An enjoyable game but i was concerned with the half backs, I like Ratchford but saw very little from him last night and GOB isn't good enough yet to dictate play, the link between the forwards and the backs was poor. Bridge, i didn't think tendinitis affected brain function, been a liability all season. I don't know why we don't use Blythe who has played well when filling in. The forwards played very well, Hill gets better and better, made plenty of yards against one of the biggest packs in the league.

Oh, and i was very surprised we were given that first try.

How Chris Hill hasnt been picked for England recently is beyond me , this guy is immense , never taks a backward step , for me your young player of the year , i know hes not a young lad , but still deserves an award , well done last night Chris .





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Someone talking/typing sense for once.

Morley was ok carrying the ball forward but he is a complete liability in defence, far too slow and not agile enough. How some can think he is worth another deal is way beyond me.

Hodgson too is surely in his final year. All those heavy impacts he has taken over the years seem to be catching up with him. Absolute class on his day but he looks fragile.

Mick Monas is definitely lacking match practice and fitness. Hopefully if his jaw is ok he will be firing just in time for the business end of the year.

Briers. Whats going on there? Rested for no apparant reason against Salford and now pulled out of the Catalans game through injury.

As for 2013, Mr Smith is going to be a very busy boy recruitment wise as I reckon the goose is up for the following;

Solomona
Morley
Hodgson
Higham
Briers
Wood

Time will tell of course but I wouldnt want to be going into 2013 with all those still on the books.

Oh just one more thing, Bridge has been awful this year. If he is injured then he shouldnt be playing. If he isnt injured then likewise.

Briers and Hodgson will definitely get another year, and will deserve it. Woody probably also.

I wouldnt be too suprised if woody got a new deal.

Hodgson and Briers wouldn't be playing a full season worth of games in 2013.

With the rumoured signings of Bateman from Bradford and that young hooker from cas it looks like Solomona and Higham could be going.

As for Morley, I just think we could use the money to get a younger, fitter and more agile prop for 2013. Unfortunately Morley just looks like he is going through the motions and he is a shade of the former formidable Morley these days.

Hodgson has been offered a player-coaching role at Saints, but don't know whether he's accepted.

Briers will get another year though. He was rested last night due a slight achilles strain picked-up in training apparantly but I believe they said on Sky he was left out due to illness ?

Again, what're you basing that on? There's absolutely nothing in the way he played last night, for the Exiles or at any time this season, that suggests he's slowing up or isn't physically competitive any more. His kick returns, carries and defence are all still excellent, and he still brings go forward to the team, so what makes it seem like heavy impacts are catching up with him?

love this





watch the game again and watch morley alone he was good last night he is getting his match fitness back if he feels good then 1 more year if not then hang the boots up but it is his choice

hodgson has always looked fragile but is made of rubber watch the old origins that he was in always gets hit hard and always gets up 1 more year even as rotation with ratch to help him bed in

solomona is a bit unfair to judge yet but i do think this will be his last

higham has his best season for us and you want to throw him out now??

wood he will see out his days here i think

briers will get another year no questions

Thank God you don't have anything to do with the decisions

Seen enough of the posts about Chris Bridge,the guy is a liabilty this season, heart was in my mouth every time he was near the ball last night,for what ever reason his form is poor this year surely we have other options than keep playing him,he needs to go get his head sorted,AND if he is injured why the hell want to play????

I am going to make myself unpopular and say I think Morley should hang up his boots. We need his cap space in any case for new signings.

I would give Briers and Hodgson 1 more year, but I agree that they may only play 2/3 of the matches at best. That is expensive as they are probably both on a high wage, even if we get a reduction in the cap calculation for Briers. The problem though, is who is going to replace them if we let them go ?

I don't see a problem with Higham, he has been pretty good for me, and we would have struggled without him. I would keep him.

Solo ? Well if he can not keep his weight down ! he is his own worse enemy. Probably release

Woody ? Well I just like him as a person. OK he has not had a great year, but I would keep him and expect him to come back to form. Call me sentimental if you like, but he has been a great servant to the club.

Finally, we DO need to make signings. The younger players coming through are not going to be performing like Briers, Hodgson, Monas for 2-3 yrs minimum, and that assumes they continue to develop. Some of our other stalwarts are ageing; Woody, Carvell, Higham. We have an age gap as I have posted before. Unless we make some good purchases, I suggest we will 'only' be a top 4 side next year and unlikely to win silverware. Nudge, nudge Mr Moran.

All just IMO of course

I cannot believe what I am reading. Warrington were excellent in all aspects of there game last night! It was a brillant game of Rugby and how every game should be in a pro era!

Warrington have come a long way, how people forget. . . . . .

As a complete neutral, I've got to agree with this. He's a poor player in a very good team.

I disagree he's a good player playing poor, we all know he's injured i just don't understand why we don't just drop him, sort the problem out, then play him.

When you consider that Smith is keen to rotate his squad to keep players fit and fresh for the 'business end' of the season it makes his continued selection of an injured Chris Bridge all the more baffling. Top notch player when fit, a liablity so far this season.

he's not a poor player, he's looked like his struggled physically in recent games though, but his decision making at the moment is really poor. Those two crab runs he made across the defence which ended in stupid forward passes, no idea what the logic is behind those.

I dont know what the actual op entails for tendinitis but i'm thinking its a bit late to put him in now at this part of the season.

Morley was very effective when he came on, rumours of his demise are greatly exaggerated!

And Hodgson has got a few years yet, did people not watch the Exiles game? He was pure class. And I woulnd't bat an eyelid if Menzies was signed for one year either and he is 38!

Agree with the Yed and Moe posts, put Matty in for the Hudds game for me.

Just reading the Karetaker post reminded me of that 30m break Bridge made towards the end of the game. I was constantly thinking 'he is going to give this ball away and we will lose field position'. In the end of course he did lose the ball, but that is not my point, it's the fact that I just don't have faith at the moment that he is going to make a sensible decision with ball in hand. He needs to look at the video's of his play over the last few matches with one of the coaches and ask himself why he is doing this. Injured or not, it doesn't explain what is going on in his head.

Interesting to see us put lots of pressure on Dureau, forcing him into errors. I was quite irate when we did it first time around, as he skipped past us. When it was done in a group he seemed pretty uncomfortable.

Heard Hodgy recently interviewed on radio stating that he has no intention of retiring and is discusing a new deal to stay at the HJ.
Bridge has had the knee problem all season and if he's asked to play he isn't going to refuse although it must affect his form and confidence. Can't knock anyone who's prepared to play through the pain.

I would be looking to replace for next season
Hodgson
solomona
Morley
Another season would be to far for these players at the highest level. The season after i would be looking to replace-
Briers
higham
M Monaghan
and possibly Wood

The candle burns brightest just before it goes out, I have no doubt that in the big games Morley will raise his game. We all knew that when he signed on a 4 year contract, that that he would be it as a top class performer didn't we? He's not the player he once was and you can hang on to long.

Maybe so about Morley...especially with Hilly looking so good.

Can't agree about Hodgson though he is absolute class and so influential.

(Don't want to think about Briers finishing.. hoping we can get a Tardis and bring back his 21 year old self)