I think, like us yesterday, they looked very sharp for the majority of the match. They will be hard to beat but i think if we defend like we did in the first half yesterday we can win by a comfortable margin. Langley has dislocated his shoulder for them so will be out, hopefully we'll have Roberts & Fielden back but Deacon's possibly out which is a massive blow for us IMO. I'd drop Prescott for Fielden;

Amos
Goulding
Gleeson
Carmont
Charnley
Sam
Leuluai
Lima
McIlorum
Coley
Hoffman
Farrell
O'Loughlin

Joel
Mossop
Fielden
HH

Awesome bench, if we cut out the stupid penaltys I cant see past us winning.

If Fielden is fit then he needs to start IMO. Lima would be better used as an impact sub off the bench. Joel needs to get a rocket in training this week but dropping him so early seems a bit harsh. I wouldn't be surpised if Madge did it though. A lot depends on Deacs being fit.. If he is then our back line looks a lot more stable

That's the exact side I'd go with, however like the above I'd start Fielden and bench Lima.

Reason I've put Fielden on the bench is because he's not done any pre season games, and coming back off an operation, need to ease him back into the side.

Bradford looked really good, alot better than last year. It can be hard bringing in so many new players and getting them to gel as Salford found out today.

Any news on Deacon???

Bradford were really strong when using short kicks behind towards the in goal. Those kicks are very hard to defend and whoever plays at fullback for us will need to be very alert and stay out of the defensive line.

I would hope that Maguire saw how effective those kicks were for Bradford and starts drilling it into the players to try short kicks in goal rather than kicking cross field every time. We waste so much potential possession that way even though in Leuluai and O'Loughlin we have two of the best short range kickers we could hope for. Kicking towards Goulding yesterday was absolutely pointless.

I think if Ah Van plays on the wing then it would be wise to have Roberts or Charnley up against him, as he's not the quickest and I reckon he'd be very slow trying to turn and chase a kick behind him.

Briggs will be dangerous because his kicking game is very effective. If we allow him to kick on the front foot too often we'll struggle to prevent them from gaining good field position. We also need to improve our kicking game a lot. Leuluai just doesn't seem good enough to kick in field. Hopefully Deacon will be fine next week and he can take over the kicking. If not then Tomkins has to move into the halves, otherwise Sam Powell deserves a chance. A top side needs far better kicking and creativity than what Leuluai offered yesterday.

Have to say, thank you for actually watching the game with an unbiased view.

In all honesty, I'd be surprised if we take the points off you as I'd say you're a much more settled side than we are.
If we do beat you on Sunday, I'd say it has more to do with your guys having an eye on the WCC rather than our overall ability. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think Bradford will win more than they lose this year. But our side is still gelling together and as shown today against Leeds, we don't yet know how to kill off a game.

But I think we'll push you close.

If you play like that every week you'll easily finish in the top 6 IMO.

Tricky game ahead!
Lose next week and to St George and we are in a hole!

In a hole?

Come on lets get serious(apologies if you were saying it tounge in cheek). We're defending champions with a top class squad and a top class coaching set up. We have a chairman that has done an unbelievable job and we get the biggest crowds in superleague.

If we lose next week and against St George i'll be disappointed(and suprised) but we'll be far from in a hole. We'll still be in great shape to make a long term challenge on all fronts.

As for the Bradford game we should be ok. They'll be gutted after that Leeds defeat and aslong as we control the ball and our discipline we should have too much.

Agreed. Compared to 2006 when we won two league games in sixteen it would be a mere crack.

Should be a good crowd on Sunday if the weather is kind to us

Odds on for fog.

FB 19 Roberts
RW 2 Goulding
RC 3 Gleeson
LC 4 Carmont
LW 25 Charnley
SO 1 Sam
SH 7 Leuluai
P 21 Mossop
H 9 McIllorum
P 10 Coley
SR 11 Hansen
SR 16 Hoffman
LF 13 O'Loughlin

S 8 Fieden
S 15 Lima
S 22 Farrell
S 23 Tuson

Dropped Prescott because for my money he was the worst of the four props and Fieden deserves his shot. Dropped Joel to give him a kick up the backside ahead of the WCC and to give a much deserved chance to Chris Tuson who despite not being the most talented player in the world never lets you down and gives 110% as long as he's on the pitch for.

Hansen on the bench and starting?

He's EVERYWHERE

I remember the fogged off game, that started and then was called off. They were handing out vouchers for the rescheduled game on the way out of the ground. I managed to blag an extra one for my Dad who didn’t come to the first game.

When we finally went to the rearranged game, we got there and I had left the vouchers at home. Dad went mental. Serves me right for being dishonest I suppose!

Also remember driving to Bradford and being told that another game was on/off, on/off all the way there. It was finally confirmed as being off as we got on the exit slip road of the motorway, so we drove round the roundabout and down the other slip road and headed straight back home.

Will be a tough game on Sunday. I know most Saints fans never rated Potter but I think that’s harsh. Catalans played some super stuff when he was in charge. Bradford will go well this season.

Are any coaches staying behind for the reserves game afterwards?

For anyone coming over on Sunday, dress for bad weather as the forecast at the moment doesn't look good.

I agree with the sentiments of dropping both Joel and Prescott because their performances were quite poor but where's the logic in giving Hansen a starting spot? Hansen was just as bad. Sure he got a try, but he also didn't bother looking for work in attack. At least Prescott bothered to get his hands on the ball and was more involved in defence.

On balance, Joel and Hansen were roughly on a par, but Joel has shown he has the potential to be a top class player on his day. Hansen does nothing in attack but defends well, and we already have a player who does much more in attack and defends much better in Liam Farrell.

Oh joy.

Odsal on a cold, wet February day is a delight!

Joel and Hansen would have been on a par but for Joel giving away 2 penalties unlike Hansen, that's while he makes the team. As for why he starts, I don't believe in just picking your best 2 props, best hooker and best 3 back rowers and making them the starting pack; especially when your side has a problem with getting complacent after a strong start. Having Farrell on the bench means we'll get an extra boost after the first half hour or so after which we've often already built up a lead. I'm not saying Farrell would play less mins than Hansen, just that I'd utilise him off the bench.

including bits of him in a towel, that now resides in the bin at Millenium Stadium!





any idea what was going on there??

I'd have thought that was obvious.....

well i mean, what happened, was it blood or otherwise...havent seen it on telly yet and only saw him wipe his arris vaguely from the stands lol!