I should have said earlier, there was one positive from today (in addition to finding a way to snatch victory). On most attacks in the opposition 40 we had so many options and runners. Looked very different to a Price attack. Once we click and cut out the errors and silly offloads we should be dangerous to all teams. I guess we could also praise some last ditch tackling after we gave Leeds so much territory.

Ratchfords tackle early on to somehow stop Walker dead and drag him back from the line in one motion was a sensational effort.

Agreed. We were pretty solid all over really and so were Leeds for that matter. Too many dropped balls early on and at the end too a bit of composure lacking maybe and we need to sharpen up a bit on goal line defence, their first 2 tries were a bit disappointing IMO.

That's the sort of performance that would have got worse and worse and ended up really embarrassing under Price.

We didn't deserve to win can be expressed alternatively as our performance wasn't up to scratch. Effectively, means the same, and is just a moot point, as the scoreboard said 22-20 to Wire. That's sport, and nobody is going to want the points awarded to Leeds as Warrington supporters know only too well, that you get nothing for hard luck.
Onwards, indeed, but there's a lot of work to be done for DP to improve on our performance today.

As I said earlier, we didnt deserve to win - - but the scoreboard shows we did.

However putting it another way, which of the two coaches will be more satisfied with their teams performance?

IMO Agar has one thing to sort out - discipline. If he gets that right Leeds will be a real force this year.

DPs worklist is fairly extensive, but unlike our previous coach I DO think he knows how to fix it.

Why should king replace wrench?

I think Wrench was a one of our best. If he can deliver that standard consistently he will stay in the team.

Holmes struggled in my opinion, slow in defence coming off his line, shows in the first Leeds try. By no means was he rubbish, but that coupled with discipline, he needs to improve.

Soft in the middle still, Bullock did ok but we have gone backwards in that section with losing Hill.

Good game though, despite being drenched, good to be back

Because King is better.

Wrench was good for the most part yesterday really and his future looks quite promising, he needs to play to improve but none of that makes him a better option than Toby King.

Harsh on Holmes BW, he looks a far superior player to Jack Hughes IMO, he got a try assist and showed attacking intent plus he tackled every bit as well as Hughes. Jason Clark played strong when he came on but I just see the same old issue of a painfully slow PTB whenever he runs it in.

Wrench was MOM in my opinion yesterday. If king is going to come back into the side then matautia should make way. Players should not lose their place if they perform like wrench did yesterday, regardless of how old they are.

I’m not sure it is harsh. A catch and pass assist got him some credit in the bank, but the penalty for the ball steal when we had them under pressure on around 30 minutes, followed by the high shot on Handley when they were coming away from their line and down to 11 men 5 minutes later are just absolute criminal penalties.

Slow off his line early on which gave the opportunity for Walker, Ratchford try saver on our line preventing a try, replicated for the try.

Can’t recall anything particularly barnstorming or effective with ball in hand. Carried it ok, but not punching holes.

On the whole, just ok but with disciplinary issues. (Same synopsis of Hughes’s career to date). Not writing him off, but I can’t say that I’m excited to watch his development either, not sure how many more gears he has.

Did you turn off before the end?

Anyway, my controversial opinion is that we now have better distribution out of 9 with Walker on the field than with Clark. Not a criticism of Daryl who is still one of our absolute stars, but testament to how much Walker has improved. We started making those breaks towards the end in part because Walker was sending out quick, accurate passes from the play the ball.

Nice problem to have with three good and capable centres. Form should take preference over any other criteria, in my view. The [idifficult [/iproblem has been mentioned many many times.

Quite the variety of opinions on this thread over who had a good game and who did not.

D Clark not playing on Thursday, so I guess Davis will be interchange hooker with J Clark starting at 13. Other than that, the only question is Wrench/King to my mind and I'd give Wrench another game, particularly as King is touch and go. However, the week after, King comes back in for me - he's earned the right over the past few years to a starting spot.

I suppose the other thing that's not been mentioned is that almost all the team had only one pre-season run-out, and most of them only 60 minutes of that. Leeds first 17 I think have had 2 or 3 games. Hopefully we'll get more into our stride by next week and over in Toulouse the week after (especially if the weather is mild and dry). We could have scored more except for the silly errors, but we did look very weak in bringing the ball upfield with the forwards.

