Clarke needs a big game from somewhere because at the moment he is down the pecking order. Bullock and Bryrn and some of the young lads have been flying in. Having said that perhaps Lam wants him to be a big minutes prop because when I have seen him he has been playing a kind of steadying role.

Just on this 80 min hooker thing, is it not the case that Joe Shorrocks has played a bit of interchange hooker at Academy level? Which might gives us an option if he gets a bench spot at some point this season, which seems likely.


I agree with those who say, keep French at full-back. i also agree that Cas away is a tough place and not the best spot to blood a lot of inexperienced youngsters.

Looks like both Powell and Burgess could be playing on Friday, don’t want Burgess playing because he’s simply not fit but Powell would be good to have, I’d still spell him with Tommy at 9 and have Smith at 6 however

George Burgess 50/50 according to Lam but he’d need to be 100/0 IMO to get a game. It’s a long season and there’s no point in playing people who are anything like 50/50.

Powell has passed the head tests apparently, so he would be handy to have in the team. I’m really looking forward to seeing Harry Smith yet a start at some point but Toronto at home would be a wiser move than Cas away. I’d carry him on the bench for Cas and start him against Toronto.

If Powell needs a week off it would be a great opportunity to see Harry Smith alongside Hastings. I watched the Widnes reserves game and he was a level above in that first half. I suspect Shorrocks would get the nod because he could spell Tommy at 9.

Joe Shorrocks?

Surely we can't have TC and GB in the same 17?
GB if injured needs to be as you say 100% but TC hasn't been 100% for years and how he gets selected ahead of Kilner or Havard is a complete mystery to me.
When TC plays its like starting with 16 rather than 17

If Sam has passed every head test known to man I still wouldn’t play him, the guy was knocked out cold, you can’t mess with that, I’d be quite willing to give him a couple of month off, like a boxer really if they get ko’d they usually don’t fight again for a good few months , we need to start treating serious head knocks like a serious knee injury out for a good while.

Agreed, think within the next year our pack will be made up of Partington Bryne Havard Kilner and Burgess if he can manage his hip. It’s certainly the best set of forwards we’ve produced in a while

Yes and let’s pack them in cotton wool while we are at it. If a player passes the HIA then he is deemed fit and safe enough to play. Protect the players by all means but rest them for a few months is way over the top IMO. The game is already going soft as it is. Whatever will we have next, a players mother coming on and kissing it better!

I fully understand anyone who says he should get the week off but a couple of months is OTT. It’s pointless comparing to boxers who get knocked out because even if a boxer wins in 1 round, he then gets weeks/months off.

Clubb managed about 5 mins in the Leeds friendly and about 15/20 minutes against Warrington. We’ve had little option but to play him in the past few seasons but that’s not an issue anymore and he’s as un-selectable as George Burgess on Friday for me.

He needs to get himself in the right frame of mind and condition to do his job. The thing that frustrates me with Clubb is that he has proper props performances in him, he showed that in a spell of a couple of months last season, when we were down to the bare bones minus Flower and Bullock and with Tautai (I think) and Hamlin off the books. He forgot the hard man routine and concentrated on solid defence and strong carries. He was a far better player for just playing the game and not concentrating on taking kickers late, trying to put shots on (and missing) and becoming embroiled in verbals with the opposition. He seems a very popular person but that can’t buy you a place in a top level side.

Sharrocks and Mitch Clark in reserve if Powell and Burgess can’t play according to lam.

Interesting to see Clark over Bullock, though bullock has outplaying him in 3 games so far this year.

Maybe plying Clark against his former club might be a good move, or the opposite if he gets targeted

I can understand wanting to give Clark a crack whilst we've just signed him, thought he would be in last week to be honest. I'd have Bullock in there as well though personally, particularly if Flower is still out. Massive opportunity for Shorrocks, if he doesn't take this, then I think he'll fall behind Smith in the pecking order and not get another first team game.

Bullock must be wondering what he needs to do. He looks much fitter than last year and has looked our best prop in two friendlies and a reserve fixture. His face doesn’t seem to fit. There must be reasons behind it but we’re still a team crying out for go forward in the middle and he’s our best option by a street in that regard.

Shorrocks over Harry Smith would be a real safe bet but understandable given how tough a place Cas is to visit.

