Daft decision to appeal it.

The only rationale I can think of is that they thought they had a chance of getting him in for the Cas match and if it went wrong he’ll “only” miss an extra game vs Toulouse that we expect to win easily - which as we know with Warrington is dangerous thinking!!

What’s done is done. We lose a second rower for Cas and Toulouse, but thankfully it’s a position we have cover for.

The lesson here is that we need to be super disciplined now. Also we need to be better at driving the ball in (the forwards often took the ball standing still last week) and we need to tidy up the rustiness. If se can fix those little things we can be dangerous even with a light pack.

I agree about Wrench. Those mistakes weren’t purely down to him, and he performed better than most last week. If those two passes had come off we’d all be praising that left wing partnership as the most lethal in the comp.

I thought that it was the wrong decision to appeal but I guess that the rationale was;

We have a case.
We are short in the pack vs. Cas (Hughes not fit, D Clark ruled out) but should have bodies back for Toulouse game.

If you are referring to my original mention of King to second row, I said it was something that Price had tried, and it remains to be seen whether Powell will follow suit. Please explain how that is a stupid comment?

I don't see it as stupid either. Centres switch to SR and SR's play centre in lots of clubs. In the modern game there's not much difference. Personally I would probably put Longstaff in but having King at SR doesn't worry me at all.

King can bide his time or perhaps get a show off the bench, but no way can you drop Wrench dead for King. Sends out the wrong signals to the lad.
Competition is healthy… Wrench has the shirt on merit. King will need to force his way back in, not given a golden ticket.
King is s risk returning from injury anyway.

Al depends on where Hughes, Longstaff and Robson are in DP's pecking order, and fitness. I thought the appeal against Holmes' one match ban was a wild gamble.

Me too - wild and unnecessary. It's glaringly obvious that the disciplinary folks are in crackdown mode (as they always are with something or other in the first few weeks of a season), so an appeal was very unlikely to be upheld. The smart decision would have been to just suck it up on this occasion and try to keep on the right side of the committee.

For the future, there may be a knock on effect of a bigger ban should Holmes reoffend.
I'm concerned that another one match ban for the same offence now turns into two, or a two match ban now turns into three. We've moved on Lineham, whose card was well and truly marked by the RFL disciplinary committee, why make another rod for your own back with Holmes. Agree with you, should have just sucked it up.

Barring any late injuries in the warm up, the squad is.....

Ratchford
Charnley
Matautia
King
Ashton
Williams
Widdop
Philbin
Walker
Mulhern
Currie
Longstaff
J Clark

Hughes
Davis
Bullock
Thewlis

Cooper's ill. Wrench is injured.

Would have liked an additional prop on the bench, with Butler coming into the squad to replace Cooper, but it looks like Thewlis will play fullback while Ratchford moves to hooker to give Walker a rest.

Personally think Walker is capable of doing the full 80, like you I would of preferred another prop on the bench.

Woh……hang on a cotton picking second here. Cooper not playing? Holy sheet! Seriously? We now have NO good props in the 17. Double jeepers….

I almost had it spot on, I didn't get the memo about copper being ill obviously.

It's a good team, I like thewlis on the bench to cover a few position's I think wrench probably would have taken that spot if he wasn't injured. Cooper missing is a massive blow, the rest of the pack really need to step up tonight.

Hopefully the team will be confident after Saturday and we see an improved performance. Cas will want to bounce back though, I just hope we get the job done again.

That’s a massive blow without Cooper. Not at all confident now. Is King ready to slot in yet if Wrench is out?

That’s twice sick in a few weeks for Cooper. And Clarke looked to be about 30% fit last week. Must be a bug going round the camp.

Well, this will be a real test for our props given our only decent one isn't playing. I'm not confident about tonight after this. Cooper makes such a difference.

Sorry - have I missed something?
When did the 'Cooper' issue arise?

Now I dont spend hours on here, but Ive never seen a post from Paul2812 before even though allegedly hes made over 2000. Maybe on the Cas board?

I'll believe it either when I see it or when a poster I recognise confirms it.

,,
I've seen many posts from Paul, and recognise the avatar as I've lost a few quid on it in the past.
Cooper is a massive loss, it's a shame that Wrench is injured, let's hope the rest of the pack can step up.

Jeepers? I think this needs upgrading to Jinkies!

Cannot disagree on both points, but would we lose an interchange for bringing in another player, not named in the squad?

Yes we would

Fair play Paul2812.
I'll keep an eye out for your posts in future !!

Presumably Cooper and Clark have to fight their way back into this team, no?