Anyway, we'll know more in the next few weeks. Game 1 was never going to see us at our best.

Agree about Walker too, if he can keep progressing he'll be too good to not be in the 17. He also has the rugby smarts and wasn't afraid to give the older players a ticking off when needed. Possible future Captain? Didn't he Captain the Knights or the England Academy at some point?

Interesting points by some.

Personally I thought holmes a bit naff yesterday, hesitant in defence (well that's across the board) gave at least 3 penalties away and got himself binned.

Likewise with wrench, it was a good run and pass to put ashton away and finished the try, but for the rest of the game he was running like Jack Hughes, chucked a pass badly into touch and also dropped a ball when we were under the cosh giving Leeds another chance to keep the pressure on.

I just hope the injuries aren’t catching up with Daryl as we have flogged him pretty much in the Price era. I can’t recall a single darting run from dummy half when was on and his passing was a bit slow and laboured. One thing for sure though is that Danny Walker will be up for any challenge and his passing is faster and more accurate as has been said.

Leon Pyrce said pre match he thought Walker would be in the England team at the World Cup.

Yes I couldn't work out if I'd misheard that, since no one else mentioned it. Shaun Wane has obviously seen something he likes, since he got a late call-up after the Knights game.

Only seen the highlights, but Inman looked to pass quickly and accurately out of dummy half against Salford. This gets us on the front foot and makes the space out wide. Walker, who also possesses a smart kicking game, must start on Thursday, unless he's got a knock, with Davis filling in if required.

Of course he made mistakes. He has played 7(?) games, fairly irregularly, and it was the first game of the season. Surely we look at someone with that physique and the good touches he showed and think about giving him some game time rather than moan he isn't perfect straight away? I think he is a really exciting talent.

Defensive line speed is a big factor these days with the like of Saints & Leeds having players running in from behind the line so they are moving at speed but still onside when the ball is played. Perhaps a strategy of a chip over the top for our super aware players to hare after would be a good counter to this. It remains to be seen how our new lightweight pack will perform putting the ball through hands instead of trying to batter up the middle when the ball & pitches start to dry out.

I'm not writing him off, I'm not expecting him to be perfect, I'm just saying that in contrast to others, overall I didnt think he was that good yesterday, that also applies across the board though

I stayed until the end and have since re-watched on TV. The second coming of Ben Westwood he is not. I didn’t see anything, both live or on tv, to separate him and Hughes. Realistically, on yesterday’s performance, he is interchangeable with Hughes/Robson/Longstaff, which is why I questioned the signing in the first place.

I’m not being overly negative, but he was a particularly weak point outside of the middle area, which as a collective, was dominated. I hope he proves me wrong, I’d love a dynamic and exciting back rower, and I’m not writing him off. Just on yesterdays showing, needs to improve, particularly with momentum changing penalties.

Hi,
Not posted here for prob 10-15 years and have recently re registered.

I thought overall we were quite poor although when we had a sniff we looked dangerous with ball in hand. Definately struggled to make any metres. The only way round this was by chucking it out wide and making break which was fine on the day as Leeds were down to 12.
I thought Walker had a good game and Clarke was out of sorts. However i don't get the massive hype with Walker. Don't get me wrong, he's very solid and has good distribution but on his day Clarke is still far superior, espcially in attack. I haven't seen Walker make any dummy half runs that break the line as Clarke normally does. Perhaps this will come with time.
Drop Charnley for Thewlis? hmm. I like Thewlis but Charnley is a proven finisher.
I still think we've yet to find our best 17 on yesterdays showing. I'd prefer maybe Ashton at full back and Thewlis on the wing. Or vice versa. Move Stef to the bench and rotate with Walker if Clarke is injured for next week. I know people aren't keen on Ashton at full back but he scored some great tries from this position last year as his support play is excellent. I don't think he's reached those heights since playing on the wing.

Welcome back (even though I wasn't here when you took a break)!
Yesterday, there were more questions than answers. It'll be interesting to see how Thewlis, Wrench, Longstaff and others are integrated, over time, into regular first choice match day 17.