I'm neither a glass half full or empty man, simply a realist. So, I'll say it as I saw it.

THAT WAS DROSS.

A first 20 minutes which we treated like a Monday morning training session, until Hudds woke up. Bugger all from the halves (nice of Mrs Sandow to pick her son as MotM). Hardly ever took their line on. Pack trying to take on huge Hudds pack down the middle was a big mistake. Backs look laboured.

We still believe our hype from the pre Easter form. We think we can just turn up, and we'll win. WRONG.RL doesn't work like that, these days.

If what Wires 71 said is correct about Smith commenting that we were entertained, I'm sorry too. Endless knock ons, in perfect (bar humidity) conditions, is not good entertainment. £20 wasted for me.

We need to improve rapidly, for next week. Remember HKR at the same stage, last year? We took them too lightly, as well.

Glad of the 2 points but we will need do be an awful lot better to pick up any silverware.

It's interesting to note that the top 3 teams all struggled this weekend. Wigan got beat whilst Hull and ourselves only scraped home in the last 10 mins. Now that could be down to fatigue, complacency or the weather. Personally I suspect it's a combination of all three. On the positive side today's performance should eliminate any possibility of us being complacent next week.

We won & have taken 2nd spot with no injuries, TS says Ratch should be okay next week.

If at the start of the season we were offered after 23 rounds 2nd spot only 1 point behind the leaders & a winnable semi final tie who would have said 'Yes Please' ?

Again unconvincing but a wins's and win.

Glad of the win today but we seemed to just decide to score every now and again. We aren't at the stage of the season when that is OK we need to out in an 80 minute performance soon or I will just lose confidence in us picking up silverware.

I'm not a head in the sand kind of guy, but it's not all bad. We walked into good field position when we wanted to, and scored enough points to win the match.

If it meant something, I'm sure the George King silly passes, the Rhys Evans knock of from the scrum and the kick off out on the full from Sandow don't happen.

When the heat turns up and we play competitive games, we can and do get over the line, and we can hold the opposition under the water when we have the momentum.

Next week, it's all about control. Go forward, go fast and support in numbers. Play off Hill and Sims, Clark through the middle and Sandow to kick on the back of it. Fast and aggressive rugby, I'm not sure Wakefield can cope with us in that mode

we have loads of good players, but we arent a very good team.

Semi final of the CC, second in the league, most points scored (best attack) & least points conceded (best defence)

Could still end up with three trophies

Your right we are $hite!!!

The whole season for all teams has been up and down and no-one has really put it together - lots of bottom teams beating those at the top.
At the moment Hull deserve to be top.
We're in there - there or thereabouts - but not good enough and play well in patches in games.
We can beat anyone when we're 'on' our game, but then again we're simply not consistent enough.

I didn't think we played well last week (regardless of what TS says), and I can't comment on todays match as I couldn't go, but from reading the Warrington Guardian live report it sounds like we didn't play with any consistency again.

Apart from when we play Saints, I think we have a more than even chance of beating any of the top teams and actually prefer playing those to the ones at the bottom. That could stand us in good stead over the next few months.

My main concern is over the wing positions.
Penny and Russell for me at the moment.

Quote ="lefty goldblatt"I'm neither a glass half full or empty man, simply a realist. So, I'll say it as I saw it. THAT WAS DROSS. A first 20 minutes which we treated like a Monday morning training session, until Hudds woke up. Bugger all from the halves (nice of Mrs Sandow to pick her son as MotM). Hardly ever took their line on. Pack trying to take on huge Hudds pack down the middle was a big mistake. Backs look laboured. We still believe our hype from the pre Easter form. We think we can just turn up, and we'll win. WRONG.RL doesn't work like that, these days. If what Wires 71 said is correct about Smith commenting that we were entertained, I'm sorry too. Endless knock ons, in perfect (bar humidity) conditions, is not good entertainment. £20 wasted for me. We need to improve rapidly, for next week. Remember HKR at the same stage, last year? We took them too lightly, as well.'" Totally agree. It's reminds me of The Emperors Clothes. Me and my wife decided last minute to go. Complete waste of £42. www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/spo ... es_spirit/ Quote After the game, Smith said there were definitely areas his side needed urgent improvement on going into next week’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Wakefield. “Some of our attack was fantastic and we scored some fantastic tries,” he said. “Our spirit and fight to the end was very pleasing but we would like to have a more rounded performance. “We put pressure on ourselves and it gifted our opponents to put too many points on the board for our liking. “We'll fix some of those areas up for next week. We need to be better than that next week but there was some brilliant passages of play.” Despite currently sitting bottom of the Super League table, Rick Stone’s Giants put in an impressive display at The Halliwell Jones Stadium and led until Clark’s 76th-minute score. Smith said the game was a superb advert for the 13-man code. “It summed up some of the season, if you came to be entertained I'm sure you were,” he said. “It was a terrific game, lots of action and suspense and finally some joy for us. “There was some aspects of it for the coaches that was a bit frustrating with some of the errors made. “I thought we invited Huddersfield into the game when we had control of it, especially at eight points up. “They are not a bottom of the table team. If you look at them throughout the season they've been in most games.”'"

