great news is cudjoe is back for this one with us losing turner we need some experience in the back line and it will allow mcintosh to go back to full back even if his future may not be there.

hopefully we get some good news on ferguson soon too.

big one this, certainly capable of being catalans at home as any team is but seen them turn us over before!

hoping obrien is ok too which he should be if he passes the concussion tests, if not leeming can do 80mins.... clough can fill in at hooker too if needed.

will wilson play again or will matagi come in, we shall see!

I feel I’ll in a minority of 1 here, but I think Matagi has done ok - and certainly doesn’t deserve the flak on the threads.

I’ve Been to all games home and away this year ( except dragons) and whilst not sparkling , he’s been solid. Especially in defence.

He has a presence on field and seems to encourage other lads. Not sure of his stats...but seems not to commit many penalties.

Think clough has been great since his return from injury btw.

So according to things posted by various people on this site
..... the kids have all done well and the future’s bright , turner has been one of our most consistent players, Clough and Matagi have been solid, mellor will be a massive loss, wardle has been great since he came back, Murphy is tough and hardworking, gaskell has come into his own, our hookers are two of the best in the league.....

Makes you wonder why we’ve struggled doesn’t it!!!

yeah but we won last week, they'll be back to slagging off next time we lose

Not sure what the problem with positivity is, the problem in my opinion is consistency and leadership, which come hand in hand.

My take on our squad (Seniorish players)

Darnell - Excellent in patches, poor in others - a lot to learn but isn't frightened to have a go. Will keep improving.

Jerry - Seen the best of him and is now on the decline. Still makes good yards and can finish. Has lost his pace and its why he doesn't make as many clean breaks. When he does he soon gets caught now. However, is he ever truly fit when he plays? we seem to bring him back early and he always seems to be injured again a couple of weeks later.

Leroy - Wont be the player he was. Hopefully he can stay fit now, but jury is out still.

Turner - Made great yards this season, one of our consistent performers.

Uate - Thus far, waste of space. Will see how he goes when hes back from injury.

Gaskell - Excellent most of the time at half back.

Frawley - Not good enough, release.

Matagi - Average prop. Wouldnt get in a top 5 side and isnt probably worth the money paid for an overseas player.

Leeming - When hes excellent, hes excellent. However, still has a lot to learn and can be poor at times.

Clough - Solid and dependable. Would he get in a top 5 side? I doubt it.

Murphy - Sold and dependable. Tackles well but offers nothing going forward. Very slow now too. Would he get in a top 5 side? No.

Mellor - Good young player, still got improvement. Solid and dependable.

Bruno - Solid and dependable. Top 5 side material? again, I don't think so.

Taai - Never seems to get the luxury of settling in his position, always moved between prop and 2nd row. Better in 2nd row for me.

Ferguson - Injury prone, needs to retire.

Walne - Injury prone. Showed glimpses of a good player earlier this year. Year before was poor.

Roberts - Nothing like the player he was in 2017. Id say we need to look at moving him on if possible.

Joe Wardle - Excellent since his return. Stuggles to stay fit though.

AOB - Sold hooker. But shouldn't start for me.

Seb - Waste of space, need to move on ASAP.

yeah yeah yeah, heard this one before

19 man squad named. Cant see Young being named if he isn't playing. Which maybe confirms that Jerry is out for this game. Obvious line up is:

Senior
Jerry (if fit) or Young
Darnell
Wardle
Senior
Gaskell
Holmes
Clough
Leeming
Seb
Mellor
Taai
Murphy

Wilson
English
Bruno
Frawley or Matagi

lets hope the youngsters can back up again and its not a one off which is often the case !

He didn’t seem to have any particular issues last week so I’d expect Jerry to play if named. Young is potentially 19th man and it could be he’s being rewarded for his recent performances.

For the u19’s?

dont see any reason why mcgillvary wouldnt play

going to be a tough match!

You sure about that???

They were doing the captains run when I was driving past this morning so stopped and watched for 5 mins. From what I could see Jerry was training and looked fine to me. Woolford mentioned Darnell was in the centres again this week but it looked to me as though one of the Seniors were training inside him, Darnell was over the other side. Maybe Jake is missing again so Darnell moves to left centre with Dom Young on the wing?? Hopefully Jake is fit though as I thought he was quality last week.

If Darnell does move to centre permanently then it surely means Turner will move to loose forward next year as cant see us having 4 centres, especially as youd expect Jake Wardle to stake a claim for a starting spot after another pre season.

If we do bring a full back in for a couple of years while Louis develops further then I think we have our back line well and truly covered for years to come.

Louis to take over the 1 shirt in 2 years time.
Innes already has in many ways but youd expect him to take over the 5 shirt well and truly when Uate goes end of 2021.
Jake Wardle could take over the 4 shirt next year, definitely in 2021.
Darnell will take over Leroys 3 shirt in 2021 (sooner if Leroy hangs them up)
Dom Young to replace Jerry on the right when he retires.

You sure about that???

Hopefully lads can do it again tonight but Catalan pack is a lot bigger than ours and with only one of the two polar bears outnight really needs to be a good game for Matagi

I was right next to the pass in the giants “forward pass “ try. No way was it forward.

Sixty minutes of drivel from Giants and then when they finally start playing the ref takes the game off them with an awful decision.

Assessment...

We are so light-weight, it is unreal. Barring Taai, we have no strength.

Our strike props have all of a sudden decided to try to break the line with their backside instead of just trying to bust through. Those that do, make no yards.

Our right side can't tackle, our left side can't pass to hand.

Our line speed is dismal.

We have no speed in the three quarters and if we do, we can't utilise it.

We have no last tackle options.

We can't defend kicks and have even stopped catching unopposed bombs.

Someone was once made to look silly when they said you can't win anything with kids. However, when the kids are built like that, it's true. It really is like men against boys.

People are bagging Frawley, but how can a half play inventive rugby behind that pack.

But it's alright because most of our team are home grown and that's all that counts.

We need 3 new props to replace Matagi, Seb and Clough

Our two best props are a winger and a second row.....

simple question would Clough, Matagi, Seb, Bruno or Murphy get in a top 5 team? simple answer is no.

Murphy is past it now and should be a squad player.

Matagi was a gamble which hasn't paid off. People try tell me hea a unit. Really? Looks small compared to most teams props

Seb ha she deteriorated so much. He's uselessness now.

Clough did well last year but still not got the size.

Bruno is the best out of the 5 but I'm not a sure he's even good enough for a top 5 team

Plus the like and of Ferguson who needs to retire now, his body can't hack it

Seb running straight for the first time this year in his second stint was a highlight...

never looked like winning lastnight

kids couldnt back up as expected , need some senior players back asap.

mind you even the likes of mcgillvary and gaskell are letting us down at times now!

roll on next week for another team selection merry go round

erm we knew last season we were a lightweight team

what was woolfords answer to solve it, nothing... well suppose you can say matagi was his answer



least we will get rid of mellor and replace with edwards next season, bit more size on that score

hopefully next week we will get obrien and cudjoe back... better team then

what was attendance?