I agree with Hock going well, also Stewart. Riddy was smothered and Pelissier seemed a little lost and ineffective and then with about 15 mins to go something seemed to switch on in his head.

Maybe I should feel a little deflated but it was a good match, we weren't horrible and it was a great atmosphere. ~8,500, good chats with many Cas fans around the ground all night and the realisation that I'm going to need triple socks for some of these late night summer rugby fixtures.

Brilliant to see the Leigh shirt back in Super League. No reason to be negative whatsoever. 1 goal for the season, stop in Super League and Derek will make that happen. I'm sure the boys are already targeting and speaking with new players so survival is achieved. 12 years since they were last in Super League the lads did us proud - I think you would be nervous and a bit too try-hard with that pressure. Give them time to learn and grow as the season progresses and enjoy the ride as you watch that growth. Looking at the Leeds game last year and the Cas game last night, it's clear that Super League teams know how to niggle without getting penalised.

Gaz Hock was superb as always leading from the front and with ball in hand and some possession, Leigh can score points, absolutely no doubt. Think we missed Fui (absorbing 4 tacklers each drive) and personally I'd liked to have retained Lee Smith for the experience he showed last year - maybe there was more than disclosed on that one. The jury is out on Hampshire, seems a bit frenetic.

I think we can do Leeds next week. Stay positive and remember, if they can successfully learn to be runner-up last night, they can learn to win next week.

Agreed.. Hock getting penalised for obstruction is ridiculous.

Having watched it back over , not as dissapointed as last night

The spear tackler should have been binned , obviously Powell as all other coaches will do is tell their players to niggle Hock , but Hicks should have had the card out before Gareth hit the floor , spear tackling isn't ' niggle '

We held our own for 20 minutes but didn't execute either a score or force a drop out despite having opportunity to do so , Cas did and we started to tire , they will punish better teams than us if they aren't matched early on

We must offload the ball , we cannot just keep battering away at SL defences , the stats showed we matched them in completion and field position , but they offloaded and built pressure which tired us out , also I have to say they did get more than their fair share of ' bounce of the ball ' last night

But we re group and go again , for me Hock was our MOM , we did our best work with him on the pitch

Good post Gubby.

The new rules we seem to be missing.Drinky was kicking old school rules,when simply just keep hold of it, is the answer.

Hock's go forward was excellent last night, especially during his second spell. Stewart went well too. For me the problem was that too many players looked exhausted after 15 minutes. I wonder if this can be put down to adrenaline more than lack of fitness. Evidenced by the way our "escape" sets from within our own 20m were often not gaining more than 30m, however Cas regularly making 50+. Castlefords interchanges were superb too and we couldn't live with their bench. There will be more than a couple of sides who'll lose by more than 28 at Cas this year, they look an excellent side. Onwards and upwards.

Yes,our kicking game was poor. We will put that right next week.On the last tackle you need to choose the right option,we chose the wrong decision too often. I don't think keeping hold of it on the last tackle is the answer either.Maybe a grubber kick inside the 10m, or further away, do an up n under, but make sure it's not too near the try line,or alternatively,kick it into touch and grab a breather if necessary.

They went for goal to ensure that Leigh had to score 4 times, which was pretty much out of reach,Irrespective of going 70 meters to score again.

Correct Cokey. It made it a 4 score game, no other reason. If anyone thinks that Gale was saying 'we'll take these 2 because we know we'll go 70 metres and score from the restart' then they need to give their head a shake! The thinking would have been 'take the 2, make it a 4 score game, complete our next set and go into the sheds 4 scores up'. I think a select few of your own fans are being a little harsh. If I was a Leigh supporter I would be taking more positives than negatives from the game. Hock looked strong, Hanson his usual solid self, Stewart has a lot more in him when the team gels more, halfbacks that are prepared to move the ball about, Higson ran the ball back strong (but looked like he struggled with the mentality side of standing behind his own sticks more than he's used to) and Higham still to come back in to give more direction around the ruck. This season is a learning curve and Jukes will learn more every week. I am 99.9% certain that you will retain SL status and be a lot stronger next season for the experience. Be thankful you are not in Widnes' position, as I think they are really going to struggle this year. Good luck against Leeds, I'll cheer for anyone against them!!

Thats my point Cokey,if theres nothing on,on the last in the 20/30m then just keep hold.Kick and hope becomes costly.

Derek, Harpo Marx talks more sense than thee



Leyth to finish in the Top 8

Frank Blackburn hair will grow back before that.Charlie knows.

If you're in the 20/30 you want to either score or force a drop out , we kicked poorly and didn't chase well enough , at least 3 times we let them off the hook in the 1 st 20 minutes

I agree with you there Brian. A good few of our Championship winning team seemed to struggle to get used to the pace and intensity that a good SL team plays at. It could take another two or three games before they can adapt to those levels.

The adapting needs to be played out at home.Hence team selection for Cas.

I think some supporters are over optimistic thinking you are a shoe in for top 8 and some too pessimistic after one game against a very good Castleford side. It should be noted that you had a lot of players making their debut against a team that has had a core group of players together for a few seasons. I do think you have a horrible start of games and like many struggle to see where you will pick up points in these games. Who you peed off to get the start you have I do not know. Compounding this run of games is the amount of new players you have brought in, I reckon we will not see the real Leigh until round 8-10 at which point a shot at the top 8 may be beyond you. I am not saying this side will not be good enough to get a top 8 spot but possibly could be too far away points wise. I would say that if you do end up in the middle 8's then injuries permitting I would expect you to navigate it comfortably.

Common sense post..

We are use too hinderance.

In that case Ian,Harpo shall make a return to my avatar.

Fixture planners done us no favours.
The fear is that after an horrendous start we have nil points after 4 games and even worse several team members sat in the stand bashed and broken for the next set of games. We are already then chasing our tails
Club felt the need to seek to bring in a conditioner. Presumably thought was some of the senior lads maybe needed redefining and the younger lads Hopkins/Acton a move up to the next level in order to compete We signed the Aussie lad "to play long minutes". Someone posted Saints and Leeds have small packs, hardly as we will see at LSV shortly. We need that power and stamina to keep us in the games. We will score tries.
Jukes said that we made poor errors and bench did not have any impact. Hansen mainly and Hock looked to be able to compete but not for the duration.Stewart made 32 tackles.
We have a lot to fix. Bring on the Rhinos.

Wire lost to Catalans with Hilly missing,probably the best pack on paper.Long way to go.

Well I thought Riddy wasn't at his best.

We should bring back Acton Higham and Hopkins imo.

Move Mitch Brown to fullback

Rocky on the wing Reynolds at stand off.

We can beat Leeds.

Oh and Maria on the bench for Vea.

Brown at fullback is reliant on Tonga at .Naughton is the winger on board.Riddys not fit.

Totally agree about Maria frank, he looked good in the 2 friendlies, whilst Vea has had little impact so far......

Naughton is a very good fullback who is good under the high ball and is rapid.