Quote ="lefty goldblatt"I'm neither a glass half full or empty man, simply a realist. So, I'll say it as I saw it. THAT WAS DROSS. A first 20 minutes which we treated like a Monday morning training session, until Hudds woke up. Bugger all from the halves (nice of Mrs Sandow to pick her son as MotM). Hardly ever took their line on. Pack trying to take on huge Hudds pack down the middle was a big mistake. Backs look laboured. We still believe our hype from the pre Easter form. We think we can just turn up, and we'll win. WRONG.RL doesn't work like that, these days. If what Wires 71 said is correct about Smith commenting that we were entertained, I'm sorry too. Endless knock ons, in perfect (bar humidity) conditions, is not good entertainment. £20 wasted for me. We need to improve rapidly, for next week. Remember HKR at the same stage, last year? We took them too lightly, as well.'" Totally agree. It's reminds me of The Emperors Clothes. Me and my wife decided last minute to go. Complete waste of £42. www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/spo ... es_spirit/ Quote After the game, Smith said there were definitely areas his side needed urgent improvement on going into next week’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Wakefield. “Some of our attack was fantastic and we scored some fantastic tries,” he said. “Our spirit and fight to the end was very pleasing but we would like to have a more rounded performance. “We put pressure on ourselves and it gifted our opponents to put too many points on the board for our liking. “We'll fix some of those areas up for next week. We need to be better than that next week but there was some brilliant passages of play.” Despite currently sitting bottom of the Super League table, Rick Stone’s Giants put in an impressive display at The Halliwell Jones Stadium and led until Clark’s 76th-minute score. Smith said the game was a superb advert for the 13-man code. “It summed up some of the season, if you came to be entertained I'm sure you were,” he said. “It was a terrific game, lots of action and suspense and finally some joy for us. “There was some aspects of it for the coaches that was a bit frustrating with some of the errors made. “I thought we invited Huddersfield into the game when we had control of it, especially at eight points up. “They are not a bottom of the table team. If you look at them throughout the season they've been in most games.”'"

So we play half-d and low intensity when it suits? Just doing enough to secure the points? Able to step up a gear when it matters? I'm not convinced we were very lucky not to lose that game. The semi-final against Hull KR last year still haunts me. I was waiting all game for us to kick into gear.

It didn't help losing Ratchford the guy as been playing really well recently and they have been training all week with him in the team setting up structure for todays game

You definitely didn't go today then. Russell was atrocious in parts.

As well as not being very good at catching high balls, he's now unable to bend his back for balls at his feet.

He's so bloody indecisive, I've seen the positives in the past, but I wouldn't be d now I'd we sent him on his way.

I'd say Evans Penny for the wings next week, thoigh it looks as if Penny isn't in consideration

Russell looks terrified if the ball is kicked to him,he is completely shot under the high ball and takes an age to get it when it's bouncing around him,seems his confidence as really gone to deal with it,wonder is he training to deal with it.

I agree he does seem to have lost his confidence but brilliant at running once he's got the ball. Usually making good metres and hard to take down in a tackle. What position do people think he should play?

He should be at fullback but that does not leave a spot for Ratchford so I suspect he'll stay on the wing.

