has served us well.

Time test

I don't think Chelsea fans would agree with this, for one, given the amount of money they've spent.


If teams don't need to gel, then why bother with training sessions, the players could just turn up on match day?

When you get a new or hire car, takes about 5mins to get to grips with it.
Try starting a new job and not get up to speed and see if you last 1,2,3 months there!

Although these posts I make take an hour to gel!

christ

Do you think teams could ditch gameplan training? If they don't need to gel, why bother.

Success is where ability meets preparation.

You’re Elon Musk and i claim my fiver!

I am Elon Musk, but I only deal in NFTs and Dogecoin.

never forget.