Well I'm not a rugby coach and I'm not there at training so you always have to acknowledge we dont have fully informed views as fans. But from what Iv seen I would have go the other way on both decisions - Bullock over Clark and Smith over Shorrocks.

Hard to get my head around the Bullock decision, we're crying out for a prop who can make yards after contact and he does it.
You've got to wonder if his face just doesn't fit with Lam, I reckon he'd have an absolute field day at Saints coming on at 3rd prop when Walmsley/Thompson need a breather.

1 Zak Hardaker
2 Liam Marshall
3 Chris Hankinson
5 Joe Burgess
6 Bevan French
7 Tommy Leuluai
8 Tony Clubb
9 Sam Powell
11 Willie Isa
12 Liam Farrell
13 Sean O’Loughlin
15 Joe Greenwood
16 Morgan Smithies
17 Ollie Partington
20 Liam Byrne
22 Mitch Clark
23 Jake Bibby
27 Jake Shorrocks
28 Harry Smith
30 Ethan Havard
31 Jackson Hastings

Harry Smith in the 21's

I can’t understand the decision to play an ineffective prop in Clark over a proven effective prop in Bullock. It weakens our pack IMHO.

It’s done nothing for my confidence in Lam in a week where after our performance v Warrington and despite the win, we needed to come back stronger. We got lucky with a red card and a sin bin v a dominant Warrington, Cas will not offer us those opportunities.

We are without
Feki
Eden
Matuatia
McMeekan
Jesse
Griffin
Milner
Cook
Hepi

Still an OK squad but will be aa tough one for us.

Crazy decision on form regarding Bullock. He's been far and away the best prop on show for us in the pre season and again in the reserves yet a clearly unfit George Burgess, Ten Minute Tony and now Clark all get in before him. He must be a severely disruptive force in training to warrant exclusion like this otherwise Lam has some explaining to do.

I’m assuming Lam does more than turn up on a Wednesday, stick a team on the wall then vanish again until game day.

All these comments we have had so far this year over, “Bullock wondering what he has to do to get a game.”...and,”Hardaker being put out by his move to centre.” Etc baffles me unless Lam genuinely does just show up to stick a team up.

I would say it is significantly more likely that Bullock is in regular contact with Lam and knows exactly what he needs to do to be picked.

I would also suggest Zac has been made aware of the plan for him ever since we started looking at signing French.

It seems we have found our true scapegoat in Clark too. Already written off as ineffective prior to even pulling on a shirt in a competitive match.

For what it’s worth looking at the opposition both in terms of players missing and with it being Cas and Clark having I’m sure a bit of a point to prove he is an ideal selection.

Cas are missing a lot of experience in the pack and bringing on Clark for short spells when they start to fatigue could be very useful in ramping up the pressure.

I made the comment about Bullock wondering what he needs to do to get a game and I stick to that. There’s clearly something behind the scenes because on face value it makes no sense. I watched him last year making yards for fun but he looked vulnerable in defence, especially from marker. He looked huge but needed to work on his fitness by the looks of things. I saw him in that Leeds friendly and he looks in great shape, he’s slimmed down and he looked far fitter and far more able to get in the defensive positions he needed to. He was the best prop on the field in that game and then again in the Leigh game and then again in the reserves at Widnes (albeit against poor opposition).

We’re missing Ben Flower and George Burgess and he still can’t get in a 21 man squad. I can only call what I can see and what I know about and from a playing perspective only, it’s crazy to think he’s not in IMO. As a side we were battered in two play off games because we could get the ball away from our line and it was an issue again last week, yet our best bet of making ground around the middle is playing for the reserves.

As somebody pointed out his attitude must be horrendous or something has got personal between the pair because nothing else makes sense going off playing ability.

Agree with everything you say there apart from Bullock, he’s clearly our best metre maker and has looked very good in pre season, it baffles me that Clubb still gets in ahead of Bullock. Although Cas have got a weakened pack it still would have been good to have Bullock punching holes in their defence

He’s right in that he’s saying Lam must’ve told him to do something differently but that can’t be on the field things. As fans we can only see what happens on the field and whilst he’s not perfect, he’s comfortably one of our better props.

You can only assume there’s another issue we don’t know about.