Neither at the moment, much like lineham, the positives don't outway the negatives

I think the weakest players on the pitch yesterday were Russell, Toby King and George King. Toby is still feeling his way in SL, so next season will be the real test for him, but I wouldn't play him next week. Russell was very poor and even when his confidence is high his only major contribution is the darting run with the ball that gives us some field position and momentum. Now that Ratchford has taken his spot he looks a bit lost. When a player loses confidence I suppose you can only keep picking him and waiting for it to return, but again, I wouldn't play him next week either.

So for me I would replace Russell with Penny and bring in Jullien for Toby King for the 'one off game' that could get us to Wembley. Longer term I think I would lose Russell and George King.

Agree with this and what FMC says about positives and negatives, Penny should come in next week and Rhys back to centre.

I think that Russell got caught out too many times yesterday. Out of position once is forgivable, but 3 times Ormsby scored from identical moves. Is it Russell's fault though ? Last season Russell said he wanted to play wing, so he needs to step it up when in that position.

BUT........ is this not the same wing, and playing outside the same centre that Chris Riley used to get slated for being "MIA". Atkins is having a cracking season going forward but I still think question marks exist on why he (or the system makes him) play too narrowly in defence. As a result, our winger is often caught 2(or3) on 1, and often get caught when they come inside to cover the centre channel.

The frustrating thing about this season, is frustration its self.

Without getting [iall Wigan [/i about this, we SHOULD be winning this league at a canter.

Sizeable leads in games against Stains (h), Hull (a) simply thrown away. Sizeable leads given away yesterday (twice, 8 and 10 points), the bizarre game against Salford (a), add to this, only managing to draw against 12 men for 50 minutes, HKR, and getting nilled against the bottom team, just shows the frustration for us fans.

5 years ago (under the same coach), when we got 2 try leads against sides, we'd put them to the sward, and put fifty on them. Nowadays, we invite them back into the game. To me, that's not SL getting more competitive, more us being complacent .

I fully agree with deckchair's comments, about us being a side with good players yet not being a good side. Realistically, there's only us paying transfer fees for British talent, namely Clark, Lineham and Westerman. Add this to proven talent like Sandow and Gidley, and established players like Hill and Westwood, and a somewhat rejuvenated Atkins, we're nowhere near the levels we should be at.

As I've said before, when we were 7 wins from 7 games after Good Friday, people on here were saying it's down to fitness levels. I disagreed with it then, and still do now. Our great start was down to attitude. We had a never say die outlook (Salford and Cats away) added to the sweeping away of sides (Cas HKR). Since then, we've seen the lack of attitude, as I alluded to re throwing away leads, not forgetting the total capitulation v Cas at Newcastle.

Are the players and coach [ion easy street[/i? Don't forget, we extended Smith's contract not long after the great start, and his attitude to me, has been [ic'est la vie[/i ever since.

A couple of days ago, we had a thread regarding Moran's deep pockets. He may well be sewing them up again, as we're not seeing anything for it, recently. We saw the same with Peter Higham. Top dollar Aussies (Boyd, Davidson, Roach, Blake) to the Welsh experiment (Phillips Bateman, Ellis and Davies). He stopped buying big, then switched to youth ( Harris, Hilton, Wainwright, Sculthorpe, Roper). He's a businessmanm and the scattergun approach with the chequebook has wielded nothing since 2012.

Food for thought.

Excellent post. Not a fan of negativity but this is realism. At our best we are way ahead of anyone in this league but have barely shown it since Easter. We have had disruption but all teams have that it is as quoted down to attitude as shown in our first game at Leeds.

I am hoping Tony Smith is building us up to that for the business end. Play together as a team with attitude and we will have all 3 trophies because we know we have the individual skill which has been getting us through games recently

To be honest,i think our first try was very fortunate & i think Huddersfield were very unlucky not to score off what was a very good move. Like many teams this year Hudds were making easy yards with the ball & mostly only handing over possession in parts of the field that weren't to our advantage.
Let's not kid ourselves, both sides scored 6 tries,which is quite good for a bottom of the table club, & we won because of more consistent goalkicking, just as we lost to Hull & Saints earlier in the season. Our team does ,& has done for a few seasons, find itself short of ideas when close to the opponents line & many attacks collapse at close to the line plays after a lot of hard work to get there.

Yesterday wasn't great but I honestly believe we will bring our A game in the semi final.