Same 17 for me, Vaughan to start with Yates.

Liam Moore ref and Jack Smith video ref

Well you will get all the VR decisions then. Smith and the West side teams is a joke. As for the Ref we will have to play him too. Still Rovers by 16

Don't be pathetic

There is no way that Burgess will drop Philbin, after the way he played on Saturday.

Doubt he will drop Musgrove either for Crowther, so Crowther will have to sit this game out.

What BS. He gave all Saints' tries on field last week leaving the VRs hands tied even with poor camera angles, also their line speed was impressive, if you get what I mean, and he gave ridiculous penalties like Bateman's absolutely fine PTB that gifted them territory in our half.

I didn’t mention any names to drop I merely suggested was there a case to bring Crowther in to the 17. But interested to know why you mention Philbin and Musgrove. For what it’s worth I would not drop Philbin, him and Yates were our best front row on Saturday.

I'd like a bit more impact from Vaughan and Musgrove this coming match.

I hope I haven’t got the tenor of this post wrong but I’m going with “Poundland Redvee”.

Yeah i'd start Vaughan, i think the more involvement he has from the get go the better. He can set the pace and lay a platform for Philbin, Harrison and Musgrove to pick up when he has a rest.

Watched the away game from earlier in the year, and the first home game, we're more than their equal, I put the second home game down to fatigue after the Wigan and Saints games, Friday is totally mouth watering. Have a feeling we'll turn it on and it won't be as close as the Saints match but we shall see.

I think HKR are very strong and they have been getting better of late. We will need to be at our very best & have some good fortune to progress. I don't think it is just a case of us turning up with a desire to win as I am sure we'll have that. I would start with Vaughan as I think he is best at taking the ball up in the very tough early stages

Stop Mikey Lewis and put pressure on his kicks and we’ll go along way to stopping them.

Now The Wire.

Crowther is in the 17 tonight. Musgrove has been dropped.

Wow that's a bit of a surprise, I thought Sam would go with the same 17.

One of the things I was impressed with last week was the "shielding" of the players that were lined up to take the St Helens kicks. There were usually 2 or 3 people dropped back. ((I appreciate the Dufty one went wrong but we had plenty of players in the frame)
To go a step further it would be even better if we didn't end up in a situation where the kicks could be challenged. That is easier said than done when you have players like Hall, Burgess and Hiku carting the ball up on those early plays. I don't think it is their pack that makes the yards when we are going set for set. We need to put a lot of energy into stopping those early carries from gaining momentum. We know in play offs we are allowed to stay on in the tackle a bit longer and it is a fine line to tread but we need to contain them.

KR are a different beast, so I guess Burgess wants a bit of longevity of work rate in his forwards. I guess we'll also be a bit fatigued against their fresh legs, so it makes more sense to have the option of Crowther-type 80 minutes player than an impact one.

Deserves his place. Gives his all every time.

I thought that he'd had a couple of half decent games whilst Vaughan was out, but last week's 4 carries for 24 meters was almost Dudsonesque.

14 minutes

Quite happy with Crowther. Good work rate especially in defence & tough as hell. Must have been difficult to leave out vs. Saints.

I must admit to being quite pleased with Musgrove's recent performances more by impression than backed up statistically.

Crowther being picked is fine, he's a grafter that's for sure and the more Sam instils the idea that we are operating a meritocracy has got to motivate all involved to get their names on the next team sheet, hopefully in a week's time.

NTW

On Wednesday I asked was there a case for Crowther to come into the 17. I did not mention names but I did ask on the Saints thread was there a reason why Musgrove never came back on, there was no mention of injury. Anyway this is going to be an intense match and I much prefer Crowther’s energy for this.

Off-side penalty then gave a 6 again for not being square that led to their first try on Saturday. Cant afford the same again tonight.

Interesting decision, and on balance a good one.