Russell at full back! Please no more. He was scared to go anywhere near a high ball all day..and when he did...knock on every time!
We haven't got a half back in the club now capable of beating an average second rower for pace...not one.

It going to be a long season IMO.

Evans to Full back. He has played this position for Wales. Leave Russell on the wing.

I think the writing was on the wall in the Huddersfield friendly.. Zero creativity then and not much better last night, apart from Ratchford who's out injured I don't think we have another player that worries the opposition with ball in hand.. Obviously there is Brown to come in but I'm not exactly on the edge of my seat with anticipation over him..
Call it knee jerk but I honestly don't know if we have enough to make the top 4 this year.

faking injury? so when a french player spits blood and doesnt receive a penalty for a head high, thats faking?


your team were Indiscipline for most of the match, too hyped up maybe at the start, westerman guilty of that

The two things that stood out above all else were the total lack of speed and creativity, for a team with our aspirations that is appalling. There is more speed in the Monday pension queue than our back line!

Evans and Russell were shocking and what has happened that nasty aggressive bloke that played for the Pies Mr Crosby, I have seen more aggression in a day old chick!

I don't know where to go with that performance as a team they were inept at best, we all know we cant win the league on game 1, but game 1 should give us something to be positive about and sadly they didn't achieve that.

Westerman was very good, some glimmers of hope with others.

Maybe we can strike a line through it get through the pointless Brisbane game injury free and start the season in earnest.

I think you'd have to ask yourselves why would Wigan let a relatively young prop go to our greatest rivals without any argument?

Answer - He's not that good. He would have been about 6th choice for Wigan (behind FPN, Flower, Clubb, Sutton and Tautai) this season. In previous years he's put in a decent performance about once every six or seven games. But he was solid, never a liability.

Dom believed he was a better player than Wigan valued him at. Nothing wrong with a bit of self belief. He'll have to prove it now at Warrington though, because he's on a decent contract.

He's a long way behind Hill, Sims and Cooper and when Currie and Westwood are fit, I imagine Savelio will be ahead of him too.

You've got a good player in Crosby IMO but you will find that he'll frustrate you 'if' he carries on the same pattern of his Wigan career. The reason I say that is because he drifts through too many games yet every few weeks he'll come up with a performance which makes you think he's one of the leagues better props. He's always needed to find consistency and to do that he needs to switch on each and every week and stop waiting for the big games to really get himself going.

His showing in the Grand Final for us was a case in point. He was exceptional, the best forward on the field and he played with an aggression you don't see every week. I expect this move to Wire to move him out of his comfort zone and I think you'll see those sort of performances more often then we did but it sounds like Saturday was one of his 'switched off' games.

Russell a decent winger, picked as full back but not very good there.
Evans an International full back picked as a winger but not very good there or centre,
I've got an idea...why don't.....

Thought Crosby was doing really well till he went off. Our forwards weren't to blame they stood up immensely.

Once again I find myself looking in disbelief at Evans on the wing, Atkins at centre and Russell at Fullback. Our backline needs a complete revamp. We've been crying out for two centres and a full back for a good couple of seasons now.

Goal line defence was excellent. Until the last second, they had pretty much battered us and relied on a gift and playing against 12 to break the line. Rest was forgettable. Our back line does look terrible, but weren't we top scorers last year?

For me. Pack looks good, solid. We are going to suffer a lot in the backs this year IMO. I know we are only one match in. Gidley looked his age Saturday. Atkins, is a centre and still cannot pass, Evans, not a winger, Russell, not a Full Back. We struggled to create anything close to the line. i for one am very worried, not about just next week, the season

We need a actual full back and a blockbusting, explosive centre. We have a lot of players who work hard. But for me, apart from Clark, we have no one with that has a flash of brilliance we need to win a game, make a break, create from nothing, the skill to pull us out of the when we are behind. This really worries the me the most!! I dont think that will improve much with Brown either.

I hope i get proved wrong, i really do. I haven't been feeling it all pre season to be honest, and then Saturday just confirmed my bad feeling.

Sorry to be all doom and gloom chaps!!

I do think we need a little context here: Ratchford, Brown, Hill... I've left Currie off, as we're going to have to cope for a good while without him, but with those 3 back in, it's a completely different team. We need to sort out Russell & Evans for sure, and our threequarters look weak, but they'll still get plenty of tries once our pack & halves assert themselves, as I'm sure they will. I expected the Catalans game to go as it did, and I think people are under-estimating them. If Bird stays fit & focused, they'll be giving Leeds, Hull, Cas, Saints & us a run for a play-off spot IMO.

Stop this nonsense about people giving us a run for the play offs. We came top of the ladder last year and we have replaced Cox and Bailey with Cooper and Crosby, Sandow (brilliant for six weeks) with Brown, Savelio for no one really (or no one who played anyway). We'll be top 4 no problem.

Ratchford is our full back; Evans, Atkins, King are our centres; Lineham, Russell, Penny are our wingers - same set as last year really and we were top scorers.

I'm with you TANCW and NtW.

I think most agree that we are stronger in the pack and although it's not ideal, we are no worse at the back with King another few games under his belt and Lineham continuing to up his game would be plus points, Johnson can also do a job. Notwithstanding what to do with Evans and Russell (I'd try Evans at FB rather than wing), adding Ratchford and Brown into that back line certainly looks like a different proposition and I think it's a bit early to start moaning.

Well I hear what you say, but it's not fair that we have not won SL yet.

There are some people whose contribution is sorely missed. Ratchford is one of them. However infuriating he can be, his utility and skill level are such that he creates uncertainty for the opposition who can't then focus on 1 on 1 marking as Catalan did on Saturday.

Harvey Livett will play a lot of 1st team games this year, so he too can be counted as an extra player.

Rico we tried Rhys at FB for a spell in 2015 and he was awful.
Ratch, Kurt, Johnson & Matty in that order for Full Back

Add Penny to that list.

Would it really do any harm to put Gidley at the back in his favoured position? He would be a useful reader and communicator a la Brett Hodgson. I'm not convinced he can offer that much in attack from HB this year.

Would like to see Brown partner Patton (who's positional kicking is excellent BTW) and see Ratchford get a settled run at centre in place of Evans. Thought Ratch did okay on the occasions he played centre in 2012/13 when we were blessed with a good back line and wide play from Briers.

I don't think there is a place for Rhys in the team nor does he deserve one on his last season's performance.

6 tries (1 less than the hardly prolific Gidley) and joint 2nd in errors (33) joint 3rd in missed tackles ( 12%), just 4 assists.

Just don't get the "love in" on here with him.

No thanks.

So you don't think we will miss Sandow's 25 try assists? Or Currie's 17 tries?

I admire your optimism.

I would agree with this but was amazed that Gidley was 2nd in our try assists rating for last season with 16. Context Sandow 25.

I'm not saying you are wrong I don't recall it FB not as a spell. I definitely wouldn't play Russell there and was looking at options whilst Ratchford is out, we are short in the halves with Brown out and if Johnson is unfit.

Quote ="Uncle Rico"I'm not saying you are wrong I don't recall it FB not as a spell. I definitely wouldn't play Russell there and was looking at options whilst Ratchford is out, we are short in the halves with Brown out and if Johnson is unfit.'" Brown will play on Saturday www.rugby-league.com/article/393 ... t-brisbane

Quote ="Uncle Rico"I'm not saying you are wrong I don't recall it FB not as a spell. I definitely wouldn't play Russell there and was looking at options whilst Ratchford is out, we are short in the halves with Brown out and if Johnson is unfit.'" Brown will play on Saturday www.rugby-league.com/article/393 ... t-